The Brand New UltraMegaSuper "Which Distro" Thread

Hello all. I have a 500Mhz G3, 256mb ram iBook. (ati rage 2x agp 8mb gfx device) It is running OS X 10.4.7 and i feel OS X is too heavy for the laptop. I also feel i have no control over the system, its too much for newbie computer users & doesn't come with all the neat apps which linux usually comes with. so i need help choosing which disto is best for it.

The distro needs to:

1. Have pretty good harware support (would love for the f12 button to eject the cd drive & still use the keyboard short cuts to turn volume down and brightness up) I am going to go test out some live cd versions of distros you sugguest because i have no origional cds of os x if im displeased.

2. Be light & speedy, this is a huge must. (i am willing to use another desktop enviorment other than KDE or Gnome, but it has to look sorta pretty )

3. Be able to have JDK (java development kit) installed because this laptop is my main java coding computer.

4. Be able to run SuperTux & other fun little games for linux when im bored.

These 2 disros were ones i had in mind:

Xubuntu (i hope i got all the u's in the right spots)
Slackware

*Also note i have some experence with Linux, ran suse 10.1 for some time on my gaming box because i knew all the games i play regularly (3d games like CS 1.6, AA, CoD) can be run on Linux with some support from Wine. once i got things rolling i found out my 3d drivers from ati were poop (next time im buying nvidia), giving me 1.5 fps i switched back to windoze

http://distrowatch.com/search.php?ca...&status=Active is a search I ran on www.distrowatch.com to see what was available for your achitecture (you need to scroll down a bit to see the list).

Have a look through those to see what fits the bill.

And I have merged your thread into the "The Brand New UltraMegaSuper "Which Distro" Thread" thread.

Hi, First time Linux user and I have a extra computer to play around with. I can not find system specs on most of the Linux sites I have visited. The one I want to install Linux on is a 5 Year Old PC I have hanging around. Actually all the computers I have are 5 year old. This one is just lying there doing nothing right now.

System Specs:
Intel Pentium II(350-400MHz)
Video Card: ATI 4MB
CD DRIVE: CD ROM
Floppy: Yes
RAM: PC100 (32-96)MB
Hard Drive: 9GB

If anyone can recommend one for me with out killing my computer that would be great.

Originally Posted by Grafarian Hi, First time Linux user and I have a extra computer to play around with. I can not find system specs on most of the Linux sites I have visited. The one I want to install Linux on is a 5 Year Old PC I have hanging around. Actually all the computers I have are 5 year old. This one is just lying there doing nothing right now. System Specs: Intel Pentium II(350-400MHz) Video Card: ATI 4MB CD DRIVE: CD ROM Floppy: Yes RAM: PC100 (32-96)MB Hard Drive: 9 GB If anyone can recommend one for me with out killing my computer that would be great.

I hear Damn Small Linux is good for older computers, but with 9GB hd I wouldn't worry too much about space, just avoid some of the eyecandy (KDE and Gnome) and go with a simple window manager like Fluxbox and you should be ok with a lot of the other distros. I'm not sure which Distro's have installers which allow you to select all of the extraneous packages (I'm not much on Distro-hopping)

Read the megathread. You'll be joining it soon.

Here are some Linux distros opomized for older Hardware, you might also want to take a look at the Linux Distro chooser:http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

feather Linux
http://featherlinux.berlios.de/

Vector Linux
http://www.vectorlinux.com/

DSL
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

Puppy Linux
http://www.puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=3

Slackware
http://www.slackware.com/

BeatrIX
http://www.watsky.net/

you can find more here

http://www.linuxlinks.com/Distributi...Distributions/

hope this Helps,

Jake

>> "What PPC Distro for my old ibook?"

try ubuntu ppc first ... and report back here about this ppc linux distro on your ibook ...

http://ubuntu-releases.cs.umn.edu//6.06/


//goodluck ...

.

>> "First time Linux user and I have a [I]extra computer to play around with[I] ..."

try a giant distro ... fedora , gentoo , debian , slackware and such ...

remember to install practically everything from your choosen distro cds(by downloading every possible iso from your distro sites in the first place) and try to create one or two "extra" smaller partitions so when you intend to delete the "system" partition/s and start all over again and again , you can copy some files to those extra smaller partitions first ...


//goodluck ...


.

I started out with Red Hat and found it very easy to install. It is now Fedora, but the same install process holds true. Red Hat 7.3 would work on that hardware, I know cause that is exactly what I ran it on for awhile.
Until just last year I always installed Linux on my older hardware and kept windows on the newest for the wife and kids. That has worked well for me, and linux on the old platforms is still way faster than MS for accomplishing most tasks. I think you'll like it.

