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robert hyrons, 123RF
Most companies producing PCs today claim that a computer becomes outdated after four years of use. Even so, there are computers much older than four years that work just fine when they are outfitted with a lean operating system and suitable software.
New versions of major operating systems advertise themselves with claims of increased productivity, convenience, and performance. However, demands on the hardware increase as well. Current Windows and Linux systems require machines with multicore processors, a generous amount of working memory, and a modern graphics card.
Aside from the more commonly known systems, a growing number of lean Linux derivatives work surprisingly well on single-core computers, which are up to 15 years old and only have small amounts of memory.
For our test, we installed some of these derivatives on a computer that was about 10 years old. The test turned out well. The computer showed itself capable of working productively with the lean Linux versions.
To test the feasibility of these derivatives, we used several HP Compaq notebooks from the Centrino and first Centrino 2 generations. These notebooks have simple single-core and dual-core processors and no turbo boost or hyperthreading. They generally use integrated Intel graphics chips for controlling the display.
We tested the desktop side with Pentium D systems of the same age. These were based on the Intel Netburst architecture and were accordingly inefficient. Additionally, we tested the economical Linux distributions on IBM workstations built in 2003 and 2004 with Pentium 4 single-core processors.
We narrowed our choices from among the three dozen or so lean Linux distributions that are mentioned on Wikipedia [1] by applying the following criteria. The distributions had to enable productive computer work. Distributions lacking an office package or current browser, such as Firefox/Iceweasel or Weasel or Chromium, were disqualified.
Similar demands were made on the desktop environment. It had to be efficient to operate, and we didn't want one that emanated the look and feel of the early 1990s. All settings and tools needed to have a graphical interface so that newcomers to Linux would not have to spend too much time figuring out how to operate the systems.
The first candidate we looked at was 4MLinux, which is a mini Linux distro from Poland [2] that is unusual for many reasons. Developed independently for the graphic desktop Joe's Window Manager, JWM [3], and also part of the classic and lean Window Maker [4], the system focuses on four application areas.
The maintenance area includes a series of tools for system maintenance and data recovery. The multimedia category has programs for playing and editing audiovisual content, miniserver bundles lean server services, and the subgroup mystery is allocated to games.
4MLinux does not need very many resources when the operating system is installed on local bulk memory. The working memory should be at least 128MB, and at least 1GB of free space needs to be available on the hard disk or SSD. The Wbar quickstart bar, which is used for important applications and sits at the upper edge of the screen, together with the status monitor Conky, which sits on the desktop, give the system a modern look.
Thanks to the preconfigured Idesks, it is even possible to put icons on the minimalist desktop. This includes some optical gimmicks. The panel bar at the bottom of the screen with it starters, main menu, and system tray round out the desktop (Figure 1).
Figure 1: During testing, the start screen for 4MLinux established itself as cutting edge.
The extensions that have been put into the main menu in 4MLinux are also worthy of mention. These include installation scripts for numerous standard applications, such as LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, and also Wine, the Java runtime environment, and Virtualbox. With these extensions, no manual installation is necessary for users who want to add to the collection of software.
Additionally, VirtualBox offers the option of executing another operating system on 4MLinux. It turned out that even smaller Linux derivatives and OS/2 Warp v3 could be used in virtual machines, although the single core CPUs with their 1GB working memory were not breaking any speed records in the process.
Conclusion: 4MLinux is appealing due to its extremely small consumption of resources, a high level of stability, and speedy functioning. Thus, it is suitable for use as a solid all-around system in the day-to-day workplace.
However, it does have gaps in its software portfolio. Users who enjoy installing and experimenting with new programs might consider this an interesting challenge.
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