Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2011, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> Thanks Sindi
> I assumed that was the case but I keep thinking that the main reason
> most people use Basic Linux is because they wish to run machines with
> few resources. Apparently that is not always the case.

Can you somehow change your subject line to match the topic?

I used BL2 on a laptop with 24MB memory, 100MHz, with Opera 8, but it does 
not work at a lot of websites.  The laptop can however play streaming mp3
audio (and CDs), does fine at email (except for webmail that is fussy 
about browsers, or big and slow - try fastmail.fm) and nongraphical 
nonjavascript browsing (links, elinks, lynx, and others), even graphical 
browsing without javascript (links -g).

40MB memory and 75MHz might run Opera 9 (use a swap file).
It should be fast enough to display images (xli in BL3, xv in BL2).

Steven was using his with MGP presentation software.  I have given people 
old laptops to take notes at meetings or in class or library.  Even a 2.2 
kernel works with Aironet non-cardbus wireless network cards, and with any 
non-cardbus wired network card, so you can take the laptop to the library
and download large files on it via broadband.  Or you can use a pcmcia 
modem for dialup access (which I think Steven still uses).  You don't need 
a 2.4 kernel since you have no USB ports.

I use Basiclinux on newer (8-10 year old) computers too because I like it. 
Boots fast, simplified and non-automated so it is easy to make changes, 
etc.  I got OSS sound working with BL in one Thinkpad (600E) laptop by 
simply insmodding a few things with the correct parameters.  In a newer 
linux it took me months to figure out - the automated detection process 
was buggy, you had to disable the wrong modules, make a change in BIOS, 
delete some lines from modprobe.conf which BL does not even use, etc.

I still use it for everything except if I need a recent browser, 
because I have not figured out how to make a 2.6 kernel so I can use newer 
Slackware glibc with newer other libraries, X, gtk2, etc.

I don't know of ANY bugs in BL.  Steven is amazingly thorough.
But not interested in making BL work for anything newer than a very early 
pentium.  His laptops don't have USB ports either, or cardbus.

You could also check out Tinycore linux (10MB download and I did not 
measure RAM usage) and a low-memory version of puppy linux called pulp 
(uses 14MB memory booted to X).  These both have 2.6 kernels and up to 
date libraries.

Sindi