All posts tagged: lightweight

I tried 4 lightweight Linux distros on a 4GB laptop, and one surprised me

I tried 4 lightweight Linux distros on a 4GB laptop, and one surprised me

Published by skeptic

As time progresses, so does the advancement of technology. More so in the personal computing space, which has seen a massive shift in recent years. We’re seeing wildly powerful (and efficient!) computers, but that power has also left older hardware entirely in the dust. Despite being older, much of this hardware is more than capable of handling basic day-to-day tasks, but the gap is starting to widen. Ordinarily, most of these older machines cannot run modern operating systems such as Windows 11 and macOS Tahoe reliably (if at all), which makes us turn toward Linux as our savior once again. While Linux has always been a bit friendlier toward lower-end hardware, you really can’t address physical limitations entirely. In my case, it was an old MacBook Air (11-inch, 2012) with a measly 4GB of system RAM. Most mainstream distributions are a complete no-go with just 4GB of RAM, but thankfully, we do still have a few options. These specialized distros cater to lower-end systems, and I went through three before ultimately picking a winner. Related …

I thought MX Linux was lightweight until I tried the distro it’s based on

I thought MX Linux was lightweight until I tried the distro it’s based on

Published by skeptic

MX Linux has a well-deserved reputation for being fast, stable, and not bloating up your system with apps you didn’t ask for. It runs wonderfully well on old hardware, and is one of the best OSes for making a slow PC fast. It’s easy to take it as the gold standard for lightweight Linux OSes running on older hardware. But MX Linux didn’t appear out of thin air. It’s based on a distro called antiX, and antiX is still very much alive. And if you think MX Linux is the most lightweight OS you’ve ever seen, wait till you give antiX Linux a shot. Related 5 programs you need to know about as a Linux user Linux is more than a backup OS, and these programs prove it. You’re not installing what you think What MX Linux actually builds on under the hood If you download antiX Linux today, you get a few choices. The antiX-26 release from March 26 is based on Debian 13 Trixie and runs a Linux 6.6 LTS kernel. There’s a …

I didn’t think I’d ever leave Chrome until I tried this lightweight browser

I didn’t think I’d ever leave Chrome until I tried this lightweight browser

Published by skeptic

I prefer a Chromium-based browser like Microsoft Edge or Perplexity Comet on my PC. On my phone, however, Chrome has always worked well enough, though the news feed, the suggestion cards, and the growing list of features always made it feel heavier than a mobile browser needs to be. Like some other pre-installed apps that quietly slow your Android phone down, it’s the kind of thing you put up with because it syncs with everything else and gets the job done. Then I tried Firefox Focus, a stripped-down, privacy-first version of Firefox for mobile. It had everything I needed from a phone browser, and nothing I didn’t. Within a day, it had replaced Chrome as my default, something I didn’t see coming, especially from a browser I had dismissed as too basic. Firefox Focus is also one of the best privacy browsers that respects your data more than Chrome, which was a nice bonus I hadn’t gone looking for. Firefox Focus is different A minimal browser that shows you only what you need Tashreef Shareef …

I replaced Notepad++ with this lightweight editor and never looked back

I replaced Notepad++ with this lightweight editor and never looked back

Published by skeptic

I’ve used Notepad++ for years; however, lately it’s been a bit laggy. What’s making it worse is that it remembers the open files, so each time I launch the editor, all the previously open tabs come back by default. While tab persistence is needed for some, and Notepad++ does offer a way to disable it, that fix didn’t work for me. VSCode is naturally the better alternative to Notepad++ if you write code all the time. But for my use case, I needed something a little more lightweight that doesn’t compromise too much on the feature set. That’s when I stumbled upon Kate, a KDE-backed editor I’d only ever seen on Linux. Turns out, it runs just as well on Windows, and after a few weeks of daily use, it has quietly replaced Notepad++ on my HP Pavilion. Kate is a fully open-source, advanced text editor A capable editor that runs everywhere Kate is the KDE Advanced Text Editor, a free and open-source project that has been around since 2001. It’s available on Linux, Windows, …

Best Lightweight Hiking Boots (2026): La Sportiva, Salomon, Keen, and More

Best Lightweight Hiking Boots (2026): La Sportiva, Salomon, Keen, and More

Published by skeptic

The Targhee collection, named after a hardy American breed of sheep known for their resiliency and rather fine wool, was first launched in 2005, with the intention of being versatile, robust, and comfortable from the get-go. I’ve walked in many pairs over the years, and they remain a dependable option I’m happy to recommend, but they’ve never been the most aesthetically pleasing. But with the new Targhee Apex, they’ve gone all-in with a trail running Gorpcore look that actually works. I know that looks aren’t important when you’re scrambling over rocks and through puddles, but in the high-fashion world of the outdoors these days, pretty and practical must go hand in hand. Enough fashion chat though, because regardless of style, these are wonderful waterproof trail shoes that weigh just 0.75 pounds each. They feel light without being fragile, the footbed is generous, allowing my feet to spread comfortably over a long day, and there’s plenty of stability through the midsole. Grip is reassuring on mixed terrain too, and the outsole digs in confidently on both …

