WattOS: small-volume Linux release

WattOS: small-volume Linux release
GuideEveryone in the Linux field has either heard of or used a lightweight Linux release. We all know that we are constantly pursuing a low memory usage and low configuration resource requirements, including a lightweight desktop environment (or window manager), and providing desktop layout similar to other releases, place the bet on the same demand.

Most of these releases are used for work. There is a problem that can kill a lot of lightweight Linux distributions. They do not really contain the tools that are needed by general users to complete their work. As a result, they are reduced to special tasks (such as data recovery and information kiosks ).

To some extent, WattOS is in the same predicament (the only productivity tool it contains is a PDF reader, and it uses the standard "Taskbar/Start Menu" to represent the desktop ). Fortunately, WattOS makes up for these shortcomings through incredible running speed, stability, and built-in New Package Manager, so WattOS can easily become a lightweight Linux release suitable for everyone.

What makes WattOS so special? Let's look at it together.

Kernel

In fact, I was surprised when I found that WattOS is based on the kernel 4.4 kernel. After the system is upgraded, run the uname-r command. The value is 4.4.0-38-generic. Given that the purpose of this release is to reinvent old and choppy machines, it is a lovely surprise to have the same kernel version built into my Elementary OS Loki release. This means that WattOS has a good performance in both new and old hardware.

The real surprise is more than that. When you go to the WattOS website, you will find both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions at the same time (most new releases tend to discard the 32-bit release version ). Therefore, not only does the system kernel provide support for new hardware, but also Multiple Architectures of system release versions can reinvent old 32-bit machines.

Running Speed

When WattOS is installed, I envy it for a moment. WattOS is incredibly fast. Even when its desktop version works as a client on the VirtualBox virtual machine platform, it still runs much faster than my Elementary OS Loki desktop release. Later I learned that the host machine running at that time was System76 Leopard, which was equipped with a water-cooled device's i7 processor and 16 GB of running memory. The memory allocated to WattOS is about 2 GB, making it look like there are no tasks to slow it down. The spectacular running speed of WattOS is hard to tell, and it is becoming more and more mature. I have never seen Firefox open so quickly.

Next, let's talk about how to start the LibreOffice application. To test the LibreOffice startup speed, I opened the new software package manager and planned to install this open source software package.

Fruitless.

The main problem with LibreOffice installation is the lack of a dependency package python3-uno and installation fails no matter how you try. However, I finally downloaded the deb software package on the official LibreOffice website. Decompress the downloaded file and CD it to LibreOffice.5.2.2.2LinuxX86-64In the deb/DEBS/directory, run the sudo dpkg-I *. deb command to successfully install LibreOffice.

How is LibreOffice running? The speed is almost crazy. It is worth mentioning that I have never seen this application run so fast on WattOS. Click the LibreOffice Writer icon, which takes half of the time spent on the Elementary OS Loki (which is already very fast) host.

Desktop

I personally prefer to iterate over the desktop to a more modern trend. I am a fan of Ubuntu Unity desktop, GNOME 3 desktop, and (especially) "Elementary OS. Therefore, the idea of using an old-style desktop is almost unattractive to me. Even so, WattOS is doing very well in incorporating modern design styles into vintage designs. For example, the default desktop topic (figure 1 ). The WattOS UI Designer cleverly designed the desktop theme, so it does not completely deviate from the design philosophy of Windows XP or the CDE style window manager of old Linux.

Figure 1: WattOS File Manager shows some modern topic licenses

There are some things to be said about WattOS desktop "LXDE"), but it has never been said before, that is, every owner is concise and straightforward, linux desktops with flexibility and customization are familiar to every computer user who has used Windows 95.

Surprises, advantages and disadvantages

Just like the experience of every new Linux desktop version, WattOS has some surprising advantages and disadvantages. First, let's talk about the advantages.

In addition to the absolute speed (with a simple "WOW" to comment), WattOS also fixed some special surprises on the desktop (most of them are preset applications ). The best of the additional software is KeePassX (an application rarely includes the desktop version by default ). I think the password manager should be installed on every computer desktop by default. We are proud that WattOS is pre-installed with this outstanding tool.

Next we will discuss the pre-installed Firefox browser. Many lightweight releases are pre-installed with browsers such as "Surf" or "Midori. Both browsers are good, but their compatibility often fails to meet the requirements of websites such as Google Documents. Because WattOS contains mature Firefox browsers, you will find that the functions of the system are perfect on websites compatible with Firefox browsers.

Finally, it is not a good accident. As I have mentioned, the installation of LibreOffice will immediately fail. However, installing software like GIMP is smooth (so I think this is an accidental problem ). In addition to this problem, I think the default desktop menu is a bit messy. For example, the new software package manager is placed in the personalized menu. I would like to see it in the highlighted items in the main menu, and add labels similar to "software installation" (or any other new user can easily understand. From my perspective, personalized menu items should be used to place tools that configure various styles of the platform, rather than tools that install software.

In addition, if you want to seek advice from WattOS, especially when you are looking for an old hardware Linux release, you will find it very difficult.

Conclusion

Although WattOS is mainly designed for old hardware, you can run it on a modern desktop and it will run well. Based on the zero learning curve, you will soon become familiar with WattOS and find it extremely fast and stable. Try this small-displacement Linux release. I believe it will give you the same impression. If you find that WattOS is not running fast enough (something I did not expect), you can use Microwatt (a lighter lightweight release ).

From: https://linux.cn/article-8012-1.html

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