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Title: DSL coming back Post by: John on July 08, 2012, 12:05:43 AM After a long hiatus I am bring this project back to life. The first step was to bring this site back to working order. We now have a functioning forum (this). The old forum is now static HTML and it available here (http://damnsmalllinux.org/static/).
Next I'll be doing a release of DSL to fix some bugs and time-bugs and get the distro in proper working order. For now I do not see the scope of the project changing much -- the goal will be the same, pack as much utility and applications into 50 MB as possible. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: james c on July 08, 2012, 05:37:38 AM Glad to see things are getting underway again.Looking forward to testing the first new release. 8)
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: shiva.go on July 08, 2012, 03:34:16 PM :) good to hear. still use dsl on a old hp thinclient and it works great. excuse me if my english should be sometimes bad. i´m german.
guenter Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: account3r2 on July 10, 2012, 05:11:00 AM Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! 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Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally! I've been waiting for a new release. Thank you!4 years! Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: botdfismyaddiction on July 23, 2012, 05:08:32 PM I am so glad to see this project continue on... I had (sadly the cpu died) an old machine with a Pentium II 266MHz and 192MB RAM with a CD-ROM drive and a 10GB HDD. Without DSL all I had for the machine was Windows 98... since I don't own any Win2k stuff. Anyways can't wait for a new release. :D :D :D
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Tony on July 26, 2012, 04:39:04 PM :)
Fantastic. Your DSL is a great OS. Thanks for taking this on. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Tango on July 26, 2012, 06:45:09 PM I'm not sure if you need the help or not but I have several computers and such to test on and add things to. I created an input panel for a pen tablet with xp2005. I'm really glad to see that this is going again. For years I used dsl vm for personal tasks on guest computers.
I will try and test what you want of me. This should help things go :D Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: John on July 26, 2012, 08:26:27 PM Thanks guy! I'm getting close to coming out with an rc. I've been fixing bugs, updating some apps, and replacing a few that didn't work so well.
I am hoping to increase the user-friendliness of DSL. One thing I've been working on is better integration between JWM and Fluxbox, you'll be able to switch back and forth between the window managers without having to kill and relaunch X. I've also added some options for customizing the look and feel of JWM. There's going to be a menu option to have the taskbar auto-hide, and one to remove the icons from the JWM menu. You will also be able to choose between DFM, xtdesk or no desktop icons via the menu. The idea behind these changes is to let people quickly get the layout they want without having to mess with the config files. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: meo on August 04, 2012, 05:08:22 PM Hi John!
Nice to see that DSL is coming to live again. Have tried the first RC briefly but haven't been able to connect to the internet yet. Using a EEE PC Netbook and neither the wireless card or the cable is recognized. I guess I have to brush up a little of my DSL using. Have fun putting DSL to live again, meo Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: brian on August 04, 2012, 08:32:10 PM Hi John,
This is exciting news! I've always been fond of dsl, and look forward to trying out the updated version. Kudos to you -Brian Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mir on August 05, 2012, 02:16:17 AM I look forward to providing as much support as i can on the official chat channel! Thanks for coming back.
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: swd on August 05, 2012, 06:59:06 AM This was totally out of the blue for me.
I'm glad to see some activity again. Spotted on Distrowatch. I will try this on my EEE PC soon. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: fos on August 08, 2012, 12:46:21 PM I saw the notice on DistroWatch. It is good to be back.
Jeff Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: sszindian on August 09, 2012, 12:28:42 AM Good to see DSL back in the game ;) Have used an old version for several years and always thought it was quiet unique. Looking forward to the new releases! 'Good Luck'.
>>>---Indian------> Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: fos on August 09, 2012, 07:46:59 AM // >>>---indian--->
Nice signature! :) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: crustyasp on August 09, 2012, 06:38:44 PM I would just like to quote account3r2 And say THANK YOU, havs DSL on three old machines that act like young pups on their very first visit to " The Big City "
Just now read the announcement on About Linux, talk about knock me over with a feather !!!! :o Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: swd on August 10, 2012, 10:29:51 AM DSL made the news.
http://ostatic.com/blog/damn-small-linux-returns-hints-at-modernization (http://ostatic.com/blog/damn-small-linux-returns-hints-at-modernization) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: james c on August 10, 2012, 04:01:57 PM New Sneekylinux DSL video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvrfBTrgfPU&feature=plcp Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: John on August 10, 2012, 07:37:58 PM I'm thankful for Sneekylinux's review, but I feel like he misses the point of the older software in this release. The 50MB version of DSL is largely targeted towards vintage hardware and the apps selected are chosen for their size, lightness and speed.
