On Sat, 7 Aug 1999, Jeff Owens wrote:
>
> 1. The initial cost is mostly our time.
> 2. The price of upgrading is still our time.
> 3. The software is a community project (international)
> 4. No limits to involvement is very empowering. One
> can go to any level and nothing is hidden. All
> the tools and information to build Linux come with
> it.
> 5. It has a future! The software and standards will
> not be obsoleted by a marketing organization trying
> to optimize profit.
> 6. The basic design has been around for a long time and
> is well documented. It has proven itself reliable
> and flexible.
I would add to this that while the newer versions tend to require more
computer to run on, you can get versions of Linux to run on very minimal
systems. I run Linux in text only on a 486. I know of 386's being used
with text only Linux. I can run xwindows on my system but it is really
clunky and one of my personal (as opposed to political) reasons for
choosing Linux was to have the choice to use a non-graphical interface.
The point being that Linux can return to usefulness machines otherwise
destined for the landfill.
We have some pretty sophisticated networking stuff set up as well. We did
some of it, and had help with some of it. Most of the help came with
connecting our home network with the building's network. (I live in a coop
with an internal network running on a variety of older machines running
Linux, and an adsl connection to the outside world). My husband was able
to set up the internal network connecting windows machines to the Linux
machine and through there to the internet.
Don't be fooled by my technospeak. I'm still a baby when it comes to all
of this. I rely heavily on the help of the technophiles around me, and
what I've said above is about as far as my understanding of this stuff
goes.
This point being that Linux running on very minimal hardware
configurations can be a very useful tool for communication within a
community and with the wider world.
sph
Sandra P. Hoffman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.flora.org/sandra/
----------------------------
The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due,
not a garden swollen to a realm;
his own hands to use,
not the hands of others to command. --Sam Gamgee
