by sgosnell » 2021-01-02 16:10
Well, one has to use what is available, of course. But technology keeps advancing, and that cannot be stopped. The rest of the world will not continue to use obsolete media or hardware just to cater to the small percentage of people who only have decades-old equipment. 5.25" floppies are no longer available, and software keeps growing in size. I don't see that changing soon. If your machine will only boot from a CD drive, you're going to be left with few options. Regrettably, that's the reality. Ancient hardware generally requires equally ancient software. Early Debian versions are still available for download. But going forward, newer versions won't fit on a CD, just as no modern OS will fit on a single floppy drive, nor a 10MB hard drive. It's not ideal, but it's reality.
Take my advice, I'm not using it.