Recommendations for installation on a 256mb laptop (Acer Travemate)

I've finally managed to convince my wife that it would be a good idea to
install Linux on her laptop, an Acer Travelmate 244LC with 256mb RAM and a
Celeron 2.6 GHz processor, which was running unbearably slowly.
I recently reinstalled windows on it, and now it's actually quite
responsive, but I was convinced that a light linux version would be a
boost, so I installed xubuntu.
It wasn't. She claims that it runs faster, but I think she says so to be
nice to me. Especially the combination firefox + some java based web app
sends the machine into swap hell, and it's hardly an improvement from
Windows. I ended up installing KDE instead, and it actually seems to be
quicker than xfce4.
Questions:
1. Does anyone have general experiences with linux on hardware like this?
Is it a good idea to adjust the swappiness? What should the partition table
look like? It now has a Windows partition followed by an extended partition
with an ext3 and a swap partition (512mb). Given that, with RAM like that,
it is bound to use quite a lot of swap, should I put the swap partition as
early on the disk as possible?
2. Arch vs. Ubuntu. Has anyone compared them on hardware like this? Now
that ubuntu also uses a 686-kernel by default, does Arch have any other
benefits over [XK]ubuntu, speed-wise? I.e. things that can't be tweaked but
which are system-specific?
Back when I switched from Ubuntu (or was it Mepis?) to Arch, back in 2004
or 2005, the improvement was immense, but I'm not sure if that still holds.
No wars, please...
Since I'm going to be her sysadmin, the usual usability issues shouldn't be
much of a problem, since I intend to set the machine up to be "just
works"/"point and click"-usable with only stable apps etc. But unless I can
point to a performance boost, both vs. Windows and vs. Xubuntu, it's
probably not worth the effort.
So if anyone has experiences with wife-installations, please speak up.

I keep reading that Arch feels fast, at least compared to Ubuntu, but I don't know where it really comes from. One thing that comes to mind (except disabling all unneeded daemons) is the stripping of debug symbols.
That way or another, I'd try Arch with XFCE or KDEmod3 instead of Xubuntu. Or even some well set up *box or FVWM, but, of course, it'd need some work from you to make it usable for her.
I'd actually like to hear how Xubuntu compares to Arch+XFCE in performance terms.
And if you go with KDE, it's a good idea to use Opera/Konqueror instead of Firefox, and generally apps from a given toolkit. I played with XFCE again the other day and it actually used more memory with almost no apps open than my KDE3 with few apps open, without mixing toolkits.
Ah, there's this fun project called compcache, you might find it useful. It's eg. in the zen kernel. Getting more RAM would speed up things a lot.
Last edited by lucke (2008-08-10 15:49:58)

Similar Messages

Laptop Recommendation for CS5

Hi all - I hope you don't mind me posting this request in this forum.
I am buying a new laptop (win7 platform, unfortunately...) and I have to keep the price at around $1k. I'd like to know if you have any recommendations - I pasted a few examples after the body of this post.
The **only** thing I care about this laptop is that I can run Adobe CS5 Design Premium **fast* with flawless switching between, and exchanging data among, the applications.
I won't have to bog down the machine with any form of office or other microsoft software. I use firefox to browse the web and use "office" type applications online like google docs.
I'm not a gamer nor do I require killer video or audio.
In summary: Running Adobe CS5 Design Premium is my only concern for this purchase.
All that said, I did a little research online and came up with three examples. I would appreciate any of your thoughts on these laptops (graphics, speed, etc) or any recommendations you may have.
Thanks so much for your time!
Dan
Laptops I've Researched
Laptop: DELL Inspiron Model I1764-6890OBK Price: $899
[Intel® Core™ i5 Processor]
[17.3" Display]
[ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 with 512M]
[4GB Memory DDR3]
[500GB Hard Drive]
Link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5 +Processor+/+17.3%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Obsidian+Black/1063184.p?id =1218215935768&skuId=1063184&st=1063184&cp=1&lp=1
Sony VAIO Laptop Model VPCF133FXH Price: $1099
[Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor]
[16.4" Display]
[NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 425M graphics card with 1GB]
[4GB Memory DDR3/1333]
[500GB Hard Drive]
Link: http://www.hhgregg.com/ProductDetail.asp?productId=72103&utm_source=google&utm_medium=prod uct&utm_campaign=feed
Toshiba Satellite Model P500-BT2G23 Price $1099
[Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor]
[18.4” diagonal widescreen TruBrite® TFT LCD display at 1680 x 945 native, HD]
[NVIDIA® GeForce® 330M with 1GB]
[4GB Memory DDR3]
[500GB Hard Drive]
Link: http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cdetland.to?poid=496203