The Best Men’s Lightweight Jackets For Spring 2026

The Best Men’s Lightweight Jackets For Spring 2026

Published by Akaay

There are lots of reasons to rejoice at the arrival of spring. Spending time outdoors becomes pleasant rather than a test of endurance, trees and flowers in bloom bring colour back to the world after a cold, dark winter, and a boost in vitamin D from the sun quite literally improves your mood. But as nice as all that stuff is, there’s one thing that excites us about the transitional months perhaps more than anything else: lightweight outerwear. After months of hiding carefully curated outfits underneath the same massive coat every day, it’s time for outerwear to become part of the full picture once more. This is where layering becomes fun again, rather than a matter of pure necessity. Fabric options increase, insulation is a choice rather than a prerequisite and silhouettes become slimmer, allowing you to stack pieces with gay abandon. With that in mind, these are lightweight jackets we believe every man should consider for spring 2026. Waxed Jacket Peregrine Barbour Bedale Corduroy-Trimmed Waxed Cotton Jacket M&S Pure Cotton Wax Jacket Drake’s Navy …

Marshall launches its new lightweight party speaker, the Bromley 450

Marshall launches its new lightweight party speaker, the Bromley 450

Published by skeptic

Marshall, purveyor of vintage-inspired headphones and speakers, is launching its second party speaker, the Bromley 450. The 450 is a lightweight and compact companion to Marshall’s first party speaker, the Bromley 750. But despite its smaller stature, it has a big presence in the loudest of rooms. “With Bromley 450, our goal was to take everything we loved about the Bromley 750 and bring it into a more compact form. It delivers the same signature sound: fast, powerful bass, clean mids, and detailed highs,” says Malcolm Kennedy, Director of Audio & Acoustics at Marshall Group. The Bromley 450 includes integrated lights inspired by ’70s stages. Credit: Marshall The Bromley 450 comes with True Stereophonic 360 sound and over 40 hours of battery life. We’ve come to expect long battery life in Marshall’s devices, having tested the Marshall Major V headphones, which have over 100 hours of battery life. It’s encased in a water-based PU leather wrap with a metal grate toting Marshall’s signature logo as well as integrated lights. Hanna Wallner, Product Manager at Marshall …

Love to customize your Linux desktop? This lightweight distro is great fun for newbies and experts

Love to customize your Linux desktop? This lightweight distro is great fun for newbies and experts

Published by skeptic

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways BunsenLabs Carbon is a Debian-based distro and CrunchBang successor. The latest version, dubbed Carbon, is lightweight and highly customizable. You can download and install this Linux distro for free. BunsenLabs is a minimal yet elegant Linux distribution that took me by surprise a couple of years ago. Based on Debian and sporting the OpenBox desktop, BunsenLabs feels to me like a combination of Bodhi Linux and Ubuntu. On the BunsenLabs desktop, you have a vertical panel with a desktop menu that smacks of Ubuntu, a green theme, and a right-click desktop menu a la Bodhi Linux. There’s also Conky on the desktop for good measure. Also: You can control your Linux PC from your Android phone – here’s how If you’re looking for a lightweight Linux distribution that’s a bit off the beaten path, but still offers Debian dependability, BunsenLabs’ latest version, dubbed Carbon, is what you want. What is BunsenLabs? A community-driven Linux distribution, BunsenLabs is the successor to CrunchBang …

5 of the most lightweight operating systems, ranked by download size

5 of the most lightweight operating systems, ranked by download size

Published by skeptic

Most people take operating system size for granted — until the moment it matters. Maybe you have a decade-old machine collecting dust in a corner, and you’re hoping you’ll find an operating system that can make any slow PC fast. Perhaps you have a USB stick with more ambition than available space, which is perfect, since there are portable operating systems so light you don’t even need to install them. Or maybe you simply have a curiosity about just how lean modern software can be. Whatever brought you here, I think you are going to be really surprised by what these operating systems manage to pack into a footprint smaller than a single smartphone photo. Some of these are the size of a Word document. One fits on a floppy disk. All of them boot into something functional. If you have ever wondered how far minimalist computing can be pushed, pull up a chair — this list is for you. KolibriOS (~1.44 MB) A fully functional desktop that weighs less than a JPEG Images taken …

This lightweight Linux distro I tried can run on older machines – but looks modern

This lightweight Linux distro I tried can run on older machines – but looks modern

Published by skeptic

Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Waydog is a lightweight Linux distro with panache. This distro uses Wayland and offers both Labwc and Sway. Wayland does feel like it’s still in early development. Linux is on the rise, and that means even more distributions will be popping up. Some of those distributions are meant for modern hardware, while others run just fine on older machines, with fewer system resources. Also: This fun tiling window manager may be rough around the edges – but it has big potential You know what I’m talking about… lightweight Linux distributions. Linux Lite Lubuntu Puppy Linux antiX Xubuntu That list goes on. There is yet another lightweight Linux distribution to jump into the fray: Waydog. Waydog picks up where Lilidog (RIP) left off, only adopting the Wayland compositor, instead of X11. Although there was an update to Lilidog in 2025, the distribution still remains dormant. Given that Lilidog was part of a trio (made up of Lilidog, Beardog, and Waydog), it’s surprising that …