“CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users. The primary focus of this distribution is “keep it simple”, which is reflected in a simple tar.gz-based package system, BSD-style initscripts, and a relatively small collection of trimmed packages.”
CRUX 1.0 has been released, ISOs are now avaiblabe for download. Checkout the change log for a list of new/changed packages.
“CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users. The primary focus of this distribution is…
*yawn*. gentoo.
How many times does the wheel have to be re-invented?
“keep it simple”
sure. With tar.gz, that is.
there are no extra layers to deal with….you have to know how to compile, what to compile and when to compile it.
“CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users. The primary focus of this distribution is “keep it simple”,…
This does not make any sense at all.
Not at all. Experienced users understand that simple == better.
Yet Another Linux Distribution…..how many are there now? 20+….truely and example of the Cathedral and The Bizarre.
Ok, this is sort of (but maybe not an off-topic rant:
CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized Linux distribution
WHAT THE HELL is i686?!?!
I mean, I know this is a distro for advanced users, but even some of the newbie distros throw around shit like i386, i586, i986, whatever .. as if Joe User is supposed to know what the f*** they’re talking about 😐
Not to start a flood of RTFM’s, but it’s questions like these that help perpetuate the riff between new users and the so called experts. Most experts don’t mind sharing info – they do mind people wasting their time. Questions like “what is a <fill in blank>” are easily answered by a simple Google search (go to your favorite search engine, type in your question, surf alittle learn a lot). Even ask.com answers what a i686 is. Moral of the story – do just a little of the work yourself before asking questions – you’ll learn more – and you won’t come across as a moron (which just begs to be flamed). Just a thought.
Eh, well … that wasn’t exactly my point. I know it has something to do with the kind of CPU it runs on, but I was mainly looking at it through the eyes of Joe User:
Instead of saying:
This is an i686-optimized Linux distribution[i]
Why not say:
[i]This is a Linux distribution that is optimized to run on IBM PC/Pentium (II) class computers.
Obviously, the second version is more of a mouthful, but it is also much more clear as to what you are talking about (as most Joe Users will have some idea about what IBM PC and Pentium means).
Of course, it doesn’t really matter in this case because it is for advanced users afterall, but I’m talking about in normal situations when a statement like that is thrown at the casual user without much consideration that the person might not know what the hell you’re talking about.
CRUX is not targeting Joe User. Most Linux distros do not want Joe to use their distro. Therefore, they do not take the time to document or expand on every technical detail.
“*yawn*. gentoo.
How many times does the wheel have to be re-invented? ”
*yawn* debian….
please show some class and realize to each his own. What do you care if yet another distro, text editor, or grahpics program is created? Its not like developers are some pool of talent that should be shuffled only to the programs YOU deem worthy.
(cool, w3m realized i would need something decent and opened vim)
Anyhow, i686 doesnt necessarily mean Intel Pentium II, you want to dumb it down, but by doing so you’ll just mess them up even more. Cause then the joe users taht run an AMD or maybe VIA chip will think “well then, this mustnt be for me”, when in reality it would work. i686 refers to a CLASS of processors, not a specific type. If they are confused, like the other guy said, they SHOULD do a bit of research, you can never know too much about your computer, why? cause like it or not, you spend a lot of time on it.
i686 == Pentium III or better.
Uh, i686 refers to CPUs from pentium-pro and beyond.
The whole process of creating a distro (even a toy/how-does-it-work one) is interesting. I’d like to hear some of the distro founders talk about putting together a Linux distro. The awesome Linux From Scratch is the only active project I know that documents it, but predating distros like RedHat, Debian or Slack must have put their own versions together without such comprehensive help. Also, I’m sure that not every new distro relies on the LFS way of doing things.
i686s is mostly the P4 generation of processors. Pentiums, P2, and P3 were i586, and the i486 was, well, i486… Well, your knowlegde on this shows that CRUX is totally not the system for you. Besides not having the apps you would like, it is very hard to use. It is mainly made for people like me who like to fiddle around with things and sometimes break things, and people that need a lightweight Linux distribution that doesn’t have the extra bloat commercial distributions normally have.
If you think Debian is hard, well, stay off CRUX cause it is harder.
i586 = pentium
i686 = pentium 2, pentium3, pentium 4, athlon, duron
that’s it
Anonymous!
Yes, i686 are Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Xeon, Celeron, Athlon, Athlon 4, Athlon XP, Athlon MP, Duron,..
i586 are Pentium 1, Pentium MMX, AMD K6, K2-2, K6-III,…
Of course I meant K6-2, not K2-2
It’s fun to see that even us, “advanced users”, “geeks” or as you prefer to call the people that post comments in a web like this, don’t have a clue of what the h**l i686 does mean.
These are, IMHO, the i686 cpu’s: PPro and higher, k7 and higher and VIA C3.
Even funnier is to think that I actually own a 686, from Cyrix, and it’s a low-cost clone from the pentium, so my i686 is a i586!!!
(Although the model called 686MX by Cyrix is known to be a clone of PPro, so, it is also a 686)
This sounds like a clone of Beehive Linux http://www.beehive.nu also a i686 optimized tar.gz KISS distro.
A “Keep it simple” distribution, is nothing more than a Slackware clone. In this case without KDE and other packages.
My oh my… How many Linux will be enough ? Why so many distro ? Lets see : (counting out old releases)
– Windows CE / PocketPC
– Windows XP Home
– Windows XP Media Center
– Windows XP Tablet Edition
– Windows XP Pro
– Windows .NET Server
– Windows 2000 Pro / Server / Advance Server / Datacenter
Each of them are for special use, all sport the same GUI, and all have the same (more or less) set of built-in software. The user does not need to recompile anything, simple add/remove software, good media player, DirectX for real 3D games, simple configuration all GUI, and so on….
Linux should do the same. Regroup and stop spreading distro like a virus. Build on one GUI (kde or gnome, i don’t care), have a real media player by default (not just XMMS, the WinAmp clone), support 3D vid card and pump some speed into opengl or create a DirectX clone. Simple GUI configuration for everything and a real package manager.
That’s my .2 cents…. Blast on….
I seem to get the solution to the “Easy to use” linux problem (until Xandros becomes free):
Let’s create the first ever “OSNews Linux” distro. Every individual who uses OSNews can contribute to and provide suggestions for OSNews Linux. This is bound to be a desktop hit, as after all, we have a lot of smart OS people on OSNews, and a large “usability department” of n00bs like me.
BTW, we had better get started pretty quick, as Slashdot Linux has already been proposed a few weeks back.
Seriously, think about it.
It sound like some don’t know the difference between i586, i686, etc. Then obviously, CRUX (which is for *experienced* linux/GNU users) is not for you; stay with RedHat, Mandrake, SuSE and the like.
I built an arcade cabinet powered by Linux/GNU software and CRUX was my choice. By tweaking the kernel and boot-up scripts, the system boots and automatically logs-in under 7 seconds. Loading a game takes another 2 seconds. Not really instant like a true arcade machine, but much better than those 1 to 3 minute boot times of typical “user friendly” OSes. If you have a special project (school work, robotics, home automation, etc) then would recommend a CRUX powered computer.
Cheers…
-Will CRUX work with AMD K6/K6-II/K6-III?
Yes and No. AMD K6, K6-II and K6-III have an i586 (Pentium) compatible instruction set. Packages on the official CRUX ISO are compiled with -march=i686, which means that CRUX requires a processor which has an i686 compatible instruction set (i.e. Intel PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/P4 or AMD K7/Athlon). However, Jürgen Daubert maintains an i586 version of the CRUX ISO image which can be found here. The i586 version of the CRUX ISO works on AMD K6/K6-II/K6-III.
sorry…
we had the i8088, i286. i386, i486, i586(pentium), i686(PentiumPro and beyond)
It’s fun to see that even us, “advanced users”, “geeks” or as you prefer to call the people that post comments in a web like this, don’t have a clue of what the h**l i686 does mean.
