User Friendly Linux version?

kidfromkibbly

Hi folks,

Parents are running an antediluvian PC, about 15 years old Dell Pentium 4 on Win XP. I'm conscious that XP is EOL'd and that poses potential security risks as they are still using it for web access.

I was thinking it possible to install Linux on, for security and to get a few more years use out of it for their basic needs.

I've read that Ubuntu or Mint are recommended for user friendliness, but just wanted to hear any actual experiences, keeping in mind they're only just about used to using XP.

Thanks!

degsie

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2107641/3-easy-linux-alternatives-for-windows-xp-refugees-who-dont-want-a-new-pc.html

bpmurray

Try Zorin OS - it's designed specifically to help Windows users be able to use Linux. It also happens to be Irish - I met a couple of young lads at the Young Scientist a few years ago who had just started it. I think they were brothers with the surname Zorin, hence the name.

excollier

You may struggle to get anything to run on that computer, maybe not. I had something similar last year and the only thing I could get to even boot properly for install was Lubuntu 12.04.
Mint would most likely be too heavy, but give it a try, it might work depending on how much memory is installed (I'm guessing 1GB max)
Alternatively you could try the latest releases of Puppy Linux, booting from a cd each time, but that may be too much of a faff for casual users, but I use it daily on my 10 year old laptop and it's great, all the drivers are there for wireless nic and touchpad.
Linux is always a learning curve, and if you haven't used it before, you'll learn more about your computer in a short space of time than years of using Windows

kidfromkibbly

Thanks for the responses!

degsie wrote: »

pcworld.com/article/2107641/3-easy-linux-alternatives-for-windows-xp-refugees-who-dont-want-a-new-pc.html

bpmurray wrote: »

Try Zorin OS - it's designed specifically to help Windows users be able to use Linux.

Zorin appears on the PC World article so that's two votes for Zorin it would seem. I had a look at it and it certainly seems user friendly, and the fact it comes loaded with all the basics is great.

excollier wrote: »

Mint would most likely be too heavy, but give it a try, it might work depending on how much memory is installed (I'm guessing 1GB max)

Linux is always a learning curve, and if you haven't used it before, you'll learn more about your computer in a short space of time than years of using Windows

I definitely boosted the RAM on it at some stage when I was still at home, so it may be 1.5 or 2 Gigs of Ram. Unfortunately, the learning curve aspect is what I'm trying to avoid as it's for my parents, and their computer skills aren't great.

It seems best option will be to take a few distros with me, install and test them out over the Christmas on the PC itself, and then hopefully it won't be too befuddling a change for them!

PropJoe10

kidfromkibbly wrote: »

Thanks for the responses!





Zorin appears on the PC World article so that's two votes for Zorin it would seem. I had a look at it and it certainly seems user friendly, and the fact it comes loaded with all the basics is great.



I definitely boosted the RAM on it at some stage when I was still at home, so it may be 1.5 or 2 Gigs of Ram. Unfortunately, the learning curve aspect is what I'm trying to avoid as it's for my parents, and their computer skills aren't great.

It seems best option will be to take a few distros with me, install and test them out over the Christmas on the PC itself, and then hopefully it won't be too befuddling a change for them!

I would go for either Zorin Lite or Lubuntu on that machine. I had a Pentium 4 Dell running Lubuntu with no issues before the PSU packed up, so either of those distros should be fine. My vote would be for Zorin - very nice looking and intuitive OS for Windows XP users.

Galway K9

Ubuntu is very user friendly and has a huge support network.

PropJoe10

Galway K9 wrote: »

Ubuntu is very user friendly and has a huge support network.

Sure is, but I wouldnt install regular Ubuntu on a Pentium 4 machine. Far too bloated. Zorin and Lubuntu are Ubuntu based so you'll get the Ubuntu software on a much lighter desktop environment

excollier

kidfromkibbly wrote: »

.....Unfortunately, the learning curve aspect is what I'm trying to avoid as it's for my parents, and their computer skills aren't great.

