Review: Damn Small Linux 3 operating system

An oft-quoted advantage of Linux is that is has far lower system requirements than Windows. But this is often spoilt by the larger distributions with 3D interfaces and thousands of packages.

The appropriately named Damn Small Linux has been written to stay within a 50MB limit; great for older systems but it also results in substantial compromises.

It uses the Xfce windows interface rather than the more famous Gnome or KDE versions. Whereas these two will be relatively familiar to Windows users (especially KDE), Xfce is completely different.

There is no Start button - the main menu is instead accessed with a right-click on an empty part of the desktop. It seems a bit odd at first, but quickly becomes intuitive and, in many respects, faster than moving down to the Start button.

There are four workspaces. Both the workspaces and active programs can be changed using the two arrow buttons on the task bar; there are also previews of the workspaces, but clicking on them has no effect.

The Firefox browser is included in the basic list of applications, but the rest are less well known. Siag serves for spreadsheets, while Ted and Beaver deal with text files. Neither is a fully featured word processor, though this is not insurmountable as we shall see later.

Sylpheed is a reasonable email client, although some will be disappointed that the instant messaging client is text only. It is quite capable, but not as easy to use as equivalents like Gaim.

If the included applications are not to your liking there is a good list of extra programs that can be installed into the distribution, even if these take it above the self-imposed 50MB limit. If you have the space they are worth installing and the only application requiring a significant amount of space is Openoffice.

Being larger, they have a greater impact on performance but not dramatically so on a Pentium III 600Mhz. For lower specification systems it makes sense to start small and slowly increase the number of programs.

The installation files are written specifically for Damn Small Linux and the easiest way to install is over the internet. A new feature in Damn Small Linux 3 is that it can use install applications from local files.

One of the strengths of Damn Small Linux is that it is available in a variety of different forms. Like most distributions, it can be downloaded as an ISO. Alternatively it can be loaded onto a USB key for a more portable option. There is even the option to run Damn Small Linux under Windows using the QEMU virtualisation software.

Running Damn Small Linux on a computer with networking was a little more problematic. Ethernet was fine, but the wireless setup required a lot more work, which did not result in a firm connection. However, it does include the Ndiswrapper software so it can use Windows drivers for wireless card.

In summary, Damn Small Linux 3 is a decent Linux option for those with older PCs.

Also consider:
Ubuntu 6.06 LTS One-click server deployment and long-term support are just some of the enhancements
Microsoft Windows Vista RC1 It will change the way you work, as long as your system is powerful enough to run it
Apple Boot Camp Apple opens its door to Windows with this revolutionary software utility

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