DSL Linux: Small distro that packs a big punch

IBM Developerworks has an overview of Damn Small Linux. Unfortunately, the author keeps referring to it as “DSL Linux”, which, I think, expands to Damn Small Linux Linux. But besides that minor annoyance, the article has quite a good summary of the packages on the DSL LiveCD, and a few tips for using it.

Need a teeny-tiny, business-card-sized, open source operating system that squeezes a lot of software into a little space? Take a look at DSL Linux®. This quick review shows you how to use the miniscule OS, highlights the on-board applications, details how to load and start it, and explains how to save between sessions when using a bootable CD.

KNOPPIX 5.0 Cebit Released

The Cebit release of Knoppix 5.0 is out. Now we have to wait for someone to purchase it, make an ISO file, and upload it to a bittorrent tracker site (which I believe is legal). The “normal” 5.0 LiveCD and LiveDVD versions will be released to mirrors a couple weeks after Cebit, at the earliest.

The KNOPPIX 5.0 Live DVD contains some major changes in the unionfs-based file system, new hardware detection and autoconfiguration, and a more “genuine Debian” oriented selection of packages. Apart from this, the harddisk install option (“knoppix-installer”) has been extended by Martin Öhler, based on the work of Fabian Franz, featuring a “live update” of specific packages from a new version of the live DVD or CD.

Other important features include safe WRITE access to NTFS partitions using libntfs+fuse. This is something everyone who works with Windows machines will benefit from.

(Update) Here’s a link to the torrent: http://linuxtracker.org/torrents-details.php?id=1645