Since 10.0.18, every release also contains a small "retro" variant.
Unlike the "normal" or Xwayland variants, this one:
-
Is compressed using xz, like an traditional, "official" Puppy release: it boots slower and applications take more time to start
-
Is optimized for size, not speed: pretty much any feature that reduces CPU consumption or RAM consumption but increases size (like userspace drivers for GPU-accelerated video decoding), is removed: expect reduced battery life and performance across the board
-
Reduces the selection of firmware: still way more generous than what you'd find in an "official" Puppy release, but you'll need to install AMD firmware yourself if you need it
-
Doesn't support DKMS (out-of-tree drivers) and has no devx: if you need extra drivers, you'll need to load the kernel sources SFS, install development packages like GCC, and build the drivers yourself (it might be a good idea to do this in a "live" boot, in a separate installation or a virtual machine)
-
Doesn't support Bluetooth (most notably, Bluetooth audio), like a "traditional" Puppy: Blueman and associated packages (like bluez and extra Bluetooth firmware) are removed; if you want Bluetooth support, you'll need to add it yourself
-
Uses the "traditional" PPM: apt, Synaptic, automatic run-as-spot for newly installed applications, automatic menu update and Flatpak are removed
-
Uses the "traditional" SNS: connman and UIs for it (connman-ui and connman-gtk) are removed
-
Has very few preinstalled applications
-
Doesn't include extra fonts: no CJK fonts and no emoji, unless you install extra fonts yourself
-
Doesn't include extra themes
(The kernel is the one used by the other variants)
This is a very very barebones Puppy. If you reduce the firmware selection even further or change to an old kernel, you can build a highly customized but modern Puppy that's way smaller than any modern offering and even the 4+ years old BionicPup. I know there is interest in something like these, and some Puppy users are interested in using the smallest Puppy that works for them.
Unless you're a Puppy "purist" who wants a very "traditional" Puppy or someone who wants a very barebones Puppy that can be customized, think twice before you choose this variant over the others. The other variants will probably perform much better out-of-the-box, and it won't be easy to achieve the same degree of polish yourself.
Last warning, in case you're still sure you want this: