Ubuntu's performance : how to speed up ?

[Chuck Vose]

There are a lot of documents written about running linux entirely from
RAM, if you really want a quick computer this is the way to do it but
you have to remember to write out each time you shut down (good time
to get a UPS while you're at it).

In addition to getting a kernel specific to your architecture you can
compile slow programs to take advantage of faster algorithms; this is
the idea behind gentoo linux and it works fairly well. This is a pain
of course but it helps.

Finally, if you're on a slightly older computer you can try running
something a little lighter such as XFCE or IceWM. My personal fave is
blackbox but it's not for everybody (actually, I'm not sure it's right
for more than about 300 people in the world :).

Harddrives are by far the slowest thing in a computer, and usually the
loudest. Ram is cheap too so it sounds like loading up on RAM would be
a good way for you. One thing you might consider is making an update
to the ubuntu wiki's about what you do though, I'm sure you aren't the
only person with these aims :)

-Chuck