I have merged this thread into the Megathread

sorry ... forget to search for a knowlegable question before i post a question ...


.

Just ordered my new laptop , wondered if someone in here wanted to share their thoughts about running Linux on it. I've runned Debian more or less since day one with Linux and initially wanted that on the laptop as well, but hardware recognition on pure stable is abit behind sadly.. so I'm thinking MEPIS or maybe Kubuntu.. ?

Here's the specs :

(Cinet is a Norwegian PC "Producer" , but the hardware should be familiar)

- Skjerm: 15,4" WXGA Glare panel LCD (1280X800)

- Chipset: Intel 945PM + ICH7-M chipset

- Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology

- Prosessor: Intel Core Duo Prosessor T2300, Dual Core, 667FSB, 1,66GHz

- Minne: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 minne i 2 kanaler (maks 2GB)

- Harddisk: 100GB serial ATA, 8MB cache, 5400rpm

- Grafikk: nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB PCI Express grafikk, m/ DVI og dual VGA støtte

- WLAN: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, IEEE 802.11a+b+g

- LAN: Gigabit PCI-Express Ethernet nettverk

- Bluetooth: Integrert Bluetooth

- Minnekortleser: For MS / MS Pro / MMC / SD

- Optisk: 8x Dual layer DVD brenner, DVD+/-RW

- Lyd: High Definition Audio 2 kanaler, stereo høyttalere, dual array mikrofon. Soundblaster Pro kompatibel

- ExpressCard: 1 x ExpressCard slot for ExpressCard/34 (34mm bredde)

- Modem: 56k MDC modem 1.5, V90/92 støtte

- Tastatur og pekeenhet: Windows-tastatur og Synaptics touchpad med 2-veis scrollfunksjon, 2 museknapper

- Sikkerhet: Kensington låsehull (For tyverisikring)

- Interface I/O :

1 x Firewire IEEE 1394

3 x audio jack (headphone-out/S-PDIF, Mic-in, Line-In)

1 x DVI

4 x USB 2.0

1 x S-video ut

1 x RJ11 modem

1 x RJ45 Ethernet LAN

1 x Port replikator (Portreplikator RQ6)

1 x DC-inngang (for ladestrøm)

- Strøm:

Li-Ion 6-cellers batteri. 2400mAh, inntil 3 timer batteritid (estimert)

- Størrelse: 355mm(B) x 254,5mm(D) x 25,5~35,2mm(H)

- Vekt: 2.8kg

Try Gentoo or Cross Linux from Scratch.

Also there is a SuperMega Which Distro thread that this is probably going to become part of soon.

Here's my situation. I recently acquired an old Dell laptop. It only has a 166Mhz processor, 64MB of RAM and a 2GB drive. Windows runs horribly on it and I'd prefer to turn it into a Linux box anyway. Right now I have Slackware 10.2 installed and it's actually running beautifully. Problem is, 90% of my drive is full.

Now being somewhat Linux savvy but by no means an expert, I have no idea what is and isn't safe to install when initially installing the OS. What I need (read: would like) to have on it after the install are:

- X Windows (for simplicity of certain tasks)
- Fluxbox (which I've grown quite attached to)
- Networking utilities (for my wireless PCMCIA card)
- Programming packages (for compiling C programs, Perl, .sh, etc)
- Make (I'm only listing this because DSL didn't come with it)
- A text editor and image viewer (and any other small tools that are needed for everyday use)
- Video drivers (or at least the module for the Neomagic driver)
- USB Pen Drive files (I'm not even sure if these are removable, but if they are, I need to keep them)
- 2.4.31 kernel (I know this is limiting, but this is EXTREMELY important because the acx module I have for my wireless NIC has already been precompiled to this kernel and I'd like to just be able to use it since I've had nothing but trouble trying to recompile a newer version)

I don't need sound drivers (since I couldn't care less if I have sound), a million fonts, any multimedia programs or anything extra that just takes up space.

I'd really like to keep Slackware if at all possible because it's been working great with everything. If anyone can offer any suggestions or just outright explicitly tell me what I don't need to install to get the minimal install for what I need, I would be EXTREMELY appreciative. In fact, words wouldn't even do my appreciation justice. I've gone through a spindle of 50 CDs in two days ALL on Linux distributions and I'm ready to pull my hair out.

I'll be online for several more hours, so I will check this frequently for replies. Thanks in advance to any and all who respond. You're doing me a huge favor in the process.

Keep Slackware. You have pretty much described Slackware 10.2 in your post.