PCLinuxOS Br Edition Xfce is an open-source GNU/Linux distribution based on the well-known PCLinuxOS operating system and built around the lightweight and highly acclaimed Xfce desktop environment. I should also mention from the start that this is a systemd-free operating system.
Just like the other PCLinuxOS Br editions, this one is mainly targeted at the Brazilian Portuguese Linux community. It can be used by users who speak Brazilian Portuguese as their main language and want to use PCLinuxOS localized and customized for this language. Of course, the distro also comes with English language support.
Only for 64-bit PCs, the boot options of the live ISO image
The PCLinuxOS Br Edition Xfce distribution has been built to support only modern 64-bit computers and it is available to download as a single and hybrid live ISO image that you can write either to a USB flash drive (recommended) or a blank DVD disc.
When booting the live ISO image for the first time, you can enter the live session. To use the live session, you can input “guest” as username and password. If you want to use the root user, the password is also “root” (without quotes).
In addition to using the live session, which won’t affect the installed operating system of your personal computer in any way, you’ll be able to install the distribution on your disk drive. Other boot options of the live ISO image include starting the live session without the bootsplash (verbose mode), or in safe graphics or failsafe modes.
Furthermore, it’s possible to open a shell prompt if you’re an advanced Linux user and want to run a few commands, copy the entire ISO image to RAM and use the live session from your computer’s memory instead from the USB flash drive or DVD disc, as well as to directly install the OS without going through the live session, which isn’t recommended.
Powerful, customizable and lightweight desktop environment with useful apps
Before using the live session, you’ll be asked to choose a default keyboard layout. After that, you can access the Xfce desktop environment, which, as expected, is powerful and customizable, not to mention very lightweight on your computer, so that you won’t need too much RAM or a faster CPU to use this distribution.
The default software collection is great too and includes popular apps like the Palemoon web browser, Evince document viewer, Gnome-Mplayer video player, Ristretto image viewer, File-Roller archive manager, and Thunar file manager. The OS also comes pre-installed with drivers for Nvidia GPUs.
Users will be able to install the LibreOffice office suite if they want using the Lomanager software installer. Various administrative tools are pre-installed as well, and there’s also the HPLIP printer manager and driver collection for HP printers and scanners. Compiz and Emerald are also present for those who want some fancy desktop effects like wobbly windows.
Recommended for low-end and mid-range machines
In conclusion, PCLinuxOS Br Edition Xfce is a beautiful and well-done GNU/Linux distribution for everyday use. It’s designed with the Brazilian Portuguese community in mind, but can also be used by other Linux users. The distro features basic UEFI and GPT installation support, GRUB2 as default bootloader.
Legacy GRUB is also available for non-UEFI or MBR machines, and the mylivecd utility is installed by default for those who want to create their own PCLinuxOS Br edition with live ISOs larger than 4GB. I recommend PCLinuxOS Br Edition Xfce for deployments on low-end and mid-range computers with at least 1GB of RAM.
