Linux IS a good replacement for Windows XP. There are over 1000 distributions and all are different. That is the quandary facing many users moving to Linux and it has frightened off a fair number who are not used to choice. It is like going into a huge candy store in a foreign country when you have a sweet tooth. You don't know what to get.
Ubuntu is the biggest and most popular by far, but it is not necessarily the best for everyone. It uses its own desktop manager (Unity) and it tries to be the most which means unfortunately the specs required to run it have gone up over the years. However, remember that there are no guarantees that your older hardware will work with Windows' new variants either. They too have upped the ante in order to compete.
Linux really is just the kernel. On top of that is userland from GNU which is mostly the same in various distributions. But what you see and use varies greatly. There is a graphical user interface that makes a big difference. Part of that is the window manager and part of it is the desktop environment.
Some distributions will completely from RAM with as little as 10 MBs with a GUI. From there the sky is the limit. Take the specs from any distribution and multiply that by at least a half in order to get something that you may be happy with in terms of performance.
Lowest RAM for a desktop environment also means less flexibility and convenience for the user. Openbox is one of the lowest but works best if it comes pre-configured by the developer. LXDE is one of the lowest that is user friendly. XFCE is one of the lowest that is user friendly and fun to use. Then take your choice. Unity, GNOME Shell, Cinnamon, Mate and KDE. All take similar resources but they are vastly different in how they use them and how they look and feel.
You can use Ubuntu for the base of any desktop environment. Some come pre-configured. Lubuntu is Ubuntu with LXDE. Xubuntu is Ubuntu with XFCE. Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE. Ubuntu GNOME is Ubuntu with GNOME Shell. Linux Mint will give you an Ubuntu base with Cinnamon or Mate. Or you can install ubuntu and add other desktop environments post-installation and test the performance difference on each. You can switch at login time.
The problem is not with Linux. It offers the user choice. It is small enough to run a watch and powerful enough to run the world's fastest supercomputer. The problem is that users coming from Windows are not used to choice.
Microsoft in its attempt to become mainstream offered the user one look and feel for every situation. That is a fine strategy (also employed by Apple), but it does not give the user many options. Now Microsoft has followed Ubuntu's strategy with Windows 8 and tried to offer a common interface for all devices and users are rebelling. Ubuntu wants to put Ubuntu on TVs, phones, tablets etc. with the Unity interface on each and all apps the same on all devices. The name Unity was coined with this in mind and it pre-dates Windows 8.
Slaves who were freed must have felt like Windows XP users cut adrift by Microsoft. Where to go and what to do? That is the question and the answer is different for each person.
Roy
On Wednesday, May 28, 2014 4:47:31 PM, "Scott scottro@nyc.rr.com [LINUX_Newbies]" <LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 09:21:17PM -0500, Loyal Barber loyal_barber@yahoo.com [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:
>
> On 05/24/2014 03:57 PM, jon.perelstein@gmail.com [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:
> >
> >I recently installed Ubuntu 12.10 on an Acer Aspire One netbook
> >that is running an Atom Z520 chip (Ubuntu says it is 1.33GHz x 2).
> >The machine has 2 GB memory installed (verified by Ubuntu). This
> >install replaced Win XP that came on the machine - I reformatted
> >the HD (155 GB) and completely eliminated Windows - in other
> >words, it is a full install and not a dual boot situation (it
> >doesn't ask me to select an operating system when it boots up, so
> >I have to believe I got the single boot right). Ubuntu agrees
> >that it is a 155 GB drive and tells me that I have about 144 GB
> >remaining.
> >
> >
> >It is just unacceptably slow.
> >
> >
>
>
> I would be willing to bet it is the video driver. Someone who uses
> Ubuntu, where does one find the "restricted" drivers in other words,
> drivers created by video chip manufacturer.
If I remember correctly, the Aspire one has an onboard Intel.
--
Scott Robbins
PGP keyID EB3467D6
( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 )
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6
>
> On 05/24/2014 03:57 PM, jon.perelstein@gmail.com [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:
> >
> >I recently installed Ubuntu 12.10 on an Acer Aspire One netbook
> >that is running an Atom Z520 chip (Ubuntu says it is 1.33GHz x 2).
> >The machine has 2 GB memory installed (verified by Ubuntu). This
> >install replaced Win XP that came on the machine - I reformatted
> >the HD (155 GB) and completely eliminated Windows - in other
> >words, it is a full install and not a dual boot situation (it
> >doesn't ask me to select an operating system when it boots up, so
> >I have to believe I got the single boot right). Ubuntu agrees
> >that it is a 155 GB drive and tells me that I have about 144 GB
> >remaining.
> >
> >
> >It is just unacceptably slow.
> >
> >
>
>
> I would be willing to bet it is the video driver. Someone who uses
> Ubuntu, where does one find the "restricted" drivers in other words,
> drivers created by video chip manufacturer.
If I remember correctly, the Aspire one has an onboard Intel.
--
Scott Robbins
PGP keyID EB3467D6
( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 )
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6
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