Bridge Linux LXDE

Welcome to the LXDE edition of Bridge Linux, previously known as Bridge Linux Light. It is an open source and freely distributed operating system whose main target are old and semi-old computers, as it uses the lightweight LXDE desktop environment and Arch Linux distribution.

Availability, boot options, supported platforms

Bridge Linux LXDE is the smallest edition of this Arch Linux based operating system, which can be easily downloaded from Softoware as Live CD ISO images for both 32-bit (i686) and 64-bit (x86_64) hardware platforms. They must be written to USB flash drives or blank CD discs in order to boot them from the BIOS of the PC.

Among the boot options provided by the Live CDs, we can mention the ability to start the live environment with default options or by forcing the VESA framebuffer and using the nomodeset option in case the first entry does not recognizes your graphics card and won't boot. In addition, you can view details about your computer's hardware components, run a memory (RAM) test, reboot or shutdown the machine.

Very fast and lightweight desktop environment

As mentioned, this Bridge Linux edition uses the lightweight and very fast LXDE desktop environment, which comprises of a single panel located on the bottom edge of the screen from where the user can access the maim menu, launch applications, cycle between virtual workspaces and interact with running programs.

Default applications include the Leafpad text editor, Xfburn CD/DVD burning software, Chromium web browser, GPicView image viewer, Zathura document viewer, Transmission torrent downloader, DeaDBeeF audio player, GNOME MPlayer video player, Terminator terminal emulator, as well as the PCManFM file manager. Unfortunately, an email client is missing at the moment.

Bottom line

Summing up, Bridge Linux LXDE is indeed a very fast operating system that provides users with a clean graphical environment, powerful applications and a rolling-release architecture based on Arch Linux. It is the perfect OS for old and semi-old computers. Also, don't hesitate to check out the Xfce, KDE and GNOME editions of Bridge Linux.