Help with my distro hopping

[Deleted member 151145]

I generally don't care for lightweight distributions but I know some other people here do, I went searching and came across this list on wikipedia, there might be still a few you haven't look at on it.

Light-weight Linux distribution - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

To be perfectly honest, I don't necessarily like lightweight distros, but since I no longer build myself new desktops every couple of years, I found myself in need of a distro that uses less resources. Buying 3 year old, or older, laptops and loading them with Linux saves me quite a bit of $$$. We all know that every release of every piece of software gets bigger with each release. That's especially true of operating systems and major packages like LibreOffice and Gimp. So, to get the maximum performance out of my laptops I need to run a distro that is resource conscious. If I can land on some distro that uses 300 MB or less of physical memory, I can then get an extra year or two out of each laptop. My wife and I are now both drawing rocking chair money.


Don't misunderstand. We're not going hungry. I just made it a goal for us to live on our monthly income without having to tap into our investments and savings. You never know when an unexpected emergency is going to pop up and require tapping into those. IN the last two years I have had cancer, I was diagnosed with an untreatable and incurable heart disease, My wife had a hip replaced, had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists, and torn rotator cuff surgery. That was a load on us even though I get free medical via the VA and she has Medicare.

I made a whole lot of changes to things we have to have. I switched from Verizon wireless to Consumer Cellular and saved around $75 a month. Then, I canceled our cable TV and increased our Internet service to 600 Mbps service. I then signed up with YouTube TV. That saved another $80 a month. Next I shopped our homeowners and auto insurance out. Ended up finding better coverage than what we had for $110 a month less. That one was a real $$$ saver. So, buying 3 or 4 year old laptops instead of building myself new desktops was a natural. Now, I just need to find that one distro that uses the least amount of resources possible while still offering an environment both my wife and I can live with.

So, that's why I'm on this mission. LOL! And it's about to drive me nuts. I'll get there. I have some very good candidates now thanks to a bunch of the guys on here. It's now time for me to start narrowing things down and making that decision to go with just one.
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[KGIII]

I take large doses of Morphine, Hydrocodone, and I take 3600 mg of Gabapentin daily. The max recommended dosage is 2400 mg. On top of that, I wear a 20 mcg/hr buprenorphine patch.

I'll be over to visit in two hours!

Actually, I was pretty helpless for a while. After I left the hospital, I had a nurse living with us 24/7 to administer IV opiates. Now I'm on Suboxone and just deal with the discomfort.

So, the opiates wouldn't have any effect on me.

I didn't really like being that helpless. Opiate constipation was kinda a good thing, as going to the bathroom was quite an ordeal.

 

[wizardfromoz]

...and came across this list on wikipedia,

Keep up with the program, Maarten - I mentioned that at #5

Happy New Year, mate

Wiz

 

[Deleted member 137406]

Yep, I have those danged hitches too. I'm still looking for that dip stick that coined the phrase, "The Golden Years". He and I need to have a very intense conversation. LOL!



I played with it for maybe 30 minutes or so when I saw how little RAM it required to run the desktop. I see lots of promise. I didn't try to find out of I can install the few programs I really like to use. Do you know if I can install Synaptic, Gimp, LibreOffice, Simple Screen Recorder, and Mirage? I should have checked that out while I was playing around with it. I do prefer Celluloid and Rhythmbox, but I'm not dead set on those. I can easily learn to use something different there.
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I have Synaptic installed and Libreoffice installed and the rest you mentioned are listed in Synaptic so you should be good to go.

 

[Ziggi]

I sincerely wish those with life threatening ailments all the best in the New Year.

Some may be lucky if they do not live in the UK – where today’s headlines read – Patients Die before they get a bed.. NHS medics blast Gov for “Dickensian” A&E crisis… Yet at the same time we give £billions away for a proxy war!

Some may have sussed that I will take on anybody – I don’t care who they are. So when my Hospital decided to withdraw follow up appointments after my scalp surgery for removal of Squamous-cell skin cancer, also known as cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (cSCC), one of the main types of skin cancer – I swung into action and challenged the Hospital Management directly. It was resolved in my favour and get inspection appointments every six months.

At the time I had been dragged out of retirement due to my reputation for effective unique engineering solutions – so as I was feeling fine after the surgery this nutter went back to work using that old 3D SolidWorks CAD box. Later colleagues looked on in horror as blood was running down my face – I could not feel a thing… besides the work was far too interesting to let go.

I also took on the largest cancer charity for misinformation about an alternative well known cure for my cancer. They were forced to change the misleading information on their webpages.

