It seemed like just yesterday that Windows 95 could be installed from 3.5" floppy disks. (Of course, there were still many computers out there without a CD-ROM.) Windows XP was the last Windows OS that could be installed from CD. Vista and 7 can only be installed from a DVD. Since I've only been using Linux since early 2007, I have no memory of a time when Linux could be installed from floppy disks. But I remember that back in 2007-2008, all distros could be installed from a CD. In the last few years, more and more distros have been requiring a DVD. For example, the latest version of MEPIS Linux requires a DVD, while all previous versions fit onto a CD. I expect that within a few years, only lightweight distros will fit onto a CD. This has me wondering how soon it will be before operating systems require a Blu-Ray disc simply because the 4.7 GB of a DVD is too small. I think there is a slight chance that Windows 8 will require a Blu Ray. If it doesn't, I think Windows 9 will. And I think that the biggest BSD distros (like PC-BSD) and Linux distros (like Pinguy) will require Blu Ray in a few years. I intend to keep the Swift Linux ISO small enough to fit onto a CD for the next several years. I know I'll have to cave eventually, but I need to make sure that when I do, the last holdouts will be limited to the likes of Puppy Linux, SliTaz, TinyCore, and other distros famous for tiny ISO files. -- Jason Hsu Founder and lead developer of Swift Linux http://www.swiftlinux.org