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Damn Small Linux Rises From the Dead With a 4.11 RC1 Release

An anonymous reader writes "Damn Small Linux is back from the dead, with a version 4.11 RC1 release announcement at Distrowatch and another at the DSL Forums! Quoting: 'Here is the first release candidate for Damn Small Linux (DSL) 4.11. The changes in this release are a step toward making DSL a friendly alternative for older hardware. I've fixed some bugs, updated some applications, and replaced others. Applications: updated JWM to 2.1.0 (now supports rounding); updated Dillo to 3.0.2 (much improves CSS support); added XChat 1.8.9; added sic 1.1 IRC client; added XCalc-color. Modified desktop functionality: it is now possible to switch between JWM and Fluxbox without shutting down X; added menu items to switch between DFM and xtdesk icon engines or use none at all." Here's the download page."

101 comments

  1. Just in time! by DeadlyBanana · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To get respun for the raspberry pi?

  2. Acronyms overloading. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So now again my example of why it should be allowed to repeat the last word of the acronym expanded, is relevant: "ATM machine is running DSL Linux, and is connected over ATM mode DSL line".

    --
    Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    1. Re:Acronyms overloading. by agrif · · Score: 1

      The DSL Linux CD disk is read by a LASER radiation beam.

      I initially wrote this to be facetious but laser radiation beam actually sounds cool.

    2. Re:Acronyms overloading. by virb67 · · Score: 1, Funny

      "laser radiation beam" may sound cool, but it's also redundant.

    3. Re:Acronyms overloading. by techno-vampire · · Score: 2

      It can get worse; much worse. I once read a post on Usenet where somebody reported saying, "ATM the ATM is off the ATM."

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    4. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Light amplification by simulation emission of radiation' radiation beam .

    5. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      "laser radiation beam" may sound cool, but it's also redundant.

      I think that was the point. De-acronymizing the OP, one obtains:

      The Damn Small Linux Linux compact disk disk is read by a light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation radiation beam.

      Sincerely,
      The Department of Redundancy Department

    6. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not redundant. LASER is a method. LASER=Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Strictly speaking, a LASER radiation beam is a radiation beam which is created through light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. If you use laser as a name for a device, it's not an acronym. Then a laser radiation beam is the beam of radiation emitted by the laser. If you want to be a pedant, be pedantic.

    7. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is unnecessary and stupid if you are a reasonably intelligent person who can understand context.

      If you have difficulty with those, I'd hate to see what kind of troubles "there", "their" and "they're" pose for you in every day speech.

    8. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But to use it you need to enter your personal PIN number.

    9. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      A reasonably intelligent person would not expect everyone to guess the same context, because he considers the possibility that the listener may be aware of multiple plausibly applicable contexts.

      An idiot, on the other hand, would expect that everyone is just as ignorant about possible other meanings of the acronyms as he is.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    10. Re:Acronyms overloading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a fucking moron. How do you even function in society?

  3. What is the "best" small linux distro , and why ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Looking into getting a small distro for old hardware (2002). So many choices, so little time. Seems like puppy is the favorite ?

  4. Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Super speed on super slow computers.

    1. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Harsh words. And wrong. uclinux does not require an mmu.

      Nasty personal attack for no fucking reason = fail.

    2. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      were talking about linux on pc's, not some toy want- to-be workalike

    3. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You might want to reread your history.
      Limitation of software to a platform is the exact reason Linux exists today.

      There are plenty of enthusiasts who want to get things working on older hardware, just for fun.
      If the dreams, hopes and jokes of such people offends you enough to make such harsh remarks, then maybe you should look at yourself, because a heart this cold will only bring you pain.

      I wish you well.

    4. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      yea ok whatever you want to state, heres the deal, I have linux on a 4mb 386, the lowest of the low on x86, I have it on a motorola 68030, the lowest of the low on that side of the coin. I have used uCLinux and sorry, its a very resource heavy slow want-to-be linux like command shell, bad RTOS that really serves no other reason but to bloat system requirements, and cost, to enable piss poor performance.

      "because a heart this cold will only bring you pain."

      no being a realistic person has brought me a life where I am happy, and not one of dying alone, and broken chasing unicorns that never existed ... thanks.

    5. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by jampola · · Score: 4, Funny

      Comic store guy, is that you?

    6. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      That's my project for the next few weeks. I managed to get a stack of old Celeron machines for ten quid each. Six of them. So I shall learn how to set up a beowolf cluster with LinuxPMI. If it works, I'll look into finding new processors that actually outperform an abacus. I intend to use it for developing my interest in signal processing and compression.

