Slax 11.2.0 Released 4 New Features to Try
After a gap of two years, Slax has finally released a new version, the new and improved Slax 11.2.0. Developed and maintained by Tomasz Matejicek, the Portable Debian-based distro treats you to a number of improvements and new features as a part of the Debian 11 ecosystem.
Slacks continues to attract users with its lightweight features, each of which are the best in their respective fields.
1. Kernel Version
Based on Debian 11 Bullseye, Slax 11.2.0 is powered by Linux 5.10.92 LTS kernel to meet your computing needs. 5.10.92 is the last release within the Linux kernel 5.10 LTS cycle. Rest assured, the new kernel offers better stability to the users.
Through dedicated community support, the update improves the kernel distro’s hardware support. You can expect better, flawless Bluetooth and USB performance with 5.10.92. This addition is comparable to Linux kernel 5.4, which comes with a five-year release cycle.
As Slax 11.2.0 aims to be a stable and portable distribution, the 5.10 series kernel guarantees you full-throttle performance on Intel and AMD gaming processors and optimized, next-gen GPU support.
2. Debian 11 Base and USB Booting
Slax uses its own Debian 11 base to give you better package support for 32-bit systems. Few minimal Linux distros can match Slax 11.2.0’s addition of exFAT and printer/scanner support.
The distro is equipped with EFI USB booting and AUFS support so you can add or remove modules just like some older Slax versions.
Since the discontinuation of AUFS by Debian, which removed the slacks activate command, this feature is quite an improvement.
Since the active feature is not available, users need to rely on the OverlayFS file system. You will, however, gain support for union mounts for Linux file systems on 11.2.0.
3. Newly Added Applications
Slax 11.2.0 replaces WICD with Conman-GTK as the default network management application. Xarchiver Archive Manager helps you compress/decompress files with relative ease.
xterm is the default command-line interface within the distro. The XInput package helps with listing and querying input devices. Additionally, LXTask remains the default task manager in Slax 11.2.0.
However, the latest Slax version has removed specific applications like VLC media player, Google Chrome (you have the bare-bones Chromium browser in its place), Leafpad, and WICD, but you can install them all separately.
4. New and Improved File Manager
Developer Tomas Metjicek replaced the PCManFM file manager with Tux Commander. You can still opt for PCManFM by installing it manually.
5. Other Improvements and Additions
Other new features and additions worth mentioning include SciTE and GNOME Calculator. SciTE is a GTK-based text editor for Scintilla text editing.
Alternatively, you can buy it from slax.org as a pre-installed DVD, USB flash drive, or AES encrypted USB installation.
Using Slack 11.2.0 on Your Computer
Overall, the new version of Slacks will not fail to impress you as a worthy addition to the Slacks lineage. It really lives up to the minimalist ideals of its predecessors.
With the latest version, a little bit of everything. From its features and new kernel to the colorful layout, it proves to be more than adequate.