Just because a system is 64 bit doesn't mean its a power house. I have a netbook thats got a 64bit CPU in it... but its 1.6 ghz (when on AC power) and has 2gb ram. With Speedstep when I use the battery it drops down to probably around 800mhz speed.gcmartin wrote:We are working with 64bit PCs which, in most cases, are lightning fast with robust RAM in comparison to older 32bit architecture. This is why FATDOG is slightly bigger than other PUPs because the author(s) recognize the advantage they have and the community they are helping. They have not done anything in the past that has produced a negative impact in our systems even thought the download size has had a marginal increase.This increase in a download, again, for those of us who understand architecture and path-lengths, does NOT introduce any negative performance or use impact while delivering much needed additional functionality. Many of us understand this and do not see the slight increases as negative for the benefits and full-feature we gain in the distro.
So yea... its 64bit... but it doesnt mean it has the power of my quad core intel desktop with 16gb ram.
So there is a need for slim 64bit puppies. If I tried to run the full setup I have on my desktop on my netbook... it'd run alot slower. So I have to modify what programs I have installed on my netbook via SFS packages so that it zips along.
And Yes... Fatdog is larger than most puppies... I think its around twice the size. But if we (as a community) added in every feature some user might want into the base ISO... we, might as well just run a full blown Slackware install or some other Linux distro.
Speaking specifically about size... the fatdog ISO is 200mb. If we take your concept of, put it all in the core ISO... then we'd be adding in the devx sfs, which is 360mb. So now our decent size puppy is 560 mb. The most recent Arch Linux ISO is 417MB, and that includes both 32 and 64 bit architectures.
If there is a demand for a massive puppy distro... lets call it 'obese pup'; then some dev will step forward and make it. But aside from a few people here and there, asking for specific packages... there doesnt seem to be a large number of people who are wanting all this extra stuff built into the core ISO. I believe this is because people are embracing the modular nature of puppy and can custom design their system as they see fit, and not as someone else has decided whats good for them.
Maybe I'm wrong... If I am... I hope those people will step up and speak.