Which Xubuntu?

[rmcellig]

I am looking for a distro that will match up well with my old Dell 3000 computer. I am thinking of trying Xubuntu but am not sure whether to go with 11.10 or the LTS release 10.04.

Are there any other easy to use resource friendly distros that I might consider for my old Dell 3000?

[Elfy]

I installed 11.10 the other day on an old easynote I acquired for free - it all worked fine - though it did have 1Gb RAM in it.

Depends what hardware it's got I guess.

[Lars Noodén]

There is also Lubuntu (http://lubuntu.net/) which is even lighter weight. Or you can skip having a desktop environment completely and install just a window manager like Openbox, FVWM-crystal, or Fluxbox.

Regardless of which one, go with 11.10 with a mind to migrate to 12.04. Or you can go straight to 12.04 right now, is just that it'll need updating constantly and making small changes until it is officially released in April.

If you can, add a little extra RAM to bring it up to 1GB or 2GB at least.

[snowpine]

1. What are your hardware specs? (very important information)

2. Do you prefer older, well-tested, stable software (10.04) or the latest and greatest (11.10 or maybe even 12.04 pre-release)?

[rmcellig]

What can I use aside from Sysinfo to obtain my Hardware specs?

I am basically using the Dell to record audio and watch/edit some videos, skype, pidgin as well.

I am installing Lubuntu at the moment to see how I like it.

[Lars Noodén]

You can use lshw (http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/oneiric/en/man1/lshw.1.html). It can create output in HTML for easier viewing.



sudo lshw -html > /tmp/x.html && firefox /tmp/x.html

[rmcellig]

Here you go:



id:
randy-dimension-3000
description: Mini Tower Computer
width: 32 bits
capabilities: smbios-2.3 dmi-2.3 smp-1.4 smp
configuration:
administrator_password = enabled
boot = normal
chassis = mini-tower
cpus = 1
power-on_password = enabled
uuid = 44454C4C-5300-1039-8034-C2C04F473831
id:
core
description: Motherboard
product: 0TC667
vendor: Winbond Electronics
physical id:
0
serial: ..CN4811157800X9.
id:
firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Winbond Electronics
physical id:
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version: A02
date: 11/08/2004
size: 64KiB
capacity: 448KiB
capabilities: pci pnp apm upgrade shadowing escd cdboot bootselect edd int13floppytoshiba int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer acpi usb ls120boot biosbootspecification netboot
id:
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vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id:
400
bus info:
cpu@0
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serial: 0000-0F41-0000-0000-0000-0000
slot: Microprocessor
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clock: 533MHz
capabilities: boot fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe constant_tsc up pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl cid xtpr
configuration:
id = 0
id:
cache:0
description: L1 cache
physical id:
700
size: 8KiB
capacity: 16KiB
capabilities: internal write-back data
id:
cache:1
description: L2 cache
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size: 256KiB
capacity: 256KiB
capabilities: internal varies unified
id:
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description: System Memory
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slot: System board or motherboard
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pci@0000:00:1d.1
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ioport : ff60(size=32)
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usb:2
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vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id:
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bus info:
pci@0000:00:1d.3
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width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: uhci bus_master
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latency = 0
resources:
irq : 16
ioport : ff20(size=32)
id:
usb:3
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vendor: Intel Corporation
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bus info:
pci@0000:00:1d.7
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capabilities: pm debug ehci bus_master cap_list
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pci
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vendor: Intel Corporation
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pci@0000:00:1e.0
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memory : fea00000-feafffff
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bus info:
pci@0000:01:00.0
logical name:
wlan0
version: 01
serial: 00:15:e9:42:8a:ba
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clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration:
broadcast = yes
driver = ath5k
driverversion = 3.0.0-14-generic
firmware = N/A
latency = 168
link = no
maxlatency = 28
mingnt = 10
multicast = yes
wireless = IEEE 802.11bg
resources:
irq : 21
memory : feaf0000-feafffff
id:
network:1
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product: 82562EZ 10/100 Ethernet Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id:
8
bus info:
pci@0000:01:08.0
logical name:
eth0
version: 02
serial: 00:13:20:70:e4:01
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clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd autonegotiation
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broadcast = yes
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duplex = full
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vendor: Intel Corporation
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pci@0000:00:1f.0
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width: 32 bits
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ide
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vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id:
1f.1
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pci@0000:00:1f.1
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scsi0
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scsi1
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latency = 0
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ioport : 1f0(size=8)
ioport : 3f6
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filesystem = ext4
label = Ultimate Editio
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capabilities: primary bootable journaled extended_attributes large_files huge_files dir_nlink recover extents ext4 ext2 initialized
configuration:
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filesystem = ext4
lastmountpoint = /
modified = 2012-01-02 09:29:30
mount.fstype = ext4
mount.options = rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered
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scsi@1:0.0.0
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/dev/sr0
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pci@0000:00:1f.3
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configuration:
latency = 0
resources:
ioport : eda0(size=32)
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vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id:
1f.5
bus info:
pci@0000:00:1f.5
version: 02
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list
configuration:
driver = Intel ICH
latency = 0
resources:
irq : 17
ioport : ee00(size=256)
ioport : edc0(size=64)
memory : feb7fa00-feb7fbff
memory : feb7f900-feb7f9ff

