[ltp] advice on Linux distribution for A20M (2628)

[Christopher Sawtell]

On Sun, 31 Jul 2005 11:29, James Oldham wrote:
> I just got an A20M (2628).
>
> Any advice on what distributions work best on this hardware?

Remember that the programs used in all Linux distributions are the same, It's 
only the install methods and graphical presentations that differ.

While your machine may not be exactly the latest toy, it is still more than 
sufficient to run run-of-the-mill Linux programs really quite well.

Unless given help by a more powerful modern computer using the distcc 
distributed C compiler system, a machine like yours is not powerful enough to 
build Linux and the application programs so source code distributions such as 
Gentoo are not a viable choice.

If you are new to Linux, my suggestion is either of the Ubuntu or Kubuntu 
distributions, depending on your aesthetic preferences. I prefer the latter 
but the former has the advantage that a production CD set is available for 
free. See:- http://www.kubuntu.org/ http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ and  
http://shipit.ubuntu.com/ 
These distributions seem to have got the installation dependencies properly 
sorted out.

You will find the addition of more RAM to be a very worth while upgrade.
I used a 400Mhz Pentium II with 384Mdegs RAM for several years until only last 
year.

You might find this somewhat out of date URL:- 
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~bdonovan/linux/ThinkPadA20.html
worth reading.

Please be aware that getting an internal winmodem to go properly under Linux 
is still a somewhat hit and miss, black-magic, and voodoo business. See:-
http://www.linmodems.org/ and http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/
The scanModem script available from the latter is particularly useful.

--
CS