[school-discuss] Linux Laptop

[Joel Kahn <jj2kk4@xxxxxxxxx>]

From the responses to my last posting, I can see that
I am still not making my situation clear enough. Here
is some more info that may help.

Awhile back I purchased the book "Point & Click Linux"
that includes the Mepis liveCD. The first machine that
I tried it out on was an old Win98 box with only 128MB
of RAM, a four gig hard drive, and a *really* yucky
video card. Still, the distro ran OK from CD-ROM, and
the install to the HD when I finally took the plunge
wasn't too bad either. However, I still have trouble
using the computer's CD writer, and I also run into
some issues when I try to install new apps--mostly, I
think, due to my own remaining ignorance of Linux, and
lack of time to learn all of the stuff that I need to.

There is old hardware around, both at school and home,
that I could bring together to make a small
thin-client test setup; there is just not enough time
to set up such a thing--not to mention the lack of
support from the people around me. "Don't rock the
boat" is a strong message coming from all directions.
Questioning the Windows orthodoxy here really tends to
be interpreted as challenging authority.

A well-configured Linux laptop, over which I had
complete control, would be something that I could use
specifically where and when I needed it. Unlike the 
Knoppix-Mepis-liveCD-style scenario, a laptop can be
taken into any room that may be the best place for me
to meet someone, whether that room has a computer
already or not; also, if everything on the laptop has
been set up the way it should be in the first place, I
won't have to worry about any kind of local
hardware-specific glitches making Linux look bad to
skeptical (if not downright hostile) observers who
don't know any better. I know that setting up a demo
thin-client network would be the best way to show what
the real FLOSS benefits can be, but I'm just not in a
good position to do that in the near term.

If nobody in this group is in a good position to help
me out directly, perhaps I should be looking at some
kind of grant from the appropriate FLOSS-related
organization. I'm open to suggestions. . . .

JK


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