You can take your treatment or lack of it as some kind of inane destiny or fatalism – Hey Guys – Not me. So Millie and I headed over to Holland to visit some friends then took time out to visit a place, one of about 10, where they will spend time to listen and also give you the cure. A friend of mine who sadly passed away with lung cancer last year, hearing of my trip to Holland offered to supply me with the necessary and would not take a penny for it – Bless him.

I have recently been given the all clear for now but 90% of Squamous-cell skin cancers return within five years…

Millie and I are so lucky to own a small MotorHome so that we can escape – Winter or Summer and can also get back to Holland if needs must.

Take care all Ziggi.

 

[Tolkem]

I will admit that I have gotten WAY too lazy and soft when it comes to doing stuff on computers anymore.

Yeah, I get it. Sometimes I feel the same way. Ultimately, this is Linux we're talking here, and you can do literally whatever you want; there are plenty of choices out there for everyone for everything, for every need and every taste.

 

[Ziggi]

Ultimately, this is Linux we're talking here

​

Loc-OS – The Only AntiX Spin you will ever need? ​

https://www.linux.org/threads/loc-os-%E2%80%93-the-only-antix-spin-you-will-ever-need.43295/

Some pretend to be more efficient and make claims about...

 

[Ziggi]

For the readers, it is Ubuntu-based, specifically forked from Lubuntu when they had the LXDE desktop environment.

Yes - now get rid of Ubuntu and that dreadful Lubuntu and learn how to fly with Debian base + LXDE
It gives you wings -- Hahaha

Poor Trisquel-mini is still struggling with being married to Lubuntu...

 

[KGIII]

Friendly reminder, politics is strictly off limits.

 

[Deleted member 151145]

I'll be over to visit in two hours!

Actually, I was pretty helpless for a while. After I left the hospital, I had a nurse living with us 24/7 to administer IV opiates. Now I'm on Suboxone and just deal with the discomfort.

So, the opiates wouldn't have any effect on me.

I didn't really like being that helpless. Opiate constipation was kinda a good thing, as going to the bathroom was quite an ordeal.

Suboxone is very similar to what I have. And I fully understand when you say opioids no longer have an affect on you. I have gotten the same way. When the pain gets way out of whack, I've been know to eat 5, 6, or more 10 mg Hydrocodone tabs on top of the patch I wear. Family and friends, and even a few medical pros, swear that'll kill me or at least make me higher than a kite. Nope, doesn't do either one. In the past, I have taken so many pills a day that it even made me wonder if it was going to fly me, but it never has. I'd hate to hazard a guess as to how many pills it really would take to get me high. LOL!


And don't I know about that constipation thing! LOL! I'm having a bad time right now because of the antibiotics I have been taking for this strep throat. Some people have just the opposite problem when they take antibiotics, but some have the same problem I'm having. When added to the opioid constipation, it makes a fella miserable. It'll take me a week or more to get things back to normal after this round of antibiotics.

Ahh, yes. Those "Golden Years" again. LOL!
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[KGIII]

And I fully understand when you say opioids no longer have an affect on you.

Suboxone attaches itself to the opiate receptors and the naloxone is basically like giant balls that then bind to the same receptors. Meaning additional opiates don't have room and don't pass through to the receptors.

Suboxone is the Bupe and Naloxone combined. So, if you have it in your system you literally can't (easily) get additional opiates into you. I could do a whole lot of opiates and some of the molecules might make it through the net - and it's still possible to overdose. But, you're not gonna get high (easily) nor get any of the pain-relief benefits.

So, it's different than what you're thinking. It's a function of the Suboxone - which is the Bupe you're using and an additional drug that's pretty similar to 'Narcan'.

 

[Deleted member 151145]

OK. I made my choice. I'll be installing LXLE on all four laptops over the next few days. I played and played with Q4OS, LXLE, and Fedora LXDE and finally decided on LXLE. Q4OS and LXLE were the most resource stingy of all the distros I tried. Both are based on the Debian family so there wouldn't be a lot of learning there. Then, between Q4OS and LXLE, the learning curve was most favorable with LXLE. It also has nearly every program I want already installed. It'll be more of a matter to remove several programs than having to add more.


I want to thank everyone who weighed in on this matter. I truly appreciate every comment made.
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[Deleted member 151145]

Suboxone attaches itself to the opiate receptors and the naloxone is basically like giant balls that then bind to the same receptors. Meaning additional opiates don't have room and don't pass through to the receptors.

Suboxone is the Bupe and Naloxone combined. So, if you have it in your system you literally can't (easily) get additional opiates into you. I could do a whole lot of opiates and some of the molecules might make it through the net - and it's still possible to overdose. But, you're not gonna get high (easily) nor get any of the pain-relief benefits.

So, it's different than what you're thinking. It's a function of the Suboxone - which is the Bupe you're using and an additional drug that's pretty similar to 'Narcan'.

