Knoppix for Rapid Desktop Deployment 343
heretic108 writes "From first boot to full desktop in 20 minutes! Knoppix has shot into the spotlight as a GNU/Linux distro suitable for demonstrating quality Open Source Software, standing out for its ability to self-configure itself into a vast range of hardware, and to run entirely off a CD boot without interfering with any existing system setup. That, plus its fat catalogue of pre-installed desktop software. But OSS enthusiast David McNab has poked a bit deeper, and found that Knoppix can install itself to disk, resulting in a completely configured GNU/Linux desktop system, ready to use, in 20 minutes, hassle free. CD no longer needed! Best of both worlds - use as a GNU/Linux demo disk, and if the user likes it, it's a snap to install permanently. I can't think of any distro that comes close to this, for ease and speed of setup. I found McNab's short Knoppix Installation Howto which gives a very brief and easy guide. With this rapid setup ability, Debian-based Knoppix makes a great contribution to the catalogue."
Re:Big Deal (Score:2, Insightful)
I've got to respect this.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I don't care about having 10 different editors, but I'm sure some people do. I can almost live entirely off of the redhat 8.0 personal desktop (I have other machines to compile on), save for the lack of mp3-ability out of the box (freshrpms, I love you) and dvd-ability (again, go freshrpms). But the ability to do something like this, be able to just install it on to a hard drive, type a single command for updates, no registering or anything, and continue on, is very nice.
I think this years install fest will see a lot more debian installs than it will redhat or mandrake because of this.
irresponsible (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, Windows sucks. If it's having that many problems, see if you can roust up a copy of Win2000 or WinXP. But if you force your girlfriend to use Linux, she will probably end up frustrated and hating it (and maybe even hating you).
Then, in a few years, when Linux is ready for the desktop (if that happens) then she won't want to try it.
If you really think Windows sucks too much for her to use, maybe you should look into getting her a Mac. Forcing nontechnical people to use Linux is not the way to win friends, or spread good feelings for the operating system.
Re:irresponsible (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you have a good metric for testing whether Linux is ready for the desktop? I'm not sure that it is, but it's got to be better than the shit she's struggling with now.
We're starving university students, therefore Macs are entirely out of the question (she's wanted a Mac ever since reading Microserfs). I doubt her aging hardware's ability to run Win2k (or else I would have already tried it) and so it's even less likely to handle XP. But really, should a new computer be required just to word process, web browse (including multimedia content), and listen to music? (Seriously, that's all she does. But for some reason WindowsME can't even do that.)
Include Knoppix with magazines! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Easiest Debian install??? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:irresponsible (Score:4, Insightful)
Wha? No, wrong. My mother ain't technical and can use Linux just fine.
What you should say is do not force a non-technical person to ADMIN a Linux box. But then again, you shouldn't let a non-technical person admin any box unless you want to have to fix it every other week. I have to keep cleaning all of the games off of my Aunt's computer because she doesn't understand the concepts of "limited hard drive space" and "uninstalling stuff" no matter how short I make the words I use.
Re:Including non-free? (Score:1, Insightful)
What really bothers me about your post, though, is that it sounds like you make no effort to troubleshoot the system. Granted, Windows 9x and ME don't have the troubleshooting tools (like the Event Viewer) that 2000/XP do, but you should have at least made an effort to figure out what the problem was, instead of just blaming Windows. You're a Debian user, yet Windows has "weird technical problems" and you don't get to the bottom of it? I don't get it. It's quite possibly a hardware problem that won't be resolved by a software upgrade. You need to make the effort to figure out the problem before you go reformatting anything.
Re:Including non-free? (Score:3, Insightful)
The commenter's original problem was that Windows kept crashing. He was looking for an alternative that his girlfriend would be happy with. No one could come up with a suitable Linux distro given his requirements, and one person suggested he buy her a Mac or just reinstall Windows and not let her install the addin crap. He said he had the problems even with fresh installs of Win98, Win98SE and WinME.
I have 7 years of professional experience with Win95, almost 3 years of professional experience with Windows 2000 and Windows NT and various experience with the other Windows versions. Windows 2000 is much more stable than what he used and fills his girlfriend's needs.
I am pro GNU/Linux, but it's not for everyone, and it's not a multimedia desktop OS for someone who doesn't want to tinker, and if you want Real Player, Flash and "the ability to play as many multimedia files as possible" (from the original question) then any distro of GNU/Linux or *BSD requires much tinkering.
Personally I think she'd be better off with a Mac. I have a serious woody for Mac OS X, but I don't run it because Apple hardware is just too darn expensive. If someone has the money to burn I'd recommend a Mac with OS X now.
By the way, Microsoft says the latest version is better because that's how they make their money. God forbid everyone finds out that Word 95 makes docuements just as well and easy as Word 2002.
In one year, you'll still say "There's your problem right there, Windows 2003 is much more stable than Windows 2000".
Not me. Windows 2000 is the best Windows I've seen so far. Screw XP. It's Win2k with DRM and eye candy.
If someone shot you last week, but only stabbed you this week, you don't have to thank them.
Cute, but show me a desktop OS that you can convince my users to use and my Fortue 500 company IT staff will support and convince the world that MS Word
I did overlook one possibility for his girlfriend's problems: It might be the hardware. It could be a flaky power supply or bad RAM, and then no OS will help his problems. In fact a true 32-bit OS would exacerbate a hardware issue.