WelcomeWEFreedomWindsorEssexCounty-ActionCommunicationsRalliesResourcesSocialEventsWednesdayNightMeetings-ActivismAgoraAgorismCanadaCommonLawCommunityDataCentersDataCentresDoocracyFarmersMarketIntroductionsNaturalLawNewslettersOntarioOrganizingOutreachProjexProjexWikiRalliesResistanceAnalysisSoireesSoiréesWikiSpooksWindsorElectionsTop Subs
7
Linux - - (+6|-0)
What is the best Linux for old computers? And why?(self)
9 commentsbyJasonCarswell

Metatags: Linux, Projex, RetroTech

I'm drafting a section or article for Projex.Wiki after this. Your feedback is helpful.

Ask for an account if you wish to help with Projex content, have group content projects, and/or have your own projects.

Retro-tech is not dead tech until it's recycled.

What is the best Linux for old computers? And why?

So far I have this:

Comment preview

[-]x0x74(+4|0)

Probably anything with XFCE for the desktop environment. Most of the weight on a relatively minimal install comes from the browser and the DE. Everything else is pretty light weight on all the Linuxes and not really worth sweating about. Distros are really responsible for two things, setup and providing software available to install and update. Whatever does those two things with the least headache is going to give you the best experience.

It's not like different linuxes ship a differently compiled Bash that somehow runs 80% lighter. So they are all equally light as long as you pick a light DE.

But if you want a direct suggestion to put in Projex I would say Artix Linux with the XFCE+OpenRC flavor selected.

parentlinkreply
[-]JasonCarswell1(+1|0)

Thanks!!!

I just learned that DE is desktop environment.

Artix Linux with the XFCE+OpenRC flavor selected

Would you say the DE is basically like Windows - easy enough for really,
really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really,
really basic folks to just use? (In my other comment I explain the various classes I aim to do.)

parentlinkreply
[-]LarrySwinger2(+2|0)

Ideally you'd present them with something like KDE maybe or Cinnamon, but those are heavier-weight. I'd say XFCE provides the best balance. It depends on the age of your hardware. But XFCE is so easy to use that you don't have to worry about it and it's guaranteed to run. Its window manager only takes up 30mb RAM. Here's a good video about the DE.

x0x7 made a good point about browsers so you need a lightweight browser as well. I recommend badwolf for old devices, which is a gutted version of Firefox. You can also try netsurf and midori. Once again it depends on hardware so I'll list them in order from lightweight to heavy.

links2 - dillo - netsurf - badwolf - midori - falkon.

But you said you don't want to waste time trying a bunch of stuff. Netsurf is incompatible with too many websites, it only becomes user friendly after that but midori is already heavy on resources. Badwolf is the sweet spot so just use that.

parentlinkreply
[-]JasonCarswell1(+1|0)

Thanks!!!

parentlinkreply
[-]RickSanchez2(+2|0)

I always had luck with Slackware: http://www.slackware.com/

parentlinkreply
[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

Antix provides the perfect balance between being light on resources, and utility. It isn't just this minimal system that has nothing in the repositories. It's based on Debian and is thus compatible. On top of that, there is no systemd in the system, and the programs are all patched to not even use elogind. It is the top systemd-free distro that always appears at the top of the chart on https://sysdfree.wordpress.com.

Mention should also go to Puppy GNU/Linux. Anyone who has tried that distro knows how lovely it is. You're meant to install it on a USB Stick and run it from RAM, but you can nonetheless save your changes including to the root filesystem, so you can install new packages. There are various spins. They gut existing distros such as Debian and turn that into a Puppy but they aren't compatible, you can't just install any .deb package on it. It has a very retro look and lovely JWM + ROX configuration, nice defaults. Also you're root by default and can use a separate user called spot for the web browser, which is where most exploits exist. That way if your browser gets hacked, an attacker can't access your main files, they still need to escalate privilege.

Arch has also felt lighter weight than other distros to me although I'd rather recommend some of its forks. Hyperbola is a GNU-approved distro that consists purely of free software, while Artix is systemd-free. I haven't tried these myself so I cannot rate them in terms of user-friendliness. But I can tell you that Manjaro is a user-friendly Arch fork that works out of the box. But my hope is that Hyperbola or Artix renders Manjaro redundant because their ethics are better.

Tiny Core doesn't have too many packages in the repository but it's a lovely little distro, good experience with it. I deployed those to thin clients.

parentlinkreply
[-]JasonCarswell1(+1|0)

Thanks!!!

Hyperbola or Artix renders Manjaro redundant because their ethics are better.

Ethics? Like ToS or license?

I forgot to mention in the OP, besides being useful for folks stumbling on this post...

In my community studio I've got maybe up to 12 old computers, and can easily get more, that can be useful for general use and classes - computer basics for old folks, computer alternatives, privacy/security, solutions for non-novice users, computer-based creative arts, wiki classes, crypto classes, A.I. classes, writing projects (newsletters, pamphlets, books, screenwriting), etc.

It seems to me the best thing for all of them is consistency - for me, the users, and the community. Trying a bunch of new things is not something I want to be spending time on.

I can also take Cassandra there and maybe we can figure out how to get it's remote access working again so you can update it, do whatever with your RabbitHole data, rediscover whatever else was on there, set up the drives as a RAID - and/or migrate the Cassandra projects to a much better server box now that I may afford it (with planning and time).

parentlinkreply
[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

Ethics? Like ToS or license?

The better ethics consists of them only allowing libreware in the case of Hyperbola, and being systemd-free in the case of Artix. There's also Obarun btw, another systemd-free Arch fork.

In my community studio I've got maybe up to 12 old computers, and can easily get more, that can be useful for general use and classes - computer basics for old folks, computer alternatives, privacy/security, solutions for non-novice users, computer-based creative arts, wiki classes, crypto classes, A.I. classes, writing projects (newsletters, pamphlets, books, screenwriting), etc.

Really my recommendation for this is antix. Some of your boxes may not be able to run the latest Firefuck versions while antix provides a version of Pale Moon that is compatible with those CPUs (specifically I'm talking about CPUs that don't support SSE2). I had to resort to this once. It's also a relatively user friendly system that boots into a graphical environment. It isn't super user friendly but the best balance.

You may also want to try MX Linux which is very similar to antix but more user friendly apparently. And another good one is PCLinuxOS. All of these are Systemd-free.

I can also take Cassandra there and maybe we can figure out how to get it's remote access working again so you can update it, do whatever with your RabbitHole data, rediscover whatever else was on there, set up the drives as a RAID - and/or migrate the Cassandra projects to a much better server box now that I may afford it (with planning and time).

It couldn't hurt although the old forum data is so ancient now, I wouldn't reuse the database. But could be good to sift through the data to determine what should be preserved. Although I must say I've already scraped the webpages so it isn't super important to me, it's just an alternative way of viewing the data.

parentlinkreply
[-]JasonCarswell1(+1|0)

All good to know.

What's the issue with SystemD? I feel like I heard it, but forget.

I'm thinking I should figure out what the basic setup should be and make that my lowest bar. If it can't run the basic setup, it's too old to be worth the effort, impractical to try, and needs to be recycled. In the process I can keep reference notes to save time with future gear donations or purchases.

parentlinkreply