Lubuntu or Default?/Max Performance?

[Saucepan]

Hello!


I'm seriously eyeballing a Pandora 1GHz and I'm well-aware of what it does. I'm quite drawn to the fact that it's a bloody DS-sized PC (always wanted something like that), but I do have questions about its default distro.


Bear in mind that I'm not too computer-savvy (read: not at all), and I'm absolutely loving Lubuntu as a replacement for Windows 8 on my (decent enough) laptop PC. I'm aware that these nifty handhelds ship with a lightweight OS, but I don't know if I'd like to switch back-and-forth between Lubuntu and whatever the Pandora has. Basically, I'm asking if the ARM version of Lubuntu would be lacking/just as good/better when compared to the default Pandora OS. Comparisons would be nice.


Also, I'd like some tips on how to maximize performance (or, in better terms, minimize performance hit/free up RAM) on the Pandora 1GHz (or at least some tales as to how any of you did), whether it's by using a different distro or whatever.


Final note: I know there's as many distros as there are people who will fanboy/fangirl for them, but please spare me the novel on how much of a nob I am for not choosing "distro X." This is really the first time I've actually seriously considered running a distro long-term on a computer; I waffle easily on the matter and I just so happened to settle on Lubuntu for my laptop.

 

[rohezal]

Well the Pandora acts a bit like Lubuntu (used it my laptop and my pc). With the taskbar down at the screen, with a start button with categories like office, games, accessoirs, etc. You type sudo opkg install instead of sudo apt-get install but it is quite similar. The Pandora apt-store replaces the ubuntu appstore (you move with the shoulder buttons, this wierd the first time for me). You can use Pandebian if you want all Debian (which are almost all ubuntu) packages and synaptic.

I will get a pyra in one year or whenever its released^^.

 

[levi]

The Pandora OS runs XFCE which was also designed as a light-weight replacement for Gnome 2, just like LXDE is, just LXDE is a bit newer and even lighter weight (and correspondingly, was noticeably less advanced last time I used it, admittedly a few years ago), although they share a bit of code.  I'm not sure what DE Pandebian runs as default.

 

[Saucepan]

Well the Pandora acts a bit like Lubuntu (used it my laptop and my pc). With the taskbar down at the screen, with a start button with categories like office, games, accessoirs, etc. You type sudo opkg install instead of sudo apt-get install but it is quite similar. The Pandora apt-store replaces the ubuntu appstore (you move with the shoulder buttons, this wierd the first time for me). You can use Pandebian if you want all Debian (which are almost all ubuntu) packages and synaptic.


I will get a pyra in one year or whenever its released^^.

Pandebian? Never heard of that 'til now! Will look into that. However, you don't make it clear if it can help alleviate performance hit.

The Pandora OS runs XFCE which was also designed as a light-weight replacement for Gnome 2, just like LXDE is, just LXDE is a bit newer and even lighter weight (and correspondingly, was noticeably less advanced last time I used it, admittedly a few years ago), although they share a bit of code. I'm not sure what DE Pandebian runs as default.

So Lubuntu is lighter-weight then? Nice! And I can tell you that LXDE certainly has shrugged off the "less advanced" vitriol recently. At least in my experience; it's rather nifty IMO. Maybe it's different on your side of the internet, perhaps?

What Pandebian runs as default won't really matter too much to me as long as I can still get the distro/flavor I desire.


So far, it's sounding like it *might* make a difference, but no one's really making that clear.

 

[levi]

Well, if you install Pandebian you're installing whatever version of Debian that currently runs, so distro=debian if you go that way.  But with Debian (like most other older distros) you can easily swap to whatever DE you want, Gnome, KDE, XFCE or LXDE, whatever.  Debian does have a tendency not to be at the cutting edge, so it might suffer from the problem I had last time I tried LXDE under Fedora - and that's the the packages were so outdated I couldn't configure my mouse buttons for left handed, despite that bug being long fixed in the head revision of LXDE.  Stable and more up-to-date versions of Debian claim to have version 4+nmu1 of core LXDE components (whatever that particular bit of gobledegook stands for).

 

[rygD]

Since you don't seem to be super deep into a particular distro I think you should be fine switching back and forth with ease.  You will probably be fine with SuperZaxxon until you have time to try other Pandora distros.  That was my plan, but I have yet to do it, and SuperZaxxon has worked fine for me.  You can always install things that are missing from one or the other (unless it is Yakuake/Tilda/Guake, or other little things that someone with the skills has not ported), and change a few things to give you the same basic desktop feel.  A few things may be different, but it isn't until you start digging deeper that you will have trouble bouncing back and forth, and even then a lot of stuff is the same.

