Xubuntu 6.06 vs 7.04 for Data capturing

[Sapphiron]

Hi all

I have got a client who has a few data captures. most of the PC's are second hand buys of various spec, most of them P3 range with only 128mb of ram

They have got windows 98, 2000, and even windows XP running on them

The data capturers basically just type their info onto a web from. i am going to recommend that we dump all the windows OS's and go with linux.

I am pretty sure it's gonna be Xubuntu.

Thus getting rid of the buggy windows 98 OS's, negating the need for antivirus and standardizing all the Data capturing PC's.

I need some advice from guys who have run Xubuntu in production situations like this:

1. Is 128MB enough for Xubuntu running firefox and occasionally openoffice - dont want any memory dumping onto hard drive
2. would 6.06 use less resources than 7.04?
3. hardware compatability of 6.06 vs 7.04 (would 7.04 not include support for older hardware?)
4. The normal CD install needs 192mb of ram - is that simply because the installer needs to run while a "session" is running
5. How do I ensure that the "minimum" is running after the installation? is checking the services control enough?

Thanks to all in advance

 

[koffiejunkie]

I am pretty sure it's gonna be Xubuntu.

For interest's sake, why?

Is 128MB enough for Xubuntu running firefox and occasionally openoffice - dont want any memory dumping onto hard drive

Not sure about XFCE's memory requirements (since Xubuntu make it look just like gnome and probably integrated some of gnome), but OpenOffice will almost certainly cause *some* swappage. But it shouldn't be too much of an issue, except if the machines have real slow hard drives.

would 6.06 use less resources than 7.04?

Again, I don't know about Xubuntu specifically. From what I've seen XFCE, light as it is, is getting a little heavier with each release, as it gets more feature rich. I may be wrong though, haven't tried it in a while.

hardware compatability of 6.06 vs 7.04 (would 7.04 not include support for older hardware?)

7.04 will almost certainly support everything 6.06 does, and more.

The normal CD install needs 192mb of ram - is that simply because the installer needs to run while a "session" is running

That's because you load the full desktop. You can use the alternative install disc that loads their version of the good old Debian installer, which still runs comfortably in 64mb.

How do I ensure that the "minimum" is running after the installation? is checking the services control enough?

To see what's running:

ps auxf

There's a nice curses utility that shows you which services are configured to start and lets you disable/enable them easily:

apt-get install sysv-rc-conf

I think for your situation there's little to choose between the two, except if the long term support of 6.06 is important to you. If it isn't, install both on the same box (on the same drive, to keep things equal) and compare.