The Portable Freeware Collection Forums

I've stated my preferences before both here and elsewhere (i.e., PeppermintOS: viewtopic.php?p=73217#p73217); but I'd like to introduce a radically minimalist distro that doesn't get a lot of attention: Tiny Core Linux (http://tinycorelinux.net/). It even has an official in-depth guide as a free ebook (available from http://tinycorelinux.net/book.html).



On a related note, our old friend at TinyApps.org recently heaped praise on Arch based Appricity, a new-comer distro I have yet to try...

@joby: Welcome to the world of GNU/Linux. Enjoy your trip.

For anyone wanting to follow suit, here's a detailed guide on how to create a booting Mint USB in Windows:

• How To Create A Linux Mint USB Drive Using Windows 10
  http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2016/0 ... drive.html

OTOH, you just might be too late...

• Microsoft’s Becoming the New, but Successful, Novell
  http://fossforce.com/2016/04/microsofts ... ifference/

This looks relevant for the topic -- a 4GB USB drive is needed, plus the "Chromebook Recovery Utility" and, of course, a laptop able to boot from USB.

http://www.linux.com/learn/turn-your-old-laptop-chromebook wrote:The year of Linux is here. According to reports, Google sold more Chromebooks in the first quarter of 2016 than Apple sold Macbooks. And, Chromebooks are about to get even more exciting...

• Turn Your Old Laptop into a Chromebook
  https://www.linux.com/learn/turn-your-o ... chromebook

Another interesting piece, IMHO...

• [url]http://fossforce.com/2016/09/endless-os-3-linux-net-less/[/url] author wrote:This operating system strives to deliver a persistent computing experience to society’s digital have-nots by providing both online and off-line access to hundreds of pre-installed, open-source health, education, business and entertainment apps.

  • • Endless OS 3: Linux for the Net Less
      http://fossforce.com/2016/09/endless-os ... -net-less/

Still enjoying the Mint experience, but thought to try something else and Chapeau came to my attention: http://chapeaulinux.org/




I like it quite a bit. It's different than what I'm used to, but still easy to use.
At this moment in time I could do just fine without Windows (still a light Linux user, though). Only gaming keeps calling me back, but PlayOnLinux (included) might just be the answer to that...

Came across this recently ...



Ubuntu Budgie: https://budgie-remix.org/ (formerly Budgie Remix)
Budgie desktop @ Solus: https://solus-project.com/budgie/
On becoming official Ubuntu flavour: http://news.softpedia.com/news/ubuntu-b ... 0062.shtml

Budgie is the flagship desktop of Solus and is a Solus project. It focuses on simplicity and elegance.

Written from scratch with integration in mind, the Budgie desktop tightly integrates with the GNOME stack,
employing underlying technologies to offer an alternative desktop experience.

What is Ubuntu Budgie (formerly budgie-remix)? ... It offers the same level of quality and package selection as
any other official Ubuntu flavor, but designed to be lightweight, user-friendly, simple and customizable, thanks
to the Budgie desktop, which relies on the latest GNOME technologies, for now.

Recently tested Mint on a 2016 HP laptop and everything worked without incident. Wireless, video, audio drivers all worked great where it was sluggish and buggy on Win10, even with plenty of RAM. Linux has definitely come a long way.

webfork wrote: ↑Linux has definitely come a long way.

Completely agree. With one big caveat: still not fully optimized for laptops right off the bat.

E.g., TLP needs manual installing and configuring...

I'm dipping my toes in Linux also, I use MX Linux and I like it very much

How about trying Porteus.
Its a portable distribution at size 280-400MB depending what interface you use (mate, cinnamon, etc)
http://porteus.org

I've been testing Manjaro on a separate partition.

Not bad, but I'd still miss certain Windows apps way too much.

Just noticed there's been a lot of Linux discussion on this Windows forum. Maybe it's time to start work on emulation tools again?

Wine in Ubuntu - viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6964
Crossover Test - viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3200

For anyone wanting to get a quick taste of a console based Linux environment, here's Levin/UX a puny 20MB Linux distro based on Tiny Core (see above: viewtopic.php?p=80454#p80454) that can be run out of your Dropbox. It supports Python...

[Levin/UX] is a tiny virtual Linux server that runs from USB or Dropbox with a double-click (no install or admin rights required) on Macs, Windows or Linux PCs -- making it the perfect controlled environment for learning Linux.