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More than once we have asked ourselves what to do with an old computer, which is there in a corner collecting dust and dirt, whose resources are poor compared to the super pipe we have now. However, nostalgia and the little sanity that remains of us, advise us not to throw it away. In these computers, Linux is a safe bet, not only for costs, but also for reliability, stability and guarantee that you will be able to "resurrect »That computer that you loved so much. |
The distros mentioned in this post are little known but, at the same time, they are ideal for old PCs, with few resources; in truth, they are mainly focused on compus ranging from a 486 to more current computers and almost all can work perfectly with just 64Mb of RAM (although some of them even with less).
All the distros include: graphical environment, network support, internet, and a series of minimal utilities (office automation, chat, mail, graphic design, programming, etc.).
MuLinux
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mulinux/
muLinux is a minimalist version of Linux that barely takes up TWO MEGAS !!!. You can download addons and extend the operating system: server extensions (Samba, Smail,…), Workstation extensions (mutt, ssh, PGP,…), XWindow (VGA-16, fvwm95, Afterstep, wm2), VNC, gcc ( make, nasm, yacc & lex, Fortran, Pascal), TCL / TK, Perl language and libc6 support, Wine, DosEMU, Java virtual machine (Kaffe compiler, sshd), Netscape ... It can be run in RAM from CD, or clone it in HDD. There is also an ISO that can be booted from CD that includes XFCE, Netscape, GTK + and Gnome, Gimp, OpenOffice, etc. Obviously, it requires more space, memory, and resources.
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Damn Small Linux
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/l
Incredible distribution that occupies only 50MB, and that can be booted from a CD, a pendrive or a Flash card. It can run remarkably fast even on a 486 computer with 16MB RAM. It has a graphical desktop with FluxBox interface, and it doesn't lack anything: multimedia player, FTP client, web browser, mail manager, instant messaging, word processor, spreadsheet, text editor, image viewer, PDF viewer, system monitoring, games, etc.
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Slax
Magnificent distribution that occupies about 190MB and that is booted from CD, USB or hard disk, allowing to save the configuration online. It is based on Slackware, and only needs a 486 (or higher) computer with 36MB of RAM to boot (96MB for XWindow with FluxBox, 144MB with KDE or 328MB to run entirely from memory). Includes Kernel 2.6, ALSA sound drivers, support for WiFi cards, FluxBox, KDE 3.5, Abiword, Gaim, Firefox, Flash, Wine, QEmu, MySQL, network and internet tools, XVid, Samba, MPlayer, KOffice, games, etc. .
goblin x mini
Lightweight distribution, occupying only 150MB. Includes XFCE, Abiword, Firefox, Gaim, Gcalctool, Gdhcpd, Gimp, Gnumeric, Hardinfo, Urlgfe, Xmms, GnomeBaker, Xpdf, etc. Launches from CD (CD Live)
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lamppix
http://lamppix.tinowagner.com/
This distribution is specially designed for Web developers. Includes MySQL, PostgreSQL, PHP, Apache. There are two versions: one with the XFCE environment (about 200MB) and a mini one (about 150MB), which consumes very few resources when using FluxBox and Firefox.
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XFLD
XFLD is a complete distribution used to demonstrate the qualities of the XFCE environment, which is a graphical interface very similar to KDE, but which consumes very few resources. XFLD includes XFCE4.4, OpenOffice, Gimp, Firefox, Thunderbird, Abiword, Wireshark, Gaim, Ruby, Python, Perl, gcc, gnumeric, gXine, vim, etc.
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Xubuntu
The XFCE4 version of Ubuntu and KUbuntu, whose interface is very similar to that of KDE, but consumes much less resources. It can be run in Live from the CD, or installed on the hard disk. It is a complete operating system, ideal for Pentium II or higher computers, automatically detecting any device, such as USB ports, CDROM, PCMCIA, network, etc. You can surf the internet (Firefox), write emails (Thunderbird), chat (Gaim), browse the file system, use a complete office suite (Abiword and gnumeric), calendar (Orage), listen to music (xfmedia), see movies (xfmedia), edit images (The Gimp), burn CDs (xfburn), etc. You can use it in Spanish.
Linux Vector
Complete Linux distribution with XFCE4, Fluxbox and Icewnd interfaces. It incorporates Firefox, Dillo, Gaim, XChat, MPlayer, Flash, Acrobat Reader, Abiword, XView, GQView, XMMS, etc. The deluxe version incorporates many more applications, such as OpenOffice, Apache, MySQL, The Gimp, etc. It also has a "Deluxe" version that includes some additional options.
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Zenwalk
A distribution to take into account, since there are four versions that adapt to your needs. Use XFCE 4.4, you can surf the internet, manage email, listen to music, watch videos, program in C, Perl, Python, Ruby, etc; scan, print, office automation, image editing, games, etc. You can use it in Spanish.
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dreamlinux
http://www.dreamlinux.com.br
Distribution based on Debian, which uses the XFCE 4.4 interface, and has two versions, one specially focused on design and multimedia, which includes OpenOffice, GimpShop, Inkscape, Blender 3D, Gxine, Mplayer, Kino DV, AviDemux, GnomeBaker, Audacity, etc. It can be booted from CD or installed on the hard drive. Support the Spanish language. You will be able to browse the internet (Firefox with Java plugins, Flash, audio, video, etc.), manage email, chat (aMSN), read PDF files (Evince), organize your tasks and agenda (Orage), office automation (OpenOffice) ), listen to music (XMMS and Gxine), edit audio (Audacity), extract audio tracks from CDs (Grip), burn audio CDs (Gnomebaker), record videos from a digital camera (Kino), edit videos (AviDemux), copy DVD's (XdvdShrink), play any multimedia file (MPlayer), etc.
sam linux
Very complete distribution that uses the XFCE4.4 interface and the 3D Beryl + Emerald interface. Includes: OpenOffice, Abiword, Gnumeric, Orage, Firefox, Opera, Gaim, Xchat, gFtp, Skype, VNC, putty, MPlayer, gXine, Xmms, Grip, GnomeBaker, RealPlayer, TV Time, Gimp, eVince, FLPhoto, GQView, XSane , games, security tools, Wine, BlueFish, etc.
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