For instance, the Bon Echo (FF) in DSL is basically the greatest functioning browser available without a major jump in lib requirements. People should keep in mind that it is an old browser and probably not do their online banking with it, but for what most people need a browser for most of the time it is fine. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: james c on August 10, 2012, 08:20:55 PM Another DSL video by LinuxSpatry......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgrQsqc63Ys Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: John on August 10, 2012, 08:35:10 PM That was entertaining! ;D
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: wallyw on August 14, 2012, 07:04:28 PM Cool -- I think I'll try resuscitating an old Toshiba 70CT mini laptop I have. It's a Pentium III 90 MHz, 32 MB RAM, and 2 GB hard drive. Minimal specs, to be sure. I imagine if DSL works adequately on it I'll be mostly using Dillo.
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: cuneli on August 16, 2012, 03:20:47 PM Great news! I have been looking for a new lightweight distribution since 4.1.10 ;D
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: roguethunder on October 25, 2012, 01:44:32 AM Cool -- I think I'll try resuscitating an old Toshiba 70CT mini laptop I have. It's a Pentium III 90 MHz, 32 MB RAM, and 2 GB hard drive. Minimal specs, to be sure. I imagine if DSL works adequately on it I'll be mostly using Dillo. Wooo! Libretto owners ftw ;P I'm shoving this on the fairly beefier Libretto L5 just to see how well it works. Silly ol Crusoe and 512MB ram. Tho I have the 60GB hdd! (Pretty rare, being 1.8in toshiba abomination)Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: RobM on October 30, 2012, 12:25:56 AM The search function does not seem to work in the old forum.
If it did work, the default search date should not be "this month and newer" I'm a newb and looking to find help in the forum, but I can't browse the 1000's of posts! Thanks, John, for coming back. Rob Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Erk on November 02, 2012, 07:32:05 AM This.
Is. Awesome. I remember absolutely loving this distro, and I would use it on so many old computers. Hell, even went so far as to get a USB adaptor for my old Xbox years back, plugged in a USB keyboard and ran XDSL on it! Seriously, this distro was what really got me into using Linux. This was my go-to. I was so upset when development ceased. I even used WINE on that Xbox. Playing Age of Empires on an xbox hooked up to my tv, running a file server off my xbox, installing this on several old computers at my highschool in my computer engineering class. This actually floods me with memories. I'm in university now, but this distro has always had a place in my heart. Sorry for all the sap, but I just wanted to express just how happy it makes me to see this thing come back! Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: StrobeWylan on December 08, 2012, 08:20:34 PM Thanks John for doing this. I think it's really cool to breath new life into older machines rather than filling up garbage dumps and ruining the earth.
Keep up the good work! ;) Strobe Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: charmquark on December 27, 2012, 04:20:32 PM Cool -- I think I'll try resuscitating an old Toshiba 70CT mini laptop I have. It's a Pentium III 90 MHz, 32 MB RAM, and 2 GB hard drive. Minimal specs, to be sure. I imagine if DSL works adequately on it I'll be mostly using Dillo. Wooo! Libretto owners ftw ;P I'm shoving this on the fairly beefier Libretto L5 just to see how well it works. Silly ol Crusoe and 512MB ram. Tho I have the 60GB hdd! (Pretty rare, being 1.8in toshiba abomination)Alleluia - I've got a Fujitsu Lifebook fmv 273ls2 that's been clunking along on XP for over a decade; seeing this has inspired me to spend EUR25 on a new battery :D I moved my Thinkpad 240X off DSL only a year ago - might move it back. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: ADOR on December 31, 2012, 07:00:11 PM Glad to see this project back at it. I used it on a few machines and liked it very much. I have been looking at working with it more with some newer pc's I now have. They are UMPC's Strong enough to run XP, Vista and 7 but lighter is always better. Looking at stuff for the BenQ S6 right now.
