Edubuntu 8.04 query

[CLIFFORD ILKAY]

Derek Broughton wrote:
> CLIFFORD ILKAY wrote:
> 
>> Bret Busby wrote:
>>> We just have to give up on Edubuntu, as unworkable.
> 
> Really, that's unfair.  "Too much work", perhaps.
> 
>>> It is one thing to demonstrate a LiveCD or LiveDVD, for which we can
>>> provide a confident assurance "This will not make any changes to your
>>> computer", but, to have to say "We will install this operating system,
>>> with which you are completely unfamiliar, and we will have to rearrange
>>> your hard drive and make changes to computer, to show you this operating
>>> system and its applications that you might find useful", is pushing luck
>>> too far.
> 
> So install to a USB stick.  It'll be faster than the CD and last week I saw
> a 16GB USB stick for $15.

You would still have the problem below.

>> It's silly to demonstrate something on someone else's computer. Why
>> can't you take your own computer already pre-loaded with Linux? Do you
>> really want to show up not having a clue about what sort of hardware the
>> person whom you're trying to convince has, only to find out that it has
>> some weird NIC or video card that isn't well (or at all) supported by
>> whatever Linux distro you're promoting? 
> 
> Good point.  It's becoming more unusual to find such a case, but it still
> happens.

I've had problems with support for Intel Q965 graphics chipsets with
some distros. Certain WiFi NICs are an adventure to get working. You
might be able to get the NIC working, eventually, after all sorts of
contortions, by which time, the eyes of the person whom you're trying to
impress will have glazed over and they will be thinking, "This Linux
stuff is clearly only for geeks." Whether it's booting from a live CD or
a live USB key, it's risky to demonstrate on a machine you don't know.
Most people have never installed any operating system, including
Windows, so they have no idea that Windows can actually be a greater
pain to install than Linux. However, if they see you fiddling around
with the machine trying to get the WiFi or graphics working on Linux,
they wouldn't know that Windows can be just as difficult, though not
necessarily in the same ways.
-- 
Regards,

Clifford Ilkay
Dinamis
1419-3266 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
Canada  M4N 3P6

<http://dinamis.com>
+1 416-410-3326
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