Review of Bodhi Linux 5.0.0
Bodhi 5.0.0 is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Called “the Enlightened Linux Distribution”, and featuring the Moksha desktop, Bodhi comes in three basic “flavors”. Standard is for modern computers capable of running a 64 bit operating system, and comes with a minimal list of apps. Legacy is for older computers that require a 32 bit operating system. And AppPack is the full-featured release of Bodhi, which includes a wide range of Linux programs.
The main advantage of Bodhi is how light it is with system resources. If your computer is getting older, or if it has a slow processor or too little RAM, Bodhi can help it to run faster. And unlike other lightweight Linux distributions, Bodhi is gorgeous right out of the box. It comes with a dark arc theme pre-installed. Another advantage is that, like other Ubuntu-based distros, it installs extremely easily, to it’s a good distro for the novice user. However, it’s also extremely configurable, so if you’re an intermediate to advanced user of Linux who wants to muck around with the settings, Bodhi will oblige.
Bodhi comes pre-installed with the Midori web browser, which is also quite easy on system resources. But there is also the option to install Firefox or Chromium (or Chrome in the 64 bit version) if you prefer that.
Bodhi’s text editor is ePad, its screen layout editor is ARandR, its graphics editor is Ephoto, its audio driver is PulseAudio, and it comes with PulseAudio Volume control, and its terminal emulator is Terminology. System updates can be installed through eepDater.
The full-featured AppPack version comes with more familiar programs like VLC media player, OpenShot video editor, Evince document viewer, Filezilla FTP client, and Synaptic Package Manager.
New apps can also be installed through the terminal, through the GDebi package installer, or through the AppCenter in the Midori web browser.
Bodhi has several unique features. It uses gadgets, modules, and shelves to provide shortcuts to frequently used programs. The iBar acts like the quick launch bar in Windows, and can be easily configured through Module Settings. Shelves hold Gadgets in convenient places on the desktop. The iBox holds iconified applications on the taskbar. Bodhi also supports edge bindings and key bindings. Edge bindings allow you to hover over an edge or corner of the screen to open a program. Key bindings allow you to set keyboard shortcuts for programs. Bodhi comes with some key bindings set by default.
The thing I like best about Bodhi is that the Legacy release supports non-PAE processors. I have an old IBM ThinkPad laptop which my husband and I bought around 2005. After Windows XP reached its end of support, and started running slow, I started chomping at the bit to put Linux on the ThinkPad, but it turned out to be a chore. Numerous Linux distros refused to so much as boot from DVD or USB on the ThinkPad, but Bodhi installed on it like a charm, with no issues whatsoever.
I wanted to check system resources, so I installed Conky, a lightweight system resource monitor. Bodhi used the ThinkPad’s system resources frugally, leaving plenty of CPU and RAM to spare.
One of the few downsides to Bodhi is that it doesn’t support the do-release-upgrade command. If you want to upgrade to a new release, you have to do a clean install. So when I was doing my install of Bodhi, I decided to create a separate /home partition do that I can install future versions without wiping the user files.
Overall, I’ve really enjoyed using Bodhi Linux more than most other Linux distributions, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a beautiful, lightweight operating system.