rev 6/23/22 (see Notes)
After trying Lubuntu 22.04 and finding that it's fantastic [1], I decided to take another look at MX-Linux 21 Fluxbox. I had tried it and gave up due to frustrations with making changes to the panel and dock, but I've since realized that docks are easy to change, create, delete, move, etc., once you learn a few tricks (mentioned below), and that you can tailor the panel or panels to your liking by selecting Settings, then Tint2 Settings in the main menu. I just selected one of the prefabbed panels and left it as it was, although the panel included Clipman, so I went into Clipman's settings, selected the History tab, and set Remember History to O, because clipboard-management apps are security risks and should be used only when necessary, such as if you're writing code and want to save code-clippings for reuse. In some cases, I ended up uninstalling the clipboard manager app because there was no way to prevent it from keeping a clipboard history.
As usual, APT-offline wasn't installed by default, but all that's necessary to install it is apt-offline.deb and python3-magic.deb, which are both minuscule, and which I installed by using a package-installer. Later, I installed APT-offline-gui via APT-offline, but the launcher added to the main menu during installation didn't work, so I tried to fix the launcher but couldn't because the problem was deeper in the system. So, I'll just launch it by entering "sudo apt-offline-gui."
I had a problem with updating the package index via APT-offline without first updating it with a direct connection, because I kept getting "cannot authenticate package" (CAP) messages while trying to install software until I performed a direct update. I gave up on trying to understand precisely what was wrong, because it requires a good grasp of the Debian security system, which is very convoluted and is supposedly undergoing changes (including to validate packages when they're being installed, apparently in addition to when they're being downloaded), but performing an update with a direct internet connection seems to have corrected the problem, and then it could apparently be updated via APT-offline from then on, without producing CAP-messages. After performing a direct update, then an update via APT-offline, I performed another direct update, and APT apparently found that the existing package index was the latest, and just left it alone.
A couple of days later, I realized that MXL-Fluxbox includes a "Fix GPG Keys" tool, and created an unencrypted installation to see whether this tool would take care of the CAP-problem, which it didn't, even when online. (When booting the installation, it stopped with an "(intramfs)" (initial RAM file system) prompt, and I entered "exit" and the boot-process resumed. When the login screen appeared, I clicked on the menu-symbol at the top-center and selected the Fluxbox option, although I'm not sure what it does. But I confirmed that performing a direct update does fix the problem, whatever it is, by using APT-offline to install some package-index files which I downloaded a few days earlier for my initial MXL-FB installations, finding that it had the CAP-problem, and performing a direct update (which required only about 1MB, probably because the package index was just a few days old and APT apparently decided not to replace it). After the direct update, the CAP problem was gone, and then I performed another update via APT-offline (reinstalled the same package index files), and found that the CAP problem was still gone.
Then I performed another update via APT-offline, using package-index files obtained about a week after the initial batch, and went through the motions of installing some software, and did not receive any CAP messages, apparently indicating that the direct update "permanently" fixed the CAP-problem. So, if you have a slow internet connection at home, you could probably create an installation and use it to obtain the packages required to install APT-offline from the Debian Packages site (MX-L21-FB is based on Debian 11/Bullseye), along with the reference checksums for the packages, calculate their checksums (right-click on each file, select Properties, then Digests, and then Hash), compare them to the references, and assuming that they match, install them by clicking on them and following the instructions. Then you could use APT-offline to perform an update (perform a set-op to generate a signature file, then a get-op, using some device which can readily obtain a 4G or better internet connection, to download and screen the package-index files, and then an install-op, which in the case of package-index files, installs them completely). Then you could perform a direct update, which based on my experience would require downloading only about 1MB due to the update via APT-offline (although I assume that you'd have to perform the two updates on the same day, or at least within a couple of days).
If you want to add any PPAs to your installation's sources-list, this would be the time to do it - there have apparently been improvements to the process of adding PPAs, because when I added the one for version 1.1 of the LXQT desktop to my Lubuntu 22.04 installation (https://launchpad.net/~severusseptimius/+archive/ubuntu/lxqt, which by the way didn't seem to do anything), the PPA's package-index files were added too, without having to perform an update (perhaps because I had just performed an update). After adding the PPA, I got an error message which indicated that there was no InRelease file (which was wrong), and that as a result the index or the PPA couldn't be used. Still, I had no problems generating a signature file for the upgraded desktop-components (a 100MB download, although Thunderbird is 57MB of that).