Yeah, they throw the term around like it’s a common household word, yet they can’t even agree amoungst themselves what it means. No wonder Linux is as splintered and fragmented as it is (different package managers, different desktop enviroments, different toolkits, etc) – it’s users can’t agree on anything! Well, except that ‘Windoze sux’
You remember the IDT Winchip? I had a Winchip2-225mHz with 3D Now! for a while, but gave that system to a friend. It was my first above 200mHz chip. I upgraded to it from a 6x86L-150, you know, the lower voltage one?
I had my case apart one day, and the hard drive fell on the 686, stopping the fan for about 10 minutes. I had to fix some lunch, so I went into the kitchen. I smelled hot silicon, ran back to the comp and pulled the HD off, pulled the mobo power off, and kept the fan running. This did not kill the chip, so the Cyrix/IBM chips must not have been as “hot” as they were reputed to be… Anyway, I lost that chip when I moved last year. I would sure love to have it or the Winchip for a mobile MP3 player.
One last thing. When are these “lightweight” distros gonna come with premade kernels? Kernel compilation is one thing I have not tried yet.
I built my second PC with a k6-III 400, ahhh the good old days….the only reason that it was my second PC was becasue for my first I used a k6-2 300 and after a year, it fused the the Mobo and fried the system….my buddie had something similer happen to him with his k6-2.
the k6-3 is so good, that I even sold it to a buddy of ine a year ago and he is haveing no problems….I upgraded the GFX card to gforce2 MX from a monster 3d fusion :-p….so he could play B&W and newer games……B&W was the first game that would not run on the monster fusion.
CRUX is more than just a simple tarball based distro. The minimalist nature of CRUX includes manditory compression of all man pages when installed, stripping all executables, no info files, not allowing random files to be installed which a program doesnt need to run (readme files and such), it used to not include NLS support. This along with the BSD init scripts, i686 optimations, very simple package system, etc give me a nice quick and small distro which I prefer over gentoo or debian on my desktop and laptop. Not all of us have >1GHZ machines with 80GB harddrives and >512MB ram. I need to conserve all resources I have.
so i786 will be Opteron?
AFAIK, i786 is for P4-based cpus (Pentium4/ and some Celeron).
OT: Yes the old K6-III cpus were very nice processors. I managed to get a mobile socket7-compatible K6-III+ 450 running at 2.0V and 0.18um with Extended-3DNow! (only found on Athlons & Durons), 256K L2 cache + 2MB L3 cache from the motherboard. It could run with an standard fan at 550Mhz without rising voltage. And i could play B&W with it. Actually i finished Medal of Honor with it!!
So it’s kind of like slackware. I always liked to be able to just type installpkg package.tgz on a Slackware machine. People say that distros like debian and Slackware are hard because they arn’t as GUI oreiented as Mandrake, Suse, and the rest, but they are probably some of the simplest I’ve ever used.
do not be so ready to criticize something you do not understand. think of how you feel when someone does that to you.
why again?
There was the 386, then 486, then Pentium (hence 586) then the Pentium II (hence 686).
Its it really that hard people
The amd k6-2 and k6-3 and possibly even the regural k-6 belong to the so called i686 class wich started with the pentium pro / pentium II.
The i686 class main diference from the i586 is that instead of being true cisc processors, they are in fact risc processors that convert the usual x86 instructions into microcode (risc) operations, or something like that.
First of all “Don’t knock’it till you’ve tried it”
Everyone is entitled to there opinion of course, but, if you have no basis for your opinion, then you’re just ignorant.
For those who really care I will try and give you the real skinny on CRUX.
So where does my basis for my opinion come from?
Well I’ve been using Crux since 0.95 and I have used most of the more popular GNU/Linux distros at least once for enough time to form my own opinions on each of those distros.
I refuse to say that anyother distro is bad or good, because each distro has its pros, and cons. So, to each there own.
