On 12/26/05, Robert Citek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Three questions: > > 1) would folks here recommend Kubuntu or Ubuntu on a low-end machine: > 450 MHz, <128 MB RAM, 6 GB HDD?
Not many current distributions will work on such hardware. > 2) how scriptable is the install for either? Most installers are scriptable. Finding someone who can script it is another story. > 3) how good is modem support with either? All current distributions support modems. But do they include simple, GUI configurators? > Background: > ByteWorks[1] is a local not-for-profit that takes old computers, > fixes them up, and uses them to teach children (elementary and middle- > school) how to run applications. The children get to take the > computers home after a course or two on using the computer. > Currently, they are running Windows 98 but have run out of licenses > and are looking into signing up as an MAR[2] with Microsoft. So, > they are looking into alternatives, including Linux. Depending on how big this project is and the expertise of the people supporting it, you should either consider building your own custom distribution from Debian GNU/Linux or using one of its decendants tailored for children and/or low-end hardware. There is a reason Debian is the basis for all the new distributions: it is well organized and very modular (due to the distributed contribution model). This makes it easily customizable, i.e., you can make something for children that runs on low-end hardware. Here are some examples: SkoleLinux: http://www.skolelinux.org/portal/ Debian Jr: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-jr/index Edubuntu: http://www.edubuntu.org/ Debian-based distros: http://www.debian.org/misc/children-distros.en.html > The criteria for ranking include speed and applications. On a low- > end machine would Kubuntu run faster than Ubuntu? XFCE is a nice x-session-manager that is significantly faster than KDE or GNOME, but more fully-featured than the ``lightweight'' window managers. http://www.xfce.org/ dd -- David Dooling _______________________________________________ CWE-LUG mailing list [email protected] http://www.cwelug.org/ http://www.cwelug.org/archives/ http://www.cwelug.org/mailinglist/
