I may be in the minority but I’ve just about had it with Operating System bloat in regard to nearly all available OSes out there. It just doesn’t make sense to continue to update a PC with gigs of ram, power-intensive cpus, etc… to do what operating systems of 20+ years ago were able to do. (Yes, I was able to play mp3’s, play videos and surf the net on even a DOS system - not to mention the capabilities of other commercial multi-tasking OSes of that era).

A highly optimized Windows XP may fit the bill but after a couple of months of usage (plus all the protection necessary to stay safe - real-time virus scanners, registry protectors, aggressive firewalls, etc) - a clean install is required several times a year.

Apple’s OS, though I’ve never used it, also seems to require the same level of hardware support/investment. The BSD’s, notetably PC-BSD, seems to be getting heavier with each new release (though I’m still looking it over). eComstation’s OS/2 would probably blast-off on today’s hardware but at a price that few can afford (a shame, it’s still a great OS).

QNX is out. They still haven’t a clue about reaching out to the general consumer. Also a shame since this RTOS could have been on every netbook and MID out there by now making these devices the better for it. There’s also Solaris (in the form of OpenSolaris and it’s offshots) which I need to look at but in reading the specs - they already feel overloaded. Speed-Demon OSes like Amgia and RiscOS are way, way behind the curve as far as applications go, including ports to the x86 architecture if it ever happens.

That leaves Linux and the light-distros. I’m writing this via Puppy Linux but it lacks the polish still of an OS I can depend on and possibly recommend. DSL, a favorite of mine is about as fast as they come but a bit short on features. Perhaps SLAX will be the middle-ground champ or SliTaz (trouble getting this to install).

Finally, I think that alot of users are looking for a modern OS (GUI, multi-tasking, multi-user??, support for all the latest software&hardware technology) that’s also lean and mean. One OS for all your devices…

Articles like these and the success of these lightweight OSes point to a userbase looking for exactly that.