Check out the Dell Studio series and go with a 64 bit version of Windows and max out the RAM (I think they can go to 8 gigs) I still think they have the best bang for the buck out there for laptops.
Curious...why the problem with Win 7? Great operating system, IMO.
Bob

The hard drive on my laptop that contained Elements just died. Can I get a second copy for installation on my new PC?

The hard drive on my laptop that contained Elements just died. Can I get a second copy for installation on my new PC?

The iPhone is not a backup device.
Restore the iTunes library from the backup that should be kept of your media and other important files.
Syncing the iPhone to a new library (in this case, it will be a new library unless you have a complete backup of the iTunes folder pre-crash) will result in the media on the device being removed and replaced with content from the new library.
As for iOS5, we really do not know until Apple officially releases it.

Recommendations for a SILENT laptop?

Hi,
I don't know if I'm in the right place to ask something like that, but I'm planing to buy a new laptop. The actual one's is in a bad state: hardware problems, overheating (even with frequency scaling), ultra-noisy fan, etc. This is specially that noisy fan than that makes me crazy.
I'm not looking for high performance: I'm just using it for web-browsing, listening music, watching movies, etc.
Here are some criteria:
- It has to be SILENT & robust !!!
- Linux (and specially arch) hardware compatibility
- Wireless would be a plus
- Consequent autonomy & battery life
- Dvd reader
- Not so small screen
- And finally, an affordable price!
So, did you have some solid recommendations for me?
Thanks in advance,
Vomix.
Last edited by vomix (2007-12-09 08:58:01)

- It has to be SILENT & robust !!!
Every new laptop with core 2 duo, and a decent GPU should meet that criteria. Gone are the times of P4 burning holes in the chassis. Of course, there are exceptions, but those laptops are generally running high end GPUs, like the "Asus G1s" do.
- Linux (and specially arch) hardware compatibility
Arch has the best chance of working, out of *any* distro if you ask me. That's has been my experience any way.
- Wireless would be a plus
99.9 of all have wlan built in nowadays.
- Consequent autonomy & battery life
Again, core 2 duo are really efficient. Just avoid 7200 rpm drives and hungry GPUs. Most laptops already have 5200 rpm drives unless it'a a gaming laptop anyway.
- Dvd reader
You have a really funny idea of what a brand new 2007 laptop might have If you manage to find one without a DVD reader, then congratulations, you might just as well have won the lottery.
- Not so small screen
I recently bought a 14.1" laptop, and the screen size was too small for many hours in front of it. Belive it or not, a 15.4" was way more comfortable, even though in reality the difference shouldn't be that large. What you should worry about, is the screen quality. Really. Some laptops have really *crappy* viewing angles, spread of brightness and light leakage. Be careful, and read reviews first.
This is a good site where you can sort by rating in different criterias;
http://www.notebookcheck.net/
Good luck.

The Server Core installation option is recommended for servers running Hyper-V

Hi,
I installed Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on my machine and upon running BPA it says that
The Server Core installation option is recommended for servers running Hyper-V
I don't understand what it meant by re-installing hyper-v core instead of the full installation. My Hyper-v is a stand-alone Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 that is the free one.
Thanks!
JAnus

Hi JAnus,
I am afraid you can not change that report .
Please just ignore that .
Best Regards
Elton Ji
We
are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this
interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time.
Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.

Recommendations for the best i7 L3 8GB Laptop to buy?

Can someone tell me what the best Laptop to buy with the following specifications:
i7 L3 8GB (or more)
I need something that will last for five years, and run Dragon.
Thanks!