But since I do belive that Crux is an outstanding distro, this will be my attempt to sway you to atleast try it once so that you can form your own opinion.
So here i go.
First Crux falls some where between Slackware and Gentoo.
How is it like slackware?
1. BSD-style initscripts making it very easy to configure, If you know what your doing.
2. The package system is tgz based, making it easy to install and remove binary packages without falling into dependency problems of RPM’s
3 The installl is text based, with a simulare look and feel
How is it like gentoo?
1. it has a simulare port system, where you can easly download an application, and it will compile, update, and install the package for you.
2. Its user group is of the more experenced linux user, some one that knows where the config files are and how to edit them.
3. Its a small download, only 188mb or so, as opposed to a 3 disk set like some distros.
4. its uses devfs
So what are the pros, and what make it my favorite distro of choice.
1. It has all you need already compiled for you optimized for i686, (pentium pro or above) i.e. Xfree, mozilla, vim, xmms, emac, what ever. THERE IS NO NEED TO COMPILE EVERYTHING from scratch at the start like Gentoo. which leads to my second resone.
2. It takes my 20 minutes, to install the whole thing, and at the end i have a fully optimized working system. the only thing that is required for you to compile from the start is the kernel.
3. The init scripts are tiny, no fluff. the entire rc.conf file is less then 10 lines. If you know what your doing, this make things fast and simple.
4. The package system does not go and get dependences. now this is somthing you might not like, but for me i find it very irritating when i download a port for one thing, and somthing else gets installed, that i didnt want to begin with, because of a dependency issue.
5. small download.
The only con that i have for crux, is that KDE is not part of the base system. Of course you can use the port sysem to download it and install it for you , but this takes hours. So i uaslly end up using wmaker, which is the default windows manger. which is great too, but i would like to have a decent file manager.
So, if your a current debian or slackware user, or a gentoo user thats doesnt want to spend the first 5 hours installing their system. then crux is for you.
It truely is FAST, Simple, and Advanced. but you do have the
skills of at least a debian or slackware user to start.
>> The amd k6-2 and k6-3 and possibly even the regural k-6
>> belong to the so called i686 class wich started with the
>> pentium pro / pentium II.
No, that’s incorrect. All the K6 CPUs are i586-compatible. Only athlons and above are i686-compatible.
So how ’bout that CRUX, eh?!
If a program is optimized for i686, it is not really optimized for the pentium 4. The core is very diffrent from the Pentium pro core, on which Pentium 2 and Pentium 3 were based.
By coincidence, or perhaps by intent from AMD, a program that is i686 optimized will be pretty optimized for Athlon also. But not as well optimized as a program specifically compiled for the athlon (or K7 if you will).
The pentium is sometimes referred to as i586, because the 5 is implied by the ‘pent’ part in the name, and on top of all that i586 was the name everyone expected for the chip. If you extrapolate this a little to the next intel architecture, the pentium pro/2/3, you will get that it would be an i686 if the pentium was an i586…
I guess if you’re goung to use the numbering scheme, the pentium 4 would be an i786, but really, They don’t name their processors by number anymore, so that’s pretty much a moot point.
I hope that clears things up.
Thank you Trent for probably the best post relating to this article. I am an avid Debian user, but you have peaked my interest in Crux. I’m grabbing the iso as I type this.
Thanks again.
Ok, you guys are seriously fucked up. Why must you always criticize the wording a Linux distro uses to describe itself?? Why not try using it for once!! Damn rejects…
Since when did installing CRUX involve compiling a kernel? I tried 0.9.3 and I never had to build a kernel. Ofcourse, I rebuilt the kernel later once I had CRUX installed, but the installation process never involved building anything.
Sorry for all the type’os, I’ve been using crux since 0.9.2 and I’ve love it.
Be sure to look over the manual
http://crux.nu/doc/handbook.html
And the user group if a great bunch of people
where you can often talk to the maintainers of crux
These guys are not stuck up, they’ll help you get thing set up.
irc.openprojects.net
That might be reason enongh to use CRUX