ROSA 2012 R1 Desktop Fresh LXDE Review: Another super cool LXDE spin with added integrated control center!

As I wrote in my last article about LXDE though being very efficient, is a bit tough for a Linux newbie to handle. I was very happy with the latest PCLinuxOS 2013.06 LXDE spin as it made LXDE relatively simpler by adding an integrated LXDE control center along with quite a few other customizations. This week I used another LXDE distro, ROSA 2012 R1 Desktop Fresh LXDE. Incidentally, both ROSA and PCLinuxOS are/were Mandriva based.

ROSA has been giving Mandriva based very attractive looking distros for quite sometime and their Desktop Fresh series was released last year in KDE, Gnome and LXDE spins (I am not sure whether they have any XFCE spin or not). My review is based on my experience with ROSA 2012 R1 Desktop Fresh LXDE for last 7 days.

From ROSA 2012 R1 Desktop Fresh LXDE http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

ROSA LXDE release announcement states of a lightweight simple to use distro:

ROSA is glad to announce a further expansion of ROSA Desktop Fresh R1 distribution series - an update of its distribution based on lightweight desktop environment, LXDE. This distribution uses the same code base as the recently-released ROSA Desktop Fresh R1. The main difference is a tendency to be minimalistic while preserving flexibility and usability. The new version includes only really necessary software and is built with the 'the easier the faster' principle in mind - high work speed is achieved at the expense of simple interface and absence of effects. The release is based on the time-proved GTK+ 2 framework, though some components are using the latest developments from GTK+ 3 and GNOME 3

ROSA LXDE ISO is around 670 MB and using Linux Mint Image Writer, I created a live USB of the same. I first did a live boot on my Asus K54C laptop with Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM followed by installation. 

ROSA's latest update comes with Linux kernel 3.8.12 and Openbox 3.5.0. PCManFM 1.1.0 is the default file manager. PCManFM is fast, lightweight and performs well in limited resources. Also, it provides majority of the functionalities expected from an advanced file manager.

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ROSA Desktop Fresh 2012: Very efficient & elegant stock Gnome 3 distro

I have been following ROSA Linux since 2012. Now that possibly not everything going right for Mandriva Linux, the emergence of ROSA has assumed paramount significance. ROSA has not only enhanced the Mandriva based, but also created its own very distinct theme, especially for KDE. Even I am an ardent admirer of the unique design that ROSA brings on the table. Every ROSA release so far has been very refined and amazingly attractive.

From ROSA Fresh 2012 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Like ROSA Marathon Gnome, even ROSA Desktop Fresh 2012 also brings a lot of freshness to otherwise boring Gnome 3, though the limitations of Gnome 3 is still there. Though the distro name says 2012 but the final release came on 12 Feb 2013. ROSA fresh provides option to use Gnome 3 and Gnome fallback at the login. I downloaded the 32-bit version, ISO is about 1.1 GB. Gnome 3.6.2 is the default desktop environment with Linux kernel 3.6.10 with Files 3.6.3 is the file manager. I installed ROSA Desktop Fresh on my Asus K54C with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM for testing.

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