[Morbius1]

I have a test box:

Dell Dimension XPS T600
600MHz Pentium III
512 MB Memory

It has Xubuntu 11.10 on it and it does run. Not the fastest thing in my inventory mind you but it does run. Coincidentally it dual boots with an older version of Lubuntu and although Lubuntu does run faster it's not by a level of magnitude faster.

Compared to what you have I don't think my system is still considered a PC.

[BrokenKingpin]

I have Xubuntu 11.10 running on all my machines, and it is very good. I tried Lubuntu and it was okay, but found Xubuntu more user friendly and easier to configure. Xubuntu is not as light as Xubuntu, but close enough where I didn't notice much of a difference even on my slow netbook.

[keithpeter]

Compared to what you have I don't think my system is still considered a PC.

:twisted:

2Gb of RAM and a Celeron D, I'd have thought that Morbius1's box ought to be able to run just about any Ubuntu version?

[Lucradia]

There's also this pre-compiled thread of things to try with Debian (Also works with ubuntu too, just different package names.)

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=50703

The mini.iso for ubuntu can be found here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/MinimalCD

Make sure to actually read the list of packages. You may not want to use flash. There's no GUI login, which may deter you from trying this.

Sadly,

case $? in
1)
echo "Exit";;
2)
openbox --exit;;
3)
sudo shutdown -r now;;
4)
sudo shutdown -h now;;
esac

Won't work anymore. (First one won't do anything; second one will restart openbox even though it's supposed to logout; third and fourth won't do anything, even though it's supposed to auto-open a terminal to allow you to confirm the sudo.)

[GraeW]

I've been an off and on user of XFCE for many years, and agree with comments above that it is very user friendly and easy to configure. It might not be the absolute lightest on resources, but it is no hog like KDE or Gnome.

Lately I've been going back and looking at some of the older/dead/dying window manager/environments, and am playing around with WindowMaker. it may not have all the whiz-bang-tweeting-bells-and-whistles but it looks different and is pretty easy to configure (although not quite as point-and-click as newer environments). I found WM and Afterstep are available through Synaptic, along with e17 and a few of the more window-esque managers (most all of which are dead or at least fairly stagnate).

I came to linux over a decade ago because I didn't like the constant problems and desktop limitations from windows and couldn't afford an apple. Linux gives the customization I miss from windows 3.1 (before the OS and the desktop became one and the same). I may not have the time or knowledge to do the bigger tweaks for things like conky or others, but I at least know the option is there for me (unlike windows).

[wolfen69]

There is also Lubuntu (http://lubuntu.net/) which is even lighter weight.

+1 for lubuntu. It will be even faster than xubuntu.

[t0p]

I also like Lubuntu for specs-impaired machinery. I've got an EeePC 701, which I've beefed up with 2GB of RAM, but there isn't really much I can think of to really help the Celeron M chip (other than replace it, lol). Vanilla Ubuntu makes it crawl, and Xubuntu isn't much better, but Lubuntu runs pretty nicely (for an ancient, out-moded netbook).

My desktop box (Pentium 4, 1.7 GHz, 1 GB RAM), runs vanilla Ubuntu passably, but when upgrade time comes round (the next LTS) I may go for a change. Maybe Xubuntu.

[mips]

Crunchbang XFCE (based on Debian 6) I find much lighter & faster than Xubuntu.

[Stafke]

Just keep in mind that corenominal (crunchbang's developer) is giving up on xfce and focusing on openbox all along.

