So many choices, how do I decide?

Trenix25

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I used to use Slackware Linux kernel 1.2.13 with gcc 2.7.0 years ago. I know things have changed over the years. I'm am using an Android tablet running Lollipop 5.0. I found entries for 25 different kinds of Linux on this website. What makes each of them different? What are their pros and cons? Can I find Linux binaries for my tablet? Can I get a C compiler for my tablet? I was a CS major in college. I'm highly skilled in writing in C. I would also like to learn how to write my own apps to run on my tablet. Can anyone help me with any of these things?
 


Hi @Trenix25, and welcome to the forums! Yes, there have been many changes with Linux over the years, but Slackware is still going strong after all this time. But there are more, many more... more that the 25 popular ones listed here. There are almost 300 active distributions, so there are certainly a lot to choose from. Some have become very specialized, like for media and entertainment, or for use as a firewall, or network attached storage (NAS). But for general use, it isn't so much a question of "pros and cons" as it is, "What works best on YOUR hardware?" and "Which graphical desktop are YOU most comfortable using?" The only way for YOU to answer your own question then is to download some different distros and try them out. The two easiest ways are to make a "live" Linux distro on a DVD or USB and boot and run it, or you can install something like VirtualBox on your Windows/Mac and then install several different Linux versions as a virtual machines. It's kind of like picking which ice cream you like best at Baskin-Robbins, but much less fattening! :D

Installing Linux on a tablet can be much more difficult... let me Google that for you to help get you started. For your best chances, you need to be able to unlock your tablet bootloader and root the device, but in many cases that is just not possible. While some of us here may play with Android phones and tablets, we're mostly concentrated on pure Linux for desktops and servers, and we don't have a special forum for Android support. So search out some Android specific forums for more info on your tablet and creating Android apps. I highly recommend XDA, although I'm not sure how much help you will get with Lollipop as it is quite old now.

Good luck with both your Linux and Android pursuits, and let us know if you have more Linux questions and we will try to help. :)

Cheers
 
I have to pay a penny per megabyte so downloading 4 or 5 gigabytes per Linux distribution really isn't an option. 6 cds per distribution, 700 mb or so per cd, or did I get that wrong? I would have to buy several stacks of cds at perhaps $25 or more per distribution, unless the price has dropped since then. Does Slackware use shadow passwords? I couldn't find it before. I was using fvwm in X. I need a good and stable distribution that will work on a laptop and a desktop and has decent support for most hardware. I think it's kind of ridiculous that I should have to buy the cds, or worse pay $50 per distribution to download each of them, to find out which version will actually work on my hardware. Can you please narrow it down a little? I won't be using it as a network server in a big company, and I don't want anything really specialized. It will be used for personal and business use at home. I intend to telecommute. I will need video along with telecommand and telemetry. Once I can get my business started I will be able to afford a lot more data. Once I move to another community I intend to get a T1 line, unless I can afford a T3.

I've used Marshmallow 6.0 before and hated it. I had trouble moving my icons and an analog clock widget got stuck in the wrong spot, which made a mess of my icons, and could not be moved no matter what I tried. I couldn't remove (delete) a graphic that was previously used as background wall paper. I haven't had these problems with Lollipop 5.0.

Signed,

Matthew
 
Hi Matthew! The more narrowly you pose your questions or issues, the better focused we can be in our responses. We now know more about your situation, and I certainly don't envy the high cost of bandwidth you are paying. A typical modern Linux distro runs about 1.2 GB that you burn to a DVD or USB. That would cost you $12, but if you got a bad download and had to do it again it would be even worse. (It happens... check MD5 or SHA256 checksums after downloading to verify integrity.)

There is a link at the top of this site's pages to OSDisc.com where you can buy most Linux DVD's for $5.95 each ($9.95 on 16GB USB flash drive)... if you purchase $20 or more you can also get free worldwide shipping (since we don't know where you are either). Look for those described as "Install/Live" in most cases. You need to know whether your laptop and desktop are 32-bit or 64-bit.... I mean the CPU, not whether Windows is 32- or 64-bit. You don't want 32-bit unless you must use it (for reasons too long to write out just now). So if you buy 4 DVD's for about $24, you will get free shipping and have something to work with. Another alternative might be to use a library or wireless hot spot somewhere near you to download for free, if you haven't already considered that.

