DSL Slashdotted Again

Forum: User Feedback
Topic: DSL Slashdotted Again
started by: Max

Posted by Max on Oct. 21 2004,19:15

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/04/10/21/176235.shtml?tid=93&tid=158

Yet another distro to be released based on DSL and gemu put on a USB stick.

From the article:
"Looks like an online privacy company, Metropipe, are planning to release a secure linux virtual privacy machine that runs from a USB stick. The image contains a pre-release of their new 'Metropipe Tunneler' product and also contains Firefox, and Thunderbird with the Enigmail/gpg extension. Looks like the whole thing is based on damnsmalllinux and uses qemu to boot on Windows or Linux without any installation or configuration. Very interesting use of qemu and damnsmalllinux, and all 100% GPL."

What is gemu?

Posted by AwPhuch on Oct. 21 2004,19:50

Quote (Max @ Oct. 21 2004,15:15)

Sweet...to bad there isnt a Screenie!!!!!!

Brian
AwPhuch

Posted by roberts on Oct. 21 2004,20:01

Interesting concept. Seems that is "becomes an icon" on the desktop of exising host OS and boots from there. So no bios booting issues? You have to be running Windows ( or Linux ). Hopefully this will lead to "our version" of "embrace and extinguish" Windows.

Posted by roberts on Oct. 21 2004,21:25

I just booted it on a laptop, sorry, only thing I have with Windows. It is old, 550Mhz, 256Mb, IBM Thinkpad running Windows XP. There is a qemu-win.bat file that you can double-click and yes, it loads and boots DSL v0.8.2 with some myDSL extensions. For my machine, it is very slow. For those with monster machines, you may see acceptable performance.

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Oct. 22 2004,00:36

as they say in the entertainment biz, "there's no such thing as bad press", especially when it's good press!

woo-hoo for bringing in more users to the DSL party!!!

Oh, and GO VOTE!!!

-J.P.

Posted by l0st on Oct. 22 2004,04:56

John really should talk to these guys, they really can help out on the project. Besides, we get TONS more feedback than our current community (no offense) if we get it from a company that relies on DSL.
The only things that will come out of this are:
- more publicity
- more ideas for DSL
- more ideas for MyDSL files
** More info about USB booting issues

Posted by AwPhuch on Oct. 22 2004,21:11

Found em...
Screenshots!!

< http://www.metropipe.net/ProductsPVPMScreenshots.shtml >

Good grief...At least they could have changed something!!! Its DSL with thier "proprietary" program on it for $99 bucks!!!!

Holy CRAP!!!!

I sure hope they decide to give John a little for his hard work on thier product

Let me clarify....oh well thats GPL for ya!!! ***ROCK ON***

Brian
AwPhuch

Posted by AwPhuch on Oct. 22 2004,21:32

I will say this...

hehe...we now have an awesome awesome awesome method for booting DSL in windows...hehe...most excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just download thier GPL version from < http://www.metropipe.net/ProductsPVPMDownload.shtml >

Extract...modify place the DSL_0.8.2.iso in the directory (deleting thier mydsl.iso)

edit the quemu-win.bat

Quote

START qemu.exe -L . -m 128 -hda harddisk -cdrom DSL_0.8.2.iso -boot d -enable-audio -user-net -localtime

And POW...full bore windows testability of DSL!!!

Thanks MetroPipe

Hehe...I got it now..after John and ke4nt1 get a chance to check it out!

Brian
AwPhuch

Posted by cbagger01 on Oct. 23 2004,05:42

Tried playing around with this product on a P4 2.8GHz 800MHz FSB machine and it is STILL slow although not completely unusable.

A couple learnings:

(1) The emulator window does not fit inside a MSWindows 1024x768 desktop. You should boot up the DSL part with "dsl vga=789 xsetup" and then choose 800x600 resolution.

(2) The arrow keys don't seem to work correctly.

(3) I lose all keyboard inputs when I exit X-Windows back to console.

(4) The scroll-wheel mouse function is not emulated.

(5) You can get sound working by typing:

sudo modprobe sb io=0x220 irq=5

inside an xterm.

Posted by ke4nt1 on Oct. 23 2004,06:20

How the hell can it be secure if it's running on top of a windows box ?

I realize that all traffic inside the emulator is encrypted,
but the hardware is OUTSIDE the emulator under WINDOWS control...

It's running on top of the same winsock, tcp/ip, and network backbone as
M$, and alongside all the usual exploited softwarez by M$...

Am I missing something here ?

Slower performance, less security, 10X more resources..

......and you want me to pay? $$$$$$$$ ........?

Please explain to me the advantages of running DSL in windows?
What can I do with this emulator that I can't do in a liveCD/poorman's install ?

73
ke4nt

Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Oct. 23 2004,16:59

probably nothing.

I'm betting this company will die, and the oss world will inherit the emulation software.

Becaise even on my 2ghz amd box, this still runs like a 1-legged fat kid stuck in a pool of molasses.

Now, if they can figure out how to trim down the emulation method to where it hass acceptible performance of run-o-the-mill boxes, it might make it. O_o

-J.P.

Posted by John on Oct. 23 2004,17:54

You guys who have tried Qemu inside Windows, how does it compare to the VirtualPC in speed and other respects?

Posted by AwPhuch on Oct. 23 2004,19:26

Quote (John @ Oct. 23 2004,13:54)

You guys who have tried Qemu inside Windows, how does it compare to the VirtualPC in speed and other respects?

I would say about 80-90% of VirtualPC

I got thier method working but I want to test it before I show you guys (I hate being told that what I worked on it worthless or stupid) but hey constructive critisizm never killed anyone

Brian
AwPhuch

Posted by ke4nt1 on Oct. 24 2004,01:32

AwPhuch....

Any negative remarks posted in this thread are NOT directed at you..
We don't shoot the messenger here....
You did a great job of building the virtual-DSL , from what I can see..

I have run DSL inside of VMWare for Windows, and been unsatisfied ..
I have run Windows inside of VMWare for Linux..same results..

If I were cross-platform testing an app, for example, without any performance checks,
or offering some type of network support where I needed to mirror a desktop,
then I can see a benefit to running DSL emulated..

I have used the VNC to run my DSL box from a windows desktop.
Isn't that a much more secure way to operate hardware under Linux ?

Otherwise, WTF ?

73
ke4nt