Lightweight Linux distros

[m654321]

[quote author=RandomBoy link=topic=4391.msg33323#msg33323 date=1499214404]
...  Outdated??  It's rolling-release, and my copy has quite up-to-date software.

I know. It is just something about it. I could not think of a better word than "outdated." :-\  Maybe it is because I am use to Ubuntu and Debian based distros.
[/quote]

Review of PCLinuxOS (a.k.a PCLOS) ...

I can only comment on the Xfce version - I have no experience of the other desktops for this OS.

I think what you mean Coastie, is the look of the desktop environment - a bit old-fashioned - the icons maybe don't look as polished as other distros and, if I remember correctly, it only comes with the one wallpaper or an extremely limited range.  PCLOS is a semi-rolling release - everything is updated 'for ever', except new stable versions of the kernel, though you will of course get updates within a kernel release, as you do with LL.  With a rolling release (e.g. Manjaro), the kernel is updated automatically to the more recent stable versions. I found installing a newer kernel straightforward for PCLOS,  using the Synaptic Package Manager.

A major difference, compared with other recent distro releases, is that PCLOS comes without  'system d'  pre-packaged, which can make it a bit 'old-fashioned' for some.  However, this appeared a good thing for my single-core 10" Samsung netbook (setup [2] in sig), which slowed down significantly when I went from LL2.8 to LL3, which I put down to 'system d', as this feature was introduced in the LL3 series..  That said, I don't think 'system d' is the whole story for the slowdown on low-powered PCs, as Manjaro 17 (Xfce)  seems runs like a dream on this single-core netbook, despite 'system d' being present, e.g. only 25 seconds boot-up time (compared to 50 seconds or longer for PCLOS & other distros) and it runs very snappily with all the apps on it (though needed to swap the laggy firefox browser for the faster chromium one).

Maybe a bit old-fashioned in looks, but PCLOS (Xfce) is excellent - runs fast & very smooth - even on my single-core Samsung netbook.  Also comes pre-packaged with loads of apps. Always up-to-date, and officially  fully-supported by the PCLOS repositories, with always  the latest stable software & kernel releases available.  It is the only distro (along with Manjaro [Xfce]) that would plug & play with our Samsung TV display, without having to fiddle around with video settings - I put this down to both distros coming pre-packaged with the latest kernel release (at the time this was kernel  4.6, now 4.9).  However, I gave up using this distro on setup(1) below in sig - noone on the PCLOS forum seemed to know  how to install nVidia Optimus (no help-manual available for this either) to enable me to switch between the nVidia & Intel graphics card. In fact, I gave up trying to get the nVidia driver alone to work.  With only the Intel driver working, I was unable to play the latest edition of my favourite game (Supertuxkart), and so ditched PCLOS on this setup.  I found the Ubuntu-based command line 'apt-get install nvidia-prime nvidia-361-updates nvidia-settings' did not work in PCLOS (for installing Optimus), as well as some other terminal commands that seem to be Ubuntu-specific.

I never had any problems with PCLOS: just a slightly abrasive and slightly closed-world view (in isolated pockets) amongst their forum community, which made my visit there a bit uncomfortable on occasion, e.g. I was berated and subjected to a monologue on the 'dos and donts' for mentioning another distro (i.e. Ubuntu & its derivatives) and making comparisons (not unfavourable ones, I should add) with PCLOS, amongst other things.  I should mention though that the experience was only down  to two or three impolite individuals who had a 'bee in their bonnet' - the vast majority at the PCLOS forum seemed really decent & helpful folk, but it's amazing how the behaviour of just one or two can spoil the entire experience - it's one of the reasons I changed to Manjaro on setup(2) below. As with LL, Manjaro have a great forum community who always seem to be able to quickly rescue me from whatever I'm stuck on ...

Every-now-and-then, with PCLOS,  you'll get a security check scan (diff check), with a pair of notifications flashing up on your display that it's in progress. The diff check is reassuring (though have no idea how effective it is or what it does exactly - I assume it some sort of malware checker), though the notifications popping up can be distracting in the middle of a video or TV programme, though there's probably a setting you can adjust to turn this off.

I found my learning curve with LL really helped for PCLOS, e.g. the knowledge I gained with the use of terminal commands, Synaptic Package Manager, familiarity with the Xfce layout, etc.  Even though it's not Ubuntu-based, it still uses  commands in the terminal in combination with apt-get (e.g. update, upgrade, dist-upgrade, install, etc), as well as  a wide range of  other Linux commands I used with LL. However, they don't use sudo - instead you type su, then enter your password.

So anyway, that's my personal experience of PCLOS -  very positive as an OS on low-powered equipment, as long as you don't have an nVidia graphics card or dual-graphics card setup !

I hope the above is of some use to someone ...

Regards
Mike