Is lubuntu faster? I got xubuntu on an old plastic macbook and it's struggeling.
The difference is small if you use mini.iso (net install) and a minimal desktop version but it can be noticeable depending on the kernel version, packages that you add, 32 or 64 bit capability, available ram, other hw components etc. Debian is faster though, and free from the usual ubuntu bloat, install backports, correct drivers and put i3wm or awesome on it and you'll get a usable machine even if it's very old. Not sure if it would play nice with mac hardware but you could always try.
It is. It also feels unfinished, but it really depends on your expectations.
Personally, once I have a functional terminal and a web browser, I am ok, and lubuntu is perfect for this kind of use.
Agree. I develop on Lubuntu using IntelliJ and it works very well for that purpose.
Lubuntu is really fast. You might want to try Debian as per another comment, too; this article sums it up nicely:
I'm going to have to try Xubuntu at some point :-)
Long time xubuntu user here. I'm happy, my daily rig is a 8GB X220 with a 500GB SSD and i5-2540M CPU @ 2.60GHz. Doesn't seem slow to me at all and I'm a software dev.
Very interesting, I'm attracted by the talk about Xubuntu having better graphics.