Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: What is the best FREE OS for surfing

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Ilkeston
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    18
    Thanked
    9 times in 7 posts
    • Pazza's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P5Q Pro
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
      • Memory:
      • 4.00 GB
      • Storage:
      • 1x 640GB & 2x 1TB drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • PowerColor HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV
      • Case:
      • Antec P180
      • Operating System:
      • Vista x64 & Windows 7 Ultimate
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 24" (2408)

    What is the best FREE OS for surfing

    I need to install a free OS on 2 machines for internet access only - no other use really. I guess a linux based OS would be best but which one?

    The machines are not super fast neither, so nothing too power hungry.

  2. #2
    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    /dev/urandom
    Posts
    17,074
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    1,027 times in 678 posts
    • directhex's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 5900x
      • Memory:
      • 64GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Seagate Firecuda 520
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra
      • PSU:
      • EVGA SuperNOVA 850W G3
      • Case:
      • NZXT H210i
      • Operating System:
      • Ubuntu 20.04, Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34GN850
      • Internet:
      • FIOS
    any of the ~1,000 linux distributions around, as well as BSD/Solaris options, could do this.

    it'll largely come down to personal taste, as with all linux discussions. perhaps something like fedora or suse

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Ilkeston
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    18
    Thanked
    9 times in 7 posts
    • Pazza's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P5Q Pro
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
      • Memory:
      • 4.00 GB
      • Storage:
      • 1x 640GB & 2x 1TB drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • PowerColor HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV
      • Case:
      • Antec P180
      • Operating System:
      • Vista x64 & Windows 7 Ultimate
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 24" (2408)
    Yeah that's the problem - so many of them but recommendations from personal usage would be great

  4. #4
    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    /dev/urandom
    Posts
    17,074
    Thanks
    228
    Thanked
    1,027 times in 678 posts
    • directhex's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming
      • CPU:
      • Ryzen 5900x
      • Memory:
      • 64GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB
      • Storage:
      • 2TB Seagate Firecuda 520
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra
      • PSU:
      • EVGA SuperNOVA 850W G3
      • Case:
      • NZXT H210i
      • Operating System:
      • Ubuntu 20.04, Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG 34GN850
      • Internet:
      • FIOS
    this is a case where i wouldn't recommend ubuntu - it's good for beginners, but the default security configuration is more "my desktop" than "public workstation".

    try fedora or suse, they're well supported.

  5. #5
    Ah, Mrs. Peel! mike_w's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Hertfordshire, England
    Posts
    3,326
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    9 times in 7 posts
    I'd go for Fedora - I found SUSE to be a bit slower, so it might get sluggish on older hardware. SUSE is more user friendly, but Fedora isn't exactly complicated.
    "Well, there was your Uncle Tiberius who died wrapped in cabbage leaves but we assumed that was a freak accident."

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Liverpool UK
    Posts
    180
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    i like suse 10, runs well for me both my 32bit and 64 bit

  7. #7
    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Looking down & checking on swearing
    Posts
    19,378
    Thanks
    2,892
    Thanked
    3,403 times in 2,693 posts
    Fedora, Mandrake, Knoppix - they are all free so you can try them to your heart' s content. Knoppix runs off a CD, so you can try it before installing onto a hard drive. There is no "Best" - the best is the one you personally get on with, and that depends on the amount of time you are prepared to invest to get the best out of it. Try Knoppix for starters.
    (\__/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    Been helped or just 'Like' a post? Use the Thanks button!
    My broadband speed - 750 Meganibbles/minute

  8. #8
    Senior Member joshwa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Sheffield, UK
    Posts
    4,842
    Thanks
    123
    Thanked
    67 times in 62 posts
    • joshwa's system
      • Motherboard:
      • PC Chips M577 AT/ATX
      • CPU:
      • AMD K6-2 500Mhz
      • Memory:
      • 128mb PC100 SDRAM
      • Storage:
      • 8GB Fujitsu
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 3dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP (16mb)
      • PSU:
      • ATX 500watt
      • Case:
      • Midi Tower AT
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 98 SE
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" TFT Widescreen
    www.mepis.com - very easy to use, friendly graphics etc.
    http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ - good for old / older hardware.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-06-2005, 10:14 PM
  2. 30 days free of Napster
    By derthballs in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-02-2005, 04:13 AM
  3. Upto 35 FREE Digital Photo Prints
    By madmaca in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 23-11-2004, 06:30 PM
  4. More Redoute codes !
    By Scooby in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 31-08-2004, 06:14 PM
  5. Who does Free Shipping these days?
    By funnelhead in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 09-07-2004, 04:19 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •