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Lubuntu and Peppermint FTW

S

SickBeast

Lifer
I just wanted to share my thoughts on the LXDE variants of Ubuntu.

I'm running Lubuntu 10.04 with Compiz and Cairo Dock and it's great. My aging computer boots up in under 20 seconds, and looks better than Windows 7 or Mac OSX, all while consuming less than 80mb of ram.

I should also point out that Quake 3 and UT2004 run great under Linux. They're great games to run on an IGP.

IMO Peppermint is even better than Lubuntu, however I'm having issues with the latest spin on my hardware.
 
I have to agree that some of these Linux distros are pretty cool, and it's awesome how small they can be packaged with everything it can do.

I wouldn't say it looks better than Windows 7 though. Windows 7 in my experience has been pretty fast, rock solid and very sleek. Easy as hell to use, but in some small ways I prefer XP (like having to use two clicks to get my MSN chat window in the task bar).

I would say that Linux, when compared in terms of cost and in some ways, efficiency (how it does so much with such a small overall size) - it definitely takes the cake.

For less noob-ish ones, there's so very much you can do with it. However, a lot of really small adjustments and features are much more complicated to get done than in Windows, which in my opinion makes it less appealing for computer illiterates.

Then again, it's probably very true that people will mess around less.. lol

I'm not a computer illiterate by any stretch, but definitely almost clueless when it comes to Linux. I managed to jam it up a couple times and I rebooted. Then I discovered xkill (or whatever it's called) and the other trick that restarts the whole gui. Those two tricks seem to work pretty good at getting out of situations without rebooting. 😀 -- I haven't been able to make Win7 freeze, and it was extremely rare in XP, but the times things did go south, a reboot was always required, which sucks.
 
Thanks for the info, SickBeast.

Would you mind sharing what hardware you are using?

I'm part of a student organization at my university which refurbishes and donates older computers. Since these computers are typically 5-10 years old, we are definitly interested in any "Lightweight" OSes that are also easy for new users to learn.

We typically stick to the current version of Ubuntu, as the systems we donate are typically 1.6-2.4Ghz with 512MB of RAM. However, we have some systems that are 700mhz-1.2Ghz with 256-384MB of RAM, and so we were thinking of looking at these newer distros like Lubuntu and Peppermint.

If anyone else wants to share experiences with these OSes, it'd be greatly appreciated.
 
You're welcome, Jawadali.

I'm running a Centrino 1.6ghz (single core) with 512mb of ram and integrated intel graphics.

I did have to use a workaround for a glitch with the intel graphics, but that applies to anyone using an intel 855 or 915 chipset, with regards to Ubuntu 10.04 and its derivatives. If you need help with this, feel free to let me know.

I've found that even with 512mb of ram, it's better to go with Lubuntu, Peppermint, or Mint LXDE because it saves a good 50-100mb compared with Ubuntu. If I'm browsing with several tabs open I can easily use up all of my memory under Ubuntu whereas this rarely if ever happens with the LXDE distros.

I'm glad my thread was helpful to you.
 
Thanks once again for the update.

I believe we did run into the "blacklisted" intel IGP issue on some old P4 laptops. Luckily, one of our members is really good with Linux, so he takes care of many of these issues (as well as automating the install process).

Unless we start getting systems with better specs as donations, I'll have someone at our student organization experiment with switching to a tweaked version of Lubuntu as the default OS. We'll need to have things like OpenOffice, Flash, (possibly) Firefox, and Restricted-Extras installed since most of these systems are used for K-12 schoolwork.
 
You're welcome. I hope it works out well for you.

I've actually just switched to Mint 9 LXDE and it's very nice as well. It just comes down to preference. For now I'm using it instead of Lubuntu.
 
What did you find are the big differences between Mint LXDE and Lubuntu if any? Did you have any trouble with your hardware?
 
Mint LXDE has a different visual theme, along with some enhanced software. It comes with a backup utility along with a really good software manager.

The only trouble I've had with my hardware is that my integrated graphics chip isn't properly supported by Ubuntu 10.04. I had to perform a couple of workarounds to get it working properly.

TBH there's not that much difference between Lubuntu, Peppermint, and Mint LXDE. It comes down to personal preference. They each have their own visual theme. In the case of Peppermint, it's got a bunch of "cloud" applications installed.
 
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