    7. Re:Awesome! Cluster computing on an 8088 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For someone who professes to be happy, you're evidently quite hate-filled and aggressive. The sooner you stop living in denial and start paying attention to whatever it is that is making you so angry the sooner you can actually have a chance of acheiving genuine happiness. Whatever it is, it's eating you up inside and you don't realise it.

  5. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by couchslug · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Try both Puppy and Damn Small. I keep a copy of Damn Small in my CD wallet (not every PC boots reliably off USB) for troubleshooting since it's light and fast even on weak systems.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  6. TI83 by Dwedit · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just noticed that this distro uses JWM, which was written by legendary TI-83 programmer Joe Wingbermuehle. If you went to high school in 1998-2002 and had a TI83 or TI83+, you might have had some of his programs, such as the Ion assembly shell, Boxworld, Breakout, Diamonds, Dstar, Landmine, or Jezzball.

    1. Re:TI83 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My word. His stuff kept me occupied for hours when I should have been paying attention in calculus.

    2. Re:TI83 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi Joe!
      Good to see your still kicking.

  7. moved on by Osgeld · · Score: 1

    Anti-X Linux, have it on a 150Mhz Pentium, DSL had some advantages like running on a 8 meg machine (with no use of X of course) and the small size, but hell its been long enough where I had to move on from DSL, and honestly its never really been a great or polished system. Just a fuckton of basic utilitarian things crammed on a disk with a janky UI, and none of the software I would actually use.

    1. Re:moved on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      150Mhz Pentium? From the horse's mouth,

      It should run on most computers, ranging from 64MB old PII 266 systems with pre-configured 128MB swap to the latest powerful boxes. 128MB RAM is recommended minimum for antiX. The installer needs minimum 2.2GB hard disk size. antiX can also be used as a fast-booting rescue cd.

      For the curious, here's a recent review. And the FAQ.

      Disclaimer: I don't know /why/ you'd want to run Linux on a P1, but whatever turns your crank I guess. The misery of dropped BIOS & ethernet card support finally did me in. Plus none of it ever works slighly as well as W98SE.

      Flame me to a crisp if you like, but on that hardware it's the kickass Desktop. I still use it for vintage gaming. (YMMV: you have to know how to make 98 work well. Most don't, and suffer proportionately.)

    2. Re:moved on by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      http://antix.freeforums.org/post23270.html#p23270

      I do beleive I have the lowest powered machine running it known to the community, it takes its sweet ass time to start up, but once your in and loaded its actually quite responsive.

    3. Re:moved on by crankyspice · · Score: 1

      I don't know /why/ you'd want to run Linux on a P1, but whatever turns your crank I guess. The misery of dropped BIOS & ethernet card support finally did me in. Plus none of it ever works slighly as well as W98SE.

      The later Pentium chips, the MMX variants, on a decent chipset (i430VX or i430TX), were rock-solid and very usable under almost any operating system. I still have one somewhere with Windows NT 4 Workstation (still one of the best operating systems I've ever used, especially for MJPEG video editing with a miroVideo DC30pro), Windows 98SE (for gaming), and IIRC RedHat 6.2 with IceWM. RedHat was for the PHP/MySQL stuff I was doing at the time, plus systems programming in C, plus technically reviewing Wrox books, etc.

      I have an old Sony VAIO PCG-Z505R somewhere, too, with 98SE and RedHat 6.2, IceWM, etc.; it's a PII-366MHz with IIRC 192MB RAM and a 6GB internal hard drive. I'm not likely to ever boot it into Windows, but on the Linux side, WordPerfect, X client, etc., stuff it's still very usable for.

      Not everything requires gigaflop power and gobs of RAM...

      --
      geek. lawyer.
    4. Re:moved on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not so sure this is the lowest powered machine.
      Where powered = watts used

      Your's can't be since my raqcop uses less watts.
        "uP" AuthenticAMD AMD-K6(tm)-III Processor
        cpu frequency in MHz 448.219
        cache size 128 KB
        flags fpu vme de pse tsc msr mce cx8 pge mmx syscall 3dnowext 3dnow k6_mtrr
        Bogomips 894.56
        Bogomips eff. 99.7905 %
      Cpu Temperature In Degrees Celsius:
      0 [CPU]: 38.50
      Ram Slot Information:
      0 [SDRAM]: 512 MB
      1 [SDRAM]: 512 MB
      ATA device with non-removable media
              Model Number: TRANSCEND
      Size: 512 MB

      00:10.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 8255xER/82551IT Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 09)
      00:12.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 8255xER/82551IT Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 09)
      00:14.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100 (rev 0c) (this card here on my ORANGE brings the watts up slightly)

      Perhaps you meant low CPU and RAM.
      Cause, I doubt you can bring that system down to the (Rounded off) 12 watts this system uses, and you did say lowest powered machine, anything beyond a raqcop in low power use is going to likely be either embedded system or a mini ITX - imo.

