06-02-2024, 05:28 PM
If you're trying to get the best out of older hardware then W10, even a stripped version, strikes me as an odd way to do it.
There are Linux distros that will run on truly antique hardware but that isn't what most people need. Assuming you have a reasonable, if rather old, PC and you want an experience that feels familiar for Windows users then Linux Mint Xfce or possibly Mate edition will do a good job. I used Mate on that W7 era laptop and it was fine with a SSD. Lubuntu is another obvious contender.
There's a review here: https://kanger.dev/article/best-lightwei...x-distros/ You really need one that has Firefox browser and Libreoffice. Some very lightweight Linux distros use other office software which is likely to have less good compatibility with Word and Excel.
The problem here is a surfeit of choice. As a Mint user, without much experience of other Linux distros, I'd say just use Mint Xfce or Mate. It will work well enough and be familiar enough. Of course I've had problems with Mint, but most of it has been to do with networking to W98 and XP machines. Not something that most users will need to do. Otherwise, for the most part, it just works, without the irritations of W10. It keeps out of the way and is polite.
There are Linux distros that will run on truly antique hardware but that isn't what most people need. Assuming you have a reasonable, if rather old, PC and you want an experience that feels familiar for Windows users then Linux Mint Xfce or possibly Mate edition will do a good job. I used Mate on that W7 era laptop and it was fine with a SSD. Lubuntu is another obvious contender.
There's a review here: https://kanger.dev/article/best-lightwei...x-distros/ You really need one that has Firefox browser and Libreoffice. Some very lightweight Linux distros use other office software which is likely to have less good compatibility with Word and Excel.
The problem here is a surfeit of choice. As a Mint user, without much experience of other Linux distros, I'd say just use Mint Xfce or Mate. It will work well enough and be familiar enough. Of course I've had problems with Mint, but most of it has been to do with networking to W98 and XP machines. Not something that most users will need to do. Otherwise, for the most part, it just works, without the irritations of W10. It keeps out of the way and is polite.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv
