Do you have an older machine? Is it straining to keep up with XP or is it still running Windows 98 or ME? Have you tried Linux and found that the GNOME or KDE environments are just too much for your old computer? Well, before you run to PC World to waste a shedload of money on a new box, consider Xubuntu.

Xubuntu is my old friend Ubuntu Linux, but with a very keen eye on running on older and less powerful computers. It does this by (paradoxically) only using the most up to date software and limiting the number of extra libraries and services it runs. It also pre-installs faster lighter applications where they will probably meet your needs (so Abiword and Gnumeric as word processor and spreadsheet rather than the hog that is OpenOffice). If you want you can still install the heavier versions if you need them. [Do you know just how eay it is to install Ubuntu Linix software?]

Xubuntu uses the Xfce desktop environment, meaning that it will run fast while still delivering a user-friendly interface. It's a little like a simple Mac, but in many ways it also brings to mind the less complex days of GEM, Windows 3, System 9 and other windowing systems of the 80s and 90s.

What all this means is that your PC, with at least 193Mb of RAM, and even an old processor (I type this on a Pentium 3 500Mhz) will zip along as fast if not faster than it did when new and shiny. Now.. as long as you don't need to run the latest graphics card monsters from a games shop.. that could save you lots of pennies to spend on something more interesting instead..

Go Xubuntu!