The great thing about operating systems is there are so many.  Some are very similar, some are very different.  Don't avoid trying new things because they are unfamiliar.  If you don't like it you can always go back to what you like, but you may find you love it.  Worst case scenario is you use Pandian, which uses LXDE, and is based on Debian, as are the different *ubuntus, and is probably better than them, or you use MiniMenu, and skip the desktop environments altogether.

 

[Saucepan]

Well, if you install Pandebian you're installing whatever version of Debian that currently runs, so distro=debian if you go that way. But with Debian (like most other older distros) you can easily swap to whatever DE you want, Gnome, KDE, XFCE or LXDE, whatever. Debian does have a tendency not to be at the cutting edge, so it might suffer from the problem I had last time I tried LXDE under Fedora - and that's the the packages were so outdated I couldn't configure my mouse buttons for left handed, despite that bug being long fixed in the head revision of LXDE. Stable and more up-to-date versions of Debian claim to have version 4+nmu1 of core LXDE components (whatever that particular bit of gobledegook stands for).

So it's basically a gamble for the latest stuff when it comes to Pandebian? Well wah.


Ah well, no biggie for me. I'm curious as to how I can maximize performance on a Pandora whilst having the full desktop experience similar to what I have with Lubuntu. If the default Pandora OS is the proverbial "middle ground" in this instance, then I'll take it. If an older Debian build gives me what I want, then I'll take it.

Since you don't seem to be super deep into a particular distro I think you should be fine switching back and forth with ease.

This much is true. I just want it to be sort of a seamless transition. My idea behind this is to have to of the same (or just about the same) kind of computer, except one fits into my pocket, has different purposes, and plays emulators! I'm not invested into a distro, but I'm thinking about sticking with Lubuntu/Debian for a while, so I'd just like to make this idea happen.

The great thing about operating systems is there are so many. Some are very similar, some are very different. Don't avoid trying new things because they are unfamiliar. If you don't like it you can always go back to what you like, but you may find you love it. Worst case scenario is you use Pandian, which uses LXDE, and is based on Debian, as are the different *ubuntus, and is probably better than them, or you use MiniMenu, and skip the desktop environments altogether.

Lol, well that' first sentence is a tad bittersweet. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Linux/non-Linux distros, even coming across stuff like Haiku (which, I guess, could be nice for games in the future) and ReactOS (which I quickly nicknamed "Not Windows"). Also, some of the more *ahem* "passionate" folk for each distro (putting it nicely), don't really help much when a "techie plebeian," such as myself, happens along looking for someone to help me turn to the Dark Side.

Also, I'd appreciate a desktop environment in such a small, nifty machine. And the ability to switch in between that and a shell for gaming (and Android) is just too cool.


So, from what I understand, it doesn't really matter if I'm just using the Pandora by itself. I do apologize for failing to mention this prior, but I'll say it twice in is post. I do intend on making my idea of having a miniature, more gaming-oriented version of my computer in my pocket, so a light performance hit and a seamless transition from my computer to the Pandora is what I'm looking for. If the default OS is the "middle ground," then I'll gladly make that compromise (I'll still try Pandebian though).

 

[_wb_]

In my experience, the 512MB Pandora models have plenty of RAM for anything you can throw at them, with very few exceptions. Maybe there are a couple of games that are really memory-hungry, and I needed some swap at some point while I was compiling Sage, but normally memory is not really an issue.

I recommend Openbox on the Pandora, since it is even more light-weight than the default xfce, in terms of cpu/memory consumption and more importantly in terms of screen height left to applications.

 

[_wb_]

Here's a screenshot of Pandora System Info in xfce:

and here is one in Openbox:

So Openbox eats less than 50MB of RAM, while the default xfce eats over 80MB. Either way, there is still well over 400MB of RAM left for applications. You can slim down Openbox even further by disabling the tint2 taskbar and/or the wbar launcher.

 

[mcobit]

I think that people who never tried the angstrom os on the Pandora have no clue how it actually runs. I think it is quite snappy and not slow at all.


A recent Ubuntu distro with lxde will be a lot more ressourcehungry. Somebody tried to run an ubuntu image on the Pandora and even with lxde it just ate ram.


Angstrom is very slimmed down already and with openbox it is really fast.

 

[Saucepan]

In my experience, the 512MB Pandora models have plenty of RAM for anything you can throw at them, with very few exceptions. Maybe there are a couple of games that are really memory-hungry, and I needed some swap at some point while I was compiling Sage, but normally memory is not really an issue.


I recommend Openbox on the Pandora, since it is even more light-weight than the default xfce, in terms of cpu/memory consumption and more importantly in terms of screen height left to applications.

