Distros and DEs

[raymac46]

When you first decide to try out and install Linux, you'll have to choose a distribution or distro. This is a preconfigured set of programs that gives you the operating system ready to go.
A distro always has some sort of way to display stuff on screen. In a lot of distros, this is called the desktop environment or DE. Each distro will have a default DE but you can mix and match as you get more proficient.
Each DE has advantages and disadvantages. I thought I might go over a few I have used, and also suggest a few distros that use each one well.
GNOME: It's been around a while, and it's changed over the years. Many people don't care for it as it is pretty monolithic and not all that customizable. Ubuntu uses it (modified a bit) as its default. Personally I like to use GNOME on Debian.
KDE (Plasma): Another favorite and it can be customized as much as you want. I don't use it currently but I have had good luck using it with Mageia and Open SUSE Linux in the past.
Xfce : A bit more lightweight but still very useful. I would try MX Linux here as it is very slick. Also Manjaro or Endeavor OS might be worth a look although these are in The Arch Linux category which can be more advanced.
Cinnamon: Very nice if you are coming from Windows. This is the flagship DE for Linux Mint and that is where I would use it.
LXQt: Very lightweight but still easy to use. Lubuntu gives a very good experience here, but if you want to be a bit more leading edge you can try Sparky Linux.
Now I have by no means exhausted all th possible ways to display things in Linux, but if you are just starting out, these are some distros I would look at. If you want me to recommend just one, I supose Linux Mint with Cinnamon would be my choice. Second choice for older systems would be MX Linux.

[plodr]

Well posted. Since this site has no like button, let me say thanks.

[xrobwx71]

Thanks!

[Forlorn]

Which distro would you recommend for an Acer Aspire One netbook? Used mostly for browsing and email while traveling. Don't need office suites, graphic design programs, etc.

CPU: Intel Atom 1.6GHz (32-bit x86)
RAM: 1Gb
Hard Disk: 160Gb

[plodr]

Contents removed because I'm using an Aspire which is 64 bit and has more RAM.

Let me test a 32 bit version on my Asus netbook which has only 1.5 GB RAM and I might be closer to the hardware you have.

[Hedon James]

Which distro would you recommend for an Acer Aspire One netbook? Used mostly for browsing and email while traveling. Don't need office suites, graphic design programs, etc.

CPU: Intel Atom 1.6GHz (32-bit x86)
RAM: 1Gb
Hard Disk: 160Gb

Those old netbooks are notoriously underpowered, and yours is also 32-bit, rather than 64-bit.  So your selections are going to be even less than usual.  If that was my machine, I'd put AntiX on it.
https://antixlinux.com/

Obviously, you'll want the 32-bit version (386) and I'd recommend either "base" or "full" for 1st time linux users.  Antix shuns the traditional DE, removing a layer of OS, and polishes up the Window Manager (WM) environment, which allows lower-spec machines to run respectably.  Antix should actually run pretty well on that machine.

While Antix itself, as an OS, will probably be okay, that 1GB RAM is going to be your bottleneck, especially when a browser is running.  Most modern browsers like Firefox and Chrome gobble RAM, and the more pages/tabs you have open, the more RAM they gobble, until your system is choked into a freeze.  I had an Acer Aspire netbook with 2GB RAM, but if memory serves me right, the RAM can't be upgraded on those netbooks, as there's no slot and the existing RAM is soldered, so you can't pull it either.

So recognizing that WEB BROWSERS will be your bottleneck, I would recommend the following steps for your consideration, to get the best performance possible:

• use a dedicated e-mail program, rather than webmail in browser
  
• when browsing, only use 1 tab at a time, and "surf" to your next page; no multiple tabs/pages open
  
• i can't remember the default browser on Antix (probably Firefox, as Antix is a Debian derivative), but if it's "too heavy" or "sluggish", I'd look into Palemoon or perhaps Midori.  Both are lighterweight, with less features, but should help increase your enjoyment of using a more responsive system
  

The above recommendations for browser use is not a hard requirement.  You may not experience ANY issues in your web surfing.  If that's the case, do nothing!  But IF you experience issues, these are all things you can do to help alleviate the issue(s).  Try the 1st and test; if not satisfied, try the 2nd, then test; etc....  In a worst-case scenario, use all suggestions cumulatively: i.e.  change browsers, 1 tab at a time, and dedicated e-mail.  Whatever the minimum solution you can employ to alleviate the issue, go with that.

Above all, ENJOY!  and KUDOS to you for upcycling yet another perfectly running machine and keeping it out of the landfill!   8)

[raymac46]

I don't think I could have said it better than HJ has here. AntiX may in fact be your only good choice for a distro on that Acer Aspire One. Web surfing will be the biggest problem you will have. A lightweight browser like Midori is a must. Other lightweight browsers you can try are Falkon and WebSurf. Don't expect to be playing YouTube videos or using sites that have a lot of Javascript coding. Sadly these old 32 bit machines aren't cut out for the modern Web. They'll work great as office/text editing systems though.

[plodr]

Thanks guys for the recommendations. I didn't get to do anything with my old 7" Asus yesterday.

For awhile I was using it to watch movies and read books but since I got a 10" more powerful android tablet in 2016, it has just been gathering dust. I figure why use old tech when I have something more powerful. Eventually I will e-cycle it.

