Linux on old laptop - still trying...

Jon maddog Hall maddog at li.org
Wed Jun 7 17:59:00 EDT 2006


Peg,

TechWtr at handspun.com said:
> As a side note...  I have been a little surprised at how much disk and
> memory I need for a reasonable flavor of Linux.......  For some reason,
> I'd always thought I'd easily find an interesting Linux that would do as
> much, without requiring so much effort to get it up-and-running.

Ah, you have run into the issue of "Linux is not Linux", or "What 'Linux'
are you talking about?"  Also, what is your definition of "reasonable"?  And
where do you err in the sense of making it easy to install for 95% of the
people who are installing it on new (2.6 GHz, 128MB, 40GB Disk) systems vs
people installing it on smaller, older (and even non-Pentium) systems?  Do you
need BOTH emacs and vim, or would just vim do?

A lot of people think of "Linux" as an amorphous blob, and do not think about
the fact that various packages are put together various ways with
different target markets.  We call these packages "distributions".

The contents of these "distributions" (Red Hat, SuSE, etc.) might even have
a conflicting set of libraries, making it impossible for a binary created on
Red Hat to run on SuSE, and vice versa.  Or a distribution might leave out
a critical library that was used to build the application on another
distribution.  We have the Linux Standard Base of the Free Standards Group
to help us work this issue out.

The major distributions (including Ubuntu) allow you to install to "modern"
systems fairly easily.  You will be able to install Ubuntu using a "text" or
"server" based install but also by choosing the packages carefully.

On the other hand, you could use a distribution of Linux made for "small
machines" (such as DSL), which supply a smaller subset of packages, or tailor
your installation by using a distribution like Gentoo or "Linux From Scratch".
Someone less technically savvy than you (or with less curiosity or patience)
could pay someone to install a "reasonable" copy of Linux to their laptop, then
make a backup of that for future use.

Finally:

> Before this exercise began, the old laptop ran Windows-98, giving me email,
> a web browser, an old version of MS-Word, and even a few games for the kids..

I have a very nice copy of Red Hat Linux 5.2 (cira 1995) that might
go on your machine without a whimper.  But the hardware probing of Linux was
not as good as it is right now, so you might have to give it some "hints".

On the other hand, you could try installing the latest version of VISTA
from Microsoft and see how well it fits.

Operating systems move on to fit the "average" system of the day.  At least
with "Linux" you have alternatives for those older, smaller machines.

Warmest regards,

maddog

P.S.  I appreciate your tenacity.
-- 
Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director           Linux International(R)
email: maddog at li.org         80 Amherst St. 
Voice: +1.603.672.4557       Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A.
WWW: http://www.li.org

Board Member: Uniforum Association, USENIX Association

(R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries.
(R)Linux International is a registered trademark in the USA used pursuant
   to a license from Linux Mark Institute, authorized licensor of Linus
   Torvalds, owner of the Linux trademark on a worldwide basis
(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the USA and other
   countries.




More information about the gnhlug-discuss mailing list