LFA (Linux For All)

LFA (Linux For ALL) is an open source GNU/Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu 15.04 and Debian 8 Jessie operating systems, bundled with the Fluxbox window manager and Cairo-Dock as the desktop interface. It runs only on 64-bit hardware platforms and includes Linux kernel 3.19.0.

Distributed as a 64-bit Live DVD

It is distributed as a single Live DVD ISO-hybrid image, which means that users will be able to easily deploy it on a USB flash drive and run the live environment in persistence mode (it saves all the changes made during the live session).

Boot options

The boot medium can also be used to copy the entire ISO image to RAM (system memory) and eject it. Keep in mind though, that everything will be lost when you reboot the computer. In addition, you can boot an existing operating system, run a memory test or install LFA directly without testing it first (not recommended).

By default, the operating system will drop users to a LightDM login screen, from where they can choose the desktop environment to be used for the live session. The username is lfa, without a password. Apparently, you need to choose a session, as the operating system has not been instructed to start a specific desktop environment.

Features the fast and minimal Fluxbox window manager

The distribution features the minimalistic Fluxbox window manager and uses the Cairo-Dock as the desktop interface. The layout consists of a panel located on the bottom edge of the screen, as well as a dock (application launcher) on the upper part of the screen.

Default applications, web-based apps

During our tests, the distribution proved to be pretty stable. It includes a vast collection of open source applications, among which we can mention the PCManFM file manager, Google Chrome web browser for watching Netflix movies, SMPlayer multimedia player, BlueGriffon web editor, and Synaptic Package Manager for installing additional packages. The distro also supports web apps, in order to keep the size of the ISO image to a minimum acceptable.

Bottom line

We feel obliged to recommend this distribution for novice Linux users who want a lightweight and ultra fast desktop environment that fits perfectly on low-end machines.

What is new in this release:

• Version 151024 based on Ubuntu 15.10 and Debian Jessie with Fluxbox combined with Cairo-Dock and kernel 4.2.0-16-exton.

What is new in version :

• Version 151024 based on Ubuntu 15.10 and Debian Jessie with Fluxbox combined with Cairo-Dock and kernel 4.2.0-16-exton.

What is new in version Build 170121:

• Version 151024 based on Ubuntu 15.10 and Debian Jessie with Fluxbox combined with Cairo-Dock and kernel 4.2.0-16-exton.

What is new in version Build 161114:

• Version 151024 based on Ubuntu 15.10 and Debian Jessie with Fluxbox combined with Cairo-Dock and kernel 4.2.0-16-exton.

What is new in version Build 151024:

• Version 151024 based on Ubuntu 15.10 and Debian Jessie with Fluxbox combined with Cairo-Dock and kernel 4.2.0-16-exton.

What is new in version 15.04 Build 150513:

• Previous version of LFA (build 141120) had four (4) Desktop environments installed. Namely Unity (Ubuntu), LXDE, Razor-qt and XBMC. LFA build 150513 uses ONLY Fluxbox as window manager and Cairo-Dock as Desktop interface. "Cairo-Dock is designed to be light, fast and customizable, and is desktop-agnostic. It has a powerful DBus interface, to be controlled from a terminal or another application. Features can be added by plug-ins or applets, and applets can be written in C or in any language". About Fluxbox: "Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle but yet full of features to make an easy, and extremely fast, desktop experience". Screenshot of LFA's new Desktop: http://lfa.exton.net/lfa-fluxbox/lfa-screenshot-installer-big.jpg
• The LFA ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can then even run LFA from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence! I've found two scripts which make the installation to USB very simple. The scripts are quite ingenious.
• Another big improvement is that LFA now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 3 (Copy to RAM). When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You'll need at least 2 GB RAM to run LFA that way. I.e - superfast!
• Kernel 3.19.0-5-exton is replaced by kernel 3.19.0-14-exton.

