what version of LO would work on a really old system?

users
#21

Here is a reply for a few posts.

Italo

I use to program main frame computers and my first PC was a PC-XT generic system with dual floppies.  In the past 20+ years, I did do some small stuff with various languages, but went with C/C++ maybe 10 years ago, but I am not really a PC programmer.

I learned about Linux, RedHat and others, in a class for a Network Technology degree.  During the Vista era, I needed to do some audio/video work and the Windows packages were more than 4 times my rent. I then bought a "low cost" desktop for a Linux box.  I loved all of the free stuff.  Then with the knowledge that half my processing power went to anti virus and other security packages, I started to use Ubuntu 9.10 on a newly bought desktop.  That one now has 6.25TB of storage space. Two of my laptops have Ubuntu MATE and Windows 10 installed, and the newest runs only Ubuntu MATE.

Robert The custom install as you stated seems to come up in Windows, not DEB based Linux install, unless you install through the repository, and package managers like Synaptic.
Henri I did not look to see Base, since I did not use it. Yes, the Math, Draw, and Base, seems not to be installed by default. Since the repository usually have an older versions of LO. It looked like Ubuntu MATE had LO 5.1.x as their included version. After I updated the old computer, I installed 5.4.6. I have 6.0.1 on the laptop I am typing this. - - - - - Thanks to all your comments. This thread was started when I was given a really old HP Pavilion alll8x desktop. It was a 64 bit CPU running Windows XP [32 bit] and only 512MB RAM and 160 GB drive. I found two 512MB memory modules/sticks and with them I have about 800MB of RAM after the "shared video memory". I may install a second IDE/PATA drive with a 80GB on. I really did not want to spend money on this old base model desktop. Since I really did not want to install XP on it, then use a Win7 upgrade disk to get a more modern Windows OS. Since MATE desktop environment was stated to be a good option for the old Win XP users, I installed Ubuntu Mate on it. Also, even if I installed Win7, half of the processor power would be used for the needed security packages. I have been adding various packages to the system; LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Chrome [for those who want it], GIMP, VLC, Education software packages, Sound Converter, XPad, font manager, and other packages that might be useful. I did remove a lot of fonts like the massive collection of Thai fonts. Over half of the fonts installed seemed to be Thai fonts. Also, from a different post, I added K3b CD/DVD burner - that I use all the time. That required some KDE runtime package. There was a comment about using Kubuntu on the old desktop. I wanted the system be setup so all the user would need to do is install the printer they may have. Or use Ubuntu Software Center, and the newer software center installed with Ubuntu MATE 16.04, to add some other packages they might want. To be honest, the system is set up to not need a password to load, but has a root password that is the model version till the user changes it.

#22

​Thanks, Tim, for your reply ! As I said, I am surprised to hear that the
default installation from the Ubuntu repository didn't include LO Math and
Base (and even more surprised to hear that even Draw was omitted), as when
I install Linux Mint on a new computer, all those LO packages are
automatically included. It would seem then that the LO that is downloaded
from the LM respository is not identical with that which is downloaded
fromteh Ubuntu repository, which I find odd....

I appreciate your comment on what running, e g, Win7 would require on your
old computer ; this is one of the reasons, aside from greater general
reliability and fewer hassles that I advise seniors with older computers
they wish to continue to use to install Mint. But I think you were smart to
install those two 512Mb RAM sticks ; that should have made a significant
difference in how you experience the new/old box....

Henri

#23

Hi Tim,

Robert The custom install as you stated seems to come up in Windows, not
DEB based Linux install, unless you install through the repository, and
package managers like Synaptic.

I have never installed LibreOffice on a Windows-system. You could choose
the packages under OpenSUSE, so why shouldn't you be able to install the
packages you wish under *.deb-based Linux-systems? Our main-problem with
Base and Ubuntu is: Ubuntu doesn't install Base and doesn't install the
report-builder for default. So it seems to be able to install separate
parts of LO.

I could only say for the packages of LO directly, not for the packages
of Ubuntu: You could choose, for example, only Writer - Calc, Impress,
Base and so on aren't installed then.

