I have been using Puppy Linux as my main OS for more than ten years. As I recall it, Barry Kauler stated the intention was to create a turn-key system. That appealed to me; I had always used my computer as a tool. However, as time went on, I got into some of the technicalities, too, learned to use a terminal for simple procedures – most often with a lot of help from this forum. That interest, however, is fading. I don't want to spend a lot of time on figuring out or troubleshooting stuff I just barely understand.
I can’t remember the first few Puppies, but eventually I ended up with Wary, which seemed toi be a stable proposition, without too many version changes that required an old dog to learn new tricks. By a quirk, I transferred to Slacko a few years ago when I trashed my Wary and nearly everything on it, without much of a backup, and happened to have an experimental copy of Slacko on a almost forgottendisk. I am now on Slacko 632. But I am not so sure that’s what I should be on.
My needs are fairly simple and straightforward: searching the internet (Pale Moon); e-mail (Startmail); simple word processing (Atlantis); not so simple manuscript design (Scribus); to name a few main interests. I have the feeling Slacko is way more sophisticated than what I need it for. There’s lots of stuff in the Menu I am only marginally interested in, if at all. I am wondering if Slacko makes sense for me; I run an old-fashioned box (see below), with, by today’s standards, limited capacity., but more than plenty for what I do.
Before returning to Wary (I am not all that crazy about the newest Slacko), I wonder what other Puppies I might consider. I'd sure like to shorten the list of puppies to try out. I don’t need to keep up with the the latest and the greatest all the time, I like to keep it as simple and as turn-key as possible.
I would be appreciate getting some feedback on this.
Jake
HP Compaq
DC7100 SFF
P4 3.0GHz
80 Gb - SATA
1024 Mb RAM
Slacko 531
Slacko 632
Windows XP
Which Puppy?
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jakobcornelis
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Tue 06 Nov 2007, 15:37
- Location: Elliot Lake, Ontario
Hi
Barry's Precise 571 retro would be a good start.
2 built-in browsers (opera and seamonkey).
Fast, simple, stable, reliable, Low resource Puppy.
Basically an upgraded Wary.
Works extremely well.
HTH - best regards - Ray
Barry's Precise 571 retro would be a good start.
2 built-in browsers (opera and seamonkey).
Fast, simple, stable, reliable, Low resource Puppy.
Basically an upgraded Wary.
Works extremely well.
HTH - best regards - Ray
[b]Asus[/b] 701SD. 2gig ram. 8gb SSD. [b]IBM A21m[/b] laptop. 192mb ram. PIII Coppermine proc. [b]X60[/b] T2400 1.8Ghz proc. 2gig ram. 80gb hdd. [b]T41[/b] Pentium M 1400Mhz. 512mb ram.
Wary is very good. I'm using Racy wich has exactly the same version of software but is the first puppy with a series 3 kernel, has a newer Xorg server and supports things like xz compression. My Racy base sfs is compressed to 105MB. This is also the last of the really lean puppys. Precise came out a year later. I have three puppys on my machine ie. A strip down version of 412 (only 59MB) which I use as rescue system, Racy and tahr. I use Racy most of the time, really a fun distro. I also run Atlantis with WINE.
I have an older machine then yours, P3 from y2000, for which Wary was best choice. And another, y2008 dual core, for which Tahr was best, which is comparable to Slacko 6.3.2. Your machine (y2004?) is more like the last one, mainly because its processor has at least SSE2. So, if you are comfortable with it, I would stick to slacko.
If you would want to update Scribus or add newer stuff - may be the same with Atlantis - you can run into old-lib-issues in older puppies (like Wary) . But Tahr and Slacko have fairly new libs.
The menu may look plenty to you, but Slacko is really not bloated, not even big. It is a real mean lean puppy. You do not have to use everthing, but most things are so small, you better leave them in and don't bother.
If you would want to update Scribus or add newer stuff - may be the same with Atlantis - you can run into old-lib-issues in older puppies (like Wary) . But Tahr and Slacko have fairly new libs.
The menu may look plenty to you, but Slacko is really not bloated, not even big. It is a real mean lean puppy. You do not have to use everthing, but most things are so small, you better leave them in and don't bother.
Last edited by foxpup on Tue 19 Sep 2017, 06:42, edited 1 time in total.
Hi jakobcornelis,
Since, despite its "age", your computer can run Slacko 6.3.2, I agree with bigpup and foxpup: Tahrpup 6.0.5.
Based on Ubuntu, rather than Slackware, it doesn't expect you to jump thru hoops to obtain the applications you want. Additionally, many Puppy fans have already published applications which run under it. For example, Lazy Puppy has published LP2_Scribus-1.4.2.sfs, available here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 368#926368. For anything else it may be sufficient to just plug "Tahrpup NAME_OF_APPLICATION" into the Wellminded Search Box. http://wellminded.net63.net/.
