Bodhi Linux

J

Jarret W. Buse

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Bodhi Linux

Bodhi Linux is a lightweight Debian-based distro which provides high performance. Bodhi is a term used in Buddhism which refers to Enlightenment which is the desktop shell on which Bodhi is based.

Desktop Shell Figure 1.jpg


At the time of this writing, the current version is 2.4.0, but version 3.0 beta has been released. The final release of version 3.0 is expected in August 2014. A Release Candidate (RC) should be released May 30, 2014, and RC2 will be released around June 27, 2014.

NOTE: Bodhi 2.5.0 was due out in January, but it has been stopped for the release of 3.0.0.

Bodhi comes with minimal utilities to allow the user to install their preferred apps so that the Operating System (OS) environment can be their own. Since the apps are all preferred by the user, it makes for a better experience. The basic applications which come installed with Bodhi depend on the version. The OS contains a web browser, Libre Office in some versions, Terminology and Enlightenment 17. The web browser has been Firefox or Chromium, but is Midori for the more recent versions.

NOTE: Applications can be installed using Synaptic or the Terminal (Terminology in Bodhi) using 'apt-get'.

WARNING: It has been noted that Enlightenment version 18 causes some problems on Bodhi, but version 17 works very well. Do not upgrade Enlightenment. The OS works around Enlightenment 17 so version 18 has changes which do not work with the OS.

The Kernel version is as follows:

  • 2.1.0
· Linux Kernel 3.5​

  • 2.2.0
· Linux kernel 3.7 for the 32-bit PAE and 64-bit
· Linux Kernel 3.2 for the 32-bit non-PAE​
  • 2.3.0
· Linux Kernel 3.8​
  • 2.4.0
· Linux Kernel 3.8​
  • 3.0.0
· Linux Kernel 3.13 for 32 and 64-bit
· Linux Kernel 3.11 for the Chromebook​

Performance is a great key for Bodhi. Personally, it has become my favorite because of the performance issue. It responds faster than other distros I have tried. Bodhi's minimum requirements are a 300+ MHz CPU, 128 MB of RAM and 2.5 GB of drive space. Most new systems more than double the minimum requirements showing that on newer systems Bodhi should be better than other distros with a higher minimum requirement.

The core of Bodhi is based off of Ubuntu, so there is a new release of Bodhi after the newest release of Ubuntu. The core is from the Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS) release. Ubuntu releases a new LTS every two years with support for the LTS version lasting for five years. Basically, this means a new version of Bodhi every two years with updates in between.

The release of Bodhi versions are based on Ubuntu releases as follows:

  • Bodhi 1.5.0 - Ubuntu 10.04
  • Bodhi 2.0.0 – Ubuntu 12.04
  • Bodhi 2.1.0 – update release
  • Bodhi 2.2.0 – update release
  • Bodhi 2.3.0 – update release
  • Bodhi 2.4.0 – Ubuntu 12.04
  • Bodhi 3.0.0 – Ubuntu 14.04
NOTE: The 32-bit and 64-bit are for i386 and AMD64. Support for ARM was discontinued as of October 2013. The latest unsupported ARM version can be found at http://sourceforge.net/projects/bodhilinux/files/ARMHF/Pi/.

Bodhi's main site is located at http://www.bodhilinux.com/ and has the current downloads available for download.

Bodhi comes with support for the following file systems:

  • btrfs
  • ext2
  • ext3
  • ext4
  • fat16
  • fat32
  • swap
  • ntfs
  • reiserfs

There is basic functionality for the following file systems, but they may only include shrink, move and copy:

  • exfat
  • hfs
  • hfs+
  • ufs

NOTE: Software can be added to fully support other file systems as well as the ones which only have basic functionality.

Overall, Bodhi is a great OS for regular use but can be cumbersome for more advanced users. Enlightenment can cause a little bit of a learning curve for some. It is important to remember that Enlightenment is a big part of the OS. For example, changing an application menu item can cause some problems with the menu if you are not too sure about what you are doing. It is important to know Enlightenment to get around the system. If you are happy with letting the menus and other Enlightenment items alone, then Bodhi is definitely a wonderful OS for you.

If you can, give Bodhi a try and decide for yourself.
 

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