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I have been thinking about changing my laptop over to a more lightweight distro recently. I am currently running Linux Mint mainly because the gf is comfortable with it. So does anyone have any other recommendations?
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I am a big fan of Arch Linux. Arch Linux is a very lightweight and flexible distribution, which makes it perfect for laptops. Take the time to configure and optimize a bit, and you get a system which is exactly as you want it to be. :) Also, don't be scared if you don't have perfect Linux knowledge, the documentation of Arch is very detailed (e.g.: Beginners' Guide). Yeah I use Arch on my desktop. I think the only problem would be is I have SiS Mirage 3 graphics on this laptop and last time I looked the drivers were not working. I might go have a look in the AUR now come to think of it.
(30 Jun '10, 15:42)
TracerBullet
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I run Ubuntu on my new HP laptop. My opinion is that it's the slickest Linux distro. It also has the largest community, Which is great when you run in to problems. That being said I'm keeping my eye on Elementary OS. |
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I've got Slackware 13.1 64 -multilib installed on my Acer laptop and it works like a charm. True that you need a bit of knowledge to get it installed but there's lot's of documentation and a great forum at LinuxQuestions.org to help you with your installation.
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I use Suse Linux. It is on a netbook, laptop and quad core desktop. Nice and easy to install and use and if you need to you can get the Enterprise version that is pay for.
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I think openSuse is also worth considering, either the KDE or Gnome variants. openSuse 11.3 Gnome runs beautifully on my Asus EeePC 701 4gig netbook,and wireless is easy. If it can run like it does on a Celeron ~663 mhz first generation netbook with 1 gig of ram, imagine it on a full laptop. Also, since openSuse will feed into the next commercial business version Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, it simply has to run on laptops, or else businesses will not buy it. Just my 2 cents from Guelph, Ontario. :)
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I installed Ubuntu 8.04 on an old Dell with 384MB of system memory when that machine had become a knuckle dragger running XP with anti virus, firewall etc. With Ubuntu it ran very pleasingly quickly. Since then I have accumulated two more "old" laptops with Ubuntu installations. Beginning with 9.04 configuration of wireless became very simple. I even keep Ubuntu 10.04 on my new Sony in a dual boot with Win 7. Since I can use and modify all of the files in the Win 7 partition without leaving Linux, I rarely boot to Win 7.
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If your GF is comfortable with Mint, why you want to make her un-comfortable by opting another OS.
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I have set up a dual boot for that exact reason. I asked the question purely on the basis I wanted to try something new and wanted some recommendations. Also I am sure it is a question that would probably have been asked in the future anyway, so the sooner it was up the sooner everyone benefits from the responses.
(18 Aug '10, 15:26)
TracerBullet
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Ubuntu 10.04 on an HP Pavilion DV9000 series and HP Pavilion DV4000 series laptops. Ubuntu was the easiest to configure for wireless (WPA2) encryption. Prior to this, I used Mepis 7, which was also very easy to set up, but after a failed upgrade to Mepis 8, I decided to go with Ubuntu 9.04 and have been using Ubuntu ever since.
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Ubuntu 10.04 on both laptop and desktop (Dell Vostro 1400/Dell GX620).. Had previously been on Ubuntu 8.04, but did a clean install on new drives for both when 10.04 was released.. Have tried Mint,Mepis and even Debian itself, but came back to Ubuntu.. I've been using Linux since 1993, with Slackware. Later moved to Redhat, then Fedora, then a friend pointed me at the new Ubuntu back in 2007, and I've been using it since 7.04...
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On the account of this question's subjectivity, it would be great if you mark your question as community wiki.