Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

On Tue, 1 Jun 2010, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> Message from Steven
> ===================
> Sindi wrote:
> > Steven, do you plan on a BL with 2.6 kernel at some point?
>
> No.  As you may recall, I was reluctant to abandon
> the 2.0 kernel.  It was small and very suitable for
> 386s and 486s.  The 2.2 kernel was larger, but it
> was a better fit for Pentiums, so eventually it
> became the default kernel for BL2 and BL3.
>
> The 2.2 kernel is still very suitable for the target
> BasicLinux computers (top 486s and early Pentiums).
> It is true that the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels have more
> capabilities than the 2.2. but their footprints are
> significantly larger.  Moreover, most of the addded
> capabilities are relevant only to later computers.

SATA has been around since at least 2003.  People are now giving us 
working 7 year old desktops and 233-300MHz laptops.  No need to use a 486 
(which does not take enough memory to use with even an older Opera).

The reason for a 2.6 kernel is to be able to use more recent Slackware 
packages, which are dependencies for a variety of browsers.  There are 
increasing numbers of websites that don't work with older versions of 
browsers, and I can't even get Opera 10 to work (except with invisible
fonts).  The drivers for most wireless cards won't compile even with 
Slackware 11 glibc and gcc.

What do we do with .ko modules, after compiling them using the Slackware 
11 config?  Do we need anything other than the latest glibc to use 2.6.30 
kernel and modules from Puppy Linux, or kernel and modules from some other 
small linux?

The HOWTOS assume you use modprobe and lots of automation (configuration 
files) to automatically detect hardware.

Sindi

> Cheers,
> Steven