Damn Small Linux (DSL) is based on KNOPPIX, so anyone who has used KNOPPIX or Debian in the past will feel right at home. The entire system is around 50MB so it will fit on small, business-card CD-R’s and cheap USB memory sticks. DSL is a live CD, meaning it will run completely from a CD without having to install it to your hard drive. This gives you several good scenarios: Let’s say that you need a “clean” environment to rescue your friend’s virus and spyware infected Windows machines, or you don’t have the luxury of carrying around your own laptop but rely on using other people’s desktops. Simply boot from a CD-R of Damn Small Linux and you’ve got an entire, fully functional Linux desktop at your fingertips. When you’re done, reboot the system and your friend gets their Windows system back (although they may not want it back).

Under the hood, DSL features the 2.4.26 kernel compiled with SMP support. The system had no trouble recognizing the hardware on our test laptop and booted to the desktop in around 30 seconds. DSL is committed to remaining useable on older hardware. In fact the minimum system requirements for this distro are just a 486DX with 16MB of Ram.

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