Damn Fine Linux

Forum: DSL Ideas and Suggestions
Topic: Damn Fine Linux
started by: betaluva

Posted by betaluva on Nov. 18 2003,05:51

i think DSL is great but i was wondering if you could do a version that includes KDE or GNOME or XP-DE desktop ,somewhere ariund 180-200 megabytes, you could call it damn fine linux or damn good linux.

Posted by Gilbert Ashley on Nov. 18 2003,12:06

If you want bloat, just use the regualr Knoppix. The main goal of DSL is that t fit on a mini CD.

Posted by betaluva on Nov. 19 2003,00:12

i have knopix3.1 ,i still think it would be better for linux noobs to have a windows style desktop.

Posted by cbagger01 on Nov. 19 2003,00:23

Icewm would fit your preferences.

However, even though it is small compared to KDE or GNOME it still takes up a lot more disk space than Fluxbox and as far as I can tell there isn't room left for it on the Damn Small CD.

I agree with the last poster. If you want "Windows-Like" feel, you should try a different livecd like Knoppix.

If you want a smaller (8cm vs full size CD) liveCD, try looking into Morphix LightGUI CD. You may even decide that you want to customize it yourself. It's all up to you.

Posted by betaluva on Nov. 19 2003,06:24

what about xp-de?

Posted by cbagger01 on Nov. 19 2003,18:47

From what I've heard, xp-de is still very much a BETA desktop environment and is not-yet-ready-for-prime-time.

Even if it was ready, I am sure that it uses too much disk space for a business card-sized disk. In fact, it probably is too big for even an 8cm sized CD.

Posted by XPDER on Nov. 21 2003,20:21

most of you are totally wrong!. XP-DE is actually far smaller than fluxbox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Its only the extra icons and fancy graphics that take up more space!. There is a configuration option to minimize graphics usage while still looking exactly like winXP and you get the full install at <300kb. It is also way past beta stage and far more stable that fluxbox. give it a try and see!

you will be suprised and pleased.

hope to see it in the next DSL release.

Posted by cbagger01 on Nov. 21 2003,22:12

All I can go on is by what other people tell me. Someone who is pretty credible over in Peanut Linuxland gave the following review of xpde on last Saturday (Nov 15th):

I've just tried out that XPde... it works fine...

weeell...the bits that DO work, work fine.

Lots of the dialogues and panels still only work half or don't go very far.
It's still in a beta stage... so we'd rather want to wait a bit longer before
considering putting it in a distro... but the look & feel is where XP-ish so far.
For people who like their XP-type of thing they should keep an eye on it.

Posted by kevin on Nov. 22 2003,17:12

My Suggestions

The DSL default browser Dillo is very small, but not enough correct web browser.

The default browser must be : Opera or, Mozilla Firebird with Java Support.

Thats all.

All another thing is very good.

Kevin (Hungary)

Kevin.1@emil.hu

Posted by davide on Nov. 22 2003,20:02

just my humble opinion:

XPde: great project itself, I wish it could be added to dsl (don't think it could replace fluxbox, that is far more stable)
I tried it on my mandrake 9.1 ( it's not in the distro, I downloaded it and installed it). It didn't work quite well, and it missed a lot of things. But it was a good idea, maybe they released a nez stable version, don't know. finally, if it works, it would be a good add tod dsl. If it does.

Browser: dillo and glinks are the best actually available for dsl, kevin. no hope to see any *BIG* and complex browser like Mozilla or konqueror in sucha small distro. don't forget it's main goal is to remain always under 50M of space...if you consider how tiny they are, the two available browser are probably the most performant of all.

Posted by gato escondito on Nov. 25 2003,05:19

Quote (Gilbert Ashley @ Nov. 18 2003,07:06)

If you want bloat, just use the regualr Knoppix. The main goal of DSL is that t fit on a mini CD.

Let's use the right terms here.. DSL is for Bizcard CD's not mini disc's. Mini CD's are 8cm and yes, they still fit into your shirt pocket. Biz cards are useless becuse they bust in your wallet. The shirt pocket is where it's at people.
I'll bet any of you out there, the next progression of DSL will be on Mini-CD's (200meg). I'll put my request in now:
I'd like to see the mini disc version launched from UBCD v.2(that's www.ultimatebootcd.com for those that haven't seen it yet). Now, all we have to do is be creative with the last 90 meg...
Finally, my wallet will open!!

Posted by EMLF on Nov. 27 2003,16:18

I don't like Dillo browser very much.
gLinks is so far much better than it.
Only Opera or Mozilla w/ plug-ins are better than gLinks
Dillo is just a waste of damn space

Posted by Randy Boehm on Nov. 28 2003,07:21

I tried replying to this posting from Links Hacked. For some reason I am unable to post using Links Hacked. I think that a bit ironic because what I was saying was that Links Hacked is more enjoyable to use than Dillo, especially with being able to use mostly single keystrokes to control the browsing. Surfing using the same keystrokes in GUI and in Textmode is a plus.

Sadly copying text is not possible with Links Hacked (except with OS/2). I have been browsing with it and then opening up Dillo to copy text. Would also be happier if I could be posting this while in Links Hacked. (have I missed something simple?)

Fluxbox is alright, but for old laptops with small screens a WM with virtual windows and a pager is quite useful for reading pdf files, large spreadsheets, and overwide webpages. What be the arguments against fvwm?

Posted by tup on Nov. 29 2003,05:46

Damn Small Linux is great, but I wish the Golem window manager was included.

Golem is extremely light on the ram, yet extensively configurable. The file size can be small or large, depending on the included themes (skin size can vary dramatically, but background tiling can be activated to save space).

Golem has a solid, built-in pager, a fancy pier, Xinerama capability, configurable window-frame pixmaps and more, all while using less memory than Fluxbox.

Check it out:
< http://golem.sourceforge.net/ >

Also, it would be nice to have Xfree86 included.

Posted by ripcrd on Dec. 03 2003,16:52

If you try Morphix LightGUI 0.4.1, there is a XP-like theme in the theme switcher and you can XP to your heart's content. I find that I like the default XFCE4 w/ crystal icons. It's coool. Morphix Light weighs in around 200MB, but could be trimmed down. I plan on removing GIMP, cd burner stuff, then adding wifi stuff, another light browser like browseX, a newer custom kernel and maybe some other custom stuff for me. You can alter/customize Morphix just like you can w/ Damn Small, it's up to you.

Posted by TyphoonMentat on Dec. 04 2003,07:55

About having Konqueror in DSL - maybe a static version (so no QT is needed) of Konqueror-embedded could be used. That might work, although I'm not sure how great Konqueror-embedded is.

Posted by Graham Giles on Dec. 04 2003,18:31

Is it possible for a version of DSL to be constructed for those of us who don't have CD-ROMS? I have a Linux partition already set up (500 Mbish).

Thanks in advance,

GRAHAM GILES, Cornwall, UK .

Posted by John on Dec. 04 2003,20:02

Quote (Randy Boehm @ Nov. 28 2003,02:21)

Randy Boehm C&P is not possible in Links2, but it is possible in Links Hacked, I am posting to this board now with it, and I wrote this with Nedit and pasted it over.

Maybe you are unfamiliar with how to do C&P in Linux? There is a thread on it in the help section.

Posted by Randy Boehm on Dec. 05 2003,07:35

Thank you John for the help with the learning curve. C & P is easy now that I know to use the middle button. (Still posting from Dillo.)