On searching the old forums try this. go to google and type this. Ubuntu site:damnsmalllinux.org/static/ Just replace the word "ubuntu" with what you are looking for. Google has ton of search shortcuts you can use to make it work for you. Like DSL filetype:pdf You just told google to search for pdf's only that contain DSL. So are you back to taking donations on this project? I am not the best at trying to code but can send a few dollars your way. Thanks for all the work you have done in the past. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: noordinaryspider on February 25, 2013, 03:08:46 PM How can I help? I mostly hung out on the forums when I was learning back in '04ish, but I think I'm too grumpy for that now. I've got both RCs on Virtual Machine, tried my hand with the deb2dsl script last night, and I've still got some older/lower end machines to test on. I need to find an appropriate way to give something back to this community.
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: brttwilliams on April 18, 2013, 09:12:12 PM After a long hiatus I am bring this project back to life. The first step was to bring this site back to working order. We now have a functioning forum (this). The old forum is now static HTML and it available here (http://damnsmalllinux.org/static/). Next I'll be doing a release of DSL to fix some bugs and time-bugs and get the distro in proper working order. For now I do not see the scope of the project changing much -- the goal will be the same, pack as much utility and applications into 50 MB as possible. I hate to be the bearer of bad news... the thread was opened almost a year ago... John, do you have an ETA on development? Is there anything some of us could do, donate, test, develop? I personally don't have the development skill, but I have a history of beta testing and tracking down bugs.... I'm currently using the "newest" version of embedded DSL just to be able to run it on my work laptop parallel to 7.... Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: DSL-goofy on November 24, 2013, 10:46:58 AM Hello,
I also would like to know what is the current state of this project and what happened to DSL-N project? Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: p3ngu1n0 on January 31, 2014, 03:07:57 AM I'd like to donate my time and Linux knowledge to the project. In about 2008, my family fell on hard times. I sold my laptop and we all sold many personal belongings to keep the lights on. Being as technology is my life, I had to find a ways to keep using the computer. I went down to the thrift store with a 20$ note and bought two old computers, neither in working order. After a night of swapping parts, I had pieced together an HP Vectra VL, with 384MB of ram and upgraded it's processor to a 533Mhz celeron. First, I tried installing XP SP2 on this machine. The speeds were deplorable and the system was near unusable when needed software had been installed. Fed up with the useless machine I had built, I took to the internet. Many people suggested installing Linux on the machine. The only distro with which I had experience at the time was ubuntu 7.10. After some googling, fiddling with Ubuntu, and a few burned CD's, I stumbled upon Damn Small Linux and the rest is history. I learned the system, the ins and outs of DSL and my thrist for linux could not be quenched. Since then, I've learned as much as I could about the operating system and would now like to give back and help fix, develop, and test as much as I can to bring DSL back to the top.
Cheers, p3 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: andycrofts on August 06, 2014, 09:29:54 AM Damned Sodding Leaping-for-joy(DSL?) at this news.
Having bought the book, and CD, and wanting to use this as a teaching aid to immigrants to Finland (OK, I'm English, but I try to do my bit...).. This is BRILLIANT news! I'll buy you a beer next time You're in my 'neck of the woods' (Note to self: "money's safe..." ;) "Thank you very many!" -Andy, Oulu, Finland Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: fatmac on September 02, 2014, 04:08:28 PM Hmm, when will DSL return, (I am wondering).......it has been 2 years......I fear it will be more, (if ever), unfortunately. :'(
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Sparkfist on March 25, 2015, 07:41:54 PM Is there any one in the dev team still around? Are there any plans for bring it back, or a spin off distro?
I really like this distro for it's use on i386 computers with low resources.... and it's just a speedy distro in general Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: fatmac on March 26, 2015, 09:21:57 AM One of the original developers is still here hosting this site, but I don't think there is to be any new releases, as DamnSmallLinux does what it was intended to do.
The other developer that I know of, is involved with TinyCoreLinux, which is basically a modern version of DamnSmallLinux, with a few extra tweeks. There is also another distro with similar intentions called SliTaz. Perhaps you should see if either of those would suit you better. http://www.tinycorelinux.net/welcome.html http://www.slitaz.org/en/ Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 18, 2015, 09:10:59 PM Is anyone posting on this site, other than spammers? I found it while looking for a distro to install on my old Compaq Presario. The spammers don't add much to the Linux discussion.
Mac Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: CNK on June 18, 2015, 10:44:08 PM A few posts still pop up from time to time.
John (DSL developer) usually checks the forum each month or so to delete the spam, but he's being a bit slow over the last attack. At least they stopped on their own, so it shouldn't be hard to overlook when viewing new posts. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 19, 2015, 06:00:02 AM Thanks for the info, CNK.
