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Topic: Not For Profit Needs Help!, DSL on older machines

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John

Group: Super Administrators
Posts: 697
Joined: Sep. 2003

Posted: Jan. 01 2004,22:10

Clivesay, good luck on your NFP. There is at least one other out there refurbishing PCs for charity and putting DSL on them. I have to agree with Cbagger01 that ICEwm would be the a good choice if you want an environment that is familiar to win98 users.

Back in October I flirted with incorporating ICEwm as a window manager option, even made a prototype ISO, but then I ended up scrapping the idea because of size constraints.

I just want to put a word of advocacy for sticking with Fluxbox. While it isn't familiar to those transitioning from Windows, it is very easy to use, and a very work efficient environment. Some time back I was reading an old newsgroup post about a man who had Blackbox on his computer. For those who do not know, Blackbox is what Fluxbox was originally based on and they are very similar though Blackbox has less features. When the man was away on business he left his PC on and his mother came over to take care of his plants and such. His mother never used a PC yet was able to navigate the Blackbox environment enough to send him an email the first time she sat down.

I think people think the standard MS-like environment is easy to use, but they are confusing familiar with easy. Give people the slightest amount of time a menu available at anyplace environment and many will never reach for the "start" button again.

clivesay

Group: Guests
Posts: 935
Joined: Dec. 2003

Posted: Jan. 01 2004,22:14

You guys are giving me a lot to consider. Thanks a lot for your input! Tonight I plan on dedicating a machine and installing DSL on the hard drive. After that, I will see what I can do.

Please keep an eye on this post and I'll post any issues/questions I have that I can't find in the other posts. When I get this moving, I can even post screenshots of what I have been able to do.

I know my big issue is going to be learning my way around the commands and understanding the structure of Linux in general.

Part of what has drawn me to Linux is seeing how helpful everyone is.

Thanks again.

Chris

Ken

Group: Members
Posts: 1
Joined: Jan. 2004

Posted: Jan. 01 2004,23:30

If your building PCs for kids, you might want to look at this LiveCD distro:

http://www.ofset.org/freeduc-cd/

Already set up with educational software, but probably needs pentium class PCs to run

clivesay

Group: Guests
Posts: 935
Joined: Dec. 2003

Posted: Jan. 02 2004,03:18

Ken -
Great info! Thanks!

I looked at the website. If I am understanding Linux correctly, Freeduc has the same base as DSL. That being the case, I can take the individual packages and install them into DSL? That may be a better route for me. I think I like the DSL desktop better.

I think I would like to have a good base OS and then be able to add packages based on the capabilities of the system. So a high-end computer could be jam packed full of cool software and a low end computer can be stripped to the minimum.

My idea is that anyone who is brought into the program would be able to check back and get an upgraded machine as their computing needs change. That way I can keep the PC's recycled through the organization and literally use them until they die.

I really want to get this thing going. I am getting ready to distribute my first few PC's loaded with Windows 98se. That's not really the direction I want to go. I just got through wrestling with a Windows install on an older computer for a friend!!

Chris

cbagger01

Group: Members
Posts: 4264
Joined: Oct. 2003

Posted: Jan. 02 2004,06:54

clivesay,

If you are looking for a Linux distribution that can be stripped down for older computers, yet packed full of software for the newer machines, I would recommend a Debian based Linux system like Debian (Official Version), Knoppix or Damn Small Linux.

Debian systems have an advantage because it is very easy to install packages (new programs) to your computer from the Debian servers on the Internet. If the new program that you selected requires some other additional programs or libraries (aka: Program X DEPENDS on program Y and Z in order to work properly), the installer will know this and automatically install all of the required stuff.

And even more important: You can easily upgrade your existing programs to the newer versions via the same Debian servers.

As for Window Managers, I like using Enlightenment and Fluxbox because you can access your "Start" menu by clicking on any part of the desktop that is not already covered up by a Window. For ICEWM and MSWindows, you need to drag your mouse pointer all the way down to the bottom left corner of the screen and click on the "Start" button in order to get this menu.

So there are definite advantages to abandoning the MSWindows-style desktop. But if you want people to use a different style, you will need to spend some (short) amount of time training them.

Good Luck

22 replies since Dec. 31 2003,21:02

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