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Re: Linux on a small memory PC

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On 7/8/22 7:41 PM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> In comp.os.linux.misc The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> On 08/07/2022 00:15, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
>>> In comp.os.linux.misc The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>> On 07/07/2022 12:49, Joerg Lorenz wrote:
>>>>> Xfce would have been even lighter on the machine.
>>>>>
>>>> Please.
>>>>
>>>> I am sick to death at hearing how this or that window manager would have
>>>> used a megabyte of RAM less.
>>>
>>> Your main complaint was about boot time, that's one of the things
>>> that slows up boot time. If you were interested you'd try a
>>> lightweight WM yourself and see how less processing required for
>>> window/menu operations makes performance after start-up seem better
>>> as well.
>>>
>> No, what slows up boot time is disk IO. And to a lesser extent CPU power.
> 
> A circular argument if ever I saw one. Were those not limiting
> factors, the WM in use would indeed not matter. As it is, it's
> data to be read off disk and code to be processed, more = longer
> boot time.

   Correct. The QUESTION is "How MUCH longer, real-world ?".

   OpenBox or ICEwm or LXDE are indeed lighter, snappier.
   It all depends on how much eye-candy individuals
   demand. Some want a LOT - and they're gonna PAY
   for it. No way around this. More is More - and it
   needs a lot more memory/cpu. Linux is NOT magic.



>> Mint *is* linux. oh dear. The 'argumentum ad semanticum'.
> 
> No Mint is not Linux. Linux is the core OS component of Mint, upon
> which all sorts of other software (Systemd/init-something, WM,
> X/Wayland, ALSA+PulseAudio, CUPS, etc. etc. etc.) is layered atop
> in order to create a distro which in Mint's case is _not_ primarily
> designed for running optimally on low-spec computers.

   Again correct. "Linux" is actually quite SMALL - it can be
   made EXTREMELY small - look at Slitaz for example - and
   that has a sort of GUI. No GUI and Linux can be TINY TINY.
   Impressively so. Indeed it's not much heavier than olde-tyme
   DOS yet outperforms it in several useful dimensions.

   It's all the stuff they put on TOP of Linux that's the drag.

   Mint puts a LOT of stuff on top of Linux. Mint+LXDE less,
   Mint+ICEwm even less ... and you can go on down the list.
   Mint IS a pretty good compromise - I use it on my office
   machines - but it DOES use LXDE. For MOST people Mint is
   probably the "best compromise" (and I'll also include MX).
   But it all depends on what you demand, what you think
   you need.

   Now frankly I *like* GUIs. They CAN speed up lots of
   complex/vexing tasks and are "just nicer" than a
   terminal prompt. The terminal always IS there however,
   as needed. LXDE is my reference point, just enough
   to be nice without sucking the system dry. Even thus
   I have a few low-powered useful boards - mostly PIs
   at this point - with nothing but terminal. Two are
   Pi v1-Bs (not +) and they do their little dedicated
   things quite nicely even after all these years.


> In fact:
> "What are the system requirements to run Linux Mint?
> 
>   * 2GB RAM (4GB recommended for a comfortable usage)."
> https://linuxmint.com/faq.php
> 
> Most good distros designed for low-spec computers have much lower
> official minimum RAM specs.

   Yes, Mint is actually kinda "heavy". It's a nice pretty
   heavy, but still heavy. There are many "lesser" choices
   that may still do it for ya though. First good step
   down is MX ... install LXDE or OpenBox or IceWM though.
   MX has been near or at the top of the DistroWatch list
   for a very LONG time - and for good reason. I'm writing
   this on an MX laptop. Makes the cheepo low-power cpu
   seem a lot better.

   "Below" that, PLENTY. Try Antix, It all depends on what
   you demand. A distro (or ten) for all.

   (DO replace those ultra-DEPRESSING splash screens that
   come with Antix though  - it's apparently written by
   dispondent Greek commies. Something HAPPY instead.
   It's a pretty good distro under the (black) hood and
   will run on even seriously low-power old boxes. :-)

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Thread

Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-07 11:20 +0100
  Re: Linux on a small memory PC Marco Moock <mo01@posteo.de> - 2022-07-07 12:47 +0200
    Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-07 12:00 +0100
    Re: Linux on a small memory PC Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2022-07-07 10:52 -0400
      Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-07 16:52 +0100
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2022-07-07 11:50 -0500
          Re: Linux on a small memory PC Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2022-07-07 14:51 -0400
            Re: Linux on a small memory PC Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-07 22:07 +0100
              Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-08 09:50 +0100
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-08 10:12 +0100
            Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-08 09:48 +0100
              Re: Linux on a small memory PC Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2022-07-08 14:04 -0400
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-08 19:35 +0100
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2022-07-08 15:54 -0400
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC Pancho <Pancho.Jones@proton.me> - 2022-07-08 10:27 +0100
          Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-18 23:59 -0400
  Re: Linux on a small memory PC Joerg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.ch> - 2022-07-07 13:49 +0200
    Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-07 14:00 +0100
      Re: Linux on a small memory PC Andreas Kohlbach <ank@spamfence.net> - 2022-07-07 11:12 -0400
      Re: Linux on a small memory PC not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2022-07-08 09:15 +1000
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-08 09:56 +0100
          Re: Linux on a small memory PC not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2022-07-09 09:41 +1000
            Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-09 01:30 -0400
              Re: Linux on a small memory PC Joerg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.ch> - 2022-07-09 09:09 +0200
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-09 11:42 -0400
              Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-09 10:00 +0100
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-09 11:54 -0400
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-09 17:12 +0100
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-10 00:41 -0400
                Re: Linux on a small memory PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2022-07-10 10:58 +0100
      Re: Linux on a small memory PC Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2022-07-08 01:50 +0000
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-07 21:57 -0400
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC Joerg Lorenz <hugybear@gmx.ch> - 2022-07-08 09:50 +0200
        Re: Linux on a small memory PC doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca (The Doctor) - 2022-07-08 14:18 +0000
          Re: Linux on a small memory PC Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2022-07-08 23:05 +0000
  Re: Linux on a small memory PC "25B.Z959" <25B.Z959@nada.net> - 2022-07-07 21:15 -0400

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