Damn Small Linux 2024 released [LWN.net]

A new version of the Damn Small Linux distribution has come out with an updated definition of "damn small":

The new goal of DSL is to pack as much usable desktop distribution into an image small enough to fit on a single CD, or a hard limit of 700MB. This project is meant to service older computers and have them continue to be useful far into the future. Such a notion sits well with my values. I think of this project as my way of keeping otherwise usable hardware out of landfills.

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Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 1, 2024 23:27 UTC (Thu) by cjcox (guest, #60378) [Link] (1 responses)

It's so sad since we used to have the ability to do exactly this but on a 1.44MB floppy. Times have changed.

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 7, 2024 2:44 UTC (Wed) by nerdbitya (guest, #169516) [Link]

long gone are the days of Linux on floppy disks but KolibriOS still fits that size

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 2, 2024 8:11 UTC (Fri) by taladar (subscriber, #68407) [Link] (3 responses)

Honestly not sure how usable hardware that has a CD drive but not a network connection is going to be. Having a CD drive means it likely isn't some embedded or mini computer system but not having a network connection seems like it would disqualify it from most desktop or laptop use cases.

I can pretty much only think of industrial or medical control computers for large machinery that fit that description and those probably still run the software that was originally on there for lack of drivers and legal requirements.

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 2, 2024 9:10 UTC (Fri) by adamoell (guest, #33953) [Link] (1 responses)

It's not *that* long ago that not all BIOSes could boot from USB. You used the CD drive to boot and install the machine. If it's to be used in an embedded context, you could remove the CD drive before deployment. But there were many years (say, most of the 90s) when the typical home PC had a CD drive and no network connection - and still we found them useful! Surely *less* useful than a networked machine, but there are still use cases around the edges of things.

Just this week I have been setting up some old machines (yes, using the optical drive in some cases, that old! Though admittedly I did hook up a DVD drive rather than using DSL or similar) and disabling their network connections - they're going to be used in a week-long kids' robotics lab, the youngsters need to be able to code for their robots and deploy their code, but local council policy does not allow 'external' computers to connect to the school network, and there is (reasonable) policy against providing unrestricted Internet access to children on school premises. Having a CD drive and no network is just what's needed in this case!

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 10, 2024 8:08 UTC (Sat) by amarao (guest, #87073) [Link]

My third computer had not had ability to boot from CD. It was Acer PC with 486 CPU.

You have to boot from floppy and access CD.

Also, CD was 650MB, and not all CD-ROM readers were able to read 700.

This thing is not a true 'old hardware' enabler.

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 2, 2024 18:39 UTC (Fri) by eharris (guest, #144549) [Link]

Quote: "...not sure how usable hardware that has a CD drive but not a network connection is going to be..."
Quote: "...not having a network connection seems like it would disqualify it from most desktop or laptop use cases..."

Define "network connection".
It seems you are eliding two concepts: (1) network connection (2) internet connection.

And "usable hardware" always has had a LAN connection (at least since around 1995!).

Well...I usually write code and test code off line (i.e. not connected to the internet). This does not mean that the code cannot be written and tested without a "network connection".....it's just that the "network connection" happens NOT TO BE AN INTERNET CONNECTION.....you know...a peer to peer connection across a LAN would do the trick. And the software would be transferred to an internet environment once the testing was complete.

So........what point are you trying to make?

Damn Small Linux 2024 released

Posted Feb 29, 2024 1:07 UTC (Thu) by weal (guest, #168153) [Link]

Interesting list of applications! When I saw this post initially I couldn't believe some of the classics were still around... but there are also some gems here that were new to me.

I was not aware of "ranger" and I had heard of "visidata" but had not used it. Both were great additions to my toolkit this month! Ranger is even great for browsing photos(!). And visidata is very nice for basic spreadsheet manipulation and I am really enjoying editing sqlite files with it.