FWIW: The kernel that was installed on my 1.5 system, from Tracy di Marco
White's ISO images, is 4749749 bytes.  After you subtract buffers and
other overhead, you wouldn't have much space left to swim in.  (^&
(I also remember people commenting that the memory use of the compiler
shot up significantly, a ways back.)

If you are willing to trust someone else to build a kernel for you, I'd
offer up some of my spare CPU cycles.  Send me a config file, and if it
compiles, I'll send the (1.5) kernel back.  (^& (I don't want to do that
too much; _my_ limitive factor is my (modem-based) pipe-line to the
Internet.)

However, if you aren't compiling much of anthing (especially if you're not
compiling a kernel or anything else big), and aren't running X, 8MB might
do, even with the default kernel.  But, if you can get memory for the old
beast for not too much money, it would probably be worth it.  (^&


I'm not sure what you mean by ``disabling'' the parallel port.  Unless
there's some benefit to doing so, you might hold off on that.  You never
know what someone might add.  Besides: The pc532-specific man-pages,
section 4, contain a plip entry.  They claim that ``The plip interface
appeared in NetBSD 1.0.''  The PLIP sources seem to be buried in the
pc532-specific lpt driver; there's some inline assembly in there...


  "I probably don't know what I'm talking about." --rauch@eecs.ukans.edu