I have an older 32 bit Win XP Dell desktop my daughter uses for schoolwork and email. She uses Open Office for her schoolwork and runs Thunderbird and Firefox. I don't want her to continue to use XP, so I'm considering running Linux on it. I'm looking for recommendations from experienced Linux users of what (ubuntu, mint, etc.), where and how to go about this. A lot of what I'm finding on the internet seems aimed at app developers and hobbyists. I'd appreciate recommendations to an easy to install (for me) & use (for her) entry level installation.
Recommendations for Linux
- Thread starter R80RS
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I'd use Linux Mint 17 Qiana. I installed it on 3 older Dell computers, two ran Win XP and one had Vista, all three machines are working great.
Elementary OS is very MacOS X-like. Someone on BITOG mentioned it earlier this year and I test drove it for a week -- definitely preferred it over Ubuntu.
Originally Posted By: dparm
Elementary OS is very MacOS X-like. Someone on BITOG mentioned it earlier this year and I test drove it for a week -- definitely preferred it over Ubuntu.
Probably this guy.
Been running it for quite some time now, and I'm definitely happy - if nothing else, it's telling that I haven't had the desire to go and download another Linux distro (which I used to do - all. the. time.)
R80RS - If you haven't already, you need to purchase a SSD for your desktop.
Elementary OS is very MacOS X-like. Someone on BITOG mentioned it earlier this year and I test drove it for a week -- definitely preferred it over Ubuntu.
Probably this guy.
Been running it for quite some time now, and I'm definitely happy - if nothing else, it's telling that I haven't had the desire to go and download another Linux distro (which I used to do - all. the. time.)
R80RS - If you haven't already, you need to purchase a SSD for your desktop.
Just bake them off; get some suggestions, download 3 or 4 ISOs do the installs and see what you like best. No way for us to tell you what you like best, just, as you mentioned, we are just suggesting. If you don't like something after a few months, try something else.
Mint, Ubuntu, Zorin, Linux Lite is a good one (based on ubuntu)
Mint, Ubuntu, Zorin, Linux Lite is a good one (based on ubuntu)
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I installed this on a friend's older laptop, and it recognized the graphics card, wireless card, etc.
http://lubuntu.net/
http://lubuntu.net/
I burned the ISOs for Ubuntu 14.04 & Mint 17 Mate but my 7 yr old Dell XPS 400 w/XP wouldn't boot on them. Some kind of conflict with the video. I had better luck with Xubuntu 14.04 and will probably install it when I get around to it.
Linux Mint 17 (Mate). It runs really well on older computers. I've been running it on my 10 year old Dell desktop and it's been wonderful!
I've recently played with Lubuntu and Linux Mint to see what they were all about. These were the two I would recommend.
Go to their websites and just follow the simple instructions for piloting their OS from a USB stick. This gives you an idea of how it will work before doing a permanent install.
Hint, when you get an option to put a space on the usb stick that will make the usb stick writable / fully workable, decline it as it takes much longer to format and install.
If Linux Mint runs well go with that because it comes preloaded with some stuff that you'd have to add to other Linux OSs.
If it runs slow, then Lubuntu is a good alternative because it is super light and very fast.
Go to their websites and just follow the simple instructions for piloting their OS from a USB stick. This gives you an idea of how it will work before doing a permanent install.
Hint, when you get an option to put a space on the usb stick that will make the usb stick writable / fully workable, decline it as it takes much longer to format and install.
If Linux Mint runs well go with that because it comes preloaded with some stuff that you'd have to add to other Linux OSs.
If it runs slow, then Lubuntu is a good alternative because it is super light and very fast.
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: dparm
Elementary OS is very MacOS X-like. Someone on BITOG mentioned it earlier this year and I test drove it for a week -- definitely preferred it over Ubuntu.
Probably this guy.
Been running it for quite some time now, and I'm definitely happy - if nothing else, it's telling that I haven't had the desire to go and download another Linux distro (which I used to do - all. the. time.)
R80RS - If you haven't already, you need to purchase a SSD for your desktop.
Elementary looks very interesting!
I'm wondering whether for a desktop you could just use a USB stick and set it to back up to the hard disk? Just being super cheap.
Originally Posted By: dparm
Elementary OS is very MacOS X-like. Someone on BITOG mentioned it earlier this year and I test drove it for a week -- definitely preferred it over Ubuntu.
Probably this guy.
Been running it for quite some time now, and I'm definitely happy - if nothing else, it's telling that I haven't had the desire to go and download another Linux distro (which I used to do - all. the. time.)
R80RS - If you haven't already, you need to purchase a SSD for your desktop.
Elementary looks very interesting!
I'm wondering whether for a desktop you could just use a USB stick and set it to back up to the hard disk? Just being super cheap.
Yeah, that e-os looks promising. I loaded on a spare machine and i like it a lot.
Clean, almost preschool type of interface.
Clean, almost preschool type of interface.
I'd stick with Fedora, Mint or Ubuntu. That's where the momentum of the open source development is moving.
Each has a 32 bit distro and works well with Gnome or KDE.
Have your daughter look up Loren Egts. She is a rock star in open source and linux based work with raspberry pi, etc...and she's still in high school.
Each has a 32 bit distro and works well with Gnome or KDE.
Have your daughter look up Loren Egts. She is a rock star in open source and linux based work with raspberry pi, etc...and she's still in high school.
I'm not an expert by any means, but we installed Mint on 2 8-9 year old machines that are our daily at home computers. Good overall experience, my only complaint is not having office (excel) which doesn't sound like it would be an issue in your case. As others have said, I'd load off a USB a couple of times to see how you both like it.
Just installed Lubuntu on a system that's likely very much like your daughter's. I installed it for some essentially tech-illiterate middle aged family and they absolutely love it. They say it is much quicker and easier to use than XP was.
That's just one of many Lubuntu success stories I could name.
I personally use Linux Mint KDE on all of my systems but it is a bit resource hungry (on par with win 8.1) for an old Dell.
That's just one of many Lubuntu success stories I could name.
I personally use Linux Mint KDE on all of my systems but it is a bit resource hungry (on par with win 8.1) for an old Dell.
Originally Posted By: GrtArtiste
I had better luck with Xubuntu 14.04 and will probably install it when I get around to it.
When I was using Linux, I found the best compatibility with my hardware came with Xubuntu as well. It was the easiest to set up and also had the fewest UI bugs. Mate was okay, but the desktop environment didn't seen terribly stable to me. This was with Maya I think.
I had better luck with Xubuntu 14.04 and will probably install it when I get around to it.
When I was using Linux, I found the best compatibility with my hardware came with Xubuntu as well. It was the easiest to set up and also had the fewest UI bugs. Mate was okay, but the desktop environment didn't seen terribly stable to me. This was with Maya I think.
I just watched the Elementary OS video on their website.
VERY NICE!
VERY NICE!
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