      Still it's not lost upon me what you say about a slow boot and then an absolutly responsive system. My post wasn't meant to talk shit here. I've had a couple boxes like you describe over my lifetime, seems like one was a pentium 75 and the other was a 486 running an old version of slack. I used to run my router on a 233 that used to take about 12 minutes to boot up. lol

    5. Re:moved on by SaDJ0KeR · · Score: 1

      Linux v0dka 2.6.31-v0dka #2 Sat Jan 14 00:14:04 EET 2012 i586 Pentium 75 - 200 GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
      vendor_id : GenuineIntel
      cpu family : 5
      model : 2
      model name : Pentium 75 - 200
      cpu MHz : 89.809

      total used free shared buffers cached
      Mem: 93140 89440 3700 0 60744 9512
      -/+ buffers/cache: 19184 73956
      Swap: 28216 1384 26832

      Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
      /dev/root 3.0G 2.0G 1.1G 65% /
      tmpfs 46M 0 46M 0% /dev/shm

  8. Xbox Version by Monsuco · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm so happy to see this project's back from the dead. I'll once again be able to make use of super-old PC's. I hope somebody updates the Xbox release called X-DSL someday. It was made for modded Xboxes and it's the only distro that ever really worked well on them.

    1. Re:Xbox Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm so happy to see this project's back from the dead. I'll once again be able to make use of super-old PC's. I hope somebody updates the Xbox release called X-DSL someday. It was made for modded Xboxes and it's the only distro that ever really worked well on them.

      Whatever. Gentoox runs great on my 3 original Xboxen. XFCE for the win.

      Now only if there were something for my 3 Elite 360s. I sure would love to be able to play stupid Matroska files on something a bit sleeker than a FUGLY HTPC.

  9. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Osgeld · · Score: 0

    debian, its got the utilities and small resource footprint you want, unlike puppy you can use apt-get anydamn thing you want, puppy is really for nerds who have too much time on their hands to fuck around with a nerd system.

  10. Make it a Gaming OS already by Khyber · · Score: 1

    This with a dedicated Steam port would be ideal for a lightweight and fast gaming system.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    1. Re:Make it a Gaming OS already by sourcerror · · Score: 0

      Not Linux but close enough: http://excamera.com/sphinx/gameduino/

    2. Re:Make it a Gaming OS already by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      how does a overclocked AVR in anyway shape or form have anything to do with linux being a gaming OS?

    3. Re:Make it a Gaming OS already by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Hey, that's pretty cool!

    4. Re:Make it a Gaming OS already by sourcerror · · Score: 1

      Well, it's lightweight ...

  11. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Penurious+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Heck, I've run Ubuntu on machines from 2000.
    Arch Linux is pretty lean and can be configured to your liking. Arch is pretty loyal to the KISS principle too. For distros, Arch is my favorite and they arguably have the best documentation available.
    If 762MB is not too large, you could try TAILS Linux, which is a privacy-oriented distro based on (I think) Ubuntu, and is preconfigured to run all protocols through the TOR proxy. Of course, for that reason, I'd not trust the security of it. It's pretty cool though; I have TAILS on a little USB keychain drive and use it on occasion. Wouldn't use it for online-banking or anything though. If you are super paranoid, there's even TinfoilHat Linux, but you've given no indication of such. I think DSL should work quite well and see reason not to try it.

    --
    Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
  12. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Penurious+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Also, I forgot to mention what might be obvious. A primary consideration when looking for a clean and unbloated setup is your desktop/window manager. Many distros could be slimmed down by using something like LXDE, XFCE, Openbox, Awesome, or even Mate. If you don't need a digital Cirque du Soleil, you can probably avoid KDE and Gnome. I was pretty impressed by XFCE on Arch.
    And to correct the typo in my last sentence from the other comment; I see no reason not to try DSL Linux.

