I see that the size of the ISO file for the full edition of version M11 has ballooned to 680 MB. Given that a CD can only hold 700 MB, it appears certain that future versions of antiX Linux will need cutbacks to avoid requiring a DVD, especially given the space needed to support more languages.

What packages and features is antiX Linux planning to cut in future releases? I'm interested, because I'm the founder and lead developer of the derivative distro Swift Linux. I have to cut packages and features (like themes, wallpapers, language support, extra editors, etc.) in order to make room for OpenOffice 2.4.1 and still fit everything on a CD.

I downloaded both antiX M11 and the antiX-base.

The main release, as you said is bigger and has many Apps that I will never use.
And a few I would replace with others that are on my favorites list.
The antiX-main version also, opens to IceWM (which I like) and the user can choose to make the switch to using Fluxox. All of these things, while not as bloated as Gnome or KDE, will still add to the overall size of the distro.

The antiX-base .iso is much smaller and default to using the FluxboxWM. (I have grown to love Fluxbox)
This release, is also a 'slimmed-down' version, while not losing any of the functionality of antiX or Debian.

Personally, I prefer antiX-base as it has everything I need ... pretty much"outta da box"
The antiX Devs that worked on 'base' did an awesome job.

Instead of cutting 'too much' out of antiX to keep it down to under 700Mb -- use or adjust the config and default items/Apps in the -base release.

Now, for my opinion:

With the progress of technology and computers having a considerable increase on processor speeds, RAM and hard-drive memory. (even for the cheaper computers, netbooks and laptops) People wanting more and more from their OS and desktop -- I believe that the LiveCD or basic .iso files is going to become impossible to maintain on a CD. DVD's are the future of Linux, and you can see that most of the big-name distros are, already, well over 1 Gb for an .iso

So 'trying' to keep antiX (main) under the CD max. size limit, is or may not be feasible.

As from kernel 2.6.38, xz compression allows for a better compression, so something that is now compressed to 700MB will go down to around 600MB, maybe lower. antiX-full will always fit on a cd, even if that means some apps get removed. Not sure what to remove, if we have to, though.

Also, as swift is only for en localisation, you save a lot of space by removing the non-en locales.

I'm looking forward to the greater compression. I'm now wondering what type of compression Puppy Linux is using.

Yes, I do cut back on language support for Swift Linux - only English is supported. Given that English is my first language (German is my second but rusty) and all of my help pages, forums, etc. for Swift Linux are in English, I can't imagine how I can support multiple languages or why people who prefer other languages would use Swift Linux. At least the more popular distros have people who can support more languages. I hope that antiX Linux becomes a popular base for more distros. In my opinion, antiX is the Ubuntu of the lower part of the Linux market. (Swift Linux plays the role of Linux Mint.)

Some other changes I make:
1. I eliminate all WMs except IceWM. IceWM is user-friendly and appeals to the users of Windows XP, Ubuntu, Mint, and Puppy who make up my target market. I figure that people who want Fluxbox, DWM, etc. would prefer antiX over Swift.
2. I eliminate many of the command-line-only applications that are duplicates of graphical applications. I can't imagine any reason the average user would prefer Nano over Leafpad or Geany or MC over Rox-Filer and Thunar.

You'd be surprised on the"terminal" apps. Nano is very handy when X won't run, and MC will mount an iso without any real hard work on the part of the user. I use it all the time to extract the antix file system from the iso. plus they are small and fast.

@swift: You won't gain much space by removing or letting away cli-apps. They are tiny.
Remove something of the bigger gui-apps and you gain as much space as for all cli-tools altogether (say abiword, gimp, like that).
Besides that: like said in the previous post they are very handy.
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anticapitalista wrote: antiX-full will always fit on a cd,

that are good news. Most of my old PCs ain't got DVD, and if i plug in a DVD-Rom it does not work. CDs are cheap too, DVDs are not.
Does not say i would not use it if it was on a DVD, only that CDs have got their advantages.