But we still still don't know nearly enough to give you the best advice. You don't say if WiFi is necessary in your home network. One very important bit is how much RAM on the laptop and the desktop that you plan to use? Any distro that you consider will publish their minimum system requirements, but if you are scraping the bottom of those requirements you may still be disappointed with its performance. Though you have past experience, you are still a relative newbie with today's Linux... therefore I would not recommend that you return to Slackware. (I don't know about shadow passwords offhand... that is really not an issue for you at this time.)

You seem to want us to pick for you, so I will name 4 distros that I would choose at this moment (not knowing your RAM, etc, but expecting you to check minimum system requirements). Someone else may give you 4 different picks. It will still fall to you to do some homework and make your decisions, and it will not be our fault if you have hardware compatibility issues. We don't know everything (not even on a good day), and we basically still know nothing about your personal hardware!

1. Linux Lite 3.4 (supported until April 2021)
2. Linux Mint 18.2 (MATE Edition, also supported until April 2021)
3. PCLinuxOS 2017.07 (MATE Edition, 32-bit not available, "rolling release" so always updated to current)
4. openSUSE Leap 42.3 (32-bit not available, supported through January 2019, much less than others listed)

Reasons:

1. & 2. Linux Lite and Mint are both based on Ubuntu. They provide some of the best hardware support, especially WiFi. I feel the MATE desktop in Mint is better for lower-end video cards or onboard video. Lite uses a modified XFCE desktop which is also very resource friendly. I usually use one of these on my own desktops and laptops, so of course I highly favor them and recommend them.

3. PCLinuxOS is independently developed. So if there is an "Ubuntu-specific" hardware compatibility problem, there is a chance that PCLOS will not have that same problem. The MATE Edition is much more resource friendly than the KDE alternative they offer.

4. openSUSE Leap is also independent from other developers, and Leap is the Stable Edition. Many desktops can be picked during installation... pick "Custom" and then choose LXDE. The LXDE desktop is the most resource friendly, even better than MATE.

Alternatives:
1. Ubuntu version 16.04.3 (note this is NOT the newest Ubuntu, but it has the longest support until April 2021)
2. LXLE (Ubuntu-based using LXDE desktop... be sure to get long term support version)
3. Lubuntu (This actually is Ubuntu, but with the LXDE desktop... be sure to get long term support version)

Above, you said, "I will need video along with telecommand and telemetry." but I am not really sure what you mean by this. What kind of video? I've typed enough for this round anyway, and you can describe these more next time.

Cheers
 
Other ways to get cheap install
1) Find out if there is a LUG (Linux Users Group) in your area. They should install for free. (Or just other Linux users.) http://lugslist.com/
2) Linux Magazines (albeit sometimes expensive) can give away cover disks.
 
I've used Marshmallow 6.0 before and hated it. I had trouble moving my icons and an analog clock widget got stuck in the wrong spot, which made a mess of my icons, and could not be moved no matter what I tried. I couldn't remove (delete) a graphic that was previously used as background wall paper. I haven't had these problems with Lollipop 5.0.

Android "O" (version 8.0) is soon to be officially released. If you want to do development, you really should get more current.

Cheers
 
A T1 will only support 320x240 live video. I don't think I'll be able to run anything faster. I need to use an Internet connection to run a robot by remote in real time. I'm told that the laptop is "older" so it may be a p4 or fairly close and may only have 2 G or so of active ram. Wifi will be a necessity. I really appreciate the quotes and ideas. Travelling is very difficult for me. I can't stay away from home for several hours at a time because of medical issues. What was it about Slackware that you think would cause a problem? Is it really specialized now? Does it has phenomenal system requirements? The free wifi that I would have access to is 384 kbps and shared with others so it would take a while to download much of anything. I would probably just buy some dvds. I am currently in Nogales, Arizona, but thinking about moving to Sierra Vista, further to the east and a little north.

Signed,

Matthew
 
Android "O" (version 8.0) is soon to be officially released. If you want to do development, you really should get more current.

