I just noticed that Busybox 1.00 has been released. If you aren’t familiar with it, Busybox is a software package that provides about 90% of what you need to build a simple Linux system (init, shell, cp/mv/ls/rm, ifconfig, dhcp, etc). It’s commonly used in embedded systems and on install disks.

I’ve found it fantastically useful on a number of occasions, just because it makes it so easy to build your own miniature Linux distribution for things like recovery disks, install disks, appliances, and so forth. Busybox, a kernel, a couple empty directories, a few devices in /dev, and a bootloader, and you’re set to go.