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A friend asked me to install linux on his old computer so he can use openoffice without having a terribly out of date OS. What is the simplist distro that I can install for him?
Have your friend try a couple different LIVE CD Distro and see which one fits the over all scheme. You should only test the ones which include OPENOFFICE'
I'd say go for Ubuntu. The reason is you want it to work on an old computer, but still be relatively up-to-date, and include programs such as Open Office. And, to top all that, it must be easy. Personally, thinking about all that, only Ubuntu springs to mind.
It depends on the hardware in the old computer. Knowing the RAM, CPU speed, and HDD size would help.
Assuming it has reasonable hardware (made since 2000 or so), you have three choices.
The easiest to use is Linspire--it even has a multimedia intro just like Windows so people learn some basics just by sitting in front of their computer and clicking a few buttons for 20-30 minutes. However, Linspire's hardware detection can be hit-or-miss, so you might wish to try their live distro (free download) first before committing to paying for the full version.
My second recommendation would be Kubuntu, which uses the KDE desktop environment, which I believe provides an easier transition for a Windows user.
If the computer is on a wireless network, my recommendation would be SUSE 10.0 (not 10.1). It has the easiest setup for wireless and is also a very newbie-friendly distro.
Whizzing a few live cd's thru the machine first is a wise idea. If your friend has a windows background he will likely be most comfortable with KDE for his desktop environment (hence the above suggestions for Kubuntu instead of Ubuntu).
My personal opinion is that Suse seems to have the best hardware support and compatability, especially on older hardware and particularly on laptops. Suse is also one of the more user-friendly and newbie-oriented distros.
10.0 is outstanding and stable, but still a little buggy out of the box, so you will spend quite a while getting all of the patches from YOU to keep it stable.
YOU got ditched for a newer update system in 10.1 that quite a few people have complained about, but I haven't had a problem one with it myself. I have actually experienced next to none of the problems people are complaining about in 10.1, so don't be too leery of it based on what you see in the forums here. Remember, this is where people come when they have problems. There are zillions of people who have had a perfectly trouble-free experience with 10.1 (and other versions of other distros) who haven't posted here because they had no need. On my 2 old thinkpad laptops and my web/file server and my HTPC 10.1 runs stably, smoothly, and fast. I, like cogar, have had some issues with the wireless in 10.1, but I think they are related to the Networkmanager program, which can by bypassed for the more traditional and flexible (if not as user-friendly) ifup/ifdown/iwconfig/etc.
I'll second the Suse recommindation but I'd stick with 10.0. I've never had a blip of problems with it, but I admit that I have a high speed connection and I do updates to current as the first act of getting on the net. 30 minutes later bugs are patched and system is stable.
I tried to install 10.1 on three different systems. All failed to install. All have had or currently are running 10.0. Lockups, reboots, missing boot sectors, or non functional hardware(whaddya mean you no longer have drivers for ralink wifi cards???) never was able to update. SYSTEM WAS VEEEEERRRRREEEEEEYYYYY SSSSSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWW. As in 10 minutes to boot. Maybe I could have taken time to fix it but why bother. 10.0 just works. Skip 10.1 and wait for 10.2
A friend asked me to install linux on his old computer so he can use openoffice without having a terribly out of date OS. What is the simplist distro that I can install for him?
Why isn't your friend doing this himself? Do you have some Linux experience? If so, why not just install the distri that you have experience with.
They're all pretty simple after they've been set up.
Try PCLinuxOS, Everything works right out of the Box, it doesn't have OOo as defult but Synaptic makes this easy.his is the system I use and recommend. Because put simply everything works out of the box with no configuration and like Kubuntu and it's lesser equlivilent Ubuntu fits onto one CD that can be used as a live or Install CD. Also although it is based on Mandrake, Texstar has made a sincere effort to move away ftrom a OS that has a 'clone look' with Individually packaged environments and applicvations. You don't need to pick and choose what you need, it is all preloaded, if you need extra programs you can download them using the Synaptic package manager. And one of the Biggest advantages is... It plays windows Media. No I lie not it really does. No more pulling your hair out over sub par video support.
If you are looking for An alterinitive to Linuxor just wanting to get your feet wet in the world of Linux then this distro is for you.
My friend's pc has a Pentium with 256MB. This is why I am not installing the distro that I use, FC4. He bought a used computer with Win98 on it. He wants an office suite but cannot afford to pay the big bucks for Windows. His OS is corrupted. I want to install a small OS with OpenOffice if possible so he can handle Word and Excel files. What distro would be best for someone that is not computer savy with this hardware?
I just read a rave review on Xubuntu - it's Ubuntu using XFCE - and it was apparently very good on a lower spec system.
If you're setting it up, you could make it very windowsish for easy transition. http://www.xubuntu.org/
I thoroughly recommend Ubuntu/Kubuntu - I've set it up on two laptops (Ubuntu Breezy on one and Kubuntu Dapper on the other) and the install went like a dream both times. Standard wireless worked out of the box, WPA wireless took a little longer, but in the new release (Dapper) it is supported in a GUI - networkmanager or knetworkmanager. But you do have to install that separately.
But it might be sluggish on your friends machine, because it's a bit fancy (especially the new Kubuntu).
My friend's pc has a Pentium with 256MB. This is why I am not installing the distro that I use, FC4. He bought a used computer with Win98 on it. He wants an office suite but cannot afford to pay the big bucks for Windows. His OS is corrupted. I want to install a small OS with OpenOffice if possible so he can handle Word and Excel files. What distro would be best for someone that is not computer savy with this hardware?
To me, not computer savvy = only knows Windows. Therefore, I believe someone like this would be uncomfortable using anything without a full desktop environment like KDE or GNOME. For that, about the "lightest" and "easiest to install" distros are Kubuntu and Ubuntu for KDE and GNOME, respectively.
Be aware that there are many threads around here asking "what distro runs best on an old ....?" The real answer is "none." Old computers are given to friends for nothing or sell for $50 for a reason. Old hardware has such low performance, it is not worth messing with unless you want to set something up as a firewall, radius server, or some small task. Linux can be the base of a fully modern desktop operating system with great functionality. Still, having all the bells and whistles requires good hardware. It does not have to be cutting edge, but it should be at least good. In the same way that people are not expecting Windows Vista or even Windows XP to run well on a circa 1998 computer, the same thing is true of Linux. Good luck in any case.
Being an older system, SuSe may be slow on it (it was a bit of a system hog for me, but that was 9.3), Gentoo will take a looong time to update, and I don't know how (K/X)Ubuntu will work.
Personally, I would seriosly consider looking into a LiveCD that can be installed. DSL is geared toward older systems, but I don't know about its installs.
I'd look into a lighter GUI for speed reasons. OOo, if I remember, is a bit system-intensive, especially on boot (I have a P4 2.53GHz w/ 512 RAM), and giving it more system to start-up on may be nice.
Gentoo is seeming like a decent distro, but whether I'd let a newbie loose with it or not is a personal disition, and in the long run it seems to be faster, but like I said, updates take quite alot of time.
Fluxbox, IceWM, XFCE would be good WM, but KDE has a bonus of being easy to use (plus you could try using Koffice. Its a fair program from what I know).
SuSe is VERY newbie friendly, so my suggestion: Sit down, talk to them. If they value speed, I'd look into Gentoo, and start teaching them the system. If not, grab SuSe. Might look into OpenSuSe for a free alternative, if you want.
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