I run an SMF board unrelated to Linux. Had the same problem until I made it a lot harder for spammers to post. I hope he gets a handle on the problem. Regarding DSL, I've had some problems finding documentation related to running the distro from live cd. I don't want to scramble the OS on my drive since it's pretty much un-replaceable, dating back to 2009 or so. Maybe I'll hold off until I can find some more info, then do a permanent install. I'm currently running 3 Mint distros on hardware that's a few years newer. Just trying to find a use for my ancient but pristine Presario 1210 with 80mb ram and 1.4gb HDD. I guess I'll do some more digging and see what I can find on running DSL "live". Thanks again. Mac88 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Diogenes on June 19, 2015, 06:04:39 PM ftp://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/current/
Go there and download the ISO. Burn to CD/write to USB/SD card as applicable, and reboot. As you mentioned using Mint I assume you know the process but can aid you further if need be. ftp://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/release_candidate/ The rc2 found above should work better as it is more recent, but might have some unknown bugs. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 19, 2015, 10:24:15 PM No luck off the ftp site. No download option. "Copy" or "drag and drop" gave me these results:
"The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “dsl-4.11.rc2.iso” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36)" and The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “dsl-4.11.rc2.iso.md5.txt” can’t be read or written. (Error code -36) I had previously downloaded "dsl-4.4.10-initrd.iso" and associated .md5.txt from the DLS site and burned the .iso to CD (slowest rate). I didn't see a "live" option when I booted the cd but it appeared to be downloading files to the Presario HD so I aborted it. I still got some scrambled files on the HD. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: CNK on June 19, 2015, 11:22:06 PM The *-initrd.iso image is for network booting, which you shouldn't need.
You should just download the file "dsl-4.4.10.iso", or "dsl-4.4.11.RC2.iso" for the latest release candidate. By default these will boot as a live CD and won't change anything on the HDD unless you tell it to manually. It works like any other Live CD distro. You can download from the http version of the ibiblio site (http://distro.ibiblio.org/damnsmall/) if FTP isn't working. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 20, 2015, 12:45:18 AM Hi CNK and Diogenes, and thanks for your assistance.
My error, it was the dsl-4.4.10-syslinux.iso that I burned, off of http://distro.ibiblio.org/damnsmall/current. I picked that one as the docs said it worked well with older hardware, without defining "older". I'll try dsl-4.4.10.iso, since I already have the .iso and .md5 files, and see how that works. I can always try the .11 release later. I don't know what was up with the ftp site. I generally don't have any problem with ftp:// downloads. Mac88 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 20, 2015, 05:52:00 PM No luck. I booted the .rc2 distro. When I selected F2 or F3 for boot options the window is off-center to the left and, while I can see the options, I can see no way to select any of them. I was able to select text size . If I just select "boot" it loads several files then the screen gets scrambled, and while there is some kind of image displayed, it's totally unreadable. But, back to the boot options, what am I missing? Are they selected by number, tab to selection, or what? I haven't been able to find any docs on the actual initial start-up process. I can post a pic if it's any help.
I'm probably posting tech questions in the wrong section. I'll move my topic to the correct one. Mac88 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: CNK on June 21, 2015, 12:59:27 AM I can't see any new topic in the other sections of the forum.
Anyway, graphics problems pop with some laptops, but there are usually ways to get around them. The DSL Wiki has a section on boot codes (http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/cheat_codes.html), they're not menu slectable, you have to type "dsl [cheatcodes]" and press enter. With [cheatcodes] being whatever options you need. Try "fb800x600" (you need to leave off the "dsl" bit for this command), so that DSL avoids trying to use specific video drivers that may not be working properly. If still no joy, you can try the "dsl vga=xxx" command (http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/vga_xxx.html). Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on June 21, 2015, 04:22:14 AM Thanks CNK. I knew the answers had to be somewhere, just not sure where to look. I'll dig into that stuff in a couple days and let you know how I made out. I'll post any further questions in the Help topic. Thanks again for your assistance.
Mac88 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Mac88 on July 14, 2015, 03:12:07 AM I haven't gotten around to re-attempting the DSL install on my old Compaq. Been busy with other projects and writing some scripts to handle the SD chips in some video gear I recently purchased. I'll get back to the install when I get caught up.
