Short Bytes: Following the footsteps of System76, German laptop maker Tuxedo has announced its own Ubuntu Linux spin. Called Tuxedo Xubuntu, this operating system uses lightweight Xfce desktop environment and uses about 300MB RAM. The company will be customizing Tuxedo Xubuntu with its own theme, icons, and system profile.
A week ago we told you about System76’s plans to develop a new Linux distro called Pop!_OS. Based on Ubuntu and GNOME shell, the Alpha version of this release is currently available for testing, and the final release will take place later this year. Following that, another laptop manufacturer has announced a somewhatsimilar plan.
Here, I’m talking about Tuxedo Computers, a German company which sells laptops preloaded with Linux. In the announcement post, Tuxedo told that they’d been working on the project to create customized spin for many months. They had also performed some surveys on desktop usage and used user feedback to make their product better.
After analyzing different Ubuntu-based options, Tuxedo chose Xfce-based Xubuntu distribution. Xfce is a widely used Linux desktop environment that’s known for its low resource consumption and enormous adaptability. It’s also featured on our list of top Linux desktop environments. So, Tuxedo decided to create their Xfce-based spin Tuxedo Xubuntu.
According to their tests, here’s the RAM consumption comparison:
- Ubuntu 16.04 Unity: 612 MB
- Ubuntu 16.04 KDE: 707 MB
- TUXEDO Xubuntu 16.04 (Xfce): 304 MB
- Ubuntu 16.04 Cinnamon: 650 MB
- Ubuntu 16.04 Mate: 307 MB
- Elementary OS 0.4 (Ubuntu 4.16 basis): 505 MB
Tuxedo Xubuntu aims to create a desktop experience that’s adapted to the needs of their users. They’ve used their own theme, icons, boot logo, kernel 4.11, and the latest firmware. Tuxedo also plans to include latest NVIDIA drivers and other system-relevant optimizations.
Tuxedo has also said that non-Tuxedo users can use this Xubuntu spin using the automatic installation service WebFAI.
Update: In a statement, Tuxedo has refrained itself from calling Tuxedo Xubuntu a new Linux distro. Instead, they are calling it “an optimized XFCE/Xubuntu System.”
Here’s an introductory video of Tuxedo Xubuntu:
