Intro

[Robin]

Hello,

"Elfy" sent me here from Ubuntu Discourse when I expressed some interest 
in helping with this awesome distro in some small way.

I have no technical expertise to lend, in fact I'm a bit technophobic.  
Yet I have become a Xubuntu "fan" since Lucid (10.04), when Xubuntu was 
"the lightweight Ubuntu for older computers."  I have a 12-year-old Dell 
Dimension with an old Celeron processor (that supports pae) and 512 of 
RAM.  It originally ran Windows XP.

Other than "bragging about Xubuntu," I don't have much to contribute.  
Like most users probably, there are a few things that I always change 
right after an installation to speed things up on this old relic, like 
turning off startup items I don't use and reducing swappiness, that sort 
of thing.

I realize that Xubuntu is no longer "the lightweight Ubuntu for older 
computers" (according to your Strategy Document) since Lubuntu has come 
along, but I would plead with this team to bear a couple of things in 
mind  at least for the 13.04 release:

We're about to be joined by a lot of new users - right at the very same 
time that Windows XP reaches EOL.  Many many MANY of those folks will be 
looking at the Ubuntu family for a replacement, and the majority of them 
may have "older" hardware.  Perhaps not as scrawny as mine, but modest 
nonetheless.  While I realize that Xfce lends itself to efficiency, I've 
found that more recent versions of Xubuntu are slower and more resource 
intensive than 12.04 which I'm using now.  While I can add RAM easily 
enough, a lot of the folks who will be joining us soon would rather just 
buy a new computer. So my plea is, please - at least just for 14.04, 
keep Xubuntu "lean and mean" for all the novice users who are sure to be 
joining us soon!

I have written about desktop Linux from a "casual" user's perspective on 
my humble little weblog for about 2 years, and while I have strayed to 
other distros, I always "run home" to Xubuntu when the others (SalixOS, 
PCLinuxOS, Mint, even Bodhi) let me down. Lately I've decided to stay 
put and become much more familar with just one, rather than bounce 
around confusing myself.  Other than writing about it and once in a 
while answering a newbie question on the forums and installing Xubuntu 
for a friend or two, I'm not sure what else I have to offer, but I'd 
love to help in some way if I can.

Very cordially and respectfully,
Robin

"Robin" - on Ubuntu Discourse
"robin7" - on Ubuntu Forums
"adoptedsidekick" - on wordpress.com
http://adoptedsidekick.wordpress.com