What's the best lightweight Linux distro?

[sandras]

*crosses fingers* hope it's gonna be named PhatCore. J/K : )

[jur]

I hope distrowatch won't be writing tc/mc is for "old computers". That is off-putting.

One of the things that make tc a winner for me is the fact that I am back in full control of my PC. The modularity and fresh setup at each boot make it like lego, build your own from what you want and how large you want, while retaining dazzling speed.

You like gnome with Compiz? Yep you can have it. Or flwm? LXDE? Sure, just a few clicks away, show me another distro that can do that. Or do you like terminals with scrolling text without zillions of bits devoted to X? Have at it.

So some nice eye-candy screen shots and some comparative boot charts to attract the masses.

(Oh and the title of this thread is wrong too, it should be what's the best Linux distro.)

Lego-linux. (legonux?) The future of computing has arrived. 

[greentech]

But a turnkey system is not what Tiny Core is all about...

I would not have started this project, if I was to make a "me too" turnkey desktop.
I have had these concepts for a tiny modular system for a long time. It is interesting and challenging to make and improve Core with a great team and  based on feedback from the community.

Some interesting comments here. Can I give my first impressions? I have been busy distro-hopping in order to find a product that overcomes my latent Linux-ignorance enough to get me productive - by which I mean that despite my lowlevel knowledge of Linux, I need to be able to use a distro to help me access my (Windows) hard drive and copy (rescue) files to a usb stick. If I can also get on the internet and play music files too, then thats an added bonus.

However, now that I have found several distros that ALMOST do everything I want, I have a thirst for a distro that I can tailor to my real needs. That is why I am here, and I guess I would urge all contributors to stay on the path of avoiding inherent bloat, even if it means not winning awards for popularity.

Having said that, the first two things I missed during my first look at TC are:

1) Can't see how to browse my hard drive.
2) I don't have a router/dhcp. I have had to connect with PPPoE when I have used other distros. (because I connect via an IP-wireless type of gateway/modem).

TC relies heavily on dhcp access being available.  If there was some way to add Roaring Penguin PPPoE and maybe dialup ability (pointless for many but possibly a lifesaver for some...) it might be handy.

Keep up the good work. I'm hooked.

[curaga]

Having said that, the first two things I missed during my first look at TC are:

1) Can't see how to browse my hard drive.
2) I don't have a router/dhcp. I have had to connect with PPPoE when I have used other distros. (because I connect via an IP-wireless type of gateway/modem).

1 - a file manager by default would be bloat the included one is *the* file manager, also known as the command line. There are several graphical ones in the repo if you want.
For a Win hd, you'll also want to grab NTFS support.

2 - pppd can do that. Will take a couple lines of script, or use a script/dialer like pppsetup.

[danielibarnes]

2 - pppd can do that. Will take a couple lines of script, or use a script/dialer like pppsetup.

This would be an excellent addition to the "Setting Up" part of the wiki. I am unfamiliar with pppd, otherwise I would help.

[curaga]

I don't have a PPPoE connection myself, but I remember pasting instructions here before. Anyone with a connection like that could have a test and then set up the wiki.

[danny0085]

No doubt that the best distribution is ubuntu linux. Specially for new linux users

[removed spam]

[bmarkus]

No doubt that the best distribution is ubuntu linux. Specially for new linux users

You missed the point, see title: lightweight

[beerstein]

Ubuntu is not a lightweight. - the best lightweights are TC and Puppy/Quirky

It is a good distro and I lile it- but watch out what#s on the
horizon!

Thew will leave the x-server, they will have their own browser and they will
turn away from the desktop PC as we know it for years.

Ubuntu will go after the pad market and we will find us in the dust.

This is my opinion and what are you guys thinking?

[danielibarnes]

No doubt that the best distribution is ubuntu linux. Specially for new linux users

You missed the point, see title: lightweight

Go easy on him. That was his first post ever.

Ubuntu can be lightweight: "64 to 128 MB of RAM, less than 1 GHz processor, ... the total installation size is a little under 1 GB." It's an order or two of magnitude greater than an equivalent Tiny Core installation, but less than a full Ubuntu installation. Other examples are out there, too.

[bmarkus]

Ubuntu can be lightweight: "64 to 128 MB of RAM, less than 1 GHz processor, ... the total installation size is a little under 1 GB." It's an order or two of magnitude greater than an equivalent Tiny Core installation, but less than a full Ubuntu installation. Other examples are out there, too.

Right. Agree, a week old elephant baby is much lighter than her mom, but anyhow a bit heavier than a 5 years old fat lazy cat

[tinypoodle]

Hahaha, bmarkus, you made my day  

[Rich]

I'd like to respond to a few of the posts but first I want to point out that most people (mom, dad, computer
for the kids, etc.) don't install operating systems, they buy a new computer with it already installed.

bmarkus reply#7: I still don't fully understand them. The Core Concepts page as I view it does not focus
clearly enough on the various operating modes by mixing in terms like grub, boot codes, dependency
checking. Someone new to Linux will just walk away confused.

Guy reply#12: A simple tutorial (if it does not exist yet) on how to walk up to a wired machine with a TC CD
and USB stick to set up a PPI installation and then run it on the target machine would solve the wireless
problem. I think that helping people to help themselves is a better solution than a remastered disk.

roberts reply#21: New computers with Windows typically come with very few worthwhile applications
installed. A browser and file manager which are basically one and the same, notepad, and wordpad. The
copies of Word, Excel, PPT, etc. are 60 day trial packages that you can pay for if you wish to keep using
them. That isn't really a full turnkey system either as far as I'm concerned. The difference is you are doing
it the right way by starting with a basic desktop and leaving the rest to the end user.

lucky13 reply#22: You are being way too hard on Vista. Two years ago we got my mom (she's 73) a new
computer, unfortunately Vista was the only choice available. It boots in 3 minutes, shuts down in 1, and
in general is slow, which should not be the case for a 3Ghz machine. Yes, thanks to the software model
(fatter, dumber, and slower) used by MS I have started using Linux as much as possible, thanks Vista.

jur reply#21: I disagree. I'm glad I don't have to upgrade to faster hardware due to the software model
mentioned if I install a newer version of linux.

bmarkus reply#40: I used to have one of those, cat that is.

Personally I think Linux is a wonderful operating system and that TC's architecture is well thought out.

[curaga]

bmarkus reply#7: I still don't fully understand them. The Core Concepts page as I view it does not focus
clearly enough on the various operating modes by mixing in terms like grub, boot codes, dependency
checking. Someone new to Linux will just walk away confused.

Any improvements to the docs are welcome.

[roberts]

Let me second that as well.

I also see some nice videos on Tiny Core posted on YouTube.

Contributing videos to our collection on any area of Tiny/Micro Core would be very much welcomed. It could really make things clear for new users.

If you have made such a video or willingly to do so please contact me or a team member.