Customer Reviews

The Official Damn Small Linux® Book: The Tiny Adaptable Linux® That Runs on Anything

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first started my journey into DSL via another book; Craig Hollabaugh's "Embedded Linux, Hardware, Software, & Interfacing," 2002, ISBN 0-672-32226-9. This book is extremely valuable, if you wish to know how to put together a small single purpose embedded Linux system. However, by the time that I began to read it in 2005 (marriage, moving), it was beginning to show it's age. Most of the links to additional reading, at the end of each chapter, were broken. In addition, most of the projects that I have been associated with, require some form of primitive GUI.

Enter DSL! I fell in love immediately. Here were all of the missing pieces. Until the appearance of this book, the web and patience, were the only way to gain a good grounding in the techniques specific to this distro. The contents of this work are not just a repeat of that found on the net. The materials included are complementary to that information.

Don't just read the 1st half of the book. Read the project material also. There are gems to be gleaned therein.

The only complaint that I have about the book is in the binding, which is quite stiff, and therefore does not easily lend itself to setting next to the keyboard, or project workspace. I took my working copy (I have three) to an office supply store and had it coil bound for ~ $6.00. Problem solved.

Good job guys...

Damn Small Linux or DSL is a platform which can be used even by those new to Linux: it puts together everything needed to put DSL to work quickly, comes with a live CD-ROM, and packs in customization and application tips. The CD-ROM includes several versions of DSL to allow it to run either from the cd or a Windows desktop or even a pen drive, and offers all the tools perfect for juxtaposing with the book. This excellent package is a top pick for any comprehensive computer library where Linux or DSL is a feature.

I have been a fan of the DSL distribution for several years, and was pleased hear of the book's release. While there is an abundance of online information for DSL (as well as other Linux distributions), having a "hard copy" reference available is handy. The book is well written, and documents the features of this extremely full-featured minimalist Linux. While the book comes with a CD inside the back cover, I would download the distribution directly and use the very active user forum for the latest information.

I should say I started my journey in the Linux world with DamnSmallLinux. This Damn Small concept drew my attention and pulled me in to this efficient computing world. I love the concept about utilizing technology and would like to learn more. Although the website and forum do give me a lot of help and guidance, it is always good to have a handy bible around. If you are interested in how Linux works, this is a must have book.

This book consolidates material that you would otherwise have to spend days scouring the web and forums to find. (Not to mention the misinformation that is often floating around out there.) Damn Small Linux is a great operating system with a great development team and community. And this book provides tons of detail on how to use it.

I found the book a good resource for someone trying to make the transition to Linux, and "Damn Small Linux" a good operating system for my old computer. Thanks to the authors and the many hours work they obviously put into the writing.

Jerry

Good book and software to get started. Users should have a basic understanding of computers and PC operating systems if using on older machines. But the software worked great out of the book. I would recommend.

Make your old PC a work horse with Damm Small Linux, and do it with out alot of technical knowledge with this book.

I took a 10 year old PC (Pentium I / 166Mhz ) and with the help of this book, it now runs as a web surfing, print, photo, music serving station on my home network.

Saving lots of $$$, not having to buy an expensive server appliance, and keeping the old electronics out of the land fill.

If you have an old PC in the basement and a desire to do some thing with it, I highly encourage you to get this book !

The Book is excellent at explaining basic beginner concepts and is an excellent reference text, however it would be nice to include a glossary.

I had high hopes for DSL for my old X86 win98se machine.
1. It would not boot off the live cd, though win98 will boot off cd. on this machine.
2. It would boot and load using the boot floppy. I tried all the various installation methods in the book and I just could not install the boot loader on the hard drive.

3. I downloaded Puppy Linux and it installed on the hard drive as easy as win98se did and runs just fine.

I would say that "runs on anything...however" might be a better description.