LinuxLaptopsDistro

What are the best Linux distros for small laptops?

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Damn Small Linux vs Lubuntu vs LXLE

 vs Absolute Linux vs ElementaryOS

Specs

Based On

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Default Desktop Environment

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Init-System

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Package Manager

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Main Usage

-

Release Schedule

-

Official Supported Architectures

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Origin

-

Release Type

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Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

LXQt

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Main Usage

Ubuntu with preinstalled LXQt desktop

Release Schedule

Point (follows Ubuntu releases)

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Origin

-

Release Type

-

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

LXDE

Init-System

Systemd

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

Main Usage

Lightweight Desktop

Release Schedule

Point (2 Year LTS)

Official Supported Architectures

-

Origin

USA

Release Type

Binary

Based On

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Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Main Usage

-

Release Schedule

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

Origin

-

Release Type

-

Based On

-

Default Desktop Environment

-

Init-System

-

Package Manager

-

Main Usage

-

Release Schedule

-

Official Supported Architectures

-

Origin

-

Release Type

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Lightweight

By utilizing minimal software Lubuntu is able to use less resources and power.
Comment

Pro
 Part of the Ubuntu family

Being based on Ubuntu (which itself is based on Debian), there's a good amount of information and support to be found when searching for it, both on Lubuntu specifically and Ubuntu that also applies to Lubuntu. It also means that there are certain security and usability standards enforced and you can use Ubuntu .deb packages.
Comment

Pro
 Offers a long term support release

Lubuntu offers a long term support release with their 14.04 Trusty Tahr based version.
Comment

Pro
 LXDE desktop

Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment performs fast and conserves resources.
Comment

Pro
 Uses Openbox as the default window manager

Lubuntu (LXDE) uses the lightweight Openbox window manager to manage its windows. By using Openbox by default LXDE is able to remain lightweight as there is no built in composite manager in Openbox to take up resources.
Comment

Con
 Clock in panel is broken currently in LXDE

The clock panel applet does not work as expected in the newest versions of LXDE. If the clock is set to not show seconds in the display when waking from suspend the clock will not update until the time actually changes in the applet which means it can take up to a minute for the clock to update when seconds are not shown. The work around to this is to display seconds on the clock which allows it to update after suspend within one second. Sadly the clock does not display seconds correctly as it skips them by one to three at least once a minute, often more. This is also not the first time there have been problems with the panel clock which clearly illustrates this to be an ongoing problem for the developers.
Comment

Con
 No composite manager

Being a modern desktop many users expect compositing, even on lightweight systems. Without compositing there will be screen tearing, a lot of it. Though there is built in support for users to add their own compositors such as Compton.
Comment

Con
 Lacks some window management features

There's no built-in way to snap windows to the sides, re-size them by double clicking the bar, or dragging to the edges.
Comment

Con
 Long term support not as long as other Ubuntu spins

Lubuntu has not always had LTS support. Luckily they do offer a 3 year LTS now but it is shorter than other Ubuntu spins that receive a full 5 years of support.
Comment

Pro
 Very simple to use

Practically anyone can use it within an hour of its install - great concept!
Comment

Pro
 Clean, slick and just works

Comment

Pro
 Easy operating system for users who like to change from MS Windows/Mac

More powerful than MS Windows and good looking like Mac. Benefits for advanced users and easy to regular users.
Comment
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