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approximates a text-based alternative to the Desktop's system tray.

In Intrepid, the primary user of update-motd is landscape-sysinfo,
which provides some useful statistics about the current system.

In Jaunty, we have already added hooks to update-notifier to provide
the number of updates available, and when a system restart is required
using update-motd.  I have a few more ideas about programs that could
"grow" update-motd hooks, and I'm sure you can think of a few too...

My question to you is about the stock /etc/motd used in Ubuntu, pasted
here for convenience:

--------
    Linux t61p 2.6.27-8-generic #1 SMP Thu Nov 6 17:38:14 UTC 2008 x86_64

    The programs included with the Ubuntu system are free software;
    the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
    individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

    Ubuntu comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by
    applicable law.

    To access official Ubuntu documentation, please visit:
    http://help.ubuntu.com/
--------

This "stock" information is provided by /etc/motd.tail (plus the uname
line).  update-motd is currently using this, because, well, we always
have.

I'm curious if the "free software" and "no warranty" paragraphs are
still necessary/useful?  Do they belong in the MOTD, printed *every*
time a user logs onto a system on the command line?

My thought is that these aren't exactly "Messages of the Day" (and we
really now have the capability to make the MOTD be "Messages of the
Day").  They're more like the "tips" you get the first time you open
Gimp, or something.  Would it be better to display these on first
boot, or first-login, and then stow them away elsewhere, and leave
/etc/motd to the more interesting, dynamic messages that provide
relevant information about your system?


-- 
:-Dustin