He does some great work and if you're willing to spend some time configuring your menu, openbox is VERY light to go. Yet it has some rough edges. I had crunchbang (openbox) for a couple of months and I really liked the concept. However, I recently moved back to xubuntu because I prefer to have a desktop that works out of the box after install. (I may go back in the future though, I happen to be a bit of a distro hopper with my netbook).
With xfce I can tweak the settings when I have the time to do so, but in the meantime have a decent working system. In openbox, you'd better not wait too long with configuring everything or you might give up as you do not find your way around in openbox.
I'm not a programmer, but found out how to configure openbox quite easily in crunchbang, so if you want a snappy system and have some time to configure, don't let that scare you. Btw, the crunchbang forum members are very friendly.

I've also heard that ubuntu minimal + xfce is snappier than xubuntu, although I don't know whether this is still true.

[Lucradia]

Just keep in mind that corenominal (crunchbang's developer) is giving up on xfce and focusing on openbox all along.

Not too many programs that crunch actually needs to have are coded to not use a DE. If they are, they're usually still rather buggy, unless ayttm finally is less crashy and more stable with MSN. (Pidgin requires GNOME-Config (For Proxy), and ayttm doesn't.)

[mips]

With xfce I can tweak the settings when I have the time to do so, but in the meantime have a decent working system. In openbox, you'd better not wait too long with configuring everything or you might give up as you do not find your way around in openbox.
I'm not a programmer, but found out how to configure openbox quite easily in crunchbang, so if you want a snappy system and have some time to configure, don't let that scare you. Btw, the crunchbang forum members are very friendly.


Weird thing is once you have setup Openbox to your liking you stop fiddling with it. XFCE is the same for me, once setup you leave it be. I run Arch+Openbox on my laptop and Ubuntu core + XFCE on my desktop. Once they are setup I don't fiddle any more. If I think about it I actually don't see why I need XFCE as I can do everything it does with Openbox. I'll be setting up Openbox on my desktop soon I reckon.

[BrokenKingpin]

If I think about it I actually don't see why I need XFCE as I can do everything it does with Openbox. I'll be setting up Openbox on my desktop soon I reckon.
I find both Xfce and Openbox fairly usable once I get them setup, I just find that Xfce is far easier to get setup to my liking. Xfce has a lot more options for configuring through the GUI. Also things like the Xfce power manager and other utilies just make the setup process super easy as it is all installed by default with Xfce. The Xfce panel is really nice as well.

The other major advantage I see to Xfce is that it's window manager (Xfwm) has a built in compositor, which works very well.

[Artemis3]

Well obviously openbox alone takes much less memory, but i think for usability adding LXDE is worth (ie. Lubuntu).

That said Xubuntu is the closest you can get to a gnome2 (classic desktop) experience, without the sluggishness and bugs.

It would be good to use 11.10 and then upgrade to 12.04 LTS and remain there, 10.04 LTS is valid (you can upgrade directly to 12.04 LTS later).

I would use Xubuntu 11.10 then stay with 12.04 in that machine, it has plenty of memory; but Lubuntu is also valid. I don't think customizing beyond these is worth it, but you can do it if you have lots of spare time or wish to learn more.

[Stafke]

Weird thing is once you have setup Openbox to your liking you stop fiddling with it. XFCE is the same for me, once setup you leave it be.

Probably it has something to do with the fact that my netbook is some sort of spare toy to explore some distros etc. As such it is sometimes rather timeconsuming to set up a new openbox config when I feel like trying a new distro.

If it would be my main desktop, it would be otherwise probably.

Another thing with crunchbang: I completely understand the decision to move from buntu-base to debian-base for crunchbang. Yet, the friendly forums on crunchbang have a rather limited population (unlike buntu's) while the debian forums require much more knowledge about your system (which I don't have, I use linux but have fairly limited computer knowledge). Therefore, for me personally, buntu seems a nicer base.
Finally, although the dark look of crunchbang looks very slick in the beginning, it's quite tiring for my eyes after a while (of course you can change that, I know, but it's one of the visual things that makes crunchbang different than others)

Are there any guides to get buntu+openbox?

[Lars Noodén]

Are there any guides to get buntu+openbox?

You can get it by installing the package "openbox (apt://openbox)" Otherwise Openbox (http://openbox.org/) is the same on any system.

[mips]

Are there any guides to get buntu+openbox?

http://urukrama.wordpress.com/openbox-guide/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Openbox
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Openbox

First find a guide on how to do a minimal install of ubuntu.
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal

.

[Stafke]

Thanks mips.

I will stop hijacking this thread now.

[Lucradia]

Thanks mips.

I will stop hijacking this thread now.

And this too: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=11581819&postcount=11