Thank you for your quick reply. The "Knowbrainer website" has the following laptop recommendation for the best performance of the Dragon Naturally Speaking program. I looked through the Best Buy options--there are quite a few that offer what is recommended below. So which of the Best Buy options (that meet the specs below) should I buy? The specs, according to "Knowbrainer" are:
1. Core™ i7 Ivy Bridge with four cores and hyperthreading (eight threads). In other words, go with the highest Core™ i7 Ivy Bridge you can find as far as speed, number of cores, L3 cache, etc.
2. Look for at least 8 GB of RAM and preferably 16 GB of RAM. The reason for this is that there are going to be a lot of changes to the size and number of 64-bit applications over the next few years. 8 GB might do you just fine right now, but if you're going to go for five years with this laptop, then you're better off going with 16 GB of RAM looking down the road.
it's the processor, the amount of L3 cache and the RAM that form the core.
The bottom line: take into consideration that the computer needs to run both Windows 8 and DNS 12, and looking down the road to possibly DNS 13. Also, keep in mind that it's a given that whatever you're going to purchase now is going to be out of date inside of nine months. You just can't win at the rate that technology is advancing. Also, sometime next year Intel is going to introduce a whole new set of processors for both desktops and laptops that will raise the bar on performance. It's the game we play with hardware and Dragon.
Thanks!

Recommendations for laptop coolers?

Any recommendations for laptop coolers? I'm thinking aluminum, largest fans possible and I want it as large as the footprint of the MBP 15" (no little postage stamp sized units). I was considering the Startech NBCOOLERPRO. Opinions?

While I haven't had a need for one these things seem to really work from the reviews I've read, lowing temps up to 10 degrees.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=blsrelectronics?ie=UTF8&search-alias=electronics&field-brandtextbin=ThermaPAK
Do a Google search of Thermapak reviews and you will see quite a few positive ones.
Regards,
Roger

Seeking Laptop Recommendations For Video Editing On-The-Go (Around $1,000)

Hi there,
I am seeking recommendations for a laptop great for video editing. I am a YouTuber with an on-the-go lifestyle.
Budget is $1,000ish.
I need to be able to physically lock the laptop with one of those holes on the side.
I want to be able to multi-task well by having a variety of programs open at once.
Thanks for the help.

Well that is a tall request Take a look at this factory refurbished starter unit. I acquired a similar refurbished unit just a year ago and upgraded it with more RAM and SSD drives. The upgrade process is extremely simple. You could start with the unmodified unit and as you run into performance problems upgrade gradually. My laptop is now editing three camera timelines of AVCHD 1920 x 1080 with ease. I now have 24 GB of RAM and got rid of the 1 TB 5400 rpm by cloning it to a 128 GB SSD drive and adding a second very good SSD in the available port. Removing one screw gives you full access to do this. Here is a picture of the bottom of my laptop.
Edit, I just checked and it does have a Kensington security slot
You do realize that the only way to do video editing is to have the laptop AC powered.

Apps recommendations for a laptop running on a SD card

Hi everyone,
Months ago, the hard drive of my netbook crashed. Because 1.8" hard drives are rare and that SSD of the same size cost a lot, I decided to make it running on a SD card (class 10 for the speed at least ^^ ).
I followd the wiki page about it and installed openbox and SLim on it.
For now, I'm running wicd on it.
Now I'm wondering which softwares I could put it on it.
Because there are a huge number of these apps, I ask for recommendation while I'm searching and testing some of them.
I need them to be [bold]lightweight[/bold] (because it is running on a 16 Go Class 10 SD card).
So, what I need :
-A file manager;
-A VNC and RDP client;
-An e-mail/calendar client;
-A good code editor like notepad++ (I know that it is on Windows, but I use it even on Linux, but I want to avoid Wine on this laptop);
-An openVPN client;
-A terminal to remplace Xterminal;
-A lightweigt tray manager.
It is not much a problem if the softwares have not a GUI, but it is prefered.
Any other recommendations for this netbook would be appreciated too ^^.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by CPU Gastronomy (2010-12-31 17:48:49)