OK. Maybe I am getting more dense than I thought. After reading your comments, I remember the pain management specialist explaining that very thing. It just didn't sink in and register with me. I guess I need to do a little more research and see if I can't get that sunk in the old noggin. Like a dip stick, I thought I was being advised to use Tylenol and Ibuprofen simply to keep me away from taking any additional opioids. It never hit me that taking additional pills was useless. That could very well be why taking more opioids no longer seems to ease the pain.


Boy, do I ever feel stupid. Now, I have to wonder how much less pain I'd have had recently if I had just stuck with the OTC pain pills. Thanks loads for that tidbit of info.
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[KGIII]

Thanks loads for that tidbit of info.

You take Bupe. You don't have the Naloxone in it. Suboxone is both of those mixed. Bupe should still offer some pain relief, as it's a strong opiod antagonist. Plus, the other meds you take should be able to bind with the receptors. There's no Naloxone in anything you're taking.

So, definitely stick with what pain management is telling you. While I am a doctor, I ain't that kinda doctor!

 

[Deleted member 151145]

You take Bupe. You don't have the Naloxone in it. Suboxone is both of those mixed. Bupe should still offer some pain relief, as it's a strong opiod antagonist. Plus, the other meds you take should be able to bind with the receptors. There's no Naloxone in anything you're taking.

So, definitely stick with what pain management is telling you. While I am a doctor, I ain't that kinda doctor!

Well, that's the thing. They recommended I NOT take any additional Hydrocodone and to use Tylenol or Ibuprofen for additional pain relief. I just happen to have 600 to 700 extra Hydrocodone tabs in my stash. No, I didn't steal them or buy them on the street. LOL! It happened over a long period of time. I get my meds via the VA pharmacy. If I just happened to have submitted a request for a refill using the online pharmacy, then saw my doc, he would automatically submit renewals for all of my meds. If the doc submits renewals, the pharmacy automatically fills every one as soon as they get the request from the doc, even if I had just received a new bottle of whatever it was a couple of days before I saw the doc. It's still like thar. I think I have 10 or 11 extra bottles of just about every prescription I take.

You should see the stash of my meds I have in a drawer. I have enough eye drops and nighttime eye gel to supply a small army. I have chronic dry eye because of the meds I take. The drops help during the day and the gel keeps my eyeballs from sticking to my eyelids. I keep trying to tell the doc and the pharmacy not to double up on stuff, but it's like talking to a brick wall. The real problem is the online crap. If they'd quit spending all their time with their noses stuck in that screen, stuff like this wouldn't happen.

I guess I need to have a real heart to heart with my pain management specialists when I see them on the 24th. I need to be sure what I should or shouldn't be doing

Thanks for the info!
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[KGIII]

You should see the stash of my meds I have in a drawer.

It sounds like you've got enough to start your own pharmacy!

I suppose we should try to get back on topic.

 

[Deleted member 137406]

OK. I made my choice. I'll be installing LXLE on all four laptops over the next few days. I played and played with Q4OS, LXLE, and Fedora LXDE and finally decided on LXLE. Q4OS and LXLE were the most resource stingy of all the distros I tried. Both are based on the Debian family so there wouldn't be a lot of learning there. Then, between Q4OS and LXLE, the learning curve was most favorable with LXLE. It also has nearly every program I want already installed. It'll be more of a matter to remove several programs than having to add more.


I want to thank everyone who weighed in on this matter. I truly appreciate every comment made.
.

LXLE is an excellent Linux distro and being it's Ubuntu base it works installs and works without problems.

Keep in mind when installing LXLE disconnect from internet as per instructions as it will hang up.

There is an icon on the desktop explaining this prior to installing.

Here's the link anyway.

INSTALLER HANGING ON INSTALL? THE FIX IS RIGHT ON THE DESKTOP. "MUST-READ" - News and Announcements Threads on LXLE forums

 

[wizardfromoz]

I suppose we should try to get back on topic.

That would be helpful, and no disrespect intended to those with challenged health.

I may just take all the off-topic medical content and put it into Off Topic with one of you lucky folks as the Owner.

Cheers

Wizard

 

[KGIII]

I may just take all the off-topic medical content and put it into Off Topic with one of you lucky folks as the Owner.

I think we're done at this point. LOL

In all fairness, the thread was more or less solved before we derailed it.

 

[Deleted member 151145]

LXLE is an excellent Linux distro and being it's Ubuntu base it works installs and works without problems.

Keep in mind when installing LXLE disconnect from internet as per instructions as it will hang up.

There is an icon on the desktop explaining this prior to installing.

Yeah, I had read that. At least there is a warning about it. I wonder if it is something that will be fixed, of if it'll just have to stay that way. Regardless, I'll be certain to NOT be connected when I do the first install.
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