Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Best os choices and use cases for a netbook with 2ram? (leminal.space)

submitted 1 week ago by GrumpyCat@leminal.space to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I recently got a 10 dollar working netbook from a thiftstore. It has 2 ram and is from 2010 but isint the up-gradable version. Im wondering what os to run on it do i go with something like a android build or a linux setup? Im could also use some neat use cases. Ive thought about doing retro game on it but there are possible better solutions?

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[–] nyan@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Assuming you mean 2GB RAM, it will run a full Linux. I was using a 2008-vintage laptop with similar specs as a secondary machine until recently, and it was capable of handling many light workloads. Retro gaming up to the 16-bit era should be fine. 720p video playback from local storage (never tried streaming) was fine. Modern websites were very hard on it, though, so I didn't normally use it in that capacity.

Just pick a distro that isn't too bloated, and a desktop environment that's suited to older machines and doesn't expect too much of the hardware, and you'll be fine.

(My laptop still works, by the way. I gave it up because 1. I got a good deal on a machine with much higher specs and 2. I run Gentoo, and compiling a modern version of GCC on a dual-core of that vintage takes longer than you would expect.)