[Ubuntu PA] NTR Laptop Project: need volunteers

[Kevin Valentine]

Mike,

Don't worry if you can't help right now.  If things go as planned, this
project should be around for a long time.  It sounds like you'll be an
excellent resource in our IRC channel.  Perhaps we can dedicate one
night out of the week in the channel for heavy laptop discussions.

Jim and I have been immersed in DSL discussions lately.  Initially I was
suggesting Puppy but then changed my mind after getting more familiar
with DSL.  The main issue we had with Puppy is that it dropped
framebuffer support a while back.  On many old laptops, the vesa or xorg
server will not work or is just buggy/unreliable.  Your only option is
to use the framebuffer.  It's provides slower graphics but it's very
reliable.

We've also been working a lot with CompactFlash to IDE (2.5") adapters. 
This makes the laptops virtually indestructible.  They also boot faster
and consume less power.  With NTR's connections and NPO status, we may
be able to get a deal on 512MB CF cards and the adapters.  From what
I've experienced, most of the laptops hard drives need to be replaced
anyway so this would be a nice upgrade.

At least for the laptops we're doing for the MALT Laptop project, we
have settled on DSL 3.4.8.  We've tried DSL 4.x but weren't very
satisfied with the new look and feel.  Puppy is still on the table for
laptops with enough memory and a decent graphics card.

-kevin


silvertip257 wrote:
> You are tempting me ... I've already got myself neck-deep in other
> projects and school.
> I absolutely love the speed at which DSL boots up and I love the
> feature-packed PuppyLinux.
> I rather doubt there will be a shortage of salvaged laptops + desktops
> anytime soon, so I'll be in luck for something over break, etc.
>
> For speed choose DSL (4.2 is looking interesting).
> For features + speed (although -slightly- slower boot time than DSL)
> choose Puppy.  The difference is the image size - 50MB DSL vs. <100MB
> Puppy.
>
> I would recommend using Puppy 3.xx b/c it's compatible with Slackware
> 12.0 and it most likely will have more pre-built (and recent) packages
> than DSL.  But by all means choose what works and/or your preference.
>
> -- When my hard drive ' died ' a week ago, I used DSL for 3 days
> straight (no reboots) as a test on DSL and my loyalty :).  What I
> discovered was there are some ' limitations ' in the package area that
> I disliked for DSL, but obviously if I knew more about building
> packages I could cure that problem!
>
> Mike
>
> On Jan 13, 2008 11:29 PM, Kevin Valentine <kevin.valentine at gmail.com
> <mailto:kevin.valentine at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     John A Back wrote:
>     > Hi Kevin,
>     >
>     > I am happy to help and your Saturday plan sounds fine. Will we be
>     > working at NTR on Bradywine Street in Philly?
>     >
>     > Being a relatively new convert to Linux and open source I will
>     need a
>     > little assistance in getting started but my experience goes back
>     to 70's
>     > and the Radio Shack Trash80 along with the Apple II so I'll be an
>     > independent worker in short order.
>     >
>     > Are you thinking of next Saturday the 19th?
>     >
>     > Looking forward to helping,
>     > John
>
>     Thanks John, glad you can help.  Yes, the tentative plan is to meet at
>     NTR on the 19th.  I got a reply from Stan saying that between 12
>     and 2pm
>     would be good for him.  Another guy we really want to talk to is
>     Ayende
>     but he's in a board meeting with Stan until noon.  I'll show you
>     around
>     and you may get a demo of a salvaged laptop.
>
>     Hah, I had a Trash80 when I was a kid.  Fun stuff!  We'll be using
>     DSL
>     and Puppy with these laptops.  In the mean time, take a look at
>     the DSL
>     and Puppy sites for more info:
>     http://damnsmalllinux.org/
>     http://puppylinux.org/
>
>     -kevin
>
>     --
>     Ubuntu-us-pa mailing list
>     Ubuntu-us-pa at lists.ubuntu.com <mailto:Ubuntu-us-pa at lists.ubuntu.com>
>     Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
>     https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-pa
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> //  SilverTip257  //
> ==========================
>   ~
>  · ·
>  /V\
> // \\
> /(   )\
> ^`~´^