Sunday, October 28, 2012

Bodhi Linux 2.1 on an old AMD Sempron

Recently read about lightweight Linux and find out about Bodhi Linux 2.1.  So, I decide to install Bodhi Linux 2.1 on it.  The machine spec is 512 MB of memory and AMD Sempron socket A 2500+ CPU.  Install is very straight forward.  The following software are installed from Add Software option.

Firefox 16.0
Java JDK 7 u5
LibreOffice 3.x
Adobe Reader
Printing for my Brother HL-3070CW

This is for basic office application and internet banking.  I am very satisfied with the performance.  At least, boot time and response time is much better than CentOS 3.  Forget about XP, it barely runs on this box.

Here are some of the issue I encounter.

I cannot read Chinese in Firefox.  So, I do some research and it requires the following packages (see reference).  Use Synaptic Package Manager to install them.

  • ttf-arphic-bkai00mp
  • ttf-arphic-bsmi00lp
  • ttf-arphic-gbsn00lp
  • ttf-arphic-gkai00mp
  • ttf-arphic-ukai
  • ttf-arphic-uming

For Flash, I see people complaining about viewing youtube (see reference).  I follow the instructions to download and install mint-flashplugin-11 package.  It works flawlessly.

After installed printing package (basically CUPS), then I select the printer from the list.  For some reason, I don't see an option to select Mono or Color printing.  So, download the squeeze package from Brother website and follow the instructions to install lpr package then the cupswrapper driver.

Go back to http://localhost:631/printers to modify the printer to select HL-3070CW again.  This time, I do see the Color/Mono option under Printer Options of Printer properties.

I try to download VMWare WS 7 and test it on this box.  However, it won't compile.  Someone point out similar issue and resolve by installing WS 8.  However, WS 8 requires 64 bit processor even for 32 bit version (see this).  It affects my plan to test Bodhi Linux with VMware WS 7.1.6 on my old Sempron since I plan to replace CentOS on my Lenovo T400 laptop with Bodhi Linux 2.1.

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