Suggestions for a lightweight distro?
 

Hello,

I started using Linux with Ubuntu 8.04. I have enjoyed it very much, and now that I have become comfortable with the general linux environment, I am open to trying a different distro that might meet my needs better. I recently did an installation of ubuntu server for the first time, and I was amazed at how quickly it loaded, and how quickly a restart completed! It made me wonder how much of the desktop ubuntu I could do without.

What I use:
- openoffice, graphics programs such as gimp and inkscape and dia;
- programming tools - emacs, apache, mysql, etc.
- photo management - digikam
- media - occasionally rhythmbox, occasional dvd use
- compiz - I am not attached to the cube, but I definitely use multiple desktops and need an efficient way to switch between them.

I am getting tired of the long boot times in ubuntu (10.04), and it seems to slow down sometimes. I have 4G of RAM, I don't think it's my physical specs that are slow. I would be quite happy to install a minimal distro and install the applications I use on top of that. I'd prefer to stay debian-based, to keep using what I've learned through ubuntu, such as use of apt.

Any suggestions?

Debian.

A few suggestions for lightweight Debian-based distros....

Ubuntu netinstall:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...tion/MinimalCD

Debian netinstall:
http://www.debian.org/distrib/netinst

CrunchBang:
http://crunchbanglinux.org

AntiX:
http://antix.mepis.org/

Is debian going to be much faster than ubuntu?

Depends entirely on 1) your hardware; and 2) what you choose to install (assuming you do a netinstall).

+1
It can also depend on what kernel you install and what file system. There are a lot of variables involved in your question.
jdk

:)
I have used both Debian & Ubuntu and have found that Debian (Stable) is less bloated and a more stable and snappier system over all.

Gentoo - you install only what you want, and everything is built from source for your hardware so you will have the software you want, running in the environment you want, at the fastest possible speed.

Since Ubuntu Server worked well for you, why not start with that and add the appropriate desktop components?

Debian. Easy to get used to after ubuntu.

BTW, I'd guess you are using gnome 2.X. Gnome 2.X is 'discontinued' by the gnome foundation (though there is a project to keep gnome 2.X going). Considered using Xfce4? Its lighter than gnome 2.X, but similar overall.

Just out of intrest, which version of ubuntu server did you install?

Probably quite a lot of the packages in ubuntu-desktop you could do without.

Why reward ubuntu with sticking with them when the OP isnt happy with 10.04 boot times? (and if you add ubuntu-dekstop to ubuntu server, it changes into....ubuntu desktop version XX.XX. Even adding a 'desktop' at all changes it from ubuntu server into....well, I dont think there is an offical description).

If the OP was going to go that way, I'd suggest a minimal install with whatever packages installed over starting with ubuntu server.

Thank you everyone. I will try a few things that people have suggested. I will try a debian install, crunchbang, and probably gentoo as well. Are any of those easier to install than the others? I have enjoyed the ease of ubuntu installations.

The ubuntu server I installed was 10.04.

FWIW, I have a pangolin laptop from system76. I have loved it, but I will probably look at something else when I replace it because the battery life is so short (less than 1.5 hours, and fell off rapidly due to staying plugged in most of the time). So this question is not particular to my current machine it's more about where I want to go with linux overall.

What makes a lightweight distro is not its default install, it is the apps you use with it. You could easily install Debian 6 with a LXDE environment and you would have an extremely fast-booting and fast-performing system (I know because I used one of these for long). However, once you launch OpenOffice, the lightweightness is over. The same goes with Compiz and other tools.

If you want it fast, then an easy way to achieve this goal is to install Debian + LXDE, compile a custom kernel (when properly done it saves a few seconds in the boot process), turn off not needed startup services and use light alternatives, as, for example:

>> You can take OpenOffice out and install AbiWord and Gnumeric, if they are able to do the job.

>> MPlayer (without GUI) has a very small memory footprint, and includes a full-featured media player and DVD encoder. MOC (music on console) is a music player that works from the terminal and keeps working after you close its window. Once you configure your shortcuts, it takes less than two seconds (seriously talking) to start it up and play your music.

>> Compiz works great in LXDE, but Openbox is better. You can switch between windows and workspaces with keyboard shortcuts in less time. I have used both and I find Compiz too slow for my taste. There is a memory consumption difference too. Openbox is LXDE's official window manager.

I have used a couple flavors (Ubuntu, and CentOS(on a pc) and Gentoo(on a G3 Mac)) and am currently using PCLinuxOS (which if I am correct, started out as a Debian fork). I'm very happy with this distro and use a lot of the same thing you do (apache, mysql, gimp). BlackRider has a great point that Abiword and Gnumeric can definitely get the job done if you only use Writer/Calc in OpenOffice normally, and they run much lighter. I use LXDE and OpenBox and have been extremely satisfied with the performance of both. I'm running on a P4 2Ghz with just 1Gb of ram and the box boots in ~8 seconds which really surprised me and the install is super simple (hence their slogan "Radically Simple"), It's a ~690Mb download for the livecd and I just added on what I wanted and took away what I didn't using Synaptic. Just my 2 cents but I think it's definitely an option worth looking at.

-Jer

Try anti-X or lubuntu!

Suggestions for a lightweight distro?
 

I don't know exactly what your requirements are, but Lubuntu works for me.

I use Ubuntu on my PC but have been given an an old laptop with an 800MHZ processor and 384MB RAM so I thought I'd try Lubuntu on it. It's fine, I've changed the look and feel to be a bit more like Ubuntu and installed some packages that I'm more familiar with. The only fiddling about was to get the wireless card and flash to work. Video from, for example, the BBC News webiste or YouTube varies from rubbish to acceptable, but I was expecting that.