But if you don't even have a slow internet connection at home, you could power your PC with an inverter or an uninterruptible power supply so that you could take it to some place where you could establish a high-speed wireless internet connection, in which case you would perform an update and install APT-offline-gui (which would install APT-offline as well), and any software you might need in the foreseeable future. You might want a cardboard hood on your monitor to block sunlight, and something like a clipboard to use as a flat surface for your mouse. But once you've performed a direct update, it appears that you could use APT-offline from then to make any kind of change to the installation.
I also had a problem when trying to perform a get-op on a signature file for GIMP, because the gimp.deb and gimp-data.deb files weren't available from the server, at least by the name listed in the signature file. But when I installed GIMP via a direct connection, everything went well, even though it requested precisely the same files. Two different versions of gimp and gimp-data were available, so perhaps by using a direct connection APT was able to find the secondary (older) versions when it couldn't find the newer versions, and download them, although the newer versions were the ones that were installed. Perhaps the older versions were actually pointers to the newer versions.
After installing GIMP, I tried to find the downloaded packages in /var/cache/apt/archives (where APT places downloaded packages for installation), so that I could use them on another installation of the same type, but they had apparently been deleted automatically after installation. I had installed a tiny app (gpw, a nifty password-generator) to determine whether it would be retained after installation by default, and it was, so I assumed that this would apply in all cases. I also "installed" a lot of apps via APT-offline (referring to the APT-offline "install"-op, which just copies downloaded app-packages to the "archives" directory, after which they must be actually installed normally, such as by entering "sudo apt install <app>"), and they were retained after actual installation. So, to retain all downloaded packages after installing them, it's apparently necessary to enter "echo 'Binary::apt::APT::Keep-Downloaded-Packages "1";' | sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10apt-keep-downloads" (to execute the command, copy it, without the beginning and ending quotes, as you would normally copy text, and paste it into the command-line with Ctrl-Shift-V).
After using my MXL21-FB installation for about a week, I generated an ISO from it, using the Snapshot MX-Tool (which works only on MX-Linux installations). Instead of having Snapshot store the ISO on the original installation, which is on a Kingston USB3 DataTraveler (which has a slow write-speed but runs cool, indicating low power consumption), I had it store it on an SD card which I formatted with an EXT4 format, using the Disks program, since Linux writes to EXT4-formatted drives faster than it does to FAT-formatted drives. Snapshot couldn't find the SD card until I realized that I had the file manager set up to require me to click on the drive-name to mount it. Then I used the Snapshot-created ISO to create a nonpersistent live installation (which in the case of live installations made from ISOs made with Snapshot, boot very quickly, unlike regular live installations) on a cheap, cool-running USB2 drive.
Naturally, turning an installation into an ISO is done only when you are fairly certain that you won't be making any significant changes to the installation in the near future, but I mentioned it above in order to explain some of the following changes.
Xfce4-notes, an excellent desktop-notes program, can be installed on MXL21-FB with a download of about 200K, which is nothing compared to some note-programs. I use xfce4-notes as a nonpersistent scratchpad, since it stores data in the installation, which in the case of the aforementioned nonpersistent live installation doesn't retain data after shut-down. FeatherNotes is also excellent, and quite a small download. I use FeatherNotes as a persistent scratchpad, with the notes stored on an encrypted flash drive (since FN allows the user to select the storage location), and backed-up on additional encrypted drives (I use two levels of backup - one drive to keep a running backup, which is transferred to other back-ups each week). Another approach would be to just use a separate small unsaved text-editor window as a nonpersistent desktop-note, and a text file as a persistent note, in cases where installing notes-programs would require large downloads.
MXL-FB's Dockmaker app (which can be launched by right-clicking on the screen, then selecting Appearance, then Docks, then Dockmaker) is quite straightforward, although if you want to add an app to a dock using a command and an icon, and you want to use the icon from the main menu, go to the menu-entry, right-click on it, and select Edit. Then click on the icon, and wait for quite a while (30 seconds on my $200 Brix, which I use as an air-gap PC), and a window with a bunch of menu-icons, including the one of interest, will appear. (I learned this by accident, by clicking on the icon, getting no immediate response, and then moving onto something else without closing the launcher-edit window. After a while, the aforementioned window of icons appeared, and I realized that it was the response to clicking on the icon.) Then use the name on the icon of interest, and a search program such as Catfish (also included in MX-L21-FB by default) to search the /usr/share/icons directory to find the location of the icon's file, and then go to Dockmaker, and click on the icon-window, and navigate to the icon-file of interest (Dockmaker's default icon-size is apparently 48x48). A few icons are in usr/local/share/icons.
