Best distro for a netbook?

[LockePhilote]

Hello. This is my first experience with Linux, so I would really like some advice on which distro to use. I am using a netbook, a HP Mini 210-4150NR with only 1 GB of RAM. Windows 7 is so bloated on this thing that it randomly lags itself into blue screening. What distro should I use to achieve the best results on this machine? I am a writing major, so something that would run well with Microsoft Word would be extremely nice. Fubuntu looked nice, at least until I found out the project ended. Any suggestions?

[Naygral]

If you want a distro based on Ubuntu but lighter on the performance, try Lubuntu (http://lubuntu.net/).

It comes pre-installed with Abiword (a very lightweight word processor, but has less features than LibreOffice).

[LockePhilote]

That could work. Would running Microsoft Word kill my performance, however? I am required to use it for my Copy Editing class due to computability issues and the tools Word has for commentary and editing.

[snowpine]

Microsoft Word is a Windows application and runs best in Windows.

I would recommend upgrading your hardware, then you can run Windows and Microsoft Word with good performance. :)

[Primefalcon]

I dont know about word, though I have a 900ha which has 1g of ram and 1.5 atom processor and it runs the standard ubuntu fine

[snowpine]

I did a little research, and I found out that some versions of Word can run in Linux, using an emulator called WINE: Check it out:

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=10

Like Primefalcon, I have a 900ha. I've done some word processing on it using Xfce desktop and Libreoffice, with an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

[DMGrier]

You should be able to run 32 bit Ubuntu just fine on 1 GB and run LibreOffice. I am a college student and LibreOffice works great as long as you install the " Ubuntu restricted extras" from the software center in terms of compatibility.

[coldraven]

Microsoft Word is a Windows application and runs best in Windows.

I would recommend upgrading your hardware, then you can run Windows and Microsoft Word with good performance. :)

I agree with snowpine, add some more RAM and it should work better.

As for using Word, ask if you can submit your work in PDF format. Libre Office may not be 100% Word compatible but will certainly create nice PDFs.

[mastablasta]

as desktop Ubuntu and Kubutnu (with netbook plasma) are both good options for those small screens.

Word in wine or use Libre office. Or use widnows XP if oyu can't increase the ram. hwoever with 2 GB ram windows 7 starter should do ok.

[LockePhilote]

I think I'm going to run Word in Wine. Actually, I kind of have no choice. I love the PDF idea, but I cannot do that as part of the class, and my career of choice, is editing the work of my peers in-document. The commentary and the corrections need to be in the original document or a correction could be missed or copied over wrong, or a comment not seen or cut off by the conversion. I love OpenOffice and have used it on another computer, but I cannot run the risk of compatibility issues popping up, not when my grade and future career is at stake : (

[yeswetran]

A netbook, huh? Maybe live CDs for Ubuntu, Peppermint OS, Mint, or even Chrome OS Vanilla can be useful.

[3mutts]

Considering this a Net Book with some pretty bad specs, I would either run Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Elementary OS (in Beta phase), Linux Mint XFCE Edition, or Puppy Linux. Again this is if you don't plan on upgrading your hardware.

[Sylslay]

Hi,
Yours CPU got 64 bit set,
http://ark.intel.com/products/58916/ spec

Pleasy try install
Xubuntu 13.04 64-bit or Lubuntu 13.04 64 bit

I run Xubuntu 64 bit and it use about 600-800mb ram and I like it more than ubunutu or lubuntu.


http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/

or

Downloading Lubuntu 13.04

Checklist

The default "Desktop" installer requires 384-800 MB of RAM (depending on your selected options). If you have any problems, or if you're comfortable using a keyboard interface, try the alternate installer to install on computers with less RAM or a hard disk smaller than 4.3 GB.


https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/GetLubuntu

PS. Try upgrade Your netbook with 2gb ddr2 memory sick for about 20$/e
I think any os with 1gb of ram will not work to fast....

[Cheesemill]

I always use CrunchBang (http://crunchbang.org/) if I need to get the best performance out of a machine.

[BrokenKingpin]

Although I prefer Xubuntu, I am going to recommend Lubuntu, as it will be a little faster on that low-end hardware.

CrunchBang would be even faster than Lubuntu, but is not as easy to use (but still a fantastic distro).

[mamamia88]

Running Xubuntu 13.04 on mine and it works pretty well. I did upgrade to an ssd and 2gb ram though. Don't expect to watch hd video but for basic usage a netbook is more than capable with a good solid linux distro.

[mastablasta]

I think I'm going to run Word in Wine. Actually, I kind of have no choice. I love the PDF idea, but I cannot do that as part of the class, and my career of choice, is editing the work of my peers in-document. The commentary and the corrections need to be in the original document or a correction could be missed or copied over wrong, or a comment not seen or cut off by the conversion. I love OpenOffice and have used it on another computer, but I cannot run the risk of compatibility issues popping up, not when my grade and future career is at stake : (

hmmm if this is academical institution should they be more open to open formats ?

anyway i know the situation... microsoft has uni leaders in their pockets...

PDF also had comments option. though ti's not as good as office one.

it seems to me you need word. well i think that one should work (at least 2007) in wine.

what about online offices? MS 365 and Google office... they are becoming more and more popular and are not dependant on the OS. it seem we are moving in that directon. anyway good luck with your career and whatever choice you make.

[CosmicFlux]

Hi,

My girlfriend recently bought a netbook which came pre-installed with Windows 7 Starter *shudder*

With only 1GB of RAM, it ran like a bag of crap. I installed Lubuntu on it for her and it works great. She was amazed at the difference. With Starter she only had 30MB of RAM remaining for her to use after loading into the desktop, but with Lubuntu she had over 900MB free. She uses MS Office packages for Uni and gets by with using the Word & Excel Web Apps on Skydrive. They provide most of the features you need in basic documents.

If not, Libre Office is really good and I've never had any major compatibility issues with Word or Excel files.

Cosmic :)

[mastablasta]

Hi,

My girlfriend recently bought a netbook which came pre-installed with Windows 7 Starter *shudder*

With only 1GB of RAM, it ran like a bag of crap. I installed Lubuntu on it for her and it works great. She was amazed at the difference. With Starter she only had 30MB of RAM remaining for her to use after loading into the desktop,....


what did they load into RAM? i have starter and with antivirus and comodo firewall the ram is showing 517MB on loading the desktop sometimes it's even below 500MB. with 2GB onboard it's not a problem. i have no idea why they decided to pre-install this crippled OS on the mashcine where ram can go up to 8GB (even with anytime upgrade i can only upgrade to 32bit win7 home which again can take only 4GB ram max). when save some money i intend to increase ram to at least 6 GB and put Kubuntu 64bit on it.

[Bill Tetzeli]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/

Then create a My Office account. Excellent idea, mastablasta.

P.S. If you still want to you Office in Wine, check first if you see Wine in the Application (Start) menu. If not, you might want to install winetricks just to make sure Office will install right. Just type "sudo apt-get install winetricks" in terminal (if using Ubuntu or Ubuntu derivative) or do a search for Winetricks in the software center. An added benefit is it will install some core Microsoft fonts that you might otherwise miss out on.