[vox] SuSE Bloat

[Bob Scofield]

I just love SuSE, but got nervous a year or so ago reading an interview with a 
Novell executive.  The interviewer asked about the fact that SuSE 9.2 
requires 128 megs of RAM.  The exec explained that Novell Linux development 
was based upon corporate needs, and no longer based upon the needs of the 
individual user.

Because of that statement I began to wonder about having to switch to a distro 
that would always be around for the individual.  This is what got me into 
Debian.  And in fact I'm planning to take SuSE off my desktop this summer and 
to go 100% with Debian on the desktop.  I might buy a laptop in the fall, and 
always thought I'd put SuSE on a laptop.

Last night I read that SuSE 10.0 requires 256 megs, and that 510 megs is 
recommended.  Isn't this a bit much?  How do other distros stack up in 
comparison?  Do people think SuSE is getting out of hand here, or is this the 
norm for any contemporary desktop whether it be Windows or Linux?

Thank you.

Bob