DSL Ideas and Suggestions :: Diff file for new releases

I tried running Xdelta just on the KNOPPIX cloop file but there was no significant improvement.

Looks like it would have to be done the hard way, as thehatsrule suggests.

Regards Phil

I thought I would give this a try and put it on a torrent site.

http://linuxtracker.org/browse.php?cat=104

regards Phil

I can't imagine the xdelta would be that large, unless Robert made som wholesale changes.

Maybe I'll take a peek in the Mepislovers forum and see exactyl how they are doing this.

Chris

I've resisted commenting because I don't see the benefit of basically remastering ISOs with each release, but I'm curious why it would appeal to someone. I know there are people without broadband, but I think that's increasingly the exception to the rule. I'm just trying to understand the cost:benefit (50MB versus something that either comes on a DVD or stripped to fit on a CD) of it.

I especially don't understand this when I put it in perspective of 50MB of data. Most people don't give second thought about streaming video from youtube or downloading other multimedia content whether audio or video or images, usually at transfer rates much greater than required to download one 50MB ISO. Most people who visit youtube will stream much more than 50MB of video at any given time. Ten to thirteen MP3s is about one DSL ISO. I download at least that much in podcasts and other content daily. So what's a new ISO every couple weeks?

If you have bandwidth restrictions, there are probably other ways around it like if DSL were to offer a subscription so you could pay $X and receive each new ISO as released. There are already services where you can order cheap ISOs (not a plug) online if it's a problem and John already sells single DSL CDs:
http://damnsmalllinux.org/cd.html

Lucky13,

I just saw this as someone inquiring whether they could get just the changes over a connection such as dialup without having to grab 50mb. That is a very large file for dialup and many rural places in my area are suffering with dialup on noisy phonelines...eww! There is an entire subdivision that is built around a lake that can only get 28k connection. With xdelta, you get the patch, add it to the old iso to create a current iso. I think it's a cool tool though I don't know why the patch between 4.1 and 4.2rc is a little over 38mb.

Guess my point is that it never hurts to experiment and see what can be done. DSL wouldn't even have to support something like this. It's not supported officially in Mepis but the community manages it.

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