I love command line, but because I have to use some tools only with a GUI provided by my college and that I've got courses concentrated on making GUI, I will need a GUI interface.
For the code editor, because I wanted one with syntax highlighting and tab navigation, I found Geany (available in the community repository).
It mistly needs Gtk and almost nothing more, so it's not environment dependdan
For the two days I tested it, it goes pretty well. Fast, lightweigt and there're a plenty bunch of fun features.
I'll use it the time I learn to use correctly and efficiently vi .
Thanks for rxvt-unicode, I like it more than xterminal (because of the tab feature) and pcmanfm is what I was searching for.
Thanks a lot.

Recommendations for Oracle server regarding installation of Hyperion S9

Hello,
Can you please tell me where I can find some information concerning (hardware) recommendations for an Oracle server to be used to host Hyperion system 9 products?
In other words, I would like to know the recommendations for configuring a machine with Oracle 10g.
Many thanks!
Best Regards,
Andy

Try the Start Here guide:
[http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E10530_01/doc/epm.931/hsys9_install_start_here.pdf]
Regards,
Imran

My internal hard drive isn't being recognized on my macbook pro but when I put the HD in my Mac Pro (desktop), the desktop computer recognizes the HD. When I insert the installer CD on my laptop, it also doesn't recognize my hard drive. Please help!

My internal hard drive isn't being recognized on my macbook pro but when I put the HD in my Mac Pro (desktop), the desktop computer recognizes the HD. When I insert the installer CD on my laptop, it also doesn't recognize my hard drive. Please help! Thank you!
I've also been getting an image with the folder and question mark. I've tried everything on the apple support page but it doesn't seem to work either.

Well, I tried all of your suggestions and they didn't work -- no surprise because I was trying to backup to my external c.d. disk. Duh! The application for the home is in the mail.

Recommendations for a new monitor?

Greetings,
I'm looking for a new monitor for my Powermac G4 450 MHz AGP (sawtooth).
I'm currently using a Formac Gallery 1740 after 6 years it's starting to faded out on me.
I'd really appreciate any suggestion or Recommendations for a new one.
Aisha K.

I'm using a 17" LCD, Acer model AL1706 on my G4 400MHz AGP. Was plug 'n play and has been flawless over the years. I'm sure the current model numbers are different.
 Cheers, Tom
Here's some Acer model LCD monitors.
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-19-inch-Flat-Panel-Monitor/dp/B0002X8TVW
Message was edited by: Texas Mac Man

What are Best Practice Recommendations for Java EE 7 Property File Configuration?

Where does application configuration belong in modern Java EE applications? What best practice(s) recommendations do people have?
By application configuration, I mean settings like connectivity settings to services on other boxes, including external ones (e.g. Twitter and our internal Cassandra servers...for things such as hostnames, credentials, retry attempts) as well as those relating business logic (things that one might be tempted to store as constants in classes, e.g. days for something to expire, etc).
Assumptions:
We are deploying to a Java EE 7 server (Wildfly 8.1) using a single EAR file, which contains multiple wars and one ejb-jar.
We will be deploying to a variety of environments: Unit testing, local dev installs, cloud based infrastructure for UAT, Stress testing and Production environments. **Many of our properties will vary with each of these environments.**
We are not opposed to coupling property configuration to a DI framework if that is the best practice people recommend.
All of this is for new development, so we don't have to comply with legacy requirements or restrictions. We're very focused on the current, modern best practices.
Does configuration belong inside or outside of an EAR?
If outside of an EAR, where and how best to reliably access them?
If inside of an EAR we can store it anywhere in the classpath to ease access during execution. But we'd have to re-assemble (and maybe re-build) with each configuration change. And since we'll have multiple environments, we'd need a means to differentiate the files within the EAR. I see two options here:
Utilize expected file names (e.g. cassandra.properties) and then build multiple environment specific EARs (eg. appxyz-PROD.ear).
Build one EAR (eg. appxyz.ear) and put all of our various environment configuration files inside it, appending an environment variable to each config file name (eg cassandra-PROD.properties). And of course adding an environment variable (to the vm or otherwise), so that the code will know which file to pickup.
What are the best practices people can recommend for solving this common challenge?
Thanks.

