DSL Talk

Okay so my Mom was going to get some time on the new little computer and use it for her favorite (and only) activity on the computer.
She went to MSN and tried to play the little on line games they have.

ACK! it says I have to install Internet Explorer.

hmmm... lets try Yahoo mom.

ACK! again it says I have to install Internet Explorer.

Mom is not happy and neither am I.

She likes the little computer because, "It doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner."

Any one know of a good game site she might enjoy?

Melee.

You can download a Flash plugin for FireFox. There are plenty of games, some of them free, at the shockwave site.

Back in the day, when hardware was expensive "thin client" boxes seemed like a good idea. Now you can go to Tigerdirect and get a laptop for $100 and throw DSL or Debian on the thing and have a fully functional computer that does far more that surf the web.

By the way, I do have a small web browsing, solid-state device that is also wireless. Palm TX... $299 and dropping.

Internet appliances are like WebTV, they have no place in today's world.

The Thinknic has OLD USB. It is *not* even 1.1 but USB 1.0

DSL does have winmodem modules for the thinknic.

Are any of these boxes still available??
I couldnt even find them on ebay.

Well yes - you can often get a discount pc at the same price as a thin-client terminal. Nothimg new about that: that was also a fact 10 years ago.

But what it boils down to, is that TCO (total cost of ownership) is a lot higher for a corp. that sets up toys for the employees. In the Windows world, WinFrame (a terminal server ) has a reasonable steady turnover, and MS have kept evolving their servers on this area too.

Because the fact is, that people who use only the basic functions of a pc (which, - to some peoples surprise - is not games, but web & office ;-) would rather have a no-nonsense, silent, small-footprint appliance, than a big, booming and space-demanding macho-replacement box.

So - that's the argument for the hw.

As for the sw - i.e. the sw on the thin-client, and related stuff like DSL - there's a good argument too, which actually relates to the gamers as well ;-)

Microsoft has set a very bad standard in sw-development. They look at the facts: 1. peoples general sophistication does not evolve as fast as computers, and 2. computers still evolve very fast.

So why spend time on optimising your code, if the next generation (which will be around when you release the new version of your sw), will compensate for your poor programming?

IF the basics of Windows was revorked, reengineered and rethinked, you could probably boost performance by minimum a factor 2. But they probably think: why bother - that would just reduce our turnover in X-Boxes!

But we are still a few, who do not see the beauty in e.g. the messy internet-environment (7-bit anachronistic artefact), the voluminous windows-environment, etc., and are capable of appreciating the beauty of optimising.

So - what's your taste? Bauhaus or barok? Take your pick, and I will not blame you, if don't like mine. But don't blame me either: each to his own taste, the world is big enough for both ;-)

I have the same problem with the outdated software that came with the NIC. I tried using LTSP with this unit but found it far too slow. I found that DSL was the best fit. However, I want to make changes to the image and I've been on a wild goose chase trying to find documentation.

Here's what I want to do:
1. Remove the delay from the boot menu
2. Remove the icons from the desktop with the exception of Firefox
3. Add Flash player to the image
4. Change the first program to launch to Firefox with a different URL
5. Possibly remove software that is not needed

I have been successful in making some of the changes, but then I try running "Make myDSL CD" and the changes aren't kept on the new CD! I know there is more documentation that I am missing since I see references to making a profile.tar.gz (or something similar, I'm going from memory).

Any help or URLs would be appreciated!

Scott

PS. I have 3 of these units.

I have some cheap if you are to buy some wrightkiller@juno.com