Regards

Robert

#24

Hi :slight_smile:
LibreOffice is not like most programs. It has a large core program with a
few tiny modules / satellites / add-ons / plug-ins / apps that kinda
plug-in to that core. Removing one or a handful of those modules does very
little to affect the size or complexity of LibreOffice. At least that is
how i understand it to be.

There is always Abiword or Google-docs.

Abiword focuses on beinga word-processor without having to integrate with
other programs. It should be smaller, lighter and faster but i've not used
it in the last decade or so.

The only functionality missing from Abiword was that i couldn't make it
default to using MS formats. Quite ironic since i now rarely use MS
formats - because they are incompatible between different versions of MS
Office = with new versions of MS Office struggling to open older files that
use their format.

As for using Linux i used to be a fairly normal "point and click" user
until after i had used "gnu and linux" for about a year. In that first
year i spent most of my time still using Windows with only occasional
forays into Linux. Then i started using Firefox, OpenOffice and other
things on Windows too - and then i found a game on Linux that wouldn't work
on Windows. That was when my migration to Linux got faster and faster. So
it took me a couple of years of really not pushing myself before i found
i'd kinda accidentally stumbled into using Linux without working at it
much.

I'm not sure what migration route i'd recommend for a blind user. Perhaps
using a simple virtual machine such as Virtualbox = it's not as scary as it
sound! It's just a program you can install in Windows and when you
double-click on it the program runs in a window which you can just close to
stop the virtual-machine.

Another route is to install Ubuntu inside Windows as though it was just
another program. Unlike other distros (Mint, Red-hat, Open-Suse etc) the
Ubuntu people make a "Wubi installer" on their installer Dvd and the Wubi
can be installed on Windows. So maybe just stick an Ubuntu Dvd or
Usb-stick in and see what options it gives you.

Actually "Puppy Linux" does something similar but although it's good on
low-spec or older systems it's much less typical of linux distros and it's
not so easy to migrate to other distros

That is just my own opinion but it's too the best of my limited knowledge
about these things.

Regards from
a Tom :slight_smile:

#25

krackedpress wrote

So with these specs, what is the newest version of LO you would
install?  With this low RAM, it may not be able to handle the newest
versions. As I type this, the old system is now in the "software
updating" cycle.  So, it is installing the newest LO that is in Ubuntu
16.04's repository.

You should look at Zoran Linux. https://zorinos.com There is a lite version.
Will have the feel of a windows system. Runs well on older hardware.
The only issue with the specs on your system is the low amount of ram. An
issue that sounds like you have resolved

#26

I am going to do my reply between the paragraphs.
So read down till the "end" note.

Hi :slight_smile:
LibreOffice is not like most programs. It has a large core program with a
few tiny modules / satellites / add-ons / plug-ins / apps that kinda
plug-in to that core. Removing one or a handful of those modules does very
little to affect the size or complexity of LibreOffice. At least that is
how i understand it to be.

There is always Abiword or Google-docs.

Abiword focuses on beinga word-processor without having to integrate with
other programs. It should be smaller, lighter and faster but i've not used
it in the last decade or so.

The only functionality missing from Abiword was that i couldn't make it
default to using MS formats. Quite ironic since i now rarely use MS
formats - because they are incompatible between different versions of MS
Office = with new versions of MS Office struggling to open older files that
use their format.

I looked at Abiword before.  I do not know why I did not keep in on the computer.

I do have to use MS Office formats.  I do not like to save the documents in the formats with a "x" in it. I use .doc instead of .docx, for an example.  I have had people send me documents that I needed to edit or reproduce - in both Word and Google Docs formats.

As for using Linux i used to be a fairly normal "point and click" user
until after i had used "gnu and linux" for about a year. In that first
year i spent most of my time still using Windows with only occasional
forays into Linux. Then i started using Firefox, OpenOffice and other
things on Windows too - and then i found a game on Linux that wouldn't work
on Windows. That was when my migration to Linux got faster and faster. So
it took me a couple of years of really not pushing myself before i found
i'd kinda accidentally stumbled into using Linux without working at it
much.

Cost of Windows packages started me on the road to making Linux my default. When my list of needed packages totaled over 10 times greater than my rent, I really looked for an alternative.  Of course the security option over the required security needs in Windows.

