A new version of Bodhi Linux is available to download, based on the recent Ubuntu 18.04.4 point release.
While Bodhi Linux isn’t a headline distro it has gained a solid following over the years thanks to its tempting combination of low system requirements and the unique Moksha desktop environment.
Also, truth be told, I have a bit of a soft spot for it too. I like distros that ‘do things differently’ and, amidst a a sea of pale Ubuntu spins sporting minor cosmetic changes, Bodhi Linux stands out in more ways than one.
Bodhi Linux 5.1.0 is the first major update to the distro in nearly two years, succeeding the Bodhi 5.0 release back in the summer of 2018.
This update, aside from being based on Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS and touting a newer Linux kernel courtesy of the Ubuntu HWE stack, makes some minor software substitutions.
The ePad text editor has been replaced by the lightweight Leafpad. Likewise, the Midori web browser is supplanted by Epiphany (aka GNOME Web).
To help promote the new release Bodhi devs put together the following video ‘trailer’, which you can view below if your browser supports video embeds:
If you chose to skip it you miss out on a solid run-through of Bodhi’s key selling points, including its modularly malleable appearance.
Bodhi Linux runs well on low-end machines (though not exclusively; it’s perfectly usable for gaming rigs too) so if you’re minded to give an old Celeron-powered netbook a new purpose then a Bodhi install wouldn’t be a bad way to go about doing so.
Fair warning though: the Moksha desktop environment, based on Enlightenment libraries, is not your standard fare. The modular nature of Moksha means it works rather differently to vertically-integrated DEs like GNOME Shell and KDE Plasma.
But different isn’t necessarily bad.
You can learn more about the Bodhi Linux 5.1 release on the distro’s official blog. To download the very latest release as a 64-bit .iSO hit the button below, or grab the official torrent to help others get it a bit faster:
If you have a 32-bit only machine download and use the Bodhi Linux 5.1 legacy release. This is still based on Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS but features the older Linux 4.9 kernel and no PAE extension by default: