I've written previously about my past experimentation with various Linux distros. In fact I've been an on / off linux user for about 10 years now. In that time I've seen much change and a huge leap in the evolution of Linux as an operating system. It's been fascinating watching how the different distros have branched out and taken different stances on producing a usable OS. Usability is key and its definition various wildly based on the end user.

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Some users just want something that "just works" and will present minimal fuss, some people aren't interested in the bells and whistles and may opt for some of the more involved distros as they represent exactly what is required. For me usability is simple, simple things such as networking etc should just work. Getting additional applications should just work. Heck, whichever way I look at it I should be able to install the OS and not spend hours or days trying to get it to work on a given piece of hardware. That's not to say I'm a novice though, once the system is up and running I actually want a large degree of control over the OS and to be able to configure pretty much anything I want.

So why am I rambling on about usability and Linux again? Well it's all come about as a result of a desire to breathe new life into an old piece of hardware. Some months ago I brought a new laptop home, a MacBook as it happens. It goes without saying this is a truly wonderful piece of hardware and makes life so much easier than my old laptop. However the old laptop still works, hardware wise at least. I installed Ubuntu 9.x on it a while back with some success, it does afterall work reasonably well. That said, the laptop (a Dell Inspiron 510m bought in 2005) does show its age at times. Simply put, Ubuntu 9.x while excellent is may be a step to far for this relic of computing past.

I've recently turned to looking at lighter weight distros with lower impact on on the limited resources. After some research I found an excellent article on Tuxradar which attempts to answer the question What's the best lightweight linux distro?  I've seen a few excellent options and after further reading the distro I'm particularly interested in trying is Lubuntu. All I need now is time, hopefully I will be able to try Lubuntu over the next few days. I will of course be posting a first impressions followed by a review.