Damn Small Linux Embedded ~Discussion~

[wintryKat]

I recently found out that Damn Small Linux has made a slightly different version of its famous Linux businesscard distribution called Damn Small Linux Embedded. (They have a downloadable version for people who don't want to buy the USB key on their download mirrors.)

For those of you who don't know, this version of DSL comes with a copy of QEMU and is installed within a little hard disk image. The entire uncompressed package fits nicely on a 128MB USB key. The purpose is to allow the user to boot into DSL using QEMU on top of Windows or even another Linux host.

Question for discussion: Is there any point to this?

Below are my thoughts on this subject. Feel free to respond to any of my opinions.

Not only does DSLE run slower because it is inside an emulated environment, but it comes with the bare minimum of applications. A user can use myDSL to install new applications on-the-fly, but not many of these are very interesting, and the more interesting and/or useful applications run so slowly you would probably want to start beating your face into the desk to keep yourself occupied while one of them is executing.

An argument could be made that DSLE can be used to provide a quick Linux demo to the uninitiated, but it is so devoid of applications and so much slower that it isn't worthy of trying to prove anything. People who want to get a taste of linux would be so much better off downloading DSL proper, or even Knoppix with its wealth of applications and general usability.

A second argument could be made that DSLE provides a quick, sandbox-like development environment inside of another host. However, it is nearly impossible to install all the necessary libraries, compilers, and dev tools to do anything worthwhile. Windows users would be much better off biting the bullet and getting Cygwin (site down at the time of this post) which is speedy and comprehensive.

So, discuss!

~ Ai

Yeah, I am nerdy. So sue me!

[soelmese]

I like the concept of DSLE very much; in fact, I run it off of my 128meg pendrive. What I find attractive about Embedded is that it allows me my scripting without the hassle of installing cygmin, whihc I often cannot do on public machines. It's just a bit of Linux without so much hassle; despite it's poor efficiency, it's still a place where I can run a decent shell and be happy about it.

[ChouchoCelia]

I wonder if part of the speed problem has to do with the quality of memory on the USB flash drive itself? I'd like to try out DSLE from a SanDisk UltraIII CF card and see if that helps performance at all.