Fast and Modern LXDE Desktop LXQt available for Ubuntu and Linux Mint

LXQt is the next Modern desktop from the popular lightweight Linux Desktop Environment LXDE. LXDE is used to power up low end computers with ubuntu. It is a classic desktop with very minimum system requriements.

LXQt is the desktop from LXDE based on Qt. LXQt is made possible by merging the Qt initiative of LXDE and the famous Razor-qt projects. LXQt is now  lightweight, modular, blazing-fast and user-friendly desktop environment with beauty.

After ten months of development a number of core improvements are made to LXQt. Now it is the first beta release , intended for early testers and developers, is already said to be ‘stable and useable’. the team say they hope to “offer the best possible experience while reusing as much code as possible.”

LXQt development team are focusing on offering a beautiful lightweight usable Desktop Environment that replace the heavier and increasingly complex DEs. LXQt will remain well suited to lower end computers using a leaner, faster and modular environment than that currently offered by the GTK-based LXDE.

Lot of core changes are adapted from the previous Razor-qt (0.5.2) and initial LXDE Qt port. A complete rework of the PCManFM file manager, improvements to system settings, new modular components and on-going progress in supporting both Qt5 and the Wayland display protocol are some main offerings.

Development of GTK based LXDE will continue further without any problem. Lubuntu 14.04 LTS team will provide the ongoing fixes and developement for next 3 years.

The team behind the Ubuntu spin have previously stated their intention to transition to the Qt-based desktop as early as Lubuntu 14.10. Whether this happens will be decided in the coming months.

Install LXQt On Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 16

LXQt is in active development and so it is not recommended for everyday use on any device.

The Lubuntu Daily PPA plays host to the required packages for LXQt, including a meta-package to simplify installation. The DE can be installed alongside regular version of the LXDE. It is better try the DE on a virtual machine to get in touch. Complete Qt depedencies will install in LXQt so a very good internet connection is must to try LXQt.

Commands to install LXQt on Ubuntu 14.04

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lubuntu-dev/lubuntu-daily
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gilir/q-project
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install lxqt-metapackage

Links to various sources from the Official Website of LXQt.

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