Damn Small Linux 4.1 is out

I've been using Damn Small Linux a lot lately, especially the recent 4.0 release, and now 4.1 is out.

Probably the biggest change in 4.0 was the new, more intuitive implementation of the JWM (Joe's Window Manager) desktop. Fluxbox used to be the default window manager for DSL -- don't worry, it's still there and easily switched to -- but with the new JWM version of DSL, there are actually folder icons on the desktop that can be clicked open to run programs and open files.

On the $15 Laptop (Compaq Armada 7770dmt), DSL runs better than anything else I've tried on it. Even with 64 MB of RAM. I'd normally use Puppy Linux, but this low-spec laptop runs better under DSL -- and Puppy doesn't recognize the Orinoco WaveLAN Silver PCMCIA wireless card, while DSL (and Debian, for that matter) does. Right now I'm running Debian Etch with Xfce (MUCH more about this later) on the hard drive and DSL 4.0 from the live CD. When I up the Compaq's memory to the lofty maximum of 144 MB, this thing's gonna really fly (and yes, I can hear you all groaning right now).

New in 4.1, among many things, is the ability to boot a frugal install (a small number of large files on the hard drive instead of the usual "full" install) with the toram option (toram loads the entire DSL OS into RAM for faster loading of applications).

DSL 4.1 also makes it easier to accommodate multiple users and to automatically set the time with a network server when booting -- both very much needed. The one problem I have is that DSL assumes I'm on the U.S. East Coast when grabbing the time. I'll have to hack in there and figure out how to make it set West Coast time.