Damn Small Linux (DSL) has returned with a new 2024 edition. The arrival of DSL 2024 has surprised many, as the last release of this compact Linux OS was more than a decade ago. Over the years DSL has put on weight (haven’t we all) inflating from 50MB in 2008 to today’s 700MB. That sounds like a lot, but the philosophy of making a usable desktop distribution for older PCs with limited hardware resources is similar. Moreover “applications, the kernel, and drivers have all mushroomed,” explains John Andrews, the driving force behind this project.
Originally, DSL was launched as a business card-size live CD Linux distribution based on Debian and Knoppix. The relaunched version a Debian and antiX distribution, will still run from a live CD, but it needs a full-sized CD. Andrews asserts that 700MB is a new hard limit for DSL going forward, and it needs to be for standard CDR compatibility.
