TinyMe For Linux

TinyMe is a free and minimalist distribution of Linux derived from the open-source PCLinuxOS operating system, which in turn is based on Mandriva Linux, and designed from the ground up to be as low on resources as possible, yet still usable as a day by day OS on low-end machines and computers with old or semi-old hardware components.

The operating system is downloadable as Live CD ISO images that have been optimized for both 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64) hardware platforms. The have only 250MB in size and must be written to CD discs or USB thumb drives in order to boot them from the BIOS of a PC.

Sadly, the boot menu is unstable at a first glance, as the highlighted lines are black, identical with the background, and you won’t be able to navigate between boot options so easily.

However, from there you can launch the live system with normal video drivers, in safe graphics mode, in failsafe mode or by copying the contents of the CD to RAM (system memory), as well as to check the integrity of the bootable medium (only if using a CD disc).

TinyMe’s graphical session is built around the Openbox window manager. It provides users with a simple and traditional interface comprised of a bottom panel from where they can launch apps, interact with opened programs and cycle between virtual workspaces. Please note that you must first log into the graphical environment using the root/root username/password combination.

As expected from a minimalist distribution of Linux, TinyMe contains a minimal set of open-source applications. Among these, we can mention the DeaDBeeF audio player, Parole media player, Viewnior image viewer, AbiWord word processor, Transmission torrent downloader and Netsurf web browser.