AVL-MXE 21.2.1 + MXDE-EFL 21.2.2 Released!
Eeeeesh! What was intended as a routine ISO freshen up job went down the rabbit hole quickly but ended up in some pretty cool places and so here we are with new ISO’s of AV Linux MX Edition and MXDE-EFL. It’s usually bad form to make deep changes to a ‘within-version’ ISO and better to save such tomfoolery for new releases but there were some pretty strong motivating factors to jerk the wheel and take that left turn in Albuquerque at this point. Much to my chagrin in the live music world a persistent quirk of human nature is the old “people don’t know what they like… they like what they know” mindset.. well it affects Linux Desktop Users too.. When AVL-MXE 21 came out I wanted to trim the resource consumption of XFCE4 and also put together something a little less ‘garden-variety’ because one of the things I loved about Linux when I got onboard many years ago was how it was ‘alternative’, a different way to do the same things… I thought a Distro catering to artists should be different than your basic Office box and have some art within itself. Well it seems I was dead wrong on that one! For the most part the reviews and the User comments have not been terribly positive about Openbox, most people like how the system works, they just don’t want to look at it…lol. We have entered a time where computers have become powerful enough and RAM and storage has become plentiful and cheap enough that resource consumption is much farther down the list of concerns than it ever was. New Linux shoppers in large part want their Desktops to be big, familiar and enterprise-y, Linux Desktops that are clever, crafty and light for the sake of lightness will always have their devoted adherents as MX-Fluxbox and antiX will readily show but I feel that these types of projects are more used and tried by people that have been under the Linux tent for a while or are tireless tinkerers. It seems AV Linux is an initial point of contact for many people trying Audio and Video production on Linux for the first time so although I may have my pet opinions I’m not so stubborn that I can’t listen and change direction, the limitations and caveats imposed by Openbox were not the best decision in hindsight.
Before we get into all the juicy details I want to clarify why there are two different ISO’s being released at the same time… AVL-MXE is my main project and 90% of my spare time and focus go into it. It is the most complete, has been developed since 2008, it’s well documented and has the best prospects for support. As I have elaborated above I need to be (more) mindful of keeping it mainstream and User friendly, so what then is the ‘Distro artistic’ outlet…? This is where my new love MXDE-EFL comes in… it is designed for Artists and Content Creators as well but it is off the beaten path with the quirky but beguiling Enlightenment Desktop Environment, it is new, not documented, will never see the same level of support as AVL-MXE and is most definitely not going to be a good choice for people that are new to Linux. If you want to get off on strong footing choose AV Linux, if you want to take the scenic route with the knowledge you’re on your own then take a vacation with MXDE-EFL..
First, the gratitude! I can honestly say that had I not made the move to MX Linux AV Linux would have withered and died by now. The excellent build toolchain, the patient and generous support of the Developers and Packaging teams and the camaraderie of the User Forum are the most amazing pillars of support you could ask for. This ISO was about 99% complete when a change in the Liquorix kernel broke the build system, MX does not rely on Liquorix even though they do provide it as an alternative, the development team (notably dolphin_oracle and fehlix) dove in and made some pretty substantial changes to the build system and made it work again within a week! Pipewire which is an emerging new Audio server is not currently recommended for Distros based on Debian Bullseye and dolphin_oracle has provided a working alternative setup of it in the MX Test Repo for those who want to experiment with it. Stevo from the Packaging team has been so accommodating and helpful that MXDE-EFL is named after him! Huckleberry Finn has saved my life on the Forum more times than I can count… Thanks so much MX folks!!
OK, time for the details! I can honestly say that there has never been a more feature-complete version of AVL-MXE with such a uniformly strong lineup of Applications. In this release, Linux for Content Creators no longer can be dismissed as a backwater niche. The Apps are in top form and have matured into true professional-grade rivals for their counterparts on other platforms..
AVL-MXE 21.2.1 Features/Changes:
Things lost:
– Openbox Window Manager is gone, replaced by native xfwm.
– Nitrogen is gone replaced by native xfdesktop.
– SLiM Login Manager is gone replaced by lightDM.
– The LXDE-based ISO build of ‘MXDE’ is gone, the classic GTK2 LXDE/Openbox is fading into oblivion.
– All 32bit ISO builds are gone, I simply don’t have the time for a use-case that has dwindled down to almost nothing..
– AVL-MXE Assistant has been broken into unbranded component utilities to be shared by AVL-MXE and MXDE-EFL.
– The overly huge ‘avl-mxe-extra-plugins-dist’ Package has been broken up into individual Plugin Packages.