If their computer skills aren't great, then they're not gonna see a huge difference between a simple Linux distro and Windows. At GUI level most are simple enough to use. If a user is a died in the wool Windows user, then they might see differences they don't like.
Think on the positive side, if you do get Linux onto the machine, at least the constant malware and virus scans will be history for you to do for them, just keep it updated.

kidfromkibbly

excollier wrote: »

Think on the positive side, if you do get Linux onto the machine, at least the constant malware and virus scans will be history for you to do for them, just keep it updated.

Absolutely, this is my main concern. They just need the computer for web browsing mainly, but are so exposed to malware now especially on XP. I'll definitely be bringing either Zorin or Puppy to have a try of both. Being new to Linux myself, it's amazing to think of running an OS right off a USB stick (in some cases).

excollier

AntiX is another good lightweight distro worth a look

kidfromkibbly

Went with Zorin OS 9 Lite on the old desktop and even installed Zorin OS 10 on my father's new laptop after he couldn't get his head around Windows 8.1

Both are running fantastically and it's a weight off my mind that their computing will be a bit more secure now.

Thanks to all who replied!

riclad

MInt is pretty simple, has simple menu layout.
ubuntu is not so simple for a newbie.
Go to menu ,system, software centre in most versions of linux to download ,
install new programs .
i,m running mint 7 as my pc has only 2gig ram.
Mint 7 is a few years old.
latest version of ubuntu is a bit slow on a pc with 2gig or less ram.

PropJoe10

riclad wrote: »

MInt is pretty simple, has simple menu layout.
ubuntu is not so simple for a newbie.
Go to menu ,system, software centre in most versions of linux to download ,
install new programs .
i,m running mint 7 as my pc has only 2gig ram.
Mint 7 is a few years old.
latest version of ubuntu is a bit slow on a pc with 2gig or less ram.

Why are you running Mint 7, in the name of God? I have Mint 17.3 running on an ancient laptop and it only uses 700MB RAM even with Firefox running. Mint with the MATE desktop is extremely light on system resources.

mach1982

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Sure is, but I wouldnt install regular Ubuntu on a Pentium 4 machine. Far too bloated. Zorin and Lubuntu are Ubuntu based so you'll get the Ubuntu software on a much lighter desktop environment

Try Xubuntu, that is what I'm running .

PropJoe10

mach1982 wrote: »

Try Xubuntu, that is what I'm running .

Yep, used it many times. Nice distro, Xfce is great.

me_irl

I know this is "fashionably late" as OP has already decided on using Zorin, but I'd like to throw in Peppermint OS.

Distro-hopped a few times from Ubuntu, to Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Crunchbang, Bunsenlabs (who took over #!), Mint, Chromixium (and they're the ones I can remember!) and I have to say that I think I finally found my daily driver with Peppermint.

Steering well clear of Arch... I'm not that savvy yet!

riclad

I,M running mint 17.1 ,
i just checked ,
i tried 4 distro,s various,
versions of ubuntu.i felt there were not so easy to use,
complex menu,s
or too slow to run in 2gig memory .
I downloaded chrome and firefox in order to watch rte.ie ,tv player .
Mint has a simple menu layout, similar to windows 7.
i,ve tired at least 10 different distros, based on ubuntu .

degsie

riclad wrote: »

I,M running mint 17.1 ,
i just checked ,
i tried 4 distro,s various,
versions of ubuntu.i felt there were not so easy to use,
complex menu,s
or too slow to run in 2gig memory .
I downloaded chrome and firefox in order to watch rte.ie ,tv player .
Mint has a simple menu layout, similar to windows 7.
i,ve tired at least 10 different distros, based on ubuntu .

Stuck "," on yer keyboard ric?

200motels

Manjaro is an excellent Linux distro and very light on resources.

freelancerTax

i am currently using linuxlite, its lightweight and fast and user friendly
comes with steam, and other programs you might want pre installed, the interface is quite windozy (xfce based).
i have previously used ubuntu, debian, mint, and puppy.

ft

grouchyman

I know I'm a bit late to the discussion but Windows Vista on one of the laptops got corrupted. Laptop is 8/9,years old and as I couldn't find the cd or the license key I installed Ubuntu & Mate. It's running for a couple of months now . The laptop is mainly used for internet browsing, social media and rte player. Working grand so far.