Simulation

Research has suggested the key to running efficiently on a low-performance machine is to remove the stuff that eats processor cycles. I began by ditching Ubuntu in favor of Debian, a long-lived and well-developed distribution of Linux,... that is, GNU/Linux. In reality, I don't think it really matters. What matters is the desktop environment.

In the cutie pie Hello-Kitty-world of Macintosh, that is Macintosh running System 7 through 9, the essence of the operating system was easy to find. There was one main file: the System "suitcase", which contained ROM patching routines, GUI elements, and the reactor core that got disks booting. The other critical file, the Finder, gave you a desktop to copy files, make directories, and erase volumes among other things. Since a working Debian installation was the goal, I thought I'd be getting a nice GUI and a graphical way to manipulate files and volumes. I came to understand this combination of functions composes a "window manager" and a "file manager".

Linux by itself is a file manager: it can make files, delete files, make directories, copy files all by typing commands you have to remember. I didn't want to do that... all of the time.

Researching again, Xfce and LXDE came up. LXDE, in particular, was recommended for low-performance systems because it does not use a compositing window manager. Delight! I tried it. After an hour, I found it to be intolerable. I don't know why. I just didn't like it. My brother, the Linux boy, said, "Try Xfce."

I tried it. I didn't care for it.

These installers just give you tons of trash programs I don't want, like LibreOffice. Then it hit me: these are desktop environments. GNOME, Unity, Xfce, and LXDE are all basically window managers and file managers which have been configured to work together with a common graphical theme. Why can't I build such a thing?

Once again, I inserted the Debian "Wheezy" CD. It was officially called the "Net Install", which means, the crucial modules to the operating system are contained on the disc, but all of the utilities, drivers, and other fluff had to be downloaded via internet. This time around, though, there would be no regular desktop environment.

The next screens were simulated in Oracle VirtualBox, a great way to test out Linux in Windows and recover from your stupid mistakes (plus it's free). Incredibly, you can also install this on Linux and emulate Linux in Linux.

Select "Advanced Options"

Select "Expert Install"

Answer their silly questions.

Debian's install procedure is fairly straightforward: detect devices, erase the target disk, define who can use the computer, and put a basic operating system on the disk.

Use non-free software? You betcha!

When it asked, "Do you want to use non-free software?" I had to look this up. It seems "non-free" means software (mainly device drivers) that cannot be freely maintained by the Linux community because it is the intellectual property of corporations. It boiled down to: do you want to use your video card or not? Um, yes!

Don't install the desktop environment. Print server? Who needs that crap?

Do I want to install the "Debian desktop environment"? No! Hit Space Bar to clean out the fat.

A while later, the disc shot out of the drive like a crazed slice of toast, and after a brief intermission with the power on self-test, I was greeted with "debian login:" How endearing.

The first login

I remembered my password!

At this point, I'd had some experience with Linux, rather, UNIX, since that's what the servers at UCSD used when I attended school there. I also knew from Ubuntu, that to do much else, I needed to be a super-user.

And now we are "root". Jolly toot.

To become a super-user, you type "su" and enter a password. How easy! Now instead of a dollar sign prompt, I have a number sign prompt! A super-user has access to the intimate files that define the operating system. He can install files, delete files, and rename them silly things to cause confusion. I needed to install files. Where to begin? Oh yes... the X Window System.

In a nutshell:

1. Download a copy of the Debian "Wheezy" Net Install ISO file.
2. Make a CD from the ISO file (such as with ImgBurn, Nero, Toast)
3. Put the CD in the target computer.
4. Install Debian, don't install a desktop environment.
5. Restart and login.
6. Become a super-user.