Best Linux Distro for Writing Machine

[bertrandterrier]

Hey Linux People,

first post here

So, I have maybe a little bit of an unusual question. I have this quite old Thinkpad, that is still working quite well, except for being not very powerfull. But I'm a writer, so I thought, maybe I can “build” kind of a simple writing machine with nothing much on the Thinkpad than what I need for writing.

In the past I used different distros, mostly I worked with Manjaro. But now I thought: maybe is there some kind of “rudimentary basic Linux distro” I could use? Like I really don't need anything very visual. As long as I can use a programm to create text and text-like files and connect to the internet to save stuff -- that’s all I need.

Does someone maybe have an idea?

Greetings
bertrandterrier

 

[Brickwizard]

Welcome
as far as i see it you have 2 options,
1] if you feel Linux competent, then start with the Kernel and build your own be-spoke distribution just for publishing.
2]start with a full-blown distribution and hack out the apps you do not need and install any you do.

this quite old Thinkpad,

Hopefully it is post 2010 and a 64 bit machine, as 32 bit support id due to end in the next 12 months.

 

[kc1di]

Hello @bertrandterrier,
Welcome to the Linux.org forum, enjoy the journey!
Perhaps a minimal install of Antix would do what you want. I believe Ubuntu and it's spins also have minimal install options. Which will give you the basics and then you can add the text editor or word processor of your choice.
this page may be of help

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-distro-space/

or this

7 Super Lightweight Linux Distros

Light as a feather! These super small, lightweight Linux distributions should be interesting to try.

itsfoss.com

 

[dos2unix]

Is there a more frequent question than.. "what is the best distro for... ?"

All distro's use the same kernel, some have slightly newer kernel versions, some have slightly older kernel versions.
But it's all the same kernel. Older versions tend to be more stable. Newer versions tend to have more features and more drivers.

So then it's the desktop or the packages that make a distro unique?
No, almost all of them have the same office suite, the same browser, the same Wine, the same printer drivers,
the same network/Wi-Fi drivers. You can get MATE, or KDE, or XFce, or Gnome on almost any major distro.
Almost all of the packages of one distro are available for another distro.

In my experience, it all comes down to what package manager do you like?
If you like snap, use Ubuntu, If you like apt use Mint/Debian. If you like yum/dnf use Redhat/Fedora.
If you like yast/zypper use SuSE. But really, other than the background graphic images, they are basically
the same. It really doesn't matter which one you use.

I've heard people this one is better, or that one crashes too often, or the wi-fi didn't work with that one.
It's all the same kernel, with the same drivers. There really is no difference.

I've have 7 computers running seven different versions of Linux. None crash more than any other.
None have any packages that I can't install on the other. There really is no difference.

 

[KGIII]

How old is this Thinkpad?

 

[CaffeineAddict]

Best Linux Distro for Writing Machine

I think you should be worried about best keyboard for writing rather than distro.

You want mechanical keyboard which is excelent for writing.

 

[bertrandterrier]

I think you should be worried about best keyboard for writing rather than distro.

You want mechanical keyboard which is excelent for writing.

I already have the best keyboard. So no problem there. I already have a great typewriter and great pens. What I don't have is a simple writing machine with no distractions.

 

[bertrandterrier]

How old is this Thinkpad?

2014ish. It's a T430si. I got it used so I don't know the exact age of the computer.

 

[bertrandterrier]

Welcome
as far as i see it you have 2 options,
1] if you feel Linux competent, then start with the Kernel and build your own be-spoke distribution just for publishing.
2]start with a full-blown distribution and hack out the apps you do not need and install any you do.


Hopefully it is post 2010 and a 64 bit machine, as 32 bit support id due to end in the next 12 months.

Sweetest answer^^

I don't think I'm able to do that or have the time to learn it right now. But I like the optimism. And hopefully one day I am

 

[KGIII]

2014ish. It's a T430si. I got it used so I don't know the exact age of the computer.

Pretty much any distro will work on that hardware, though you might want to avoid GNOME as your DE (for example). Then, there's stuff like "Ghostwriter" which is good for 'distraction-free writing'.

 

[JasKinasis]

From those specs, I’d say pretty much any distribution will be fine. With Linux, the differences between most distributions are purely cosmetic.

They may use different kernel versions, different Desktop environments, different package management systems and have slightly different software selections installed by default. But underneath the hood, all Linux distributions are basically the same.

If resource usage/performance is a concern, installing a more lightweight distribution might make sense.

Rather than installing a full fat distro and uninstalling whatever you don’t need (as suggested by Brickwizard) - it might be more optimal to install something minimal like Arch or Debian (via Debian’s minimal net install image) which will initially give you a terminal only system. And then you can gradually add whatever else you need.

Personally, I find that starting out with a minimal base and adding things, yields a cleaner and more efficient system than starting out with a bloated mess and gradually removing things.

 

[dos2unix]

I know some people don't like competition, but I love it.

Ford comes out with a fast car, so then next year Chevy comes out with a faster one.
So then next year Dodge comes out with an even faster one. ... and the cycle continues.

Hamburger joint one, comes out with a quarter pounder, so hamburger joint two comes out
with a double quarter pounder. So soon, burger joint 3 comes out with a triple patty burger.

I believe competition makes things better.

Linux distro A says I come with 32,000 packages, so next year Linux distro B says well I have 38,000 packages.
Linux distro C, but I can run in only 50MB of RAM, and I only take up 1GB on your drive. So distro D says
"hold my beer".

The thing is, Linux is so much better than it was 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago.
It's faster, it's more secure, there are more drivers, more software packages, it's generally more efficient.
( that last one could be argued I suppose ).

Use what you like. Don't use what you don't like.

than starting out with a bloated mess and gradually removing things.

Some of us never remove the junk.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I believe competition makes things better.

Absolutely, I was questioning my self why don't all distro maintainers and various devs join forces and focus on one distro only with the aim to create an ultimate distro that outperforms everything.
Because this would mean strong competition vs Windows and Mac because as it stands now all distros are nothing but duplicate work of same things.

But if that happened to be so and therefore no competition among distros this means authority over how things look, run and feel, people who won't like this or that would have no choice.

 

[MikeRocor]

Personally, I find that starting out with a minimal base and adding things, yields a cleaner and more efficient system than starting out with a bloated mess and gradually removing things.

This!

And you have less likelihood breaking the whole mess by removing something you shouldn't have. Not that I ever done -that-, of course.

 

[Caluser2000]

Quite few distros have minimal "net installs" that give you a choice of what yo can install. In the olde days advanced Linux installation routines gave you an option like Debian3 Woody I've just installed on my 386DX25 thingy. You definitely don't need a GUI for writing stuff with. Hell even a variant of Dos and appropriate applications would be fine imho.

 

[MikeRocor]

Hell even a variant of Dos and appropriate applications would be fine imho.

Oh, don't be a sissy! Wordstar worked perfectly well on CP/M-80.

 

[Caluser2000]

Just installed Debian 2r2 on my 386DX25, I'm sure vi would work as well.mmmm