From owner-freebsd-hackers Mon Jan 6 10:44:56 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) id KAA21072 for hackers-outgoing; Mon, 6 Jan 1997 10:44:56 -0800 (PST) Received: from phaeton.artisoft.com (phaeton.Artisoft.COM [198.17.250.211]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id KAA21067 for ; Mon, 6 Jan 1997 10:44:53 -0800 (PST) Received: (from terry@localhost) by phaeton.artisoft.com (8.6.11/8.6.9) id LAA12254; Mon, 6 Jan 1997 11:35:05 -0700 From: Terry Lambert Message-Id: <199701061835.LAA12254@phaeton.artisoft.com> Subject: Re: cvs commit: src/usr.bin/vi Makefile To: joerg_wunsch@uriah.heep.sax.de Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 11:35:05 -0700 (MST) Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org In-Reply-To: <199612311239.NAA24824@uriah.heep.sax.de> from "J Wunsch" at Dec 31, 96 01:39:24 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk > I think, most people will end up with the full set of binaries anyway. > Only people with 100 MB or smaller disks will think about the bloat. > At a time where you can't even buy a disk smaller than 1 GB, we should > probably not waste too much energy in too much splitting. The IBM systems sold for ~$400 as nonames in Computer Shopper come with 60MB drives. They are interesting for running FreeBSD because: o They have barely enough memory to do it o They have IR interfaces o They have cheap GPS add-ons A small box with small memory (power requirements) is good for lots of things, especially with an IR interface. As an example, I have a close relative whi has suffered from ischemia in the region of the Hypothalamus/pons. As a result, there is an impairment of the short-to-long-term memory commit mechanism. This makes it difficult to remember things, such as "when do I take my medication?". By carrying around a PDA-level device (ie: ~60M drive) with an IR link, they can be reminded of ">BEEP< ...take the blue pill now" type things. The IR link lets them get a schedule download of "to do today" items when they bring the PDA home (">BEEP< ...plug in the PDA for recharging and schedule download -- it's time for bed"). Scheduled things like ">BEEP< ...time to do laundry", etc.. A small power consumption system with high capability and single application fault tolerance (ie: not Windows 95, DOS, or other non-protected mode OS) is the difference between a functional person and someone who needs to be warehoused in a nursing home. There is significant benefit to a small "minimal system" that fits in a small amount of storage and still has room for a few applications. Regards, Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.