Which hardware?

[Knut Yrvin]

Fredag 16 juni 2006 11:23, skrev Herman Bos:
> I don't see the advantage of "smarter booting". At least we rarely
> reboot our terminal servers.

It's schools that often turn off the power on the thin client. The 
reason is to save power and to prevent a heat problem. When having 15 
thin clients that uses 200 W, it gets really hot in the classroom. Then 
faster (or smart) booting gives an effect when using LTSP-clients, and 
15 pupils starts up the LTSP-box at once. 

> I would say use Epiphany instead of Firefox. Firefox is a monster.

Or Konquerer ;)

The main issue choosing a web browser is the support for plug-ins and 
multimedia, and the support for broken html from web sites. If Java, 
Flash, Mplayer, decss and other "plugins" is not installed, the 
teachers hate you. I'm sorry to say that when it comes to plug-ins 
Firefox is the answer, and even then to much job has to be done to 
install the plug-ins after the main installation. 

I know that Oliver proudly says you should run a script. But to be fair, 
with ubuntus resources to much job is done for the end user or a 
sys.adm at the schools to please the trade regulations in US, and not 
the trade regulation in e.g Nordic contries and EU. And then the 
installation is to difficult. It is guides and software out there that 
makes things easier but this could be done even more easy: 

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Dapper
http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/

In the Nordic contries it's the movie and record industry that breaking 
the law when preventing people to make computer programs that 
interoperates.  

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article696330.ece
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1342991.ece

It's understandable that Canonical taking the least dominator when 
making the *ubuntu distroes, but making computer programs for 
interoperability, or for making a plugin that plays media stream or a 
encrypted file, is to follow the law in e.g Norway. 

So Norwegian and most of the Scandinavian laws protects the consumer
more than the DMCA (of 1998) does in US (where the corporate lobby
organisations owns the politicians where in Norway the are the
consumer, the artists, and the libraries that was listened to). The
ministers for culture in Denmark, Norway and France is pretty clear
the right to fair use even if using DRM, and the consumer authorities
is following this up. 

So what I'm saying is that there will be advantages for the user making 
the installation of proprietary plug-ins more easy, even if everything 
should be replaced asap with free software in general. But were net 
there yet :)

Thanks 

Knut Yrvin