Mac88 Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: jharris1993 on December 30, 2015, 12:26:52 AM After a long hiatus I am bring this project back to life. The first step was to bring this site back to working order. We now have a functioning forum (this). The old forum is now static HTML and it available here (http://damnsmalllinux.org/static/). Next I'll be doing a release of DSL to fix some bugs and time-bugs and get the distro in proper working order. For now I do not see the scope of the project changing much -- the goal will be the same, pack as much utility and applications into 50 MB as possible. Yipee!!! Hurray!!! Большое тебе спасибо!!! Muchas Gracias!!! "DSL" has been one of my favorite distro's since it was designed to fit on a 1.44 floppy. . . I know that I am a "sick, twisted little man", but one of my hobbies is to take the most ridiculous, ancient, and crufty pieces of hardware out there, and re-purpose them with DSL. My current project being an ancient Toshiba Libretto CT50 (Pentium 1, 640x480x16 bit, 16 *megs* of memory, 815 meg HD), that I am trying to bring back to life with DSL. And! I've just about succeeded too. DSL is an excellent distribution for just that purpose, as it is a much lighter-weight distribution than things like Tiny Core, or Puppy. (Not that I have anything against them, they just won't work on a 16 meg system with 815 megs of hard-drive!) Thanks so much for "taking up the torch" so to speak. I'm glad to see this beastie is back in business! Jim (JR) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: jharris1993 on January 16, 2016, 03:47:36 AM After a long hiatus I am bring this project back to life. The first step was to bring this site back to working order. We now have a functioning forum (this). The old forum is now static HTML and it available here (http://damnsmalllinux.org/static/). Next I'll be doing a release of DSL to fix some bugs and time-bugs and get the distro in proper working order. For now I do not see the scope of the project changing much -- the goal will be the same, pack as much utility and applications into 50 MB as possible. John, First of all, let me thank you again for breathing new life into this distribution. Second, though I know you want this distribution to live on - you seem to be suffering from the same kind of time constraints that the rest of us do, and it seems that you don't have as much time to devote to this as you'd like. Since I don't want to see this wither away again because you're too busy, and I really don't think forking DSL is a good idea, would you consider the idea of opening up the distribution to additional help? Perhaps a CVS system on Github, or something like that? Both CNK and I have discussed (briefly) the idea of expanding the scope of the distribution team, and we both think that it would be a Good Thing for both you, and the distribution. Think about it, and let us know what we can do to help. Thanks again! Jim (JR) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: stunix*com on March 28, 2016, 12:09:26 PM I'm so glad you are bringing dsl back, I have continued to use it for so many uses over the years from cctv ftp servers to torrent boxes and also donated to soothe my concience.
Its a shame I cannot find a seller of hockey rink cds anymore, ive only got 30 left and they're all yellowing, but itx boards and ide doms are so cheap on 3bay. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: jharris1993 on March 28, 2016, 03:47:25 PM . . . . itx boards and ide doms are so cheap on 3bay. @stunix, OK, my mnemonicia might be a bit out of tune, but you have me stumped with "itx boards" and "ide doms". Want to 'fess up? I'd really like to know what they are. p.s. It would be great if John could find the time to respond to some of this, so we know that he hasn't disappeared again. Jim (JR) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: jharris1993 on March 28, 2016, 03:59:03 PM No luck. I booted the .rc2 distro. When I selected F2 or F3 for boot options the window is off-center to the left and, while I can see the options, I can see no way to select any of them. I was able to select text size . If I just select "boot" it loads several files then the screen gets scrambled, and while there is some kind of image displayed, it's totally unreadable. But, back to the boot options, what am I missing? Are they selected by number, tab to selection, or what? I haven't been able to find any docs on the actual initial start-up process. I can post a pic if it's any help. I'm probably posting tech questions in the wrong section. I'll move my topic to the correct one. Mac88 Quote from: CNK . . . . graphics problems pop with some laptops, but there are usually ways to get around them. The DSL Wiki has a section on boot codes (http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/cheat_codes.html), they're not menu slectable, you have to type "dsl [cheatcodes]" and press enter. With [cheatcodes] being whatever options you need. Try "fb800x600" (you need to leave off the "dsl" bit for this command), so that DSL avoids trying to use specific video drivers that may not be working properly. If still no joy, you can try the "dsl vga=xxx" command (http://damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/vga_xxx.html). Mac88, This kind of issue is not unusual, especially with the smaller versions of Linux. ". . . the window is off-center to the left. . ." I've seen that, and it usually means that the display resolution is set too high. (i.e. the resolution set to 1024x768 on an 800x600 display, or even 800x600 on a 640x480 display) Since other modes give you a totally scrambled up display, I'd go back to the first mode and see what changing the display resolution will do. Give it a try and report results. These are usually solvable problems, it just takes a few whacks at it. Jim (JR) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: stunix*com on March 28, 2016, 11:48:53 PM . . . . itx boards and ide doms are so cheap on 3bay. @stunix, OK, my mnemonicia might be a bit out of tune, but you have me stumped with "itx boards" and "ide doms". Want to 'fess up? I'd really like to know what they are. p.s. It would be great if John could find the time to respond to some of this, so we know that he hasn't disappeared again. Jim (JR) well i should link to johns toy here, erm...