Unix recommendation for a netbook please

[kdcdq]

I tried Ubuntu 12.04 on my sister-in-law's netbook, and it didn't boot any faster and barely ran better than Windows 7 Starter. This is a "standard" Atom-based netbook with 1GB RAM. All she wants to do is check Facebook, email, and do some light surfing with it.

Being new to Unix, does anyone have a recommendation for a light-weight flavor of Unix that will run decently on this machine?

Thanks in advance.

[Hungry Man]

All she wants to do is check Facebook, email, and do some light surfing with it.

ChromiumOS?

It's light (94MB for the OS) and it's secure. It seems like a good fit since most distros are either light and hard to set up or at 7's level and easy to set up.

Few distros boot any faster than Windows 7 (or XP for that matter). On a netbook with a normal hard disk, a 30 second boot time is about the best you can hope for with any OS.

As for Ubuntu 12.04, it's quite heavy; Unity (even 2D) is slow on much more powerful computers (aside from also being obnoxious to use). And KDE is faster to use, but starts very slowly - between 20 and 40 seconds depending on version, distro, and hardware.

IMO what you probably want is Xubuntu. Xfce is not too heavy, and behaves a lot like Windows (only it looks prettier).

(The Linux desktop has unfortunately been in a state of absolute turmoil lately. Projects that have been stable for a long time have ditched all their old work, changed their objectives, and put out new software that users hate. Other projects have forked the old versions of desktops, and then stagnated. But Xfce has incorporated more reasonable changes over its life, and at a more reasonable pace; so it would be my recommendation for someone fresh from the Windows world.)

[Critter2]

this may work for you
http://www.saluki-linux.com/

I really don't think that's a good idea. Using Puppy or a derivative thereof as an installed system defeats the whole purpose of using Linux on the desktop, IMO.

[Setcho]

I often change the distro I'm using on my netbook either due to new OS versions being released or just because I'm trying to squeeze that extra bit of performance out of it. My netbook is the old Samsung NC10 1GB RAM and IMHO the fastest and most reliable distros I've used are:

Lubuntu = LXDE is a simple DE, uses around 90MB RAM plus good battery life (about 4hrs)
Xubuntu = Uses more RAM than Lubuntu but XFCE has a better look and feels more like a complete OS. Although I often find that HD video playback can be choppy.
Crunchbang = Very fast and minimalistic OS, uses Openbox and runs at around 80MB RAM
LMDE Xfce = fast and complete OS (Libre office installed etc), some breakages with updates

Note both the debian based distros (Crunchbang, LMDE) might have to be tweaked a little for your netbook whereas the Ubuntu based ones should work fine out of the box. Also you could try Bodhi Linux it works well but personally I don't like how it looks. KDE based distros are generally very slow on my Netbook but the only one I've go to work quite well is Chakra.

I have been using the Mint 13 XFCE RC this week but at the moment it is a little to buggy so I'm going to reinstall the one I find to be most fit for purpose at the moment i.e. Lubuntu.

[mack_guy911]

1 gb ram is more then enough for light distro

i recommended you to try xubuntu LTS 1st if it didnt work you can try light distro like lubuntu (lxde) .......etc

also like to edit there linux mint lxde or Peppermint both created by same person good and light weight

http://peppermintos.com/news/

also one more OS specialy created for netbooks

http://my.jolicloud.com/welcome

also review

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/jolicloud-1-1.html

[Ocky]

I would go with Xubuntu, but there is SliTaz if you need ultra light. Have a free partition ready before installing SliTaz.

http://www.slitaz.org/en/

SliTaz provides a complete graphical desktop in 35 MB based on LXDE and Openbox that works entirely in 192MB of RAM. Its new 4in1 CD image can be installed on a hard drive with only 48MB by automatically selecting a configuration most fully suited to your hardware.

[kdcdq]

First of all, a big THANK YOU to those that have responded to my plea for help on a recomendation for some flavor of Unix for a netbook.

Critter2, I am going to give Saluki Linux a try next. I will you all know how it works out.

[mack_guy911]

one more i remember from puppy very light and eyecandy

http://www.bodhilinux.com/

[Critter2]

"""I really don't think that's a good idea. Using Puppy or a derivative thereof as an installed system defeats the whole purpose of using Linux on the desktop"""

Why?

[Hungry Man]

Puppy runs root by default, which basically throws the permissions on Linux out the window.

And perhaps more importantly, Puppy has no reliable update system. So it accumulates known vulnerabilities quickly, and if there's a serious bug you're out of luck until the next release.