Most appropriate distribution for Zoom?

[rick]

My chum has an old Acer Aspire 2920Z notebook (Pentium T2370 and 2GB RAM) and wants it to run Zoom, which is not supported by the OS: Windows Vista. My advice is to install Lubuntu but I’m not sure which version, and whether it will install alongside Windows, as a dual boot. So those are my questions i.e.

[rick]

Questions:

1. Does it matter which version of Lubuntu for running Zoom, and
2. Do all versions of Lubuntu install in their own partition alongside Windows?

[guiverc]

There are two releases available

• Lubuntu 21.04
  &
• Lubuntu 20.04 LTS

To quote from the manual (chapter 1.1, ie. the start)

LTS vs. Regular Releases

Lubuntu offers two types of releases. The Long Term Support release, or the LTS, is the release recommended for most users. It is supported for three years after the release date and does not contain new features. Throughout the course of the cycle, the Ubuntu Kernel Team will deliver Hardware Enablement updates, or HWE updates, to Lubuntu via Linux kernel updates. Previously, Lubuntu used LXDE but since 18.10 it has used the LXQt. Lubuntu 20.04 is the First Long Term Support release which uses the more modern LXQt desktop environment.

For users looking to try new features every six months at the expense of the support cycle length, Lubuntu offers interim releases, or regular releases. These releases, while they are considered stable, are testing grounds for major, new features which will be rolled into the LTS release. Users of the regular releases are typically enthusiasts and somewhat more experienced users looking for a fresher experience.

It is extremely important that if you choose this path, you upgrade to each successive regular release shortly after it comes out. If you are not comfortable doing this, you should consider using the LTS release instead.

The decision I’d use to decide which I used was not anything you mentioned (they’re about equal in my opinion), and I felt is pretty well covered in the manual as quoted.

Compare the two manuals for each, and they are the near identical with regard installs (21.04 has an option for swap is all); the differences relates only to newer features in the newer software provided in the later release.

(ie. https://manual.lubuntu.me/stable/1/1.3/installation.html versus https://manual.lubuntu.me/lts/1/1.3/installation.html ; oops we forget to change the wallpaper shot too in 21.04 )