Best Linux distro for a 20-year-old ThinkPad

Which command?

Bash:
sbopkg -i "libfm-extra menu-cache libfm libunique lxappearance openbox lxappearance-obconf lxde-common lxdm lxinput lxlauncher lxmenu-data keybinder lxpanel lxrandr vte2 lxterminal pcmanfm lxsession
"then running xwmconfig and choosing lxde" or logging out and choosing LXDE
 


Probably like most reads that running root is bad.

I've been using Puppy Linux since Tahrpup (2014).

Throughout the years I've read how bad Puppy Linux is because it runs in or as root.

All root has ever saved me from doing is wrecking my own Linux distro due to my own stupidity.

If a user is serious about running a secure Puppy in root there are ways to prevent bad guys from writing to your HDD / SSD but you have to learn how this is done.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fear Not Root"
 
I don't even have a smart phone; the name is stupid also. The only thing a "smart" phone does is make you dumber.
I once saw a young couple in a resto - as soon as having a seat, they started texting like crazy. I hoped that they were bro & sister, not couple or lovers !
 
That's sad. Even if they are siblings and not dating, it is pretty sad either way. I just got a phone, but it is not a smart phone, I only use it to call people, that's all it can do. I don't need a miniature computer to put in my pocket, just a tool for communication with my parents and friends. If I need a computer, I can just use one of my ThinkPads either Linux or Windows, they are far superior to an iPhone anyway.
 
@Brickwizard:-

A thought, Brian. Would the 32-bit build of Q4OS be any good to our young friend? I seem to recall it's one of the few remaining distros to still offer an up-to-date 32-bit build.....and from what I understand, it's fairly lightweight into the bargain..?

Just an idea, FWIW.


Mike. ;)
will have to be 5.8 "aquarius". because they've just announced. they will drop 32-bit support. "andromeda" will be 64-bit only. even with trinity desktop.

"aquarius" could hold out. until debian "bookworm" becomes deprecated in summer 2028. that's less than three years from now. so many computers. including the ones i have. including the ones that could run 64-bit. are destined to become "e-waste" anyway.
 
Could Mint 6 32 be a good option?
Mint 6 would be something like12 yrs old and long out of support, if you mean Mint LMDE6 the 32 bit version will become unsupported probably later this year
 
How risky is it using an out of support Linux distro? I would guess the same amount of risk I take every time I download a file in windows 11.
 
I will take it that that is a rhetorical question.

This forum will not provide information for installing a distro that is no longer supported.

Your computer, though, you can do whatever you like with it.

Wizard
 
I'm not asking how to install a distro that is out of support, I'm asking how risky it would be to use a distro that is no longer supported.
 
No problem...provided you disable browser access to the internet.
 
@Lynx52 :-

I believe you'll find that what @wizardfromoz means is that it's not the general policy of either this forum - or, indeed, of any Linux forum that values its reputation & integrity - to assist in any way with out-of-support distros.....other than to suggest that you upgrade them as soon as is practical.

We in Puppyland take a rather different approach to this question.....mainly because Puppy runs in such an utterly unique way (unlike anything else out there). I run totally up-to-date Puppies on my system, but I also regularly use 10-12 yr old distros (online, too), because after all these years I know exactly what needs to be done in order to keep 'em safe. This is one side-effect of both Puppy being a distro for hobbyists AND myself being an inveterate tinkerer - plus, of course, years of practice & experience.

It's not advisable for the average Linux user to try the things that I do with my "kennels", not in a million years.....and I will be the first to point this out. However:-

  • The ability to run totally in RAM, and to let a session evaporate into cyberspace at shut-down
  • The ease of replacing an entire Puppy IF things go "tits-up" (typically 5-10 minutes, max)
  • The entire self-contained 'portable' eco-system we've developed (with its ability to perform a kind of 'hard reset' of any given app if the worst comes to the worst)

.....these are just some of the mitigations in Puppy's favour. Barry K's recent work on Puppy-specific containers in his current personal project - EasyOS - is also inspired, to say the least. As for the "never run as root" thing? It sounds blasé, I know.....but in Puppy's case, it really doesn't hold water. And don't get me started on the apparent 'plus' of 'sudo' protecting you from your own stupidity....

You go back far enough in time, even Linux never had 'multi-user' ability. There was only ever a single user in the early days, and everybody ran as root. And you quickly learnt to be very, VERY careful in what you did....

The multiple layers of 'protection' with which the system has NOW cocooned itself not only positively encourages folk to take risks that under other circumstances they would never consider, it's also dumbed-down the OS to the point that there's precious few people around any longer that truly understand just what makes it all tick. What it HAS done is to develop an entire generation of users that are well-versed in "official procedures" & the mysteries of the various package-management systems.......yet they still don't truly know what they're doing AT A BASIC SYSTEM LEVEL. Anything approaching this, and....."Oh, I'm just a user. That's the dev's responsibility".

Huh??

For Chissakes, what happened to the self-sufficiency that permitted us all to maintain our own systems.....without the expectation that some half-mystical individual in another dimension should be tasked with doing all this FOR us? o_O

I don't claim to be any kind of all-seeing, all-knowing Linux 'guru', but I do know this; using Puppy on an ongoing day-to-day basis, despite its being seen as a "toy" by everybody else, you very quickly learn how your system works in an intimately 'hands-on' way that precious few other Linux users ever will. 'Cos if ya don't, you're on a hiding to nothing & just wasting your own time AND everybody else's.

It's not just Linux and, indeed, computing in general that's becoming "dumbed-down". Life is itself becoming "dumbed-down" to the point where humans seem incapable of doing any but the very simplest things for themselves any longer.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

( Disclaimer:- Sorry guys; "rant" over! This isn't meant as any kind of 'attack' on things, and I hope nobody views it that way. It's my personal 'take' on how I 'see' Linux - and computing in general - as it is today.....and I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the direction I see it heading in.

The above statement notwithstanding, I will ALWAYS try to help others in any way I can.....because I'm just altruistic enough to enjoy doing so!
:D )


Mike. ;)
 
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I agree, I am just so used to Debian that I don't feel like switching yet. And when I switch, I will consider puppy, as long as they continue 32bit.
 
I agree, I am just so used to Debian that I don't feel like switching yet. And when I switch, I will consider puppy, as long as they continue 32bit.
Hm.

That may not be for very much longer, unfortunately. The one community developer we have who still regularly churns out 32-bit Puppies - mainly Debian-based - has for some time now had to perform a degree of 'hybridisation' to keep 32-bit stuff functioning correctly.....ending up with a series of what we in the community know as "FrankenPups".

He does this because he has a whole bunch of older 32-bit-only hardware which still functions perfectly, and which he - like myself - is loath to dump just because the computing eco-system insists he must. But, as you're no doubt aware, "Trixie" is the very last Debian release that will ever support 32-bit hardware. Once it's gone, even current Puppies will finally be 64-bit only.....and the only 32-bit Pups will be found in the vast collection of Puppy stuff that our archivist, Ally, maintains at archive.org (some of which dates all the way back to the very dawn of Puppy itself). o_O

It truly WILL be "the end of an era".


Mike. :(
 
That is very sad, after that I will just have to switch to Slackware and figure it out. Or arch 32. Either way I am going to use Debian 12 for a while until it is no longer supported. Which I was just looking, it said online it will end security update in June 2026 but also enter LTS till 2028. 3 years more of my favorite distro before I am forced to switch. I really wish it was more of a product that you can just continue to use and it is not controlled by anyone. What happened to relying on one's self for online security. Long Live Debian 12.
 


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