9 votes

Let's talk Puppy Linux

For the uninitiated, you can visit puppylinux.org to get to know more about it.

My first experience with Puppy wasn't good, since, for the life of me, I couldn't get the saves working. I still didn't, but I found that xenialpup does work for some reason, so I stuck with it.

After that, it's been great, and although I don't like the UI and some of the default apps, it worked on every computer I've tried it on, and it's light enough to run well on ancient computers.

As far as the tools go, it has everything I need to do my work, even if I'd prefer different tools (like vim and ranger).

That is, of course, only a problem with the default configuration, and Puppy has a very convenient tool to remaster itself, which I'll be using these holidays. It's great to be able to build a more welcoming version for yourself without needing any knowledge or spending a lot of time.

So, I just wanted to see what was your experience with Puppy, or, if you haven't tried it, what you think about it.

10 comments

  1. mrbig
    Link
    Slim distributions are awesome, but they’re not as relevant when the machine cannot support your browsing habits. Not many people would be comfortable without multiple tabs, media streaming and...

    Slim distributions are awesome, but they’re not as relevant when the machine cannot support your browsing habits. Not many people would be comfortable without multiple tabs, media streaming and JavaScript heavy websites. The major memory eater today is in the web browser, not the OS.

    Chrome OS derivatives may be a good alternative, but I never used those.

    7 votes
  2. [4]
    Parameter
    Link
    I messed around with it a bit but I didn't ever have a need for it. Unless your computer is truly ancient you'd probably be better off and happier with a light weight release of a more mainstream...

    I messed around with it a bit but I didn't ever have a need for it.

    Unless your computer is truly ancient you'd probably be better off and happier with a light weight release of a more mainstream distro. I reccomend debian with xfce4.

    Debian has a ton of packages but the default is minimal yet effective.

    Xfce4 is the desktop environment. Visually, it looks pretty decent and is very fast.

    7 votes
    1. [3]
      mrbig
      Link Parent
      Xfce is awesome. Not that easy to theme and further customize without messing with code. I guess that's a GTK thing? I think KDE is more "open" in that regard. More options, and, believe it or...

      Xfce is awesome. Not that easy to theme and further customize without messing with code. I guess that's a GTK thing? I think KDE is more "open" in that regard. More options, and, believe it or not, more performant than Xfce in recent benchmarks. I use i3wm, though.

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        Crestwave
        Link Parent
        What do you mean by that? Applying a theme or making one yourself? Source?

        Not that easy to theme and further customize without messing with code. I guess that's a GTK thing? I think KDE is more "open" in that regard.

        What do you mean by that? Applying a theme or making one yourself?

        ... believe it or not, more performant than Xfce in recent benchmarks.

        Source?

        3 votes
        1. mrbig
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Not making a theme yourself, that is complicated with any DE. What I meant was further altering a theme and fine graining interface settings. KDE is king in that department... you can do a lot...
          1. Not making a theme yourself, that is complicated with any DE. What I meant was further altering a theme and fine graining interface settings. KDE is king in that department... you can do a lot without ever touching code.
          2. I saw this pattern in about three different benchmarks, KDE was either lighter or the difference was negligible. My internet is shit today, so in I'm fairly limited in my Google-fu, but I'm sure you can find something by searching for "linux desktop environments benchmark" or something like that, and limiting your search to the last 12 months.
          2 votes
  3. Avizini
    Link
    I install everything onto my pendrive so I was looking for a light OS because of limited write cycles of pendrives. Later I learned that it wouldn't matter, someone online did the math. I've used...

    I install everything onto my pendrive so I was looking for a light OS because of limited write cycles of pendrives. Later I learned that it wouldn't matter, someone online did the math.

    I've used puppy during that time and it didn't leave a good impression. In live Oses I like KNOPPIX, it is awesome because it has everything that anyone would ever need and it's easy to setup and understand. After installing puppy I faced a lot of problems, I had to lookup how to get my ethernet working & some other minor issues. I was distro hopping during that time so used it for like 30 mins before installing another OS.

    I think Puppy would be good for machines that are old, IIRC it was made for that purpose.

    Currently I am using Antergos with i3wm and this is good for me, uses around 200MB of memory when idle.

    5 votes
  4. Flashynuff
    Link
    It's been a couple years since I played around with it, but in my experience this Was absolutely true, and definitely the most interesting part. I was able to get an install of Puppy up and...

    It's been a couple years since I played around with it, but in my experience this

    it's light enough to run well on ancient computers

    Was absolutely true, and definitely the most interesting part. I was able to get an install of Puppy up and running on a old Gateway that originally ran Windows 98. I don't think I ever used puppy for anything useful, but it was a fun experience in installing a Linux distro on a computer almost as old I was!

    3 votes
  5. Wren
    Link
    It''s pretty nice to be able to make a computer that's older than I am actually usable.

    It''s pretty nice to be able to make a computer that's older than I am actually usable.

    3 votes
  6. [2]
    starchturrets
    Link
    I tried using puppy linux once, but for some reason, the laptop I used wouldn't detect the USB as something to boot from. The only distro that worked was Ubuntu.

    I tried using puppy linux once, but for some reason, the laptop I used wouldn't detect the USB as something to boot from. The only distro that worked was Ubuntu.

    2 votes
    1. teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      This used to be very common with most Linux distros for me. If a machine has an optical drive that's always a safer bet.

      This used to be very common with most Linux distros for me. If a machine has an optical drive that's always a safer bet.

      1 vote