I have an old PC (Pentium 4 3GHz, 2GB RAM) that I want to setup for school and homework purposes. I plan on using this topic for questions I may have along the way, in addition to posting the results of my research. With that said, I'd like to discuss options as far as the following goes:
-Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc. processors. I need microsoft office compatibility, but I dont particularly like the Libre Office suite. What could I try instead?
-Multimedia and codecs in Firefox. When I tried watching some youtube stuff, the lag was unbearable. There is minitube (at least on Arch Linux) that should suffice as a youtube player, but ideally flash and youtube should work without hassle. So, how could I tweak browser performance, specific to firefox and LMDE 2?
-Network printing. I think that sums up everything right there. However, I have not had much luck setting up CUPS, let alone getting my Brother MFC-990CW to play nicely (though I have done it before, ages ago). I might setup my media server so as to also store documents on it, and then use that to print stuff. I say this because I feel generally more comfortable with Arch (my media server OS) and setting stuff up that way. Especially since my laptop now runs Arch. Though if there is a simple way to get wireless network printing going in LMDE 2, that'd be great.
-Multiple users. This should be a no brainer, however I do plan on letting my siblings use the desktop, and no one should have access to the others files/documents (except me, being root/admin of course
). -General MATE desktop tweaks. If I had it my way, I'd just use i3 with dmenu. However, because my sibiling have expressed interest in this project, I feel that a desktop resembling Windows on the outside would be best. I'm specifically looking for performance, and cutting back on the excessive ammount of menu and settings entries.
-A Windows-ish file manager. I'll have to experiment with the default Dolphin (Dolphin??) one and see. Bascially a search function, more icons than lists, a simple way to access USB Flash drives, in addition to a "My Documents" and related folders. Shouldn't be too hard.
I think that's it. Obviously, a lot of this will come through my own research. My plan and hope is that my project will be useful to more people. Who wouldn't want a perfectly tweaked LMDE 2 install for work purposes? The idea with this thread is to discuss options, ask questions, and share any research done along the way.
Wish me luck! With my senior school year starting, here's hoping for an easy homework PC setup and that I will also ace my courses.
. Peace.
The test page worked, and so long as my homework prints and everything survives reboot, I'm now ready to start pumping out some science labs and essays.