As foxpup said, the applications you don't use don't take up much room. So, having them on a menu is just an annoyance. Under Tahrpup, you can simply remove them from the menu: Menu>Setup>Menu Manager edit the menu.
As you are well aware, Puppy pretty much ignores things like Ubuntu's "End of Life". About the only things to be concerned with are maintaining security and having a web-browser that will enable you to access increasingly graphic-rich and security conscious web-pages. Those who publish web-browser for Puppy are finding it increasingly difficult to do so for Slackos, but not so --as yet-- for 32-bit "Ubuntus" such as Tahrpup.
If and when it become necessary, just as with recent slackos, it is fairly easy to switch to a newer kernel with 'ubuntus'. Changing kernels for Wary or Racy, or even Precise, can be done, but not as easily. For recent Slackos and Ubuntus, it's just a matter of renaming a couple of files and rebooting; or using 01micko's application which renames the files for you.
Basically for the same reasons, you might want to add Xenialpup to your short list. It may, but may not, require a little more of your computer's resources. But some of its applications are newer; and even its kernel has not yet reached "End of Life". It will be supported by Ubuntu unit 2021, April, I think.
Either way, you should receive years of service with a minimum of effort.
mikesLr
Since, despite its "age", your computer can run Slacko 6.3.2, I agree with bigpup and foxpup: Tahrpup 6.0.5.
Based on Ubuntu, rather than Slackware, it doesn't expect you to jump thru hoops to obtain the applications you want. Additionally, many Puppy fans have already published applications which run under it. For example, Lazy Puppy has published LP2_Scribus-1.4.2.sfs, available here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 368#926368. For anything else it may be sufficient to just plug "Tahrpup NAME_OF_APPLICATION" into the Wellminded Search Box. http://wellminded.net63.net/.
As foxpup said, the applications you don't use don't take up much room. So, having them on a menu is just an annoyance. Under Tahrpup, you can simply remove them from the menu: Menu>Setup>Menu Manager edit the menu.
As you are well aware, Puppy pretty much ignores things like Ubuntu's "End of Life". About the only things to be concerned with are maintaining security and having a web-browser that will enable you to access increasingly graphic-rich and security conscious web-pages. Those who publish web-browser for Puppy are finding it increasingly difficult to do so for Slackos, but not so --as yet-- for 32-bit "Ubuntus" such as Tahrpup.
If and when it become necessary, just as with recent slackos, it is fairly easy to switch to a newer kernel with 'ubuntus'. Changing kernels for Wary or Racy, or even Precise, can be done, but not as easily. For recent Slackos and Ubuntus, it's just a matter of renaming a couple of files and rebooting; or using 01micko's application which renames the files for you.
Basically for the same reasons, you might want to add Xenialpup to your short list. It may, but may not, require a little more of your computer's resources. But some of its applications are newer; and even its kernel has not yet reached "End of Life". It will be supported by Ubuntu unit 2021, April, I think.
Either way, you should receive years of service with a minimum of effort.
mikesLr
Hi jakobcornelis,
I just want to reiterate what Mike and others said above. I tend to think of it like this (since Navy is in my background):
Among puppies, Tahr 6.0.5 is one of our battleships. Well-proven and tested across a quite large hardware universe. The result? It just keeps running, even when you're mean to it. And when it comes cruising into the Sydney harbor and sees the Softie Aircraft carrier up in the air, out of the water line, getting serviced (again), and over across the bay's other side is the nuclear submarine "I App" trying to figure out how to back the thing up, Puppy Tahr 6.0.5 holds its own, cool, calm, and a power-puncher----of course, all us drunken officers & sailors on the quarterdeck mooning the other two ships, well, you just have to look past that small digression.
I just want to reiterate what Mike and others said above. I tend to think of it like this (since Navy is in my background):
Among puppies, Tahr 6.0.5 is one of our battleships. Well-proven and tested across a quite large hardware universe. The result? It just keeps running, even when you're mean to it. And when it comes cruising into the Sydney harbor and sees the Softie Aircraft carrier up in the air, out of the water line, getting serviced (again), and over across the bay's other side is the nuclear submarine "I App" trying to figure out how to back the thing up, Puppy Tahr 6.0.5 holds its own, cool, calm, and a power-puncher----of course, all us drunken officers & sailors on the quarterdeck mooning the other two ships, well, you just have to look past that small digression.
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Mike Walsh
- Posts: 6351
- Joined: Sat 28 Jun 2014, 12:42
- Location: King's Lynn, UK.
Hello, Jakob.
My two cents worth?
In order of preference (for your hardware):-
1) I agree with RayMK; Precise 571.
2) If you want to stay with Slacko, there's only one choice, really....the 'classic' 570. Rock-solid, and ultra-stable. To my mind, Micko excelled himself with this one, and set a very high standard for future Pups to live up to.
3) Finally (goes without saying, TBH).....Tahrpup 6.05. The very first Pup I got working on my old P4-based Dell laptop, without needing to 'tweak' anything at all. The only problem with the above two (with the P4's 845 chipset) is the need to add 'i915.modeset=0' to the kernel line in Grub4DOS. This tells the 'Extreme' graphics chip to ignore the kernel's Intel driver, and use the 'nouveau' one instead. Intel were doing a lot of experimental stuff in the early days of the millennium, and pretty much threw the rule-book out the window when they built that thing!
If you don't do the above, you'll end up with a small (640x480) display squashed up into the top-left corner of the screen. The 'tweak' is, however, well-documented, only needs to be done once for any given install (and is very easy to accomplish), and is a small price to pay for getting two brilliant, stable Pups on that hardware.
And I agree with foxpup; since most of Pup's built-in software is so small & lightweight, it doesn't hurt to have it. You only use what you need to use.....it's there 'just in case'. I don't suppose I've ever used more than about 40% of stuff in any Pup in my kennels.....
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Just remember this, and you'll not go far wrong; a P4 is never going to be 'fast', compared with the current generation of number-crunchers. The 'NetBurst' architecture is ancient, and, although considered a real 'screamer' for its time, is not power efficient like modern ones.....and has long since been left behind by the relentless march of 'progress'. (A dual-core Atom, running at less than half the speed, will run rings around them, since the instruction sets are so much more advanced). But; they're reliable, tolerate (and generate!) ridiculous amounts of heat, will put up with no end of abuse, have the all-important SSE2s.....and they just keep chugging along.
The Dell (2.6 GHz P4 & 1.5 GB RAM) is currently quad-booting (from a 64GB SSD), with Slacko 570, Xenialpup 7081, rg66's X-Slacko 2.3.2, and greengeek's 'VoxPup' spin of Upup Raring. And they all run brilliantly.
Hope that helps..!
Mike.
My two cents worth?
In order of preference (for your hardware):-
1) I agree with RayMK; Precise 571.
2) If you want to stay with Slacko, there's only one choice, really....the 'classic' 570. Rock-solid, and ultra-stable. To my mind, Micko excelled himself with this one, and set a very high standard for future Pups to live up to.
3) Finally (goes without saying, TBH).....Tahrpup 6.05. The very first Pup I got working on my old P4-based Dell laptop, without needing to 'tweak' anything at all. The only problem with the above two (with the P4's 845 chipset) is the need to add 'i915.modeset=0' to the kernel line in Grub4DOS. This tells the 'Extreme' graphics chip to ignore the kernel's Intel driver, and use the 'nouveau' one instead. Intel were doing a lot of experimental stuff in the early days of the millennium, and pretty much threw the rule-book out the window when they built that thing!
If you don't do the above, you'll end up with a small (640x480) display squashed up into the top-left corner of the screen. The 'tweak' is, however, well-documented, only needs to be done once for any given install (and is very easy to accomplish), and is a small price to pay for getting two brilliant, stable Pups on that hardware.
And I agree with foxpup; since most of Pup's built-in software is so small & lightweight, it doesn't hurt to have it. You only use what you need to use.....it's there 'just in case'. I don't suppose I've ever used more than about 40% of stuff in any Pup in my kennels.....
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Just remember this, and you'll not go far wrong; a P4 is never going to be 'fast', compared with the current generation of number-crunchers. The 'NetBurst' architecture is ancient, and, although considered a real 'screamer' for its time, is not power efficient like modern ones.....and has long since been left behind by the relentless march of 'progress'. (A dual-core Atom, running at less than half the speed, will run rings around them, since the instruction sets are so much more advanced). But; they're reliable, tolerate (and generate!) ridiculous amounts of heat, will put up with no end of abuse, have the all-important SSE2s.....and they just keep chugging along.
The Dell (2.6 GHz P4 & 1.5 GB RAM) is currently quad-booting (from a 64GB SSD), with Slacko 570, Xenialpup 7081, rg66's X-Slacko 2.3.2, and greengeek's 'VoxPup' spin of Upup Raring. And they all run brilliantly.
Hope that helps..!
Mike.
Last edited by Mike Walsh on Mon 09 Oct 2017, 16:45, edited 2 times in total.
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jakobcornelis
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Tue 06 Nov 2007, 15:37
- Location: Elliot Lake, Ontario
Many thanks to Rae MK, nic007, foxpup, bipup, mikeslr, belham2, and Mike Walsh for your recommendations. So far I have made CDs for Tahrpup and Precise. The others will follow. Of those two Precise is ahead right now (don't ask me why). It's going to take me a while to make up my mind. I'll let you know when I have. Meanwhile, I really appreciate all of your responses. Thanks!