(linking disabled?) [ http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/mini.html ] At the time there were no pico psus so what you see is a fanless itx 500mhz motherboard and a powersupply board probably 256 or 128mb ram. circa 2005? pico psu powersupplies came later. I'd built a few of these type machines, using no moving parts using them as kiosk machines. it was revolutionary at the time, an x86 machine running from flash memory, in Johns case, compact flash with an ide adapter. doms, Disk on module, were the next step. we have since moved to sata so these ide type disks are not fast bot with dsl we only need to move 100Mb of data to ramdisk. I still have a ten year old "johns toy" machine running on 64Mb, 128Mb ram called "flash" somewhere in the garage, [ http://sturl.uk/stusjohnstoy ] its still on my lan, but as I also have 6 other dsl boxes as 4tb video file servers it doesnt get much attention but it has an uptime of around 3 years, ....probably a power cut. i took to wrapping them in clingfilm/saran wrap.. [ http://sturl.uk/stustoy ], well, fireproof heatshrink really. these itx motherboards (1ghz,sata) are currently being sold for $10 with 1GB ram, a 2gb drive will be $20 and a case and psu will be £25. I have taken to to install a new machine i just boot the disk,fdisk to delete and add one bootable partition, mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1 , scp and unpack my dsltarbomb.tgz, grub; root (hd0,0); setup (hd0);quit and bobs youre uncle, a new machine. the tarbomb is just a backup, the knoppix file and the usual grub stuff. it came down to eliminating moving parts such as hd platters and fans using slower cpus. My friend prefers windows 10 and watercooling and is always fixing it. I think John is a very quiet individual, but i love his work. I notice the site has been down alot recently, and there are some issues with the forums, but it all still works. (if you change the ibiblio link in the control panel.... :)) Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: BobKlahn on September 15, 2016, 06:35:10 PM Now I have to find my book. I bought it and used DSL for a bit, but never got seriously into Linux.
My interest is more in oddball stuff, so DSL seems like a better fit than big Distros. I have an old Gateway Solo 1200 and nothing else would handle the video. I wonder if it would work on the Raspberry PI. Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Diogenes on January 10, 2017, 01:22:04 AM And where did this government? What you have here is a piece of Linux history, left to die as other distributions take the mantle. Certainly, this is how open source works, but the fact that DSL still has popularity despite being many years behind, shows that it could be revived to it's full, previous glory. I am fully capable of starting such a project but am unsure if I can garner the attention that a reborn DSL could.
Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Bad Dog on January 19, 2017, 01:16:22 AM @stunix,
well i should link to johns toy here, erm...(linking disabled?) [ http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/mini.html ] At the time there were no pico psus so what you see is a fanless itx 500mhz motherboard and a powersupply board probably 256 or 128mb ram. circa 2005? pico psu powersupplies came later. I'd built a few of these type machines, using no moving parts using them as kiosk machines. it was revolutionary at the time, an x86 machine running from flash memory, in Johns case, compact flash with an ide adapter. doms, Disk on module, were the next step. we have since moved to sata so these ide type disks are not fast bot with dsl we only need to move 100Mb of data to ramdisk. I still have a ten year old "johns toy" machine running on 64Mb, 128Mb ram called "flash" somewhere in the garage, [ http://sturl.uk/stusjohnstoy ] its still on my lan, but as I also have 6 other dsl boxes as 4tb video file servers it doesnt get much attention but it has an uptime of around 3 years, ....probably a power cut. i took to wrapping them in clingfilm/saran wrap.. [ http://sturl.uk/stustoy ], well, fireproof heatshrink really. these itx motherboards (1ghz,sata) are currently being sold for $10 with 1GB ram, a 2gb drive will be $20 and a case and psu will be £25. I have taken to to install a new machine i just boot the disk,fdisk to delete and add one bootable partition, mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1 , scp and unpack my dsltarbomb.tgz, grub; root (hd0,0); setup (hd0);quit and bobs youre uncle, a new machine. the tarbomb is just a backup, the knoppix file and the usual grub stuff. it came down to eliminating moving parts such as hd platters and fans using slower cpus. My friend prefers windows 10 and watercooling and is always fixing it. I think John is a very quiet individual, but i love his work. [/quote] I'm retired now but in the past I have repaired systems such as you're describing and they where using DSL. They where small computers used for climate control in stores, it seems they where out of Canada while I was under contract in California to do their work. And that is how I remember DSL. . Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: MeboMechanicNo1 on July 06, 2017, 05:04:07 PM Is there any news of this?
