Recommend me a distro
 

Hello,

I want to use an OLD laptop as a center station to watch netflix, youtube, etc... It just needs to open 2 programs I think, which is "Unified Remote" for using my smartphone as a remote control, and the browser, so no need to have that many things. What distro do you recommend?

Welcome to LQ.

There's old and OLD. Give us basic specs or a full model number; cpu, graphics, ram, hd 16/32/64 bit. What you want should work with some distro, but it depends on what 'unified remote' needs. If your browsing needs are multimedia heavy (e.g. Youtube, facebook, netflix), that laptop will show it's age very quickly.

The classic for old computers is AntiX: that will run a browser in 128MB and is said to work adequately on a Pentium II.

Personally, I'd go for the LXDE or Fluxbox version of Salix, although they would prefer a bit more memory: say 192MB. With Salix, there's a "Basic Installation Mode" that just gives you the desktop, configuration tools, and a browser. I can watch Youtube on an original Pentium M running Salix.

Well, I guess he isn't THAT OLD, he's alright, however I can't work with him anymore, too slow.

It's a Packard Bell easy note from 2008, has 4Gb of RAM, 250 or 500Gb on the HDD, it's a 32 bit, and I don't know much else since I lost it's box and I can't find the specs online since I don't know the model number :/

I agree with DavidMcCann with antix ; also I can confirm it will run on Pentium II because i did it. I installed Antix onto an old ex-military Panasonic Toughbook. On RAM this company is worth a look https://www.offtek.co.uk/

They managed to provide new 128MB that was compatible with the old Panasonic.

How to install "Unified Remote" (the app's server) on Slackware (Salix)?
 

I'm trying to learn Slackare (Salix).
I found this, for (DDGoo): "Unified Remote" Linux: https://www.unifiedremote.com/tutorials/tags/Linux
But, I only see these few 805 pkgs for Sailx: http://distrowatch.com/table.php?dis...14.2.1#pkglist
Can anyone guide specifically on: How to install (Unified Remote) on Salix (Slackware)?
Thanks!!! Edit: oh, I'll try this: https://www.unifiedremote.com/tutori...e-via-terminal

@RafaelAmorim: Still waiting for your machine spec.

@!!!: Make a subdir in /tmp, e.g. /tmp/pack. If they have a source, go with building that, except instead of 'make install' it's <make DESTDIR=/tmp/pack install> That installs it in the usual dirs under /tmp/pack, while it's set up for wherever you set it.

As root, cd to /tmp/pack, and run where Blah is a version number and identifier that it's your dodgy package.

If you have to go for a binary blob, take your chances with the latest. There's rpm2targz in a slackware package, and deb2targz out in the ether. Both are clunky but work. Run them as root and open the tar.gz in /tmp/pack. Then follow the makepkg routine above. They may work, but YMMV.

Don't know why It wasn't sent my message :/

It is a Packard Bell easynote from 2008, it has 4Gb RAM, 250Gb or 500Gb (don't really remember), it is 32-bit, and the rest I can't remember :/

I think my messages need to go through an admin and that's why it takes such a long time :/

I also recommend antiX, because its utility for old computers does not make it difficult to use. It's not really an "advanced" distro, no disrespect to it.

surprisingly well-specced, but still single core so probably slow.
however with these specs you ca go a little beyond the lightest of the lightweight.
assuming you're new with linux, you should probably go for Lubuntu or Xubuntu.
OTOH, *buntus are known for phasing out old hardware support, so maybe antiX or MX Linux are better choices in the end.
watch out for GPU and WIFI hardware/drivers.

I actually tried several linuxes, but since I got to university, I need some programs that are only available for Windows, and so I decided to switch, even if I loved my linux system... I'm trying to get linux on this machine since it really is only to watch Netflix, Youtube, etc... and from what I understand, Linux is a lot less hardware intensive than windows.

well you got some advice, try out a few, come back with fresh info!

I still have a box from that era (HP 6715S) and it's twin core 64 bit, fine for daily stuff, but a bit poor on graphics. The Packard Bell was more aimed at mass business sales, I think. Probably celeron based and released in 2006 or so.

Anyhow, it should cut it unless you forget it's an antique. Youtube full screen probably won't sync speech with lips. Maybe if there's nvidia graphics.

Referring to post #5,

UnifiedRemote: use the Debian package for AntiX or the portable version for Salix.

Distrowatch package list for Salix: this is what you get if you install the standard XFCE version, not the whole repository! You can see that none of the KDE stuff is listed, for example. Salix takes the complete Slackware repository, adds dependency resolution, and then adds about 600 programs that aren't in basic Slackware (although many are in slackbuilds).

I recently loaded Debian stable with LXDE on two laptops from 2002, Core2Duo 2.3GHz 32-bit, 2GB ram, onboard graphics, HDDs, and everything worked well. Nothing seemed particularly slow. Antix is for a Pentium III with 512MB of ram, or something like that. What you have would run Debian with a light-weight desktop just fine.

I only mention Debian, because it gives you a choice of at least four different DEs during the install.