Cheers

My tablet is dying after 7 months of use. I would have to buy another tablet first and I'm _really_ poor. It may take a year or more to save up for a new tablet. Hopefully the Samsung S2 that I am looking at will allow me to run this new version.

Signed,

Matthew
 
I had the bad download problem when trying to update an app from the Google Play Store. It kept trying to download and install over and over again and eventually crashed my tablet. I tried later when the level of activity was lower. Doesn't it still use some form of a tcp stream socket? And don't they reject packets with errors? So how can this happen?
 
My tablet is dying after 7 months of use. I would have to buy another tablet first and I'm _really_ poor. It may take a year or more to save up for a new tablet. Hopefully the Samsung S2 that I am looking at will allow me to run this new version.

Hi again Matthew! I'm sorry to hear of your financial difficulties. It is very hard to keep up with technology when funds are tight and needed for many things. So let's just let the Android issues/questions idle down since we are really not going to be able to make any progress in that area. I will comment a little further about Linux in another post.
 
A T1 will only support 320x240 live video. I don't think I'll be able to run anything faster. I need to use an Internet connection to run a robot by remote in real time. I'm told that the laptop is "older" so it may be a p4 or fairly close and may only have 2 G or so of active ram. Wifi will be a necessity. I really appreciate the quotes and ideas. Travelling is very difficult for me. I can't stay away from home for several hours at a time because of medical issues. What was it about Slackware that you think would cause a problem? Is it really specialized now? Does it has phenomenal system requirements? The free wifi that I would have access to is 384 kbps and shared with others so it would take a while to download much of anything. I would probably just buy some dvds. I am currently in Nogales, Arizona, but thinking about moving to Sierra Vista, further to the east and a little north.

I had to brush up on my telco terms... it's been a long time since anyone has mentioned T1 or T3 circuits. Even many small businesses or home offices use simple DSL or cable broadband (if available). Only you know whether a T1 is the only way to support the data transfers that you need for the robotic control, and whether a T1 line is affordable for you.

So, back to computers, and Linux. Do you not have the laptop in your possession? If it is a very low end P4, my recommendations for which Linux versions will probably be totally different. A P4 may very well be a 32-bit CPU, and it is quite likely to have less than 2GB of RAM too. There are some specialized Linux versions that may work, but we are talking a whole different game now than I was expecting above. You need to know the computer specs for us to help you.

Slackware is the oldest continually maintained Linux distribution. It is a fine distribution, but it is not very friendly to newbies and can be difficult to work with. It does not have high systems requirements in one sense... that is, if you want to run command line only. For example, this link gives Slackware "minimal installation" files that you can burn to a CD. They are so small that a DVD isn't needed (only 68 MB for the 32-bit version, and only 52 MB for the 64-bit version). That is even affordable with your high bandwidth costs... but I don't think that you want these. You may never get the network to work, which is the first step before then downloading and installing other software packages that you decide you need. I'm not even sure that the network tools are including in that very tiny install package.

There is another fine distribution, called Arch Linux, whose base installation file is a little over 500 MB. But it is similar in that you have to totally build up the base install into a workable system, with graphical desktop, office tools, etc.

Hopefully you see that these would be far more trouble to get up and running than one of the more traditional "live" distributions. Booting on a live DVD or USB is the best way to test your hardware... if things don't work, then don't install it, and try another one.

This may not apply, but if your desktop is newer (like Windows 8 or 10).... then there is another issue to deal with related to the motherboard BIOS or UEFI. I'm not going to go there right now either. But if we have to, it can make a difference on which distro you choose to try out.

Cheers
 
I have to pay a penny per megabyte so downloading 4 or 5 gigabytes per Linux distribution really isn't an option. 6 cds per distribution, 700 mb or so per cd, or did I get that wrong? I would have to buy several stacks of cds at perhaps $25 or more per distribution, unless the price has dropped since then. Does Slackware use shadow passwords? I couldn't find it before. I was using fvwm in X. I need a good and stable distribution that will work on a laptop and a desktop and has decent support for most hardware. I think it's kind of ridiculous that I should have to buy the cds, or worse pay $50 per distribution to download each of them, to find out which version will actually work on my hardware. Can you please narrow it down a little? I won't be using it as a network server in a big company, and I don't want anything really specialized. It will be used for personal and business use at home. I intend to telecommute. I will need video along with telecommand and telemetry. Once I can get my business started I will be able to afford a lot more data. Once I move to another community I intend to get a T1 line, unless I can afford a T3.

