Dev with old laptop (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by wildflowertea@slrpnk.net to c/linux@programming.dev

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A dev friend wants to start taking steps away from Windows, starting with their old laptop.

The laptop has 4 GB ram, and an 8th gen i3 CPU, and they mostly will use it to program.

Some have recommended them Lubuntu. Would that be a good choice?

Thanks!

Edit: yeaaah. Definitely away from Windows, not Linux. Time for lunch.

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[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

They want to step AWAY from Linux? This might not be the right sub then.

[-] wildflowertea@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 month ago

Haha thanks for pointing it out. Time to get some carbs for my brain…

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

No problem.

To your question: the RAM limitation is going to make developing on this machine very difficult with modern tooling or frameworks, even with the most efficient of languages. The build and package management systems of practically everything requires a fair amount of resources, so that's going to be what causes problems. If they're building off devices then probably NBD.

this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025

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