Linux and the RAM

It is not so long ago with 4 MB on board VG and RAM 64 I was able to boot Redhat 8. Mandrihe, Debian, Xandros (no live CDs except Knoppix, I had not yet discovered the Damn Small Linux) with some difficulty SuSe in my desktop.

The Linux is somewhat bloated now.

Without at least 512 RAM one is not able to boot and install Linux now.

This is not a good recipe for average Sri-lankan who cannot afford to eat rice with Pol Sambol now (due to surging RAM on Pol Pol Arrakku and Pol -Coconuts).

If anybody makes a Linux distribution called Pol Sambol Linux. nobody will care to try it even if it is given free of charge (nothing is free in this country liberated except daily headaches).

So RAM is important for a low budget person like me.

Let me talk about the type of RAMs before relating my story.

I started with 100 BUS SDR RAM.

Those days finding two 128 RAMs was extremely difficult especially 100 BUS speed.

I had to wait for years and hacked them out of junk computers imported to Sri-Lanka.

Then came the SDR 133 (BUS) speed RAM and somehow I could find 256 of RAM with an assortment of 128's and 64's.

This was just enough for me to boot all Linux distributions without a hassle.

Then came DDR 1, 2 and 3 and the RAMs were hefty in size.

The other day my daughter's computer with Linux installed was out (the reason is the usual overl0ad and with 20 GB hard disk -over the last one year she had collected junk files (no viruses) and she does not want me to clean the junk files and she does not do it herself and one or two years of IDE hard disk is good throughput, anyway).

I dismantled the hard disk and put a new 80 GB hard disk that I have kept for future use.

I was trying to partition (not with dos now) the new hard disk with PCLinux-2010 and I could not.

Then I tried LXDE and could not.

Finally I had to go back to DSL and later to Linux partmagic to get the new disk prepared.

I did not enjoy all this at late night and gave her the computer with Sata 20 GiB and 80 GiB IDE (dual) with newly installed PClinux 2010-10 and downloaded, few of the softwares she needed for her work.

This was also bought from a junk deal and of course I added 512 graphic card to get it in prime condition.

I asked her whether we buy a new one and she was not that keen on a new one (now that she is very much comfortable with Linux without viruses and dropping her bad Microsoft habits was a welcome change for me).

The new Linux (PCLinux 2010) distributions are cravy on RAM and use the full 256 RAM and after that could not do anything useful including install.

This is why I call KDE the Gorilla Linux with some affection for Gorilla and the KDE (I am a KDE fan now except when I do repair work on old computers),

So if you are using Live CDs have at least 1 GB of RAM if you are thinking of installing the same.

Otherwise it will freeze down the installation process. This is true of Ubuntu 10.10 and SuperOs (DVD) too

SuSe needs minimum of 512 (but ideally 1 GiB) and that is also with CD and not DVD.

SuSe of course can be installed (very good feature) from the live CD without loading into RAM which most of the Linux Live distributions do not include or offer including PCLiniux.

Ultimately I decided to use the computer as a TV box in addition to using it as a web outlet with 1 GB RAM added.

Unlike those days there are plenty of unused second hand SDR RAMs in the market without buyers.

For Linux newbies and savvy this can be a Treasure House or Goldmine.

The Linux is far behind in configuring variety of TV cards now on the market and I hope developers will be looking to this aspect since it is cheaper to use a computer as a TV box instead of an expensive and flashy LCD TVS now in the market.