I'd like to build a Linux install on a machine I have, an old IBM PS/2-70, which has 8MB of memory, 160MB of HD space, and is a 386. What I'd like to have on this box is Debian Linux (slink, probably, until frozen happens), X, AbiWord, Gnumeric, some kind of accounts package (anything that can handle home and simple business accounts), dosemu, a DOS program (not massive in size) for which I do not believe there is a freely available Linux equivalent, and a few documents, converted from their current WordPerfect for DOS (!) format to AbiWord.
Am I vastly over-reaching the capabilities of the machine? Problems I foresee:
o X in 8MB, ouch. Is this vastly unlikely? Is there a smaller version of X than XFree86? I seem to recall something called Micro-X existing, but I can't find any trace of it any more, so perhaps it was my deluded imagination. o Shortage of HD space in general -- will I get all that lot into 160MB less swap? I think so -- the box doesn't need a great deal of space free once it's been built, just enough to hold documents created in the apps specified. o It's a PS/2, which means it isn't upgradeable for any small amount of money, so no suggestions about doing something like putting more RAM in it :) o It only has a floppy drive -- no CDROM, it won't take an internal modem because the PS/2s had weirdness connectors, and I'm not buying an external modem just for this project. I can presumably get hold of a null modem cable and install from *this* slink box using SLIP or PPP or something and doing a network install, assuming I build a suitable Debian boot diskette, which is the best plan so far.
Suggestions? Comments? Laughter? :-)
Aq.
PS. While I think about it, yes, I shall almost certainly come to ALUG{28,6} in Aylsham, since I now have a daughter (born Monday evening, 11.12pm), and therefore don't need to necessarily worry about having to be here every minute of every day, so I may try and put this plan into action that day :)