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What Linux for the general public?

April 29th, 2012 - 09:37 am ET by T i m | Report spam
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Hi all,

I have a couple of older / basic desktops, currently running Linux
dual_boot with Windows XP but I was thinking of giving them both to my
mate in the PC shop to sell as Linux only boxes cheap in the hope they
might help someone out (obviously they would have to be sold with
little or no OS warranty as he knows little about Linux and I doubt I
could help much either).

So, if I were to do that, what Linux should I put on there that would
not 'expire' (leading to Upgrades that may in turn turn the OS into
something 'different' (as per Unity)) or break the system entirely. It
would also have to be ok with some less that cutting edge hardware
etc.

Of course it would also need to have all the basic stuff people want
(Web browser, email, Office type suite, Solitaire etc) and be
'familiar' to them if they have used a PC before (so most likely
Windows of some sort)?

Or if not Gnome2, if someone was starting afresh, would Unity really
be useable and is it not too bloated for some lower spec hardware (we
are talking 2Ghz P4's / 1G RAM / 100G HDD etc).

Cheers, T i m
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#1 Mike Easter
April 29th, 2012 - 10:26 am ET | Report spam
T i m wrote:

I have a couple of older / basic desktops, currently running Linux
dual_boot with Windows XP but I was thinking of giving them both to my
mate in the PC shop to sell as Linux only boxes cheap in the hope they
might help someone out (obviously they would have to be sold with
little or no OS warranty as he knows little about Linux and I doubt I
could help much either).



I've heard of some shops/person which have a license from MS to be able
to sell a MS XP license to a non-profit for something like $5 US

So, if I were to do that, what Linux should I put on there that would
not 'expire' (leading to Upgrades that may in turn turn the OS into
something 'different' (as per Unity)) or break the system entirely. It
would also have to be ok with some less that cutting edge hardware
etc.

Of course it would also need to have all the basic stuff people want
(Web browser, email, Office type suite, Solitaire etc) and be
'familiar' to them if they have used a PC before (so most likely
Windows of some sort)?

Or if not Gnome2, if someone was starting afresh, would Unity really
be useable and is it not too bloated for some lower spec hardware (we
are talking 2Ghz P4's / 1G RAM / 100G HDD etc).



One choice would be Mint 12, but it is not a LTS version, so its support
ends 2013 Apr.

If the current Mint Debian turns out to be as trouble-free as regular
Mint, that would have the advantage of more efficient use of resources
and being a rolling release so it wouldn't need to be upgraded. It also
has the benefits of MATE and/or Cinnamon, namely Gnome3 with Gnome2
features (or better).



Mike Easter

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