[NCLUG] Little Lunuxes anyone?

Chad Perrin perrin at apotheon.com
Mon Dec 18 16:14:21 MST 2006


On Mon, Dec 18, 2006 at 03:33:54PM -0700, David Braley wrote:
> 
> I did get a minimal install of Debian to install and run on my old
> laptop. After installing xfree and FluxBox (to make the comparison), I
> found the machine ran a lot slower. I think this has something to do
> with a "customized" or "tweaked" form of xfree DSL uses, and the
> installation of a lot more stuff. When the install of DSL is finished,
> the footprint of "stuff" installed onto the system is about one half
> what a default minimum of Debian is without X (even with DSL's xfree and
> apps!). But, my main reason for choosing DSL was because even though it
> is a small distro, it behaves more like a popular big one.

Nice -- and good to know.


> 
> What I mean by this is: when DSL boots, it sees everything (hardware).
> DSL configs my wireless, configs sound, etc, right out of the box. Most
> of the newer larger distro's do the same thing. I think the ability of
> DSL to behave this way is because it is (I think) based on Knoppix,
> which is based on Debian. And in my opinion, Knoppix is one of the most
> bad-ass live CD's around because of its hardware detecting ability.

Knoppix suffers some distinct issues when installing to CD, however.  My
understanding was that DSL is actually built entirely using standard
Debian archives, but it sounds like that understanding may have been
incorrect to judge by what you say here.  That being the case, it seems
like there are some distinct trade-offs between the two.


> 
> If I am having trouble getting something to work on a Linux machine, and
> I want to learn something about how Linux wants to detect the hardware
> or how it wants to try and configure something, I boot the darn thing
> with a Knoppix live CD and just poke around. Knoppix will almost always
> detect things correctly, and I can then use that information in the
> distro I am trying to work with. See what newbies like me have to deal with!

It's not just newbies that do that.  I've seen some bona-fide experts
use Knoppix similarly, because it can be quicker and easier at times
than diagnosing and solving the problem by other means.


> 
> Now, after you install DSL, you can enable apt, point the system to a
> Debian repository, and with "apt-get update", and "apt-get upgrade", you
> can get a full Debian system going. BUT, and I say this with caution,
> some things might break, so be careful what you put onto the system (I
> think this kind of thing also applies to the Ubuntu users out there).

This is similar to the problem with hard drive installs from a Knoppix
CD -- even with the so-called Debian install that Knoppix provides.  In
fact, rather than "some things might break", the case seems to be that
many things absolutely WILL break.  That's hard drive installs from
Knoppix, though, which is likely quite distinct from DSL.


> 
> So, what are the benefits? From the viewpoint of being someone who still
> struggles with getting things to work, I find DSL easier to get up and
> running. I'm just a big wimp!

All else being equal, I'm all for things being easier.  It sounds like
all else is not equal, however -- in exchange for worse software
upgrade, installation, and removal stability, you get better performance
for a lightweight system and possibly less underlying cruft.  At least,
that's the impression I get from what you've said.

That being the case, DSL sounds like a great option to have, but one
that must be weighed based on your needs and preferences for a given
install.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
This sig for rent:  a Signify v1.14 production from http://www.debian.org/



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