HI Bob,
As sometimes when you create a model using a local wsdl file then instead of refering to URL mentioned in wsdl file it refers to say, "C:\temp" folder from where you picked up that file. you can check target address of logical port. Due to this when you deploy application on server it try to search it in "c:\temp" path instead of it path specified at soap:address location in wsdl file.
Best way is re-import your Adaptive Web Services model using the URL specified in wsdl file as soap:address location.
like http://<IP>:<PORT>/XISOAPAdapter/MessageServlet?channel<xirequest>
or you can ask you XI developer to give url for webservice and username password of server

Using Excel 2008 for a Mac in my laptop and part of toolbar has disappeared (windows, help, view, etc) and Need to to freeze column headings

Using Excel 2008 for a Mac on my laptop
Part of toolbar has disappeared (windows, help, view, etc) --- want to restore
Need to freeze column headings but freezing option was not working prior to disappearance of tool bar

Hi Alveretta,
Thanks for posting in MSDN forum.
This forum is for developers discussing developing issues on Windows platform. I suggest to get more effective response from
Office for mac forum.
The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or
learn from your interaction with us.
Thanks for your understanding.
Best regards
Fei
We are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time. Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.
Click
HERE to participate the survey.

My recommendations for edits to the Thunderbird "Profiles" section: "Restoring".

Dear Thunderbird "Help" team:
My recommendations for edits to the Thunderbird "Profiles" section:
Things that are not clear, on the page of Thunderbird "...Restoring to a different location..."
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb#w_restoring-to-a-different-location .
and...
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb
A.a) Existing: "...Each profile is stored on your hard drive in a profile folder. The folder is named using the following convention:
<random_string>.<profile_name>
...where "<random_string>" is eight digits randomly generated by Thunderbird and "<profile_name>" is the name you assigned to the profile. ..."
A.b) Please replace "digits" with "characters". In common US English, digits are numerical, 0 to 9. (You have it right, in the later paragraph: "Restoring a profile backup". )
B) At "Moving a profile", it is not clear the difference between that and "Restoring to a different location". Please split the two cases, so that each one is complete unto itself. Write separate instruction sets (there is no advantage to economy of words, in a webpage like this.)
B.a) Explain first how to find the file "profiles.ini", by using the Windows Explorer window.
B.b) Recommend that the user first make a backup copy of that file "profiles.ini", in case the work does not succeed, so that the messed-up file can be replaced with the original.
B.c) In the descriptors of "Moving a profile", for the actions to be taken, it is not clear whether each step is... at the location of the backup, or... at the location for the desired new installation. Especially uncertain for Step 3 and Step 4.
B.d) In Step 5, give a better explanation for the path options: - relative or non-relative. How does the user know if the path option has been switched?
Marian Beddill

You spoke to my first item - "digits".
But my BIG problem is the second one. -- "Moving a profile".
I cannot understand the instructions. (*)
The reason, is that it tries to cover TWO CASES/SITUATIONS , jumbled into ONE instruction set.
My request to Mozilla, is to split those instructions into TWO (or more) distinct and separate instruction sets, but with each set dealing ONLY with one case.
Write one set for "Moving a profile".
Write one set for "Restoring to a different location".
This way, the user does not have to try to interpret the "if"-descriptors, while in the middle of trying to accomplish the task at hand.
Doing as I ask, makes for more words, and a longer page. But there is no cost for length of a page, and a great advantage to the user, since the steps to be followed for each case are distinct and are not ambiguous. Do not have any "If-this" detours in the sequence of operations.
(*) PS: I am not dumb on programming. I have been writing code since 1966, and have taught programming in several other nations.
(**) PPS: I still have not been able to move ("replicate") my old profile and message files, from the external backup copy, into the new, clean machine, so that I may continue corresponding from where I left off, when the motherboard crashed.

Recommendations for installation on a 256mb laptop (Acer Travemate)

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for