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What's the best lightweight Linux distro?

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tclfan:
Summary: Taking constructive posts of Danielibarnes, Guy and Bmarkus it looks to me some steps need to be done in that direction.

robc:

--- Quote from: loserguy on April 14, 2010, 09:42:47 PM ---I have used puppy for a couple of years now, and not having to sudo 10+ times a day isn't really that bad, just got to be careful not to rm -Rf something to your system.
--- End quote ---
This is really bad when security is a priority. sudo itself is a security risk.

I agree with lucky13 on the idea of a showcase TC, if its not updated and supported then it is not that useful, it will also further confuse newcomers and aggravate developers.

I also agree with Guy. Having an installation script can be the single best tool for those who are new to TC (and reviewers) for them to evaluate its usefulness. After all, if you can't figure out how to install/use TC then its not going to be very useful to you.

The concepts behind TC are not in line with a traditional installation and the TC team has done a good job in explaining this, but many people don't RTFM, to be blunt. The average user (my definition of average user is some who can push the power button on the comp to turn it on) won't read the core concepts, won't try TC because it doesn't wipeout your harddrive to create a 'fresh' installation, and more then likely won't move from windows (because its already there and/or they think its too hard). So what am I saying? I'm saying users are lazy and they want everything done for them...which is where the installation script comes in...moving along...

I think it would be beneficial to have a help text in the base (I know roberts just removed it a little while ago). But I believe one of the best things DSL had was that initial help screen that came up upon startup. This will put the concepts of TC more or less right in the faces of the users (there should be a boot option to disable for those who already read it). Also a simple explanation of the use of the appbrowser should be in it also. This would prevent users from giving up or going here to post/search for a question on how to install applications.

Just some thoughts/rants...

Guy:

--- Quote ---I think it would be beneficial to have a help text in the base
--- End quote ---

I think, in the future, it would be a good idea to have a help extension.

Those who want it, can install this extension. Those who don't want it, don't need to install it.

The same information can also be available from the website.

However, if you look at the wiki, there is some useful information, but much room for improvement.

The help extension needs to be of a professional standard. If it is done poorly, this will also make Tiny Core look bad.

The help extension should include information helpful for new users, but not everything in the wiki.


The Tiny Core team are doing a great job developing Tiny Core. We shouldn't expect them to do more.

If anyone else can make a contribution in any of the areas mentioned, it would be a positive contribution. That is:

Making an installation script.

Making a cd with extensions. Being committed to update this with each new version.

Improving the wiki. When the information is at a professional standard, making a help extension.


A number of users are already making good contributions.

More and more people are using Tiny Core.

Expect more users to make contributions in the future.

Expect things to get better and better.


Keep in mind, Tiny Core is very new compared to the mainstream Linux distros.

The primary focus, has been, and needs to be, developing a high quality operating system. This is being done. The other things will follow.

thane:
As I said, I wouldn't have any problem if TCL offered a demo ISO (in addition to the true TC and MC ones) with a "basic" set of apps. I probably just wouldn't use that ISO. And of course additional help features (if done right) are fine.

In a more general sense though, I'm puzzled as to why anyone would use a Linux distro if they don't agree with its basic design concepts (in TCL's case, a minimum core which enables the user to choose whichever apps he/she wants, and careful separation between static and dynamic code). If these concepts aren't of interest (or you don't think they're good ideas) then why use TCL? There are numerous other distros which have a different emphasis (e.g. lots of apps out of the box, more traditional ways of installing). As far as Linux, if a distro doesn't do what it claims to do (or does them badly) then you have grounds for complaint. But if you just don't like its overall approach, it seems like the best thing to do is find another distro.

danielibarnes:

--- Quote ---As far as Linux, if a distro doesn't do what it claims to do (or does them badly) then you have grounds for complaint. But if you just don't like its overall approach, it seems like the best thing to do is find another distro.
--- End quote ---

Respectfully, this is why you need "207 distros." With Windows, you are stuck with what Microsoft implemented. Linux distributions can pick a target audience and customize for its needs. There are heavily localized distributions for various countries, distributions for easy use by children, distributions for clustering, or distributions for firewalls (try that with XP) for example. Windows is "one OS to rule them all, one OS to find them / one OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them / in the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie." :)

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