I was using Firefox and Thunderbird on Windows, before going to Linux.  I used MS Office with Office 2003 the last one I have.  I started using OOo before it saved files in MS Office formats. When I could not wait till OOo updated again, I found LibreOffice while it was still in their final release candidate. I have been using it ever since. I still have CDs and DVDs of MS and other Windows packages. Some I still have to use since I have not found a replacement.

One package I do not use much, is one I always install on my systems. Artha is a great offline dictionary and more. If I cannot use Writer and its language tools, then Artha is my next line of defense.

I'm not sure what migration route i'd recommend for a blind user. Perhaps
using a simple virtual machine such as Virtualbox = it's not as scary as it
sound! It's just a program you can install in Windows and when you
double-click on it the program runs in a window which you can just close to
stop the virtual-machine.

Another route is to install Ubuntu inside Windows as though it was just
another program. Unlike other distros (Mint, Red-hat, Open-Suse etc) the
Ubuntu people make a "Wubi installer" on their installer Dvd and the Wubi
can be installed on Windows. So maybe just stick an Ubuntu Dvd or
Usb-stick in and see what options it gives you.

I went to Ubuntu, before I bought my first system with MS Windows NOT installed. I looked at several Live CD/DVD version for a HP laptop that had XP originally installed. Ubuntu was the only Live version that worked with the laptop's sound system. I think that was 9.04. I bought a no OS desktop in late Feb 2010 and used 9.10 till 10.04 came out. I switched to MATE desktop environment when Ubuntu went to Unity.  I liked the GNOME version that was on 10.04, 12.04, till 13.10. I still have one desktop using 14.04 with MATE since every time I tried to install 16.04 the upgrade crashed and kept on crashed.

Actually "Puppy Linux" does something similar but although it's good on
low-spec or older systems it's much less typical of linux distros and it's
not so easy to migrate to other distros

That is just my own opinion but it's too the best of my limited knowledge
about these things.

Regards from
a Tom :slight_smile:

Since the system would be going to a user that may have used Windows.  Sure there are "lite" versions of Linux.  I have used them once in a while for testing.  I tried some on that old HP laptop in a previous reply paragraph. But what I need to do had me installing more and more packages that stopped it being a "lite" version.

Hi Tim,

Robert The custom install as you stated seems to come up in Windows, not
DEB based Linux install, unless you install through the repository, and
package managers like Synaptic.

I have never installed LibreOffice on a Windows-system. You could choose
the packages under OpenSUSE, so why shouldn't you be able to install the
packages you wish under *.deb-based Linux-systems? Our main-problem with
Base and Ubuntu is: Ubuntu doesn't install Base and doesn't install the
report-builder for default. So it seems to be able to install separate
parts of LO.

I could only say for the packages of LO directly, not for the packages
of Ubuntu: You could choose, for example, only Writer - Calc, Impress,
Base and so on aren't installed then.

Regards

Robert
--

Robert, I do not use Base, Math, and rarely Draw. The Ubuntu repository install of LO placed Math on the Education menu and Draw in the Graphics menu. The install packages from LO directly install all of LO packages and places all of the modules in the Office menu.

I prefer to not to try to pitch and choose which .deb files are installed. I just use:

sudo apt-get remove libreoffice?
       and
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

when I want to install a new version of LO.  Right now, I am using 6.0.1 on this laptop and 5.4.5 on most of the others.  I decided to install 5.4.5 on the old desktop.

As one post commented that installing the two 512MB memory modules to replace the two 256MB ones.  Still, the Athlon 3300+ 64-bit CPU in the old desktop will not work like the dual core desktops and laptops. I do not want to spend my money to upgrade this old desktop.  If I did that, I would buy an old dual core desktop or a new base model laptop or Chromebook for under $250. I found a HP 17 inch laptop with 2TB drive on sale for about $250. That has better specs than my 17 inch laptop, except it was a dual core and my laptop is a quad core.

Still, all of the packages I would want on a new desktop/laptop would cost too much for Windows 10.  Since I only worked with a Chromebook for one day, I had major problems adding any packages including the printer driver for the lady's printer. That is why I will never have one and try to make my friends not to buy one.

"end of line"