Things gained:
– Liquorix Kernel 6.0.0-10.
– Full XFCE4 Desktop with Compton compositing.
– Jeremy Jongepier’s Graphical RTCQS Utility.
– Added Auburn Sounds Lens Plugin (free version)
– Added Socalabs Plugins
– Added Blender from blender.org at version 3.4.0.
– special udev rules for Ardour and various devices.
– New Evolvere Icons and updated ‘Diehard’ theming.
– Guitarix GX Plugins fixed for Reaper.
– New Conky and light Conky Editor
Things renewed:
– ACMT Plugin Demos updated to 3.1.2
– Ardour 7.2 official full ardour.org bundle! thanks to Paul Davis
– Audacity 3.2.2 with VST2 Plugin support..
* If you’re not a fan of newer Audacity builds you can install Audacity 2 from MX Repos.
– Avidemux 2.8.1.
– Cinelerra-GG 20221031
– Harrison Mixbus 32C 8.1.378 Demo
– Kdenlive 22.12.0
– Musescore 3.6.2
– Reaper 6.71 Demo with new CLAP Plugin support.
– Yabridge 5.0.2
– User Manual updated with help from Alex Gutierrez..
MXDE-EFL 21.2.1 Features/Changes:
– Liquorix Kernel 6.0.0-10.
– Enlightenment 0.25.4.
– Shut off troublesome Procstats module (caused instability).
– Theme changes and improvements.
– Added Multimedia launcher ‘Shelf’.
– Custom utilities are now shared from AVL-MXE.
– Custom utility for Desktop Icons and searchable Appfinder.
– Added Blender from blender.org at version 3.4.0.
– Added Socalabs Plugins
– Guitarix GX Plugins fixed for Reaper.
– New Conky and light Conky Editor
– Ardour 7.2 official full ardour.org bundle!
– Audacity 3.2.2 with VST2 Plugin support..
– Avidemux 2.8.1.
– Cinelerra-GG 20221031
– Kdenlive 22.12.0
– Reaper 6.71 Demo with new CLAP Plugin support.
– Yabridge 5.0.2
*NOTE MXDE-EFL does not include Harrison Mixbus 32C or commercial Plugin demos.
IMPORTANT NOTEWORTHY CHANGES!
This is the part where you hate me… The removal of Openbox and SLiM and all of the associated customizations and scripts was too deep to fix with Repository Packages or Updates. If you want the new changes with the full XFCE4 Desktop etc. then I’m afraid the only way to get them is to install from the ISO. You cannot update all changes from AVL-MXE 21.1 to 21.2.1 through regular updates..
The ‘avl-mxe-extra-plugins-dist’ Package that was previously a catch-all Package of extra Audio Plugins from various non-repository sources had ballooned to a ridiculous size and also contained a stupid amount of duplicate Plugins in LV2, LinuxVST2 and VST3 formats so I broke them all into separate Packages by name and format and created an online FTP where alternates can be accessed (it’s not a Repository just a hosted FTP archive). To save room and needless duplication on both the AVL-MXE and MXDE-EFL ISO’s I selected various popular Plugins in their various formats. VST3 was preferred over VST2 except in cases where there was only a VST2 option. The FTP is linked on the AVL-MXE website.
I am not ‘against’ the new Pipewire Audio server and I will look forward to a time when it is present in all Linux Distros in a final and stable form. At the current time it is progressing well but to be clear it is not yet a ‘better’ option for Professional Audio work. It may be better than a system where JACK and PulseAudio are not set up correctly but in AVL-MXE and MXDE-EFL JACK and Pulse are set up optimally for recording work. You can install and experiment with Pipewire from the MX Test Repo but it will undo and remove key PulseAudio components and break the existing ‘pajackconnect’ setup! I don’t use or test Pipewire on a daily basis and I will not divide my time to support an Audio server that isn’t currently implemented. If you use Pipewire I hope you have success with it but it will not be supported in AVL-MXE until the next full Debian and MX Linux releases, you’ve been warned!
These two ISO’s will most likely be my last releases on MX-21/Debian Bullseye, I need to focus on other important things for a while, and these ISO’s are leaving Content Creators in a good place until the next major Debian/MX Release. I desperately need people who use AVL-MXE to help other Users on the Forum. I only have so much time daily and just because I know my way around Linux Content Creation does not mean I know anything more than your average bear about Boot and Network issues etc. If you want to support AVL-MXE, support your fellow Users!
OK, enough!
You can get the ISO’s at the their respective Web pages!
Links:
AV Linux MX Edition 21.2.1
MXDE-EFL 21.2.2
