The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Xubuntu: a Linux OS For Mature-Age Hardware For the bookshelf Major Keary

Volunteers who refurbish hand-me-down computer hardware for disadvantaged users — especially in third-world countries — are often forced to reject donated equipment because it won't run recent or current versions of MS Windows. There is a solution: Xubuntu Linux.

Many of those out-of-date machines are still lying about in cupboards and garages, so why not give them new life with Xubuntu? It's a great way to get to know Linux, and enjoy an operating system that you really own along with all the applications.

From the Ubuntu stable, Xubuntu uses the XFCE graphical desktop. Unlike MS Windows, Linux has a number of GUI front-ends (desktops), of which KDE and GNOME are the most-used. The XFCE graphical desktop has a much smaller memory footprint than GNOME of KDE, which means it runs faster, and without the high-end hardware demanded by Windows.

The following has been extracted from a brief description in Keir Thomas: Beginning Ubuntu Linux:

"Because a key component of the Ubuntu Foundation's philosophy is to create an operating system that
can be used by anyone, regardless of where they are in the world, a version of Ubuntu that can be run on older hardware makes a lot of sense. [For example' it's unlikely that less developed countries will have access to the latest expensive computer hardware .... Xubuntu http://wiki.mbunto.com/Xubunto is simply a version of Ubuntu that replaces GNOME with XFCE. Despite XFCE's claim to be lightweight, it still offers a high degree of usability and shouldn't be seen as a second-best choice for stripped-down hardware. ... It also uses many modern GUI aspects ... [such as' theming and font aliasing".

The Xubuntu package has all the applications that come with the standard version and is capable of running them.
Apart from Xubuntu being able to run on mature-age hardware, there is a user manual: Beginning Ubuntu Linux. I don't know in what languages the book is available, other than English, but the reverse side of the title page says that information about translations "e-mail info@apres.com or visit http://www.apress.com".

The book does not assume the reader knows how to use Linux, but does assume familiarity with using a computer. It is a very well written manual that covers the operating system (including installation issues and networking), file management, Internet connections, multimedia, and describes the equivalents of commonly used Microsoft applications. A part of the book contains an OpenOffice user manual. There are clear instructions for downloading and installing or updating software. A companion CD contains the standard Ubuntu (version 5.10) distribution with a large library of applications.
 

Reprinted from the October 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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