I'm well-aware of the fact that memory won't be an issue; I highly doubt the folks trying to get over £300 out of someone would allow memory to be a problem. I just want some tips on how someone would go about "squeezing the most" out of this machine. I'd like to do just that with a Debian-based distro, but it's looking to be less likely. Maybe I will stick with the default OS.

Here's a screenshot of Pandora System Info in xfce:

and here is one in Openbox:

So Openbox eats less than 50MB of RAM, while the default xfce eats over 80MB. Either way, there is still well over 400MB of RAM left for applications. You can slim down Openbox even further by disabling the tint2 taskbar and/or the wbar launcher.

Nice! Thank you for some evidence!

I think that people who never tried the angstrom os on the Pandora have no clue how it actually runs. I think it is quite snappy and not slow at all.


A recent Ubuntu distro with lxde will be a lot more ressourcehungry. Somebody tried to run an ubuntu image on the Pandora and even with lxde it just ate ram.


Angstrom is very slimmed down already and with openbox it is really fast.

You're absolutely right; of course I have no idea how Angström runs. I've never used a Pandora before. I'm not knocking the default OS at all, not that I had a reason to knock it in the first place, but I digress.


Also, more on Lubuntu: I checked my Task Manager on my laptop and it does indeed take around 500MB of RAM, so that's out of the question on the Pandora. I'm still curious about how Pandebian works. Outside of Pabdebian, it's looking like I'll have to have to stick with the default OS. I'm fine with that.

 

[rohezal]

You can use minimenu, it is preinstalled (you can easily switch the Desktop Envoirment) and is very minimalistic. It could get you a few FPS in some games.

 

[Askarus]

Pandebian: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/1474-pandebian//URL]

 

[comradekingu]

http://pandorawiki.org/Pandian is more up to date

 

[rygD]

_wb_, thanks for that comparison.  I never looked at them side by side before.  I prefer the look of Openbox, but I have less minor issues with Xfce.  For almost half the ram it might be worth it for me to figure out what I am doing wrong with Openbox.

I'm not invested into a distro, but I'm thinking about sticking with Lubuntu/Debian for a while, so I'd just like to make this idea happen.

I think this is a great idea if you are trying to learn a lot more about Linux, and become more than an average GUI user, but if you never venture away from the GUI the differences will be very few in most cases, as long as you stick to the same desktop environment.

I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Linux/non-Linux distros, even coming across stuff like Haiku (which, I guess, could be nice for games in the future) and ReactOS (which I quickly nicknamed "Not Windows"). Also, some of the more *ahem* "passionate" folk for each distro (putting it nicely), don't really help much when a "techie plebeian," such as myself, happens along looking for someone to help me turn to the Dark Side.

I try to stay away from discussions with those "passionate" people.  I am a bit myself, but only about free and open source software in general.  Sure, I prefer KDE, but I will use whatever works best at the moment.  I always suggest to people who have become comfortable with Linux that they try a few different distros, as well as give some flavor of BSD a shot.  Haiku is one of my favorite operating systems, but also one of the most useless for me for productivity.

A little about me:  I started out using a few varieties of DOS (another of my favorite families), and with the rise of GUIs I started using early Windows

 and Mac OSs.  In the mid 90s I was using Linux, and around the turn of the century I started working with Solaris.  There are others that I play with from time to time, but the main ones I use now are varieties of Linux, Windows (not by choice), BSD, MS-DOS and ProDOS.  Learning how to do the same thing with a different operating system can be fun, until you start mixing up commands.

I suggest looking for a handful of VMs (there are sites out there with them, and I think the official Haiku site has their own) and play around to see what you like.  Another option is to check out distrowatch.com and look for things of interest.  Maybe try out a few live CD/USBs.

As for the Pandora, I agree with mcobit and rohezal, the default OS may be just fine for you.  Also, read through those wiki pages for Pandora specific Debian versions and see if you you like what you see.

 

[TrashyMG]

http://pandorawiki.org/Pandian is more up to date

Actually I have my pandebian updated to the latest wheezy it wasn't too hard to move from squeeze to wheezy.. It was actually pretty painless.  I'm tempted to update to testing/jessie but I have things working the way I want.


I like Pandebian because I can run it entirely within Angstrom without rebooting.

 

[DatNOBoi]

Ooh, I like the idea of having a tiny version of one's computer. If/when I get a Pandora, I'm copying your idea!

 

[Askarus]

http://pandorawiki.org/Pandian is more up to date

Actually I have my pandebian updated to the latest wheezy it wasn't too hard to move from squeeze to wheezy.. It was actually pretty painless.  I'm tempted to update to testing/jessie but I have things working the way I want.


I like Pandebian because I can run it entirely within Angstrom without rebooting.

I also like PanDebian because of that reason.

Both OS at once and full PND support.