    --
    Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
  13. Loved DSL. But what kernel and system libs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    DSL was hugely important to me. It started me in Linux, got me understanding things, learning scripting, Perl and C. Booted all into ram it was blinding fast even on an old machine. I love small light applications and I still love the idea of a whole desktop and browser in a 50MB iso. It predates Puppy and all the others. But what version stuff is it running now?

    What kernel version is it running? libc? Apart from the dispute between its owner and its lead developer (the latter went off to found Tinycore) the big problem with old DSL was compiling anything recent became a pain because it and the gcc versions in the repo were so out of date. Leaving aside security issues this began to hamper what I could do with it. Then there was the old 2.4.26 kernel.

    Is that how it has to be if the goal is to support old hardware? How old? Tinycore claims to support 486 with math processor and it has the latest *everything*, tc kernel and apps are often very recent.

  14. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Tinycore

  15. Re:It was almost dead because Windows is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Who said anything about APK? Are you APK? Why do you talk about yourself in third person? Do you have multiple personalities? If you do, how do you know you didn't post that comment?

  16. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Arch is only available for i686 and x86_64. Most older computers are i386 so Arch won't work for DSL's target (old hardware).

  17. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seconded. Tinycore is freaking amazing.

  18. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These guys supposedly strive for freedom for older hardware http://www.connochaetos.org/ although the opinions of some of the community and dev team are fairly strange, be warned.

  19. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    But that brings up something I've been wondering for awhile which is this....at what point would it be better to toss the hardware? I mean you can buy one of those E350 based kits for less than $150 and that thing takes less than 18w under load and idles in the mid single digits, I don't even remember what the Pi runs but its a crazy small number, so at what point does that old hardware become too much of a piggie to be worth keeping?

    Lets face it folks, while you may see the ancient P2 or P3 around occasionally most of those died ages ago thanks to the cheap caps they used back then so what I see the most of, and by most of i mean fricking insane amounts of, is those damned Pentium 4s. Those P4s frankly were NEVER good on power and just cranked the living shit out of the heat, so would it be better to keep it, thus paying the increased electricity and cooling, or just get something cheap that doesn't blow through power like crap through a goose?

    I know that while I've got a couple of P4s waiting on me to refurb at the shop, and probably another good half dozen or more gonna be given to me free by the super for parts or refurbing, the only older machine I've kept is a 2004 Sempron a customer traded in that frankly makes a great nettop at the shop. Its quiet, uses maybe 35w on average, and puts out hardly any heat at all. while that Pentium d I have in the corner may run rings around it it runs rings around my AC as well.

    So at what point is it better to dump? I hate as much as the rest to toss working gear, just about to carry a 1.8GHz P4 to the dumpster because i can't think of a damned thing to do with it and I hate tossing working machines like that, but at what point are you blowing through more in power and cooling than you'd save by keeping?

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  20. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Psicopatico · · Score: 3, Informative

    I asked my self the same things aswell, and here's some simple math:
    - how much is the impact on your elec bill?
    - how many years does it take to break even the upfront cost of the newer but less electricity demanding hardware?

    From there, it's your choice.

    --
    Mastering the English language is fucking easy: all you have to do is to put an f* word in every fucking sentence.
  21. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    Parted Magic should work even better.

  22. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    That's the nature of computers. They advance much, much faster than other types of electronics. The most important thing is to keep proper recycling going on.

    On the other hand, hardware released just after P4 is not in that dire situation at all. Core Duo stuff (2006 or so) are still fine for basic desktops.

  23. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by dbIII · · Score: 1

    It's usually about having something that will work on other people's old hardware so whether to toss or not is somebody else's problem.
    I get your point though, I've got half a rack full of 32 bit machines that haven't even been turned on for a couple of years at least because just about everything newer at any speed uses less power and produces less heat.

  24. Soup by jones_supa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What is problematic with DSL and Puppy is that they are a mishmash of various programs with different toolkits. While somewhat heavier, I prefer XFCE or LXDE based distros as they bring a more consistent experience.

  25. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by jma05 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Good point. DSL was light, but also felt very clunky: UI and to install extra software. I wanted something with the backing of a standard package repository.

    An year or two ago, I was looking for a light Linux to run in a VM and was balancing usability with RAM usage. Here are my numbers from some old notes. Unless specified, the numbers are for RAM usage at login to Desktop at default config (I might have removed some apps I considered non-essential - I don't recall).

    Of course, these are not exactly scientific. Was sshd running for Arch?, I didn't note down. The distro version numbers were also not noted, but all distros were roughly from 1.5 years ago. They were more for getting ballpark estimates. AFAI-recall, they were all booted in a 256 MB VM (Virtualbox).

