I happened to pick up a bargain machine today - a used Lenovo ThinkCentre All In One PC for $70. It came without an operating system, so I tried LXLE 2014.04.01 (based on Ubuntu's latest Long Term Support distribution, but with the LXDE desktop environment). Easiest install I've had in years, and very little post-installation work (thanks in part to bundled licenses to support Flash, music, and video). Three things of note, here:

1. It's also very easy now to install nvPY - a cross-platform Simplenote client that works much like Notational Velocity.
2. Chrome apps on Linux. I set up a Unity-like panel for apps on the left side of the monitor, and can put things like the Chrome version of Workflowy, which now is very easy to launch as a separate app.
3. Now my go-to-apps look like this:

- Files (PCMANFM 1.2.0, included)
- Chrome (had to add - default is Firefox)
- Haroopad (added)
- LibreOffice (included)
- Notecase Pro (added)
- nvPY (added)
- Software Center (included)
- Workflowy standalone Chrome app
- XMind

After using Windows 7 exclusively for the past few months, Linux is, strangely, a relief, requiring far less maintenance than Windows. All of the tools except Notecase Pro are free, too. I recommend LXLE (www.lxle.net) unreservedly. It's getting great reviews as a terrific way to rejuvenate older PCS. It's modern, fast, polished, and stable. And forum readers will recognize a lot of famliar names in my favorite apps - mostly because this was where I found out about most of them. Those of you with older PCs (particularly any still running abandoned XP), this might be worth a look. And I love this huge monitor!

Thanks, jaslar. I always keep a Linux machine around, generally running Xubuntu, but LXLE looks like a very intriguing alternative.

Strangely enough, I just did a similar move. Purchased a refurbished Dell Latitude E6420 (i5 2nd gen with 4GB+250GB and nVidia 4200m) for approx. $200CAD. The machine came direct from Dell with Win7Pro, but I installed Linux Mint in a dual boot configuration -- it boots and runs so much faster than Windows 7! I've also used LXLE on older boxes and it works wonderfully, but this box was powerful enough for the Cinnamon desktop. My favourite Ubuntu-flavoured note-taking apps include:

1. LibreOffice 4.4 - Office suite (installed)
2. Remarkable (http://remarkableapp.net Markdown editor
3. Scrivener for Linux - Works great btw!
4. XMind for mindmapping
5. myBase 7 (http://wjjsoft.com/ for note-taking

Although myBase 7 is still in beta, the program works great in both Linux and Windows. Note that it is now HTML-driven rather than RTF-based.
FWIW, Glen

Remarkable looks really good. It looks like all that's missing is only code folding and tabs. Is that right?

Jaslar, thanks for sharing your positive experience with LXLE! I can only concur with your conclusions on the low maintenance overhead of Linux.

I also keep an Asus eeePC 901 running Linux. I use it whenever I have time between meetings where bringing my regular laptop is inconvenient. After experimenting with various Linux flavours I nowadays use Peppermint, which is based on Linux Mint and LXDE as well. Interestingly, I found Xubuntu and its derivatives (like Voyager Linux which I had recommended here http://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/18053 ) rather heavy on my little Asus.

Glen, thanks for the heads up on Remarkable--which reminds me of Markdown Pad in Windows--as well as the Linux version of Mybase.

Bill, have you ever tested InnoKB http://wjjsoft.com/innokb.html ? It's a client-server product by Mybase's developer; it reminds me of Kerio Workspace. The server runs on Windows and Linux; the client just requires a modern browser.

I used various Linux distros on my little netbook for awhile, too (now deceased). When I bought a new laptop, it came with Windows 7. I put Ubuntu on it and dual booted for about 18 months. Then through my own inattentiveness, I borked the Ubuntu partition trying to upgrade to the LTS. It was a lot of work maintaining TWO distros on one machine, though. So I just wiped Ubuntu and lived in Windows for awhile. On the one hand, Windows does do most things you want it to: Webinars, movies, etc. On the other hand, I've had it reset in the middle of my work without warning. I had to reboot it two or three times a week. it was always throwing updates at me. So when I bought this new/used machine, I really was relieved I could go back to Linux. But I was also running (more as a hobby) Peppermint in a virtual machine on Windows. I agree: sharp looking and fast. But LXLE came bundled with more, but focused software already installed.

I did look at Remarkable, and it's a beauty. But without code folding, tabs, and search across files, it doesn't offer me anything I really need. I also didn't care for its Tasks implementation: ugly on screen, and you can't toggle to a HTML view, then check it off (which you can do with Haroopad). But every time I look into a new app, I get a clearer idea of what I'm actually looking for.

This post inspired me to look around for a very lightweight linux distro that might work well on some of my old computers. Found this link:

5 Linux distributions for very old computers « Everyday Linux User
http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2014/08/5-linux-distributions-for-very-old.html

The five distributions discussed are AntiX, SparkyLinux, Crunchbang, Puppy Linux, and Lubuntu.

Update after some more work with LXLE. Using Chrome and separately running apps really slowed down the distro. So I used the default Firefox, which I actually hadn't used in some time. I had to customize it a bit, but then found that it gave a very fast, smooth eperience. I've tried to restrain myself from going whole hog on extensions and add-ons. And I read now that they're thinking about going to move to SeaMonkey (because the suite, oddly enough, uses less memory than separate browser and email apps). At any rate, if you use LXLE, don't use Chrome.

jaslar wrote:

Update after some more work with LXLE. Using Chrome and separately
running apps really slowed down the distro.

Did you have more than one tab open in Chrome? Like the recent versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome opens a new instance of the programme for each tab. As a result it can quickly turn into a resource hog. Just open the equivalent of task manager and you should see a multitude of Chrome threads.

In contrast, Firefox opens all tabs under the same programme instance. The downside is that if one tab crashes, the whole programme goes down.

I did have multiple tabs open, and that would explain it. On the other hand, I do the same in Windows, on a machine with even fewer specs, and didn't have that problem. A surprise.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Did you have more than one tab open in Chrome? Like the recent versions
of Internet Explorer, Chrome opens a new instance of the programme for
each tab. As a result it can quickly turn into a resource hog. Just open
the equivalent of task manager and you should see a multitude of Chrome
threads.

And here are some tricks to cure the issue, at least partly:
http://lifehacker.com/why-chrome-uses-so-much-freaking-ram-1702537477