When comparing SliTaz vs Slax, the Slant community recommends SliTaz for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?” SliTaz is ranked 27th while Slax is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose SliTaz is:
The core liveCD is only 35 megabytes. The boot-from-internet option fits on a floppy.
Specs
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Pros
Pro One of the smallest distributions with desktop GUI
The core liveCD is only 35 megabytes. The boot-from-internet option fits on a floppy.
Pro Very fast
Pro Can add desktop effects
SliTaz has a feature called "Desktop Effects" which can add shadow or fade effects to windows.
Pro Very customizable
SliTaz is very customizable. You can programatically edit and change anything you want on how the OS looks or behaves.
Pro Persistent changes
Changes you make in the configuration persist if you run from USB.
Pro Pretty fast to boot up
It was considerably fast to turn on when booting from cd.
Pro Modules
Standard tar archives plus some simple shell scripting produces modules that you can load dynamically into the OS for added apps and functionality.
Pro Modern desktop
Pro Small footprint
About 200mb, but with a full KDE4 environment and loads of useful apps.
Cons
Con Install instructions are in French
When first booting SliTaz from a USB or from a Live CD, the installation instructions are in French.
Con Not much variety as to available applications
SliTaz does not have as many applications in its repositories as the bigger distros such as Ubuntu.
Con Overly complicated HDD/SSD installation
While it has a nice layout Slax's lack of an installer tool like Tinycore's just can't be justified. It seems strange that it comes built in with programs that some users may not want, yet it doesn't have an easy way to install it. Due to its heavier use of RAM, built in software, and lack of an installer its hard to choose it over TC.
Con Works slowly on old computers
Con Infrequent releases
Since Slax is maintained by only one person, releases are not that frequent. So it may take a while to get bug fixes or new features once you start using it.