    Lubuntu - 85 MB
    Fluxbuntu 48 MB (31 MB without X)
    Lubuntu 64 MB (41 MB without X)

    Ubuntu Server 10.04 without servers and X - 145 MB (did not expect this)
    Ubuntu Mint (Gloria) 144 MB
    Debian Mint 138 MB

    ULite Desktop - 54 MB (17 MB without X)
    ULite Desktop without GDM - 26 MB

    Non-Debian (without X)
    Suse in light server config - 13 MB (incl sshd, 10 MB without)
    Arch - 14 MB

    So, Suse took the light-weight crown for RAM usage at terminal boot. For me though, Lubuntu was the sweet-spot at that time.

  26. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are 8.7 kilohours per year. Multiply by average power consumption and price per kWh and you have your yearly impact on the electricity bill. 40W@$0.2/kWh costs $70 per year, so those old Pentium4s really aren't cost effective (unless you're living in a cold climate and the rest of your heating is also electric, in which case you have bigger fish to fry.)

  27. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by armanox · · Score: 1

    Guess that depends on your definition of old. I hope very few people are still running Pentiums I's and older.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  28. More functionality than mainstream linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "it is now possible to switch between JWM and Fluxbox without shutting down X" !!!

    Really, why isn't this possible on Fedora 17 or other recent distros? I've needed to run software that doesn't behave well with compositing WMs, and I had to log out and log back in with my WM of choice...

    1. Re:More functionality than mainstream linux? by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Not sure what particular compositing window manager you're running on Fedora but on Ubuntu with Unity I just do a "metacity --replace" when I need to turn compositing off. And when I want to go back I just do "compiz --replace" as that's the wm Unity uses. No logging out necessary. Of course this is assuming you don't have metacity set up with the compositing but if you do just turn that off in gconf-editor.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
  29. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    but people may run an old VIA C3 or some other outlier CPU, which would be only i586 or i486.

  30. or ubuntu by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    ubuntu is almost the same thing as debian, similar selection of software, same text-mode installer - which you want to be using on an old PC, giving you a text-only installation that you supplement by apt-getting a desktop or window manager.

    ubuntu mainly gives you a fresh firefox over debian ; if you're going to run firefox then the latest one will use less memory and cpu than an old version. debian may be better if this is not a big concern and you like doing in-place upgrades every two-three years. or you could be using debian testing or sid but only nerds do that.

  31. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by bcrowell · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But that brings up something I've been wondering for awhile which is this....at what point would it be better to toss the hardware? I mean you can buy one of those E350 based kits for less than $150

    It sounds like you have applications such as networked storage or firewall boxes in mind, but for desktop use, you can can actually get quite nice used desktop hardware for less than $150 -- often less than half that. For about 8 years now, I've been buying cheap machines, putting linux on them, and putting them in my physics lab for my students to use. For a while I was going to garage sales, Salvation Army, and shops that sold used boxes. But recently I've found that really nice hardware is becoming available on ebay at very reasonable prices. Here are some examples of some recent machines I've bought:

      HP Pavilion Desktop D4100Y Pentium D 2.80 GHz 1 GB Memory /PC2-3200, $40+$23 shipping

    HP XW4400 Workstation Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 1.86GHz 250GB 1GB CD-RW/ DVD, $90+$24 shipping

    HP Compaq D330 uT Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHZ 80GB HDD 1GB DDR Desktop PC, $30+$23 shipping

    Gateway GT5637E AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 160GB HDD 2GB DDR2 CD-RW/ DVD-RW, $110+$20 shipping

    Even with shipping, it's a lot less money than you'd pay locally for the same hardware. It's also much less work to find it, and it's not in need of as many upgrades as the kind of stuff you find at garage sales, etc., where many machines have no CD drive, no ethernet, or not enough memory.

    I typically install ubuntu and set them up with xfce as the default wm. Performance is fine.

  32. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by spauldo · · Score: 1

    I was, until yesterday.

    A few years ago I aquired a ton of old HP Vectras that were all Pentium 1 machines, except for one 486 that I put DOS and Windows 3.11 on (just for fun - I had a few floppies with Windows games on them). I've only got a couple left.

    The nice thing about them is that they still use lead-based solder, so there's no problem with tin wiskers shorting out the system after a few years. I've got a crate of old, small hard drives, and a lot of them still work just fine (I'm talking between 100MB and 2GB here).

