Lightest but most supported Linux distro?

[Cy-Fy]

Hey guys, I have installed linux mint xfce in my mom's laptop and it works well and all but there are things which just don't work well, e.g. Dropbox, etc.

So I decided to install Ubuntu, simply because it is more widely supported and apps seem to generaly work better. The only (major) downside is that Ubuntu is incredibly slow in this machine (Dell Inspiron 1018).

So basically, can you recommend a lightweight but still well supported and very polished linux distro? Remember this is for my mom to use so the more polished the better

Thank you very much!

[Mo5]

Xubuntu

[Nineshadow]

Get Lubuntu.

 

(or xubuntu, but lubuntu is the lightest)

[ERSCreeper]

Xubuntu

This

[minibois]

Hey guys, I have installed linux mint xfce in my mom's laptop and it works well and all but there are things which just don't work well, e.g. Dropbox, etc.

So I decided to install Ubuntu, simply because it is more widely supported and apps seem to generaly work better. The only (major) downside is that Ubuntu is incredibly slow in this machine (Dell Inspiron 1018).

So basically, can you recommend a lightweight but still well supported and very polished linux distro? Remember this is for my mom to use so the more polished the better

Thank you very much!

I like OpenSuse.. I don't know if it is best for you though

[ForsakenLive]

I've tried Lubuntu both 32 and 64 bit on lots of older hardware and I haven encountered compatibility issues yet

[antoainb]

Lubuntu is very light but if you can use Xubuntu do, IMO XFCE is better than LXDE.

[hojnikb]

lubuntu all the way. Its based on Ubuntu, but uses much more lightweight desktop environment.

I'm using it in virtualbox and on my ps3. works great.

[hojnikb]

You can also give windows 8.1 a try. I'm using it on my n280 eee and it works pretty well for such an underpowerred machine.

[EpicAdom]

Lubuntu. Great and lightweight version of Ubuntu.

[MrBucket101]

in terms of lightweight

 

Lubuntu->xubuntu->ubuntu->kubuntu

[Satlen]

If you want something super lightweight you can get the openbox version of manjaro linux.

 

I also didnt see any mentions of ElementaryOS either, that one has a really nice UI and is lightweight.

[Cy-Fy]

Xubuntu

why this and not lubuntu?  

Get Lubuntu.

 

(or xubuntu, but lubuntu is the lightest)

 thanks very much, what about compatibility? How have you found it when using it especially for a less tech savvy person? 

I like OpenSuse.. I don't know if it is best for you though

 hahaha well it seems like the rest disagree with you

I've tried Lubuntu both 32 and 64 bit on lots of older hardware and I haven encountered compatibility issues yet

 thanks very much, my worries is that stuff like dropbox or camera download etc just don't seem to work correctly out of the box and of course my mom will not want to go into the terminal every time there is something wrong.. what do you think of lubuntu when looking at it from this perspective? 

Lubuntu is very light but if you can use Xubuntu do, IMO XDE is better than LDE.

 could you please tell me more about why? Btw I would try to install Win 8.1 but it's not free like Linux... is it? 

lubuntu all the way. Its based on Ubuntu, but uses much more lightweight desktop environment.

I'm using it in virtualbox and on my ps3. works great.

 have you had any experience using dropbox or downloading pics from camera on lubuntu? These are some specific uses that my mom will have 

Lubuntu. Great and lightweight version of Ubuntu.

thanks, what do you think of lubuntu vs xubuntu because there is a clear division in the people posting

[Cy-Fy]

If you want something super lightweight you can get the openbox version of manjaro linux.

I also didnt see any mentions of ElementaryOS either, that one has a really nice UI and is lightweight.

thank you very much! Can you tell me more about ElementaryOS? What is community support like compared to ubuntu for example?

[ForsakenLive]

thanks very much, my worries is that stuff like dropbox or camera download etc just don't seem to work correctly out of the box and of course my mom will not want to go into the terminal every time there is something wrong.. what do you think of lubuntu when looking at it from this perspective?

 

I have an old Athlon X2 system with Lubuntu on it and Dropbox does work without issues, and can even start on boot. With cameras it's going to work as a USB thumbdrive does, most of the times the fancy software the camera uses doesn't work in Linux, but it's useless anyways.

It's pretty user friendly, the GUI is clean looking. The only downside is the stock wallpaper that sucks massively and makes your monitor look ugly, change it asap haha.