Title: DSL coming back Post by: antiftermam on October 30, 2017, 04:42:39 PM This is pretty cool. I dont use Linux often, but when I do, this will be of use.
c wat i did thar? lol, wasnt until I read it back that it made me think of that... Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: Neil_M on November 15, 2017, 12:00:05 AM In case you didn't know, the Oct 2017 issue of Linux Pro Magazine featured DSL in an article about Tiny Linux distros.
If you don't have the issue, you can buy the article and/or read the intro at http://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2017/203/Tiny-Distros/(language)/eng-US I liked what I read so much, I have installed it as my first VBOX virtual machine and it works very nicely there. I can paste the text of the email I receive from Linux Pro, but not sure that the links will come thru. Let me know. Neil M Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: BrBearOFS on December 17, 2017, 05:42:12 PM YES ! ... I am really happy to see DSL coming back into the light.. I have over the years spread the message of DSL.. and with so many of the "modern" distros leaving 32 bit architechure in the dirt.. there are still machines.. ( like the one I want to covert) that might be 15 years old but is still a good piece of hardware and Looking forward to working on a DSL machine again. My last machine was a thinkpad T440 and after my daughter stepped on the screen it went south.. Used Puppy on another old laptop with no HDD but it was not DSL.. I was afraid DSL was going away.. now that its coming out of its slumber.. I am ready !
Thank you John for doing this ! Mark Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: elephantrange on October 21, 2019, 05:24:56 PM Since not much has happened in DSL-land recently, I thought I would take the opportunity to throw a few stray ideas out there. When you're putting together the next release candidate, here are a few things to consider.
First, I wanted to note the posting at ArchiveOS of a link to something called 'Multi-Distro Live CD' which includes an older version of DSL (v2.3). This has existed for a while, and - as the name implies - includes some other small distros like GrafPup, Slax, and Olive. I have no affiliation with the project or the ArchiveOS post. Second, I've had the opportunity to juggle around the older DSL versions up until the most recent, and really do wish the Icontool would be brought back. It is one of the reasons why my preferred version remains v3.4. Third, we could include DOSEMU 1.4. It works as well or better than DosBOX for many things. Keep DosBOX 0.72 as found in the .dsl repository and don't upgrade it to 0.74. Why? Windows 3.1 programs using SHARE appear to run correctly in 0.72, while they crash in 0.74. Fourth, if you're looking for a useful video player, the .uci version of Xine is fantastic. You have to re-install it after every boot, though. The .dsl version is depreciated and doesn't handle .mp4 video well. Fifth, 't'would be nice if the entire Siag Office suite including PW and Egon were included. (I shoehorned it into DSL by extracting the .pet file from Puppy 4.3.1 archive). Sixth, owing to the fact that DSL's existence allows my 1998 AMD-K6/II machine to remain useful, I've taken the liberty of collecting all the .dsl and .uci repository packages and historical DSL wallpapers and putting them onto one CD archive to access locally. When DSL is next revived, I strongly recommend that the existing programs repository be made available as a separate disk image in this way. Most of the .dsl files have been around for a while. In fact, the file collection on CD could be marketed as a complete package with The Official Damn Small Linux Book and the distro CD itself. Seventh, include the Links2 graphical browser from Twilight Labs. 'Tanks! Hope to see the next version of DSL soon! -Martin Warren :D Title: Re: DSL coming back Post by: MPS on November 18, 2020, 10:11:44 AM When there is a release update, maybe the community will start developing?
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