Linux for laptop?

wasn't sure where to post this...

So my friend has a 20Gb laptop and she wants to change to linux, what distro should she use? I was thinking probably feather, but I don't really have much experience with mini distros so I don't know what's best.

 

Ubuntu. Right now, it's the one I can find which has the most compatibility for laptops. www.ubuntu.com Their site has a list of hardware which is supported, which is everything with the right driver

 

If Ubuntu isn't her cup'o'tea, Kubuntu or Xubuntu.

 

I have been using ubuntu for a while now - on both my desk top and laptops - and it works great with almost no driver issues 9the only one I had was for my cell phone).

 

I wouldn't use Ubuntu on a laptop. It doesn't sound like her laptop is all that new and Ubuntu is quite bloat. If you want a small distro, one that will work fast and smooth on limited hardware get DSL linux.

 

Ubuntu would probably work well.

 

I 2nd 3rd 4th 23rd for Ubuntu. If you're saavy... go for the LiveCD if there's no need to configure. Save items to a thumb drive.

Good luck!

 

It depends on the hardware
Ubuntu is the easiest to configure, if you and your friend do not want to spend a lot of time tweaking ubuntu will probably be your best bet.
You could go for something ultra light like DSL or Puppy but they don't have as many programmes.
If you find Ubuntu too bloated , try Sidux - it's Debian based and very fast. It has a live-cd so you can check out the hardware before installing.

 

i like opensuse myself

 

You can hardly call ubuntu a bloat. Maybe it is compared to other linux systems but compared to windows its nothing. I have a 10 gig hard drive that I run xp and ubuntu on and xp takes up most of it. In fact xp almost fills its half of the drive without anything else on it, but the ubuntu half has tons of room.

Mind you the only linux I've tried is this copy of ubuntu.

 

mmm, ubuntu

 

Linux Mint. Thank me later!

 

Xubuntu is a good compromise between the speed of Damn small linux and the functionality of ubuntu. It's basically Ubuntu but with a much leaner and faster windows manager.

 

Linux Mint plays MOST (if not all) video and audio files right out of "the box".

 

I've looked into Feather Linux but I don't think the support structure is anywhere near Ubuntu/Fedora/Opensuse. If she's a Windows user, she probably won't like Damn Small Linux because of the interface. Puppy Linux looks slick but I wouldn't recommend it for regular use. Give Ubuntu a shot first. If you absolutely MUST use something lightweight and you're savvy, try Arch Linux. Otherwise DSL-N should work.