Puppy Linux

Puppy Linux is a small distribution that has earned a notable place among hundreds of other Linux distributions. It has a history of over twenty years. It’s free and completely open for use. Like most other operating systems, it can be booted or installed from a bootable USB or live CD to a hard disk or SSD.

How does Puppy Linux differ from other distributions?

This distribution is focused on simplicity and minimal use of hardware resources. Only a DVD or USB and any screen are required. A processor at 1 GHz and 1GB RAM memory will be more than enough. Of course, the more, the better. Installation .iso files range from 300MB (32-bit version) to 600MB (64-bit version). Because of this, the operating system with accompanying programs can be loaded into RAM, eliminating the need for a CD or USB. Consequently, programs run very quickly.

There are several variants of the distribution concerning user interfaces and bundled software. Currently, there are twelve official variants, with many others available. Puppy Linux has the useful and unique ability to store your documents, additional settings, and applications in a separate file that you access when rebooting the system.

Despite its small size, this operating system comes with a carefully selected group of programs, sufficient for an average user. They are optimized to use minimal system resources. Just to name a few: Pale Moon – web browser, Gnumeric – spreadsheet calculator, AbiWord – word processor, Pmusic – audio player, Geany – text editor… In case your requirements exceed the capabilities of these applications, you can use the Puppy repository for additional installations, as well as those for Ubuntu and Slackware.

Who is Puppy Linux intended for?

Due to its low requirements, it’s suitable for older computers with modest hardware. Puppy Linux is most commonly used as a portable distribution for data recovery (rescue disk). If you want to experience something different from Windows, quickly and without installation on a hard disk, this is one of the better options. Puppy Linux on USB drive allows you to access your data and applications from any computer without affecting the operating system installed on that hardware.

We suggest giving Puppy Linux a try. It won’t take much of your time. If you no longer use CDs and don’t have a spare USB stick, you can use VirtualBox or another program for operating systems in a virtual environment.

Platform:
Linux