    Anyway, they make great firewalls, DNS/DHCP servers, IRC servers, etc. for small networks. Yesterday I replaced my firewall (the last Vectra on my network) with a diskless OpenBSD install on a Mini-ITX system. I still keep the Vectra in the server cabinet in case something goes wrong, though.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  33. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by spauldo · · Score: 2

    Old hardware is only useful because it's cheap (or often free) and it's fun, if that's your thing.

    I've got a few old Sparcstation 20s that I play around with. Why? They're fun. Or at least they were, before Oracle mucked about with docs.sun.com.

    I've got some old Pentium I machines that I've used as small network servers and firewalls. As of yesterday, I'm on all modern (and much more energy efficient) machines, but a Pentium I will serve DHCP just as well as an i7. I used to keep a few old HP Vectras around to act as a "network in a box" - firewall and DNS/DHCP - to install on networks when a family member wanted additional computers. I don't bother anymore, since home routers are the default these days.

    My advice? Take the old stuff you don't need and put them outside where they can be seen - preferably under an awning or something to protect them from the weather. I got my start on hardware when a friend of mine saw an old guy throwing away a shed full of 8088 and 286 class machines - you never know if a pickup truck full of Pentium 4s is all a prospective geek needs to kickstart his hobby. If no one claims them in a week, recycle them.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  34. Tomsrtbt by zippthorne · · Score: 1

    Hey, if DSL can get updated, why not Toms?

    I mean, yeah, we don't need to fit in a floppy any more, but how would you like to have an OS that fits entirely in on-die cache?

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!
  35. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by mark_osmd · · Score: 2

    Or don't take it to the dumpster, BestBuy takes old hardware off your hands for free and that way it gets properly recycled instead of leaking toxic metals in a dump somwhere

  36. Woohoo! by monk · · Score: 1

    Glad to see it back. I loved having DSL on a USB. I've been using Arch for that lately, but I have trouble remembering how to get it setup after long periods without using it. Hopefully this will also work on my old EEE PC netbook. I'm using Arch and E there too, but never did get around to making it autosense wifi and that sort of thing. As I recall DSL did that very well out of the box.

    --
    [-- Trust the Monkey --]
  37. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by EETech1 · · Score: 1

    Be sure to wipe them, and install Ubuntu or your favorite distro, so when they pick it up, take it home and fire it up, it just works. I've had people stop back and ask what it was I left on the computer I threw out, and could I install it in their dying XP box.

    Spread the love!

    Cheers!

  38. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

    Oh I agree, I have a couple of Athlon X2s from that period and they are just fine when it comes to power, i also hung onto that Sempron even though its even older because not only is it low power but if i want to lower the power even more i can pick up a socket 754 Athlon mobile for less than $30 that will drop right in and give me more performance while dropping the idle even lower but as long as the Sempron is doing the job i don't see the point.

    But those P4s, especially the Prescott and later, were power hogs, like an old V8 muscle car. I have a couple of Prescott boards sitting in the closet as well as a Cedar Mill with HT sitting in the drawer and you just would not believe the amount of heat those suckers belch out, nor how much juice they pull.

    So while I have no problem refurbing those units for the poor, that frankly probably couldn't afford a PC at all if I didn't sell those P4s cheap, for someone that already has a computer I have to wonder about the wisdom of keeping anything from the netburst era. I mean sure socket 775s are cheap as dirt and just as common, and there are places selling Pentium Ds for less than $20 thus making it the cheapest dual cores you can get, I really have to wonder if having something that hot and power hungry, even if given it free, would be worth having.

    All i know is my boys were gaming on a couple of Pentium Ds with 19 inch CRTs and when I swapped those out for a Phenom II Quad and Phenom II Hexa with 22 inch LCDs their power usage went WAAAAY the hell down, even those we are talking about doubling and tripling the cores and upgrading them from 7600GTs to HD4850s. The power difference was just incredible and really made me rethink the wisdom of keeping anything from the netburst era. Now the only netburst in our family is a little 2.3GHz Celeron that my mom plays her match 3 games on and as soon as another cheap Athlon crosses my desk I'll be selling the Celeron and giving her the AMD.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  39. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

    Dude while I appreciate you trying to help kids you might want to stay away from the P4s and Pentium Ds. Just pick up a kill-a-watt and slap it on one of those to find out why, they belch heat and suck juice like a 70s Monte Carlo with bad rings.

    The original Core chips, pretty much all the Athlons and Phenoms were MUCH better about power and can be found just as cheaply if you look around and any of the AM2 sockets can have the chip swapped for one of the low power variants in less than 10 minutes and places like Starmicro sells those for less than $50.