What is new in version 15.04 Build 150225:

• Previous version of LFA (build 141120) had four (4) Desktop environments installed. Namely Unity (Ubuntu), LXDE, Razor-qt and XBMC. LFA build 150225 uses ONLY Fluxbox as window manager and Cairo-Dock as Desktop interface. "Cairo-Dock is designed to be light, fast and customizable, and is desktop-agnostic. It has a powerful DBus interface, to be controlled from a terminal or another application. Features can be added by plug-ins or applets, and applets can be written in C or in any language". About Fluxbox: "Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle but yet full of features to make an easy, and extremely fast, desktop experience".
• The LFA ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can then even run LFA from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence! I've found two scripts which make the installation to USB very simple. The scripts are quite ingenious.
• Another big improvement is that LFA now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 3 (Copy to RAM). When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You'll need at least 2 GB RAM to run LFA that way. I.e - superfast!
• Kernel 3.16.0-21-exton is replaced by kernel 3.19.0-5-exton, equivalent to Kernel.org’s stable kernel 3.19.0.

What is new in version 14.10 Build 141120:

• The LFA ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can then even run LFA from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence! I've found two scripts which make the installation to USB very simple. The scripts are quite ingenious. Read my INSTRUCTION how to use the scripts: http://lfa.exton.net/lfa-usb-persistent/
• Another big improvement is that LFA now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 3 (Copy to RAM). When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You'll need at least 2 GB RAM to run LFA that way.
• LFA is now more stable than ever. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 141120. To make it possible to run LFA from RAM I have uninstalled three big packages; LibreOffice, Google Earth and Google Chrome.
• Kernel 3.16.0-7-exton is replaced by kernel 3.16.0-21-exton.
• I have also replaced Ubuntu’s installation program Ubiquity with LFA Live Installer, which is a clone of Debian Live Installer. The installation to hard drive is now so simple that a 10 year old child can do it. Watch a SLIDESHOW of the hard drive installation process: http://lfa.exton.net/lfa-installer-slideshow.html

What is new in version 14.04.1 Build 140817:

• Kernel 3.15.0-0-exton is replaced by kernel 3.16.0-7-exton, equivalent to Kernel.org's stable kernel 3.16, released 140803.
• LFA is now more stable than ever. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 140817.

What is new in version 14.04 Build 140511:

• It is now based on Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr).
• The LFA ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can then even run LFA from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence! I've found two scripts which make the installation to USB very simple.
• Another big improvement is that LFA now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 3 (Copy to RAM). When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You'll need at least 2 GB RAM to run LFA that way.
• LFA is now more stable than ever. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 140511. To make it possible to run LFA from RAM I have uninstalled three big packages; LibreOffice, Google Earth and Google Chrome.
• Kernel 3.13.0-17-exton is replaced by kernel 3.15.0-0-exton. 5. I have also replaced Ubuntu’s installation program Ubiquity with LFA Live Installer, which is a clone of Debian Live Installer. The installation to hard drive is now so simple that a 10 year old child can do it. Watch a SLIDESHOW of the hard drive installation process: http://lfa.exton.net/lfa-installer-slideshow.html

What is new in version 13.10 Build 140306:

• I have corrected some minor errors. LFA is now more stable than ever. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 140306.

What is new in version 13.10 Build 140131:

• The LFA ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can then even run LFA from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence! I've found two scripts which make the installation to USB very simple. The scripts are quite ingenious. Unfortunately, it is not me who have created them. I found the scripts on Kanotix website. There was no direct indication of how good the scripts were, but my tests show that they work flawlessly on USB installations of all normal Ubuntu systems. Read my INSTRUCTION how to use the scripts at http://lfa.exton.net/lfa-usb-persistent/
• Another big improvement is that LFA now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 2 (Copy to RAM). It will look like this. When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You'll need at least 2 GB RAM to run LFA that way.
• LFA is now more stable than ever. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 140131. To make it possible to run LFA from RAM I have uninstalled three big packages; LibreOffice, Google Earth and Google Chrome.
• Kernel 3.12.0-2-exton is replaced by kernel 3.13.0-6-exton.

What is new in version 13.10 Build 131120:

• Based on Ubuntu 13.10