Using Xubuntu 16.04 in VirtualBox

I have been using Ubuntu 14.04 since August 2015, then I realized that I need to try out other Linux Distributions for certain purposes, but I am intimidated by the software repositories I am not familiar with. I wanted to use a Linux distribution inside my VirtualBox virtual machine so I could mess around with it, revert back to its previous state, and not have it mess up my computer. Since it will run inside a virtual machine, I need a lightweight operating system, without loosing functionality. I ended up using Xubuntu 16.04 for all of my virtual machines.

Xubuntu is one of the most lightweight distributions I am familiar with that happens to be popular and well maintained by its developers. I came across it by browsing the Ubuntu website and searching for its derivatives. Installing it inside VirtualBox is as easy as installing a regular Ubuntu in a physical pc, but in my experience, faster, due to the fact that there is no spinning CD involved. The performance of the Xubuntu virtual machine is smooth and sresponsive in the Acer Aspire 4750G laptop which has an Intel i5 2nd gen @2.3 ghz and and Nvidia 540m, with Ubuntu 14.04 as its host machine. The guest Xubuntu machine never crashed or experienced any performance drop, while the host Ubuntu system still operates normally.

Xubuntu comes with several useful software by default. Some of which I install in my Ubuntu host machine separately every time. Xubuntu's “Software”, which is its application for browsing and downloading programs from the repositories, opens and run smoothly. Since I have Xubuntu 16.04, it has Libre Office 5, I find its version of Gedit to be very helpful for programmers like myself, packaged with Linux kernel 4.4, and a lot more desirable features. Xubuntu's RAM consumption is very minimal; it only consumes 700MB while running Firefox with 3 tabs, LAMP stack with PHPMyAdmin, Ninja IDE, and a few open file browsers.
   
I was surprised on how customizable Xubuntu is out of the box, due to my main Linux system is customizable to an extent, and I have to download additional software for other customization options. Pulse Audio Volume Control is installed by default in Xubuntu 16.04; this made me very satisfied with my choice of virtual machine due to it is a necessity for my audio recording. GUFW, a graphical user interface for Ubuntu operating systems, also come by default and this makes my multiple installations easier by saving time in installations.

Like other tools, the kind of technology you are using matters, but the way you are using it matters more. What I do with my setup is I'll create multiple virtual machines with different software and settings, thus, different purposes. I am aware that any network connections that reaches the guest virtual machine wil of course go through and affect the host machine, therefore the concept of using virtual machines to browser untrusted websites is not viable. But since my hardware can handle multiple Xubuntu virtual machines and it may still add some layers of protection, and at least the browsing data of the virtual machine will not affect the main browser I am using in the host machine, I setup a dedicated Xubuntu virtual machine for browsing in an attempt to protect my main web browser. My most important tool in my system is my dedicated software development Xubuntu virtual machine. I open several applications and some of which runs continuously while I am using the host machine and using other virtual machines. Despite the hardware I am running this system is outdated, everything in every virtual machines perform great. I look forward in the future release of the Linux distribution.