With Ubuntu 14.04 closing in to the release date, which is set for April 17th, I took Lubuntu for a spin from the daily live ISO image. Lubuntu is the most lightweight distribution in the Ubuntu family (the other one being Xubuntu which uses Xfce), using LXDE (Lightweight X Desktop Environment), as well as a set of applications intended to be low on resources. Although light, Lubuntu bundles all the necessary applications needed to surf the web, edit documents, listen to music and watch movies, or chat.
Well, LXDE is not exactly MATE, however to a certain degree it resembles the old GNOME 2. It has been announced earlier in Ubuntu development that except for Ubuntu itself, all the flavors based on it will be Long-Term Support releases. This includes Lubuntu as well, which will benefit of five year-support.