I've used Marshmallow 6.0 before and hated it. I had trouble moving my icons and an analog clock widget got stuck in the wrong spot, which made a mess of my icons, and could not be moved no matter what I tried. I couldn't remove (delete) a graphic that was previously used as background wall paper. I haven't had these problems with Lollipop 5.0.

Signed,

Matthew
I have downloaded every Linux distro there is,and my vote goes to Linux Mint 18.2 - it just works with everything!
 
Hi Matthew, hi all.

Matthew some of what follows would be best served by sitting at a friend's computer and taking a look at some links, to save your download allowance. And if you find a LInux User Group in your region as suggested by arochester (sounds like the Phoenix LUG from that source), you may find someone kind enough to help.

This site is worth taking a look at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Linux_distribution

... and then combining it with a Google search using keywords for example "Alpine Linux tablets cell phone"

Of those listed there, I run

  • Bodhi (pronounced as in human body) Linux
  • LXLE 32-bit and 64-bit
  • antiX
  • MX16
  • Peppermint Linux and I have run
  • Porteus but not currently on this last one
and can say good things about them all.

Hope this helps.

Wizard

BTW Paul, get your bum over to https://www.linux.org/forums/member-introductions.141/ and say Hi! (Paul is one of my buddies from elsewhere ... do I get a recruiting badge?)

Edited typo
 
Just a postscript - search under "arizona linux tucson" reveals a group there
 
I believe the previous owner that donated the laptop to me said it may have been running Windows 7. When I settle on a distribution I will want to get the full distribution including the compilers so I can recompile the system kernel. I will also want X and all the man pages. Most of my work has been at the command prompt in text mode using tcsh. I have the laptop in the living room, but haven't taken it out of the box yet because I can't afford to fix it up yet. It will need a seperate keyboard and a new battery, and maybe a new hard drive. They only last so long and this one, so I'm told, is about 320 GB.

I really appreciate everyone's comments.

Signed,

Matthew
 
I believe the previous owner that donated the laptop to me said it may have been running Windows 7. When I settle on a distribution I will want to get the full distribution including the compilers so I can recompile the system kernel. I will also want X and all the man pages. Most of my work has been at the command prompt in text mode using tcsh. I have the laptop in the living room, but haven't taken it out of the box yet because I can't afford to fix it up yet. It will need a seperate keyboard and a new battery, and maybe a new hard drive. They only last so long and this one, so I'm told, is about 320 GB.

I really appreciate everyone's comments.

Signed,

Matthew
Mathew,
I currently run Slackware 14.2 32 bit, on a 3.2Ghz core 2 duo (E5800) desktop with 4gb of ram, and pci express x16 video card. I have had no problems with hardware issues. I also tried it on a slower (2.2Ghz) core 2 duo with no obvious problems. Now, having said that, I must admit that I am not running multiple games etc on that hardware.:p:p I have drive caddies (a stack of them) with different distros to use on the 3.2 Ghz hardware, I call that box "the lab".

I have lite also, and can recommend it for a slower system. If you want a place to look at different distros, try distro watch. It has a listing, on the right side, of the most popular ones in order of web page hits, with links to the home pages. It also has the latest news on new releases. I would suggest sitting down at the local Library computer and exploring it, to save your bandwidth:)

Slack is not for everyone, but you learn a lot from using it. I know that I have.:cool::cool:

As far as getting hardware, try cruising the neighborhood on garbage day. You may be amazed at what some people throw away.o_O;)

Sorry, but I forgot to answer your question. Yes, Slackware does use Shadow passwords.:)

Oh, yeah, and welcome to the group, mate!

Happy Trails:D
Paul
 
Last edited:
Mathew,
If you want some information on Slackware, Check out the thread that I have been running. I have tried to give away some of the secrets that I have discovered about it there. Perhaps you may find it helpful.:)

Happy Trails,
Paul
 

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