If as a result of using Dockmaker you end up with multiple listings for a single dock in the menu accessed by right-clicking on the screen, you can go to the home directory, press Ctrl-h to show hidden files, then go to .fluxbox, then submenus, then appearance, and remove the redundant entries (superuser privileges aren't required). It's probably a good idea to make a backup copy before you start editing, in case you make a mistake and need a reference to correct it.
The file manager (Thunar) wasn't set up to my liking, so I changed the settings by going to Settings in the main menu, then selecting File Manager. Settings which control Thunar's response to plugging in flash drives can be accessed by going to the main menu, selecting Settings, and then selecting Removable Drives and Media. I set it up so that I can plug in a bunch of flash drives without having windows popping up all over the screen. This caused some confusion later, when I couldn't find the SD card with Snapshot, until I realized that I hadn't clicked on the SD card's name in the file manager to mount it.
In conclusion, MX-Linux 21 Fluxbox is a gem, although it's not very slick and it doesn't have frills such as multiple workspaces, the ability to zoom the entire screen, or the ability to change window-manager settings. It's one of the fastest types of Linux I've used, and includes MX-Tools, including the aforementioned Snapshot tool (which is apparently unique to MX-Linux and antiX) and includes a good selection of generally-useful apps, including FeatherPad, an excellent text editor, and GKrellm (Gnu Krell Monitors system-monitor, which includes configurable disk I/O monitors), which I've never seen included by default on any other distro. It doesn't include Libre Office (which for me is like using a nuclear weapon to kill a fly), so I installed Abiword. I considered adding KDE Partition Manager until I realized how much data would be required, so I installed Disks (gnome-disk-utility) which combined with GParted (included on MX-F by default) can do anything you could want to do to a drive. I also installed Marble, which I like because it does a lot of what I need from a virtual globe without being connected to the internet. Google Earth does everything and has incredible resolution, but requires a fast, data-unlimited internet connection.
Notes
Rev 6/23/22 - Changed title and added Note 1.
[1] The only problem I found with Lubuntu 22.04 in my brief trial run was that plugging-in flash drives caused it to freeze, so that all I could do was to log off, etc., although I was able to eliminate this problem by conf iguring the file manager so that it didn't mount removable drives when they're plugged in. My previous complaint about using the file manager in administrative mode to move .deb-files into /var/cache/apt/archives was apparently due to some error on my part, because I had no difficulty with it in subsequent attempts. So, PCmanFM-QT,the LXQT file manager, is among the best I've used, although it lacks Thunar's ability to add custom actions.
I added a PPA run by "Serverus Septimius" to install LXQT 1.1.0 on Lubuntu 22.04 by entering "sudo add-apt-repository ppa:severusseptimius/lxqt," which in my case also added the PPA's package index to my installation's package index, although I had performed an update immediately before adding the PPA to see what effect it would have on the process of adding the PPA. Then I used APT-offline to install LXQT 1.1.0, which required a 100MB download (57MB of which was Thunderbird). I didn't notice any effects, unless the improvement in my experience with PCmanFM-QT was due to the upgrade. However, PCmanFM-QT was not included in the upgrade.
Both Lubuntu 22.04 and MXL21-FB have very functional software selections without a lot of niche apps, but only MX-Linux, and apparently antiX, have a tool known as Snapshot, which can turn installations of these types of Linux, with all of their settings and added software, into ISOs which can then be used for creating various types of copies of the original installations. I use a nonpersistent live MXL21-FB installation on a cheap, cool-running (energy-efficient) USB2 flash drive for my air-gap PC, and when it's shut down, it does't retain any session-data, so it's as secure as possible. So, hopefully, there will soon be an official MX-Linux LXQT which can be purchased in the form of DVDs.There already is an MX-Linux LXQT created by an MX-Linux/LXQT enthusiast and made available for download, but it's available only as a download.
