[CS-FSLUG] The Fast-Food Syndrome: The Linux Platform is Getting Fat

[Eduardo Sanchez]

I also am increasingly bothered by the bloat and fat of the linux 
distros, so I can relate very well to what Nathan said. However, 
there's some points to consider.

1. The fact of this "fat" is more distro-related than 
desktop-environment related (with the possible exception of GNOME, 
which I fear is increasingly changing speeds from the rabbit range to 
the molasses range...). My dad uses at his work KDE 3.0.3 with 
Slackware 9.0 in a Cyrix 166+ that runs at 133 MHz, using 32 MB of RAM 
and a 1.0 GB SCSI drive. That KDE (which is admittedly *slower* than 
the current KDE 3.2.3) runs acceptably fast in that machine.

2. You can get a distro full of glitz *and* fast. For example, take 
Knoppix on hard drive, Libranet, Slackware, etc... My Slack is glitzy, 
if you want it that way, and is fast. The slow beast here is OO.o, 
without doubt.

3. We *really* need to take the worst offenders to task. For me, 
RH/Fedora and SUSE are almost out, even in my 2GHz P4, simply because 
they seem a waste of CPU cycles. And we need to spread this view.

Blessings,


Eduardo

On Thursday 10 June 2004 09:32, Ed Hurst wrote:
> N. Thompson wrote:
> 
> > I don't usually like OSNews but this article has a very good point 
that 
> > cannot be ignored, I've seen what its like to try and install and 
run 
> > Linux on older computers myself and it is a very serious problem. On 
my 
> > old Celeron 466 back when I had it, it got to the point where 
Windows 
> > was in fact faster then Linux in some places and that was quite a 
while 
> > ago, now I've got a Pentium 4 with smp and Windows would still be 
(much) 
> > faster were it not for the requirement of Anti-virus, firewall, 
> > anti-spyware, anti-adware (the list goes on) software. Linux has a 
very 
> > devoted <cough>zealous<cough> user base that unfortunately lets that 
> > blind them, when the problem gets too bad I think the worse of us 
are 
> > just going to say "switch to Gentoo/CRUX/LFS or stop complaining" 
while 
> > the rest are going to switch to FreeBSD, Syllable, SkyOS or back to 
Windows.
> 
> Seems to me we've discussed this before from a different angle. This 
is
> yet another manifestation of the same old dichotomy: consumers vs.
> aficionados. Both are 'users,' but of a different sort. (Standard
>  disclaimers about generalizations apply.) The user base will grow as
> Windows becomes less viable in a hostile Internet world.
> 
> The average Joe likes glitzy entertainment, and his computer is just 
an
> extension of his TV/VCR/DVD. Indeed, with TV-out/TV-in cards so common
> these days, you can watch it on your computer, or use your TV as a
> monitor. In the consumer market, there will be ever more convergence.
> 
> Because that is the market, that's where the money is. Even for
> something like Open Source -- free and libre -- things tend to follow
> the money. If folks clamor for this or that capability, the FOSS
> community tends to respond. Check out Freshmeat.net and look at the
> increasing number of glitz projects. That there are more free coders
> working Linux makes it more likely Linux will be built to accommodate 
glitz.
> 
> Glitz takes horsepower. Software horsepower demands hardware 
horsepower.
> Lots of hardware remains closed source, and so we FOSS folk are left 
to
> reverse engineering for drivers that seldom make full use of the
> hardware, or do so with lots of kludge. Windows is obliged by it's
> nature to build in fat to satisfy commercial grade demands of 
copyright
> security (their own and others'), and the kludge of securing what is
> inherently insecure.
> 
> Want pure computing? Run something like DOS, or just get out of the 
GUI.
> Linux must get fat to be viable in the marketplace. Aficionados will
> complain at the hijacking of their OS by the marketplace of Joes, but
> will at the same time be glad for the money that indirectly blesses 
the
> things they like.
> 
> Maybe I should read that article.... :-)
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ed Hurst
> -----------
> Software Freedom Day, 28 August 2004
> Got Freedom?
> http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/
> 
> ---
> [This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]
> 
> 
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> 

-- 
Prof. Eduardo Sanchez
Asuncion, Paraguay, South America
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 "How sweet is mortal Sovranty!"--think some:
 Others--"How blest the Paradise to come!"
   Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest;
 Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum!

	-- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
	   

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