Are you migrating to Linux from Windows 10, but your computer is on the, uhm, older side? Although the machine ran Windows 10 just fine, perhaps you're looking to enjoy a bit more pep from that aging CPU, minimal RAM, and a small internal drive -- and you've decided that Linux is the answer.

Most Linux distributions will run quite well on that Windows 10 machine. But if you really want to get the most out of the hardware, you could install a lightweight Linux distribution (such as elementaryOS or Bodhi Linux) and then use lightweight applications. If you want a blazing-fast machine, that's your ticket.

Also: Your Windows 10 PC isn't dead yet - this OS from Google can revive it

The even better news is that plenty of lightweight Linux apps are available to install and use for free. 

Why don't I introduce you to some of my favorites?

1. Midori

Midori is a web browser that's about as simple and lightweight as possible. But don't let its lightweight nature fool you; it includes features like rapid page loading, JavaScript support, support for HTML5 and CSS3, tabbed browsing, a customizable UI, built-in search engine options, bookmarks, session management, anti-tracking, customizable user agent, and a built-in PDF viewer. Although I've found that Midori doesn't always work as expected with every site, it still renders pages very fast and well. 

 Also: 5 lightweight browsers that can make your old PC feel like new again

Midori can be installed on any Linux distribution that supports Snap or Flatpak.

2. AbiWord

Word processor seems like such a whimsical phrase these days. Word processor. Word. Processor. Most users assume one has to install a full-blown office suite -- such as LibreOffice -- to write words on a page to be saved for later edits. That is not the case on Linux -- thanks to AbiWord. 

AbiWord has been around for a very long time. I remember depending on it to create documents that could be shared with Microsoft Word users. It wasn't always easy, but I could make it work. Here's what AbiWord had over the likes of Microsoft Office and LibreOffice: It was an application that worked alone and didn't depend on an office suite. 

AbiWord includes features like document creation, text editing, formatting, object inserting, tables, real-time collaboration, revision tracking, various file format support, built-in dictionary and thesaurus integration, macros, and keyboard shortcuts. All of those features are bundled into an app that requires very low system resources to perform as if it's installed on a much faster machine.

AbiWord can be installed on most Linux distributions (for free) from the standard repositories.

3. Gnumeric

Gnumeric is to spreadsheets what AbiWord is to documents. In fact, those two applications make up the GNOME Office suite (although they are independent of one another). Gnumeric is exactly what you need to create spreadsheets on a system that can't handle the likes of a full-blown office suite. 

Also: This is the most helpful new Linux tool I've tried in years - here's why and how I use it

But don't think Gnumerica lacks features. You'll find support for .ods and .xls files, cell editing, formulas and functions, charting, conditional formatting, pivot tables and views, statistical functions, regression analysis, data filtering, a built-in dictionary, a customizable UI, and keyboard shortcuts. Gnumeric's UI is very standard and easy to use. 

You can install Gnumeric (for free) from the standard repositories of most Linux distributions.

4. Nano

Nano is my text editor of choice on Linux because it is so easy to use. Nano becomes second nature once you know the keyboard shortcuts (such as Ctrl+x to save). Although you don't have to use the terminal window on modern Linux, you'll find that doing so is a great way to take care of things using very few system resources. 

Although Nano is run from the command line, you should consider it a minimal text editor and not a command-line tool. With Nano open, you can write and edit text files, edit configuration files, and use the built-in search (Ctrl+w) to locate words and strings within files. I use Nano every day.

Also: 5 Linux terminal apps better than your default - and they're all free

Nano can be installed (for free) from the standard repositories on all Linux distributions.

5. Trojit