Which Linux for a Newish System76 PC?

[Teasdale]

I have a System76 computer about a year old that's probably going to need Ubuntu re-installed. But I might want to install something else instead of Ubuntu.

I surf the internet, watch YouTube videos, listen to mp3 files, crop photos with GIMP, use Leafpad/Notepad to write html files, and gFTP to upload them. I don't watch DVD's, edit audio/video or play games.

I'd like something light, fast, clean -- but also really easy. I've used Ubuntu for a couple of years, and it's fine, but I was hoping for something a little smaller and faster. I tried Linux Puppy in an old Windows PC and I loved it -- everything worked, it seemed to do everything I wanted to do, and it was fast. But when I tried to install it on the hard drive (as opposed to using it from the RAM/CD), it looked like it was going to be difficult - it gave me a long list of files and said to write them down because I'd have to download them later. I don't really want to have to hunt down files to download to get my OS installed.

I have an EEEPC and I installed EEEbuntu in it, and I love it -- could that be installed on a desktop PC?

[reed9]

Any distro using LXDE or a standalone windowmanager like openbox or fluxbox ought to suit your needs.

Consider Linux Mint LXDE edition, Lubuntu, or Fedora LXDE spin.

The XFCE desktop environment also tends to be a little lighter than GNOME or KDE, though more resource intensive than LXDE. But you might consider a distro using that as well.

Eeebuntu is now Aurora, but in either case, it uses a customized GNOME interface, so it shouldn't perform too different from vanilla Ubuntu.

Jolicloud is a similar project. While they are tailored towards netbooks, they should run fine on the desktop as well.

[elija]

Another couple of suggestions if you don't mind a bit of work up front is to install a base Debian or Slackware and roll your own from there.

Rokytnji will probably recommend Antix in the not too distant future

[rokytnji]

Another couple of suggestions if you don't mind a bit of work up front is to install a base Debian or Slackware and roll your own from there.

Rokytnji will probably recommend Antix in the not too distant future

Caught me . I'd have that running using only 80MB of ram.

[elija]

Caught me . I'd have that running using only 80MB of ram.

It's strange, given how much of a distro slut I am that I have never tried AntiX. I'm torrenting the i686 base to remedy the situation.

During my current round of distro hopping, I have come to the realisation that my Linux home is Debian and that I'll be going home when Squeeze is released. I wonder if AntiX will change my mind

[rokytnji]

In my screenshot below yours Elija. I have AntiX running on a Asus EEEPC 701 running Icewm and XMMS listening to a audio book. Check out the conky reading for ram usage. Modest when compared to something like Ubuntu.

Like your BSD adventures also.

[Teasdale]

Any distro using LXDE or a standalone windowmanager like openbox or fluxbox ought to suit your needs.

Consider Linux Mint LXDE edition, Lubuntu, or Fedora LXDE spin.

Thanks! I'd never heard of those variants before. Since I'm already familiar with Ubuntu, Lubuntu might be perfect, or even Mint LXDE.

I don't really want work up front. This is my main computer, and I just want to get it up and working. I have another (older) computer for playing around with, and I might try one of the other OS's on it.

[MASONTX]

If you like Puppy, look at Teenpup and Puppy 5.1. Both should install easily. The only trouble I've ever had with Puppy is having to change default file systems on one old computer.

[TaZMAniac]

You might also want to take a look at Macpup.
It's a re-master of Puppy and looks great.
It's also lightweight and fast.

Macpup: A beautiful remaster of Puppy Linux

[Teasdale]

As I've been googling, it appears that having 64-bit might be an issue. Can I just install a 32-bit version of whatever OS I decide to use if there isn't a 64-bit version, or is that a bad idea?