    So remember its not just about being cheap to buy, its also how cheap it is to run. The entire netburst era was "Give it MOAR POWER!!" and by the time you got to the Pentium D you could fry eggs on the chips for all the wasted power. that equals not only more power going through the machine, but more AC you are gonna need to keep that lab cool and that adds up if you are not in a northern climate.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  40. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People still toss computers in dumpsters? It's not really illegal, but it is kind of a dick move. There is a booming business in recycling metals happening everywhere in the country.

  41. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by evilviper · · Score: 2

    So at what point is it better to dump?

    The point at which eliminating your wait time for whatever slow application (usually Firefox...), is worth the sale price of new hardware, plus the time and effort to setup that new system.

    Power is cheap, and old hardware is much lower power than people expect, due to being single-core and having low-power GPUs and North/Southbridges. I still have a 2.4GHz P4 system up and running in an office... It draws all of 40w at idle, which means operating costs are just a few cents a day at worst, and probably less than the monitor it's hooked up to.

    Setup issues can be more significant than price. Upgrading from 32 to 64-bit can be a much, much bigger hassle than just transferring your data over, and dealing with issues like the new system not handling Suspend / Resume properly can mean your NEW system is suddenly the power-hog.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  42. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they make great firewalls, DNS/DHCP servers, IRC servers, etc. for small networks

    Why not just use a modern $250 nettop PC for those things and more? You'd make back the money in power savings in no time.

  43. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by bcrowell · · Score: 1

    You raise an interesting point, but the numbers don't seem to bear you out. The local cost of electricity is 19 cents per kilowatt-hour. These machines are typically powered on for maybe 10 hours a week, which is about a 5% duty cycle. At 50 W, the electricity cost for a year of use comes out to be about $4. To pay back the cost of a $50 power-saving upgrade, as you suggest, would take decades, which is much longer than these things will be in use. (My time is also worth something to me, so there's no way I would replace all these CPUs.)

    When using old hardware, a better thing to focus on is usually replacing CRTs with LCDs. Monitors last much longer than computers and obsolesce much more slowly. People also usually appreciate the extra desk space they get with an LCD.

  44. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by pnutjam · · Score: 1

    System Rescue CD is my go to imaging linux.

  45. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

    But you missed the point which is WHY pay that extra $4 when you don't have to? As the list showed you can get Athlon X2s and first gen cores for the same price and they suck a hell of a lot less juice and don't belch out heat.

    So its not like its pay $x or pay $x+y, its pay $x for a power piggie or pay $x for a non piggie, why pay for the piggie?

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  46. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So at what point is it better to dump? I hate as much as the rest to toss working gear, just about to carry a 1.8GHz P4 to the dumpster because i can't think of a damned thing to do with it and I hate tossing working machines like that, but at what point are you blowing through more in power and cooling than you'd save by keeping?

    Instead of snobbishly throwing away older hardware, why not instead either give it to your local computers-for-low-income-people non-profit, or recycle it? Or are you just too damned cool to act responsibly?

  47. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by spauldo · · Score: 1

    Because at the time I built the firewall, such things didn't exist.

    I used that machine as a firewall for about a decade (it was already seven years old at that time). That $250 nettop PC probably wouldn't still be running after that long. Yeah, I upgraded and reinstalled the software a few times, but that machine served me well and like I said, I keep it as a backup firewall.

    Besides, that Vectra has a 120W power supply in it, and was cooled by the power supply fan rather than its own processor fan. Pentium I machines weren't power hogs compared to modern desktops. People seem to forget how computer power requirements jumped up during the PIII and PIV era.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  48. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by WorBlux · · Score: 1

    Because the entire system is 10MB. What do you expect, an HD wallpaper?

  49. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by WorBlux · · Score: 1

    DSL is still on the 2.4 kernel. Meant to run bare metal on very old systems where some hardware doesn't have drivers in the 2.6 series.

  50. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by spauldo · · Score: 1

    Really?

    This is the power supply for a Vectra. This particular one is 100W, and by the date I'd guess it was for a 486. Most of the ones I had were 120W, manufactured in 1996, and ran Pentiums.

    Note the odd shape? That little slanted area on the bottom of it is where the fan is. It blew onto the processor's heat sink. Here is another picture, where you can see that fan.

    Here is a picture of a 486 Vectra's processor. The Pentium models were very similar, and had no dedicated processor fan.

