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Low Resource Distro and Window Manager for Kids?

Posted by Cliff on from the finding-a-better-place-for-your-low-end-machine dept.

Philljd asks: "Computers 4 Kids is an organization run by the IT &amp ;CS department of Wollongong University in Australia that picks up computers from the local area, installs Linux on them and gives them to needy kids. We want to know what Slashdot readers think would be the best choice of distribution and window manager for an average system spec of a Pentium 100, given that the kids are around 10-13."

2 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Droolproof window managers are not rocket science by ArmorFiend · · Score: 4, Interesting
    ... and that's why they're no droolproof window managers for Linux! Nobody seems interested in creating a n00b-oriented WM. I would define a n00b-oriented, droolproof WM thusly:
    1. It is impossible for a user to ever have the window decorations off screen - thus the user will always be able to close, minimize, and resize the window.
    2. It is absolutely, incredibly, in-yer-face clear which winndow has the key focus.
    3. A "Log out" button that's obvious.
    4. Solid as a rock.
    Magnet-move, fancy animations, blah blah blah, are all worthless for a n00b-WM. I am looking for such a WM to use on computers for seniors. So far I've been using window maker, but it fails badly on counts 1, 2, and 3.
  2. RULE by himynameisbrak · · Score: 4, Interesting
    http://www.rule-project.org/

    Replacement installers that put the latest Red Hat distributions on older systems (~Pentium w/ 32MB RAM). It installs light-weight X-Server, called TinyX (formerly kdrive) and desktop.

    See their software database for some applications with low resource requirements.