[Forlorn]

I'd put AntiX on it.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot this weekend and let you know how it went

[Hedon James]

I don't think I could have said it better than HJ has here. AntiX may in fact be your only good choice for a distro on that Acer Aspire One.

Bodhi & Elive still have 32bit distros, but they're both Enlightenment/Moksha DEs, which I don't have as much experience with.  But if he doesn't like Antix for some reason, Bodhi & Elive are still options.

[raymac46]

I have played around with Bodhi Linux and it's OK. Its 32 bit version is based on an older version of Ubuntu since that distro had dropped 32 bit support. But thanks for suggesting it. Bodhi does have the advantage of using a lightweight browser (Midori I think) as a standard software adddition.

[Hedon James]

I have played around with Bodhi Linux and it's OK. Its 32 bit version is based on an older version of Ubuntu since that distro had dropped 32 bit support. But thanks for suggesting it. Bodhi does have the advantage of using a lightweight browser (Midori I think) as a standard software adddition.

I have tinkered with Bodhi also and agree it's "okay".  Those who like it, LOVE it though!  It's very lightweight and very polished, and I've got nothing bad to say about it.  It just doesn't scratch MY itch.  I've spent even less time with Elive, but came to the same conclusion.

To the uninitiated linux user, they're basically the same.  For the user with some linux background, Bodhi is based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian; and Bodhi uses the Moksha DE, which is based on Enlightenment.  Elive is based on Debian and uses the Enlightenment DE.

I still think Antix is probably the best OS for 32-bit challenged hardware.  I think Bunsen Labs is probably the best OS for challenged hardware, but that's 64 bit, so not an option for Forlorn.

EDIT:  Bunsen Labs now has a 32-bit version!
https://www.bunsenlabs.org/installation.html

With this information, I'd like to amend my previous advice and suggest that Bunsen Labs AND Antix are the best options for 32-bit challenged hardware.  Both are based on Debian, and both strip away the DE layer and polish up the Window Manager for the most lightweight and responsive desktop possible.  Antix defaults to IceWM, with other options available including RoxWM, JWM, and possibly some others I can't remember off the top of my head; while Bunsen Labs defaults to Openbox.  Between these 2, I'd prefer Bunsen (for reasons of using more of my familiar favorites as components of their OS), but I do enjoy both.  And I've stolen a few ideas/concepts/implementations (like script for "live switching" of WMs) from Antix.  Try them BOTH and go with the one YOU prefer!

[Forlorn]

I installed AntiX and played around with it for awhile this morning. It runs smooth and relatively fast. Nobody ever accused a Netbook of being fast, but with AntiX it's at least as fast or maybe even a little faster than it was with the XP that came with it. It just might keep this thing out of the landfill for a few more years.

I'm still finding my way around, but I think I'll likely replace Sea Monkey and Rox-Filer. I've never used Sea Monkey and Rox-Filer's habit of constantly resizing the window is driving me crazy

Thanks for also pointing me to Bunsen Labs, I'll take a look at that when I get a chance.

[Hedon James]

I installed AntiX and played around with it for awhile this morning. It runs smooth and relatively fast. Nobody ever accused a Netbook of being fast, but with AntiX it's at least as fast or maybe even a little faster than it was with the XP that came with it. It just might keep this thing out of the landfill for a few more years.

That's exactly the point!  Glad Antix suits ya, in that regard!

I'm still finding my way around, but I think I'll likely replace Sea Monkey and Rox-Filer. I've never used Sea Monkey and Rox-Filer's habit of constantly resizing the window is driving me crazy

Thanks for also pointing me to Bunsen Labs, I'll take a look at that when I get a chance.

I didn't realize Antix was using SeaMonkey now?  FWIW, SeaMonkey is a Mozilla product!  It's a combination browser/e-mail client, so maybe if you give it a chance, perhaps it will grow on you?  I'm a fan of Mozilla and use Firefox and Thunderbird as my defaults on everything.  But for a hardware challenged system, I'd absolutely consider SeaMonkey and see if I could get used to it.  If you end up replacing SeaMonkey, other browser choices were discussed above.  Some good lightweight alternative e-mail clients include ClawsMail and Sylpheed.

I had forgotten about Roxfiler's habit of re-sizing, but yeah, that messed with me too.  And I didn't like it.  Perhaps there's a setting in the preferences to change that auto-resize behavior?  Other than that, RoxFiler is very lightweight and responsive.  If that auto-resize behavior can be addressed, perhaps it'll grow on you too?  If not, the file manager GUI I would suggest is PCManFM.  Other than RoxFiler, it's probably the lightest GUI file manager available; but even so, it is MUCH more feature-packed and very customizable, including creating your own "action scripts" for file manager functions.

Then again, maybe Bunsen is closer to YOUR default preferences also?  There's no wrong answers, or bad choices here.  Just "good, better, and best" options, based on YOUR criteria.  Good luck!

[Hedon James]

Rox-Filer's habit of constantly resizing the window is driving me crazy

Yep, you can change this behavior.  Here's the RoxFiler's dev page:
http://rox.sourceforge.net/Manual/Manual/Manual.html

Under the heading "Display Menu", it appears the "re-size" function is automatic, but you can set it to your preference, which toggles the Automatic mode "off":

Bigger Icons   Increase the size of the icons. Turns off Automatic mode.
Smaller Icons   Reduce the size of the icons. Turns off Automatic mode.
Automatic   Select a sensbile icon size automatically now and when changing directory, etc.