If my memory serves me right, it was in 2003 that the project Damn Small Linux offered users the possibility to run a basic operating system with essential apps in just 50 megabytes. Damn Small Linux fell into virtual abandonment after 2012, and its official page even disappeared on more than one occasion, but in early February, the project was reactivated with a change of strategy: The new “ceiling” for Damn Small Linux is 700 megabytes, and it uses the antiX distro as a starting point.
Honestly, I don't remember much of my life twenty years ago, but I do know I wasn't in a good position. Little work, little money, hardware cycles stretched to the max… I even used Windows XP on a Pentium II at 233 MHz, which already had six years on its shoulders. Our options were to modify-optimize-strip Windows XP to get all the performance possible, or roll the dice with Linux.
One of the bets back then was called Damn Small Linux, a distro compact enough to boot from a “Bootable business card” of 50 megabytes. Its goal was to inject a bit more life into 486/Pentium machines, and for a while it worked, but its development collapsed at some point in 2008, and the only additional spark of activity was a Release Candidate in 2012. This situation seems to have changed in early February, and Damn Small Linux now has a new alpha build.
Damn Small Linux in 2024
Why return after so long? Its creator says he saw the need for a functional distro under 700 megabytes, a ceiling that the vast majority of projects completely abandoned. The jump in this limit was inevitable: there are enormous differences between Linux of 2003 and Linux of 2024, including drivers, applications, and even the kernel itself.
The new Damn Small Linux is based on a modified version of antiX 23 i386 (which in turn uses Debian). Many of its applications have been replaced, but the main benefits of antiX haven't gone anywhere, and it's definitely striking to see an operating system take no more than 128 megabytes of RAM at idle (Windows 11 can claim 15 times that amount, with optimizations).
Logically, the 'Alpha 1' label accompanying Damn Small Linux means there are many bugs to fix. Some users have reported problems with apt, the terminal, and WiFi support. Personally, I had trouble changing the screen resolution, and Fluxbox always demands an adaptation process, but it's not terrible, to say the least. If you want to experiment, you have the link below.
Official site and download: Click here