[antoainb]

could you please tell me more about why? Btw I would try to install Win 8.1 but it's not free like Linux... is it?

 

LXDE (sorry, I spelled it wrong on the first post) and XFCE (again, totally messed up, that's what happens when you're sleepy...) are different desktop environments. LXDE is lighter but XFCE is still very light, Lubuntu uses LXDE and Xubuntu XFCE. IMO, if you can use Xubuntu (XFCE) you should because it look better to me, it looks more modern, that doesn't mean Lubuntu (LXDE) is ugly though, it is lighter and I reccomend maybe you try them both running them from an USB stick so you see what environment you like the best or the one you think runs the best on your hardware.

[Cy-Fy]

LXDE (sorry, I spelled it wrong on the first post) and XFCE (again, totally messed up, that's what happens when you're sleepy...) are different desktop environments. LXDE is lighter but XFCE is still very light, Lubuntu uses LXDE and Xubuntu XFCE. IMO, if you can use Xubuntu (XFCE) you should because it look better to me, it looks more modern, that doesn't mean Lubuntu (LXDE) is ugly though, it is lighter and I reccomend maybe you try them both running them from an USB stick so you see what environment you like the best or the one you think runs the best on your hardware.

thanks very much, I am dwnloading Xubuntu although could you recommend me xubuntu 14.04 vs 14.10??

[antoainb]

thanks very much, I am dwnloading Xubuntu although could you recommend me xubuntu 14.04 vs 14.10??

 

14.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) Version while 14.10 is a regular version. LTS versions come with a guarantee that they will receive security and maintenance updates for 5 years, while regular versions come with only 9 months. If you want to be able to not worry about having to upgrade every 9 months get LTS but if you really want the latest features you might want the regular version. This doesn't mean that you can't upgrade from an LTS version or upgrade to the next LTS version (which comes out every year), it means that the regular versions will have some features that LTS doesn't. LTS versions are the xx.04 versions, and they are released every year and then there are the xx.10 which are also released every year but a while after the xx.04 version. So what's the verdict? It depends on if you are willing to upgrade every 9 months or if you don't.

[Cy-Fy]

14.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) Version while 14.10 is a regular version. LTS versions come with a guarantee that they will receive security and maintenance updates for 5 years, while regular versions come with only 9 months. If you want to be able to not worry about having to upgrade every 9 months get LTS but if you really want the latest features you might want the regular version. This doesn't mean that you can't upgrade from an LTS version or upgrade to the next LTS version (which comes out every year), it means that the regular versions will have some features that LTS doesn't. LTS versions are the xx.04 versions, and they are released every year and then there are the xx.10 which are also released every year but a while after the xx.04 version. So what's the verdict? It depends on if you are willing to upgrade every 9 months or if you don't.

thanks very much, I just tried the USB live version of both and I have t say that from looks, Xubuntu is far superior in my opinion I guess I will prefer to have the LTS version just for ease of use hehe

BTW do you know how to install Dropbox on Xubuntu 14.04??

[Satlen]

thank you very much! Can you tell me more about ElementaryOS? What is community support like compared to ubuntu for example?

Well it is based off of ubuntu/debian and the community is very active. Any problem that can be fixed in ubuntu should be able to be fixed in eOS.

[Cy-Fy]

Well it is based off of ubuntu/debian and the community is very active. Any problem that can be fixed in ubuntu should be able to be fixed in eOS.

Thanks I'll look into that too!

[EpicAdom]

thanks very much, I am dwnloading Xubuntu although could you recommend me xubuntu 14.04 vs 14.10??

14.04. It will be supported longer than 14.10 and 14.10 doesn't have any major new features.

[MrBucket101]

thanks very much, I just tried the USB live version of both and I have t say that from looks, Xubuntu is far superior in my opinion I guess I will prefer to have the LTS version just for ease of use hehe

BTW do you know how to install Dropbox on Xubuntu 14.04??

 

xubuntu and lubuntu are similar, lubuntu is much more lightweight. but xubuntu is lightweight while still not making many compromises to do so

 

https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx

go download the deb file, and open a terminal and run "sudo dpkg -i <filename>"

[Cy-Fy]

xubuntu and lubuntu are similar, lubuntu is much more lightweight. but xubuntu is lightweight while still not making many compromises to do so

https://www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx

go download the deb file, and open a terminal and run "sudo dpkg -i <filename>"

Thanks for the help!