Nice 4MLinux Review by It's FOSS

zk1234 · 05-07-2018, 03:34 PM

Link:
https://itsfoss.com/4mlinux-review/

My comment about old and new computers.
1) OLD MACHINES.
During the boot 4MLinux Live CD checks how much RAM is available. When low RAM is detected, 4MLinux invites "elderly hardware" by loading only limited set of software. So yes, it's an old-computer-friendly behavior.

2) MODERN MACHINES.
During the boot 4MLinux Live CD checks how much RAM is available. When a modern computer is detected, 4MLinux invites "this youngster" by loading VLC, Chromium, GIMP, ..., with full 3D support. So it's a modern-computer-friendly behavior, too.

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zk1234 · 05-07-2018, 03:49 PM

One more remark for advanced users. If you wish to reproduce the 4MLinux behavior described above, do as follows:

1) Setup VirtualBox to use 1024MB of RAM. Boot the 4MLinux Live CD. Ty web browser, media player, and the like.
2) Now setup VirtualBox to use 2048MB of RAM. Boot the 4MLinux Live CD. Ty web browser, media player, and the like.

You'll be able to see clear differences in 4MLinux behavior.

PS.
It's not only about computer programs. 4MLinux also loads drivers/firmware optimized for either older machines or modern ones. For example, you can check the size of the /lib/firmware folder (scenario with 1024MB of RAM vs. scenario with 2048MB of RAM).

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zk1234 · 05-09-2018, 04:49 AM

Hi,

I am now preparing the final version of multimedia packages for 4MLinux 26.0 STABLE (to be released in a month). I would like to post one example here. This is a small script that starts xine:

Code:

#!/bin/ash
#
#
 export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/xine/ffmpeg:/opt/xine/lib
 FILE=$(echo $1 | sed 's/ /*/g')
 if [ -e /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-driver2d.conf ]; then
   exec /opt/xine/bin/xine -V xshm $FILE
   else
   if [ -e /usr/lib/vdpau ]; then
     exec /opt/xine/bin/xine $FILE
     else
     exec /opt/xine/bin/xine -V xv $FILE
   fi
 fi

This simple script checks if a dedicated display driver is loaded. Additionally, it checks if opengl support (mesa or nvidia) is available. Depending on the result, the script forces xine to use slow but save drivers, or it allows xine to choose and load one of opengl drivers. In other words, the script maximizes the chance to successfully start multimedia player even on older computer.

This example shows how it works. 4MLinux is lightweight/old-computer-friendly by its design (and not by the size of its installation CD).

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