User Feedback :: 2 Months with DSL

I started this linux journey in late October, 2003. As Emeril would say, I am getting very happy. I have my DSL set up almost the way I want it now. I have used apt-get to install and remove what seems like hundreds of combinations of programs. You gotta love the apt application - it's great. I have DSL installed on an old Compaq 3060 with only 48 megs and a 1.1 G HD. It runs well there and is happily serving up my web page with monkey. Its also running the ssh deamon, so I can get into it remotely. DSL is the only distro I ever got to run X on that machine.

I have different goals for my main machine. Its an HP Pavillion zt1130. It only has 128Megs of RAM due to a defect on the motherboard that causes it to flake out with the extra 128Meg chip that came with it (yeah I know HP has gone to hell now, but I had good luck with the old omnibooks). Knoppix crawls on it, and Mepis won't even install cause im 19 Megs short. So, if I want a dual boot nix box, it's winxp and DSL for now. Its the fact that DSL runs in such small memory configs that really keeps it on my HP. besides DSL is just cool.

I need the HP to be compatible with clients who all use MSWord, and Excel. I have to have a modern web browser. with java etc., since I do a lot of research on the federal govt web sites. Adobe PDF is a must. I would like to be able to print B&W, as well, and I don't have a post script laser printer. I want a rudimentary real time stock market ticker, because I trade a fair bit. When I program (seldom), I only do it in either Pascal (Delphi or Turbo) or C.

For recreation, I like to use AOLIM, write webpages, and I use the newsgroups to keep track of my hobbies.

Version 0.5 has gotten me a long way there. Ted was a great addition after FLwriter, and the messages on setting up the menu in XTDesk led me to add all my new apps to my menu. Here is what I have added: Abiword - for more MS Word compatibility than Ted, ghostscript and magicfilter - for printing support; Pan - for reading newsgroups; lynx - just because I like it; bluefish - to write webpages; and finally I added lines to /etc/fstab to let me mount my windows partition - I would like to be able to do that automatically, but don't know how yet.

So there you are. I am 90% happy with my modified DSL. I anxiously await version 0.510. A seemless way to see the windows side of my box in the file browser would be about all I can think of to add in a major way.

Thanks John.

Forgot to add, I am using linuxtrade as real time stock price program. Its clunky, but it works.

I have been using DSL .5 for about a week now, and I can't believe how excellent it is. It runs very smoothly on my 133 MHz/80 Meg RAM laptop, running the LIVE ISO rather than the install version. I too, am thrilled with DSL, as it is a version of Linux that ANYONE can understand...and mostly...enjoy.

Quote (Guest @ Dec. 04 2003,18:21)

I've just tried that... I've made CD, put that in my note book: P160, 16 ram., ant that works,more beter then W98. on notebook i have an Ir conection, USB port (linux have found it, but can't read :-(), what I'll try to do is:
localize to my language.
make work sound card
make work USB port
make work Ird
and try to stay still in 16 Mb of ram
sorry for my bad english

original here.