On Fri, 23 Jan 2004, I. R. Veejay spake thusly:
The installation is the default desktop installation, with no customisation whatsoever. This system is a test system, that i installed to test this very fact. I have seen this happen on every linux box that I have come across, *regardless of m/c configuration*.
That is unfortunate. It dont happen to my machines.
One of my buddies commented to me once, and i quote - "The main reason why Linux is not very popular in cybercafe's is because apps like browsers & office applications take too long to open." And hence this discussion thread.
This is different. "Why does Linux access the HDD so much" is the thread. Open/Star office are bloated applications and they are extremely resource hungry. They are not at all the "typical" Unix/Linux application but rather a compatibility thing for people used to M$ crap. Mozilla takes some time to load but afterwards it is very fast. If you need a faster browser try galeon. But if your machine is idle then access to the HDD should be nominal.
If you plan to run GUI apps then 256Mb RAM recommended at the least.
BTW, a "typical" Unix/Linux app like LaTeX can help you get typesetting quality work done on a 386 with 8Mb RAM. I have done this. This is just an example. No need to blame the system if we cannot optimise for our use. GNU/Linux systems are extremely flexible because of the tremendous choice we have -- and for the same reason, sometimes, non-optimised.
Try not running XWindows and then see if the disk io continues.
If you have read my first post regarding this matter i specifically mentioned that this is obsererved *only in GUI mode*.
... and I did say "wading in late"
cheerio veejay