MX Linux Casually Drops Version 21.1, Codenamed "Wildflower"

The latest version of MX Linux sports updated software, a new kernel, and a tool to make Samba sharing easier. All with the minimum of fuss.

The MX Linux project has announced the 21.1 release of its Linux distribution, known as "Wildflower." It arrives with the minimum of fuss and fanfare, but enough new features to be worth checking out.

What's New in MX Linux 21.1?

The developers announced the new version in a post on the MX Linux blog. The distro is available with three different desktops: XFCE, KDE, and the lightweight Fluxbox window manager. The XFCE and Fluxbox versions are available for 32-bit processors, while all three support 64-bit Intel and AMD processors.

All three variations are based on Debian 11.3 "Bullseye." While curious potential users can download the new version from the MX Linux download page, existing users can obtain the release through the usual upgrade channel. All releases also use version 5.16 of the Linux kernel.

While the new versions will have newer versions of their respective desktop environments, they will also get improvements under the hood that they share in common. The Disk-manager utility has now been added to the official installation images. There's also a tool for managing Samba installations to share files with Windows and Linux users on a network.

MX Linux Is an Understated, Unique Debian Variant

The way that MX Linux announced the new version, with a terse blog post, says a lot about how the developers run their distribution. They're not as flashy as Ubuntu or Red Hat, but seem to prefer simply announcing that a new release is available.

The emphasis on simplicity and choice likely comes from the project's origins as a combination of the AntiX and MEPIS communities. The latter also supported multiple desktops and stressed ease of use.

The project aims for technical simplicity, largely shunning the systemd system for managing processes as fellow Debian variant Devuan does in favor of the older style derived from AT&T's System V Unix, or "SysVInit."

With this release, this understated but user-friendly Linux distribution will likely continue this trend, which is why it has likely attracted such a cult following in the Linux community.

A Choice Based on Debian

MX's base in Debian proves how that distribution's versatility has made it a favorite looking to create variations on it for new Linux distros, including the popular Ubuntu distribution.