    You don't know what you're talking about, and my guess is that you were in diapers when these machines were made. Go back to your tinker toys, little AC - the adults are talking.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  51. Fails = /. "Linux=Secure, Windows !=Secure" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny how Linux gets hacked/cracked in these examples after years of what you heard on /. was "linux = secure, Windows != secure", well ok. To that, eat this:

    2012:

    Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

    http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

    So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

    LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

    What's health.utah.gov running too??

    YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

    * Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

    ===

    2011:

    KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

    http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

    ---

    Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

    ---

    Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

    http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

    What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

    ---

    London Stock Exchange serving malware:

    http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

    (I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch [slashdot.org], & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

    ---

    DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LINUX SERVERS:

    http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/11/30/1610228/duqu-attackers-managed-to-wipe-cc-servers

    ---

    Linux Foundation, Linux.com Sites Down To Fix Security Breach:

    http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/09/11/1325212/linux-foundation-linuxcom-sites-down-to-fix-security-breach

    ---

    Linux's showing in CA's breached recently too? Ok:
    (very, Very, VERY BAD for ecommerce, online shopping, banking, etc./et al)

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=StartCom.com

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=GlobalSign.com

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=Comodo.com

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=DigiCert.com

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.

  52. Linux ac shill trolls "BIG FAIL" proof: Busted... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FROM -> http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3024445&cid=40905783

    Running from this too -> http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026917&cid=40890277

    When & where you took MY original data in this thread here we're in now:

    http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3024445&cid=40867985

    Which is my original data from THIS thread, and, FAR EARLIER DATED and different than your "altered model" where you impersonated me, here, in another thread:

    http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026917&cid=40887319

    (With YOU missing the Baylor link above, & MY ORIGINAL LINK 1st one above? Has it...)

    That's proof you altered it to impersonate me, also HERE http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026917&cid=40887025, proving you altered it, & impersonated me!)

    and also here:

    http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026929&cid=40883775

    (Where you did NOT miss the baylor link, but both impersonate ME to say "Windows is 'better'" - you're busted, stupid!)

    As NEITHER of those last 2 links just now are myself, since in my original? I never EVER said "Windows is better" AND I had Baylor's data in it, and mine's dated earlier!

    (Though Windows IS better, for a great many things, Linux has it's niche too... albeit in combined servers + pc desktop marketshare, it's an industry fact provable statistically that it is FAR behind marketshare & usage to Windows!)

    ---

    Which in fact, netcraft SHOWS Baylor uses Windows:

    http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.baylor.edu

    ---

    LMAO - You later also tried to say that Linux was running on those servers & it was NOT and IS still not, by altering the data here in that other thread -> http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026917&cid=40888699

    However - The actual netcraft links I posted afterwards (which you would NOT post) show otherwise! Since I posted right after that to shoot you down in your lies and deceitful b.s. -> http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3026917&cid=40890277

    ---

    Talk about LOW!

    ---

    Additionally:

    As far as the YEARS of /. propoganda of "Linux = Secure, Windows !=Secure"? I can only put out Linux's fails from 2011-2012 also:

    2012:

    Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

    http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

    So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

    LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

    What's health.utah.gov running too??

    YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

    * Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

    ===

    2011:

    KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kern

  53. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by cynyr · · Score: 1

    The PI doesn't have the IO to compete with a E350. There is no SATA, dual gigabit (or 10/100 for that mater), PCI-E, or PCI on the PI.

    I keep trying to figure out what i would do with a PI, but even as a media center it doesn't have enough hardware decode codec support and I would have to re-rip all of my dvd rips that are set up for the PS3.

    If i wanted a NAS I could go This route or similar in a stock case. A PI as a fun nettop type toy sure, you know maybe it could save me a bunch of power when I'm just reading /.

    --
    All of the above was encrypted with a Quad ROT-13 method. Unauthorized decryption is in violation of the DMCA.
  54. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by Patch86 · · Score: 1

    Puppy is great for running off a permanent live USB. Although to be honest I've lost track of the development of it somewhat- last time I downloaded a new version of it I felt like I was using a completely different distro to how it was originally...

    Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'd be interested to hear from a more regular user on what's changed over the years.

  55. Re:What is the "best" small linux distro , and why by galanom · · Score: 1

    At 50 W

    How old is your hardware? My first computer, a 1980's era machine, IBM PS/2 Model 30, an 8086/8MHz (without heatsink or fan), had a 70W PSU, so I can safely assume that at peak load could draw this 50W.