On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:02:25 +1300 (NZDT) Nick Rout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > On Thu, October 11, 2007 1:28 pm, Christopher Sawtell wrote: > > >> > >> windows handles ext2/3 with the addition of a simple and free driver. > > > > By the same token, Linux can handle NTFS using the ntfs-3g system. > > > > The St. Albans Neighbourhood Network ( NN ) are a bunch of consumate > > Microsoft Windows devotees. They are taking a huge leap out of their > > comfort zone even considering having Linux files on a machine. At the > > moment, I'd rather not push them any further. > > > > So we are left with a situation where it is actually not that easy to get > a DVD image off their machine: > > 1. there is no DVD writer (according to another post) > > 2. You can't use the commonly available flash drives as they are default > formatted with fat which probably won't take a file >2GB. > > 3. They won't install the ext2/3 windows driver which would allow a ext2/3 > flash drive to be used. > > 4. They won't allow you to plug a laptop (or presumably an NAS) into their > LAN, despite the fact that it is demonstrably virus free, and despite the > fact that they allow us an ethernet socket in the meeting room, and > despite the fact that if I wanted to attack their lan I could sit down at > any of the other windows machines there. > > If the test of this facilty is the degree of use, its got to be made as > usable as possible! > > Fankly we'd be better using a stand alone linux machine with a cossover > network cable hanging off the back. > > I am all in favour of this facility, but something seems a little wrong > with it. > > Another thought: the facility is obviously aimed at people without good > net access (or they could download the iso themselves). However my > experience with ubuntu is that once you install the OS there is typically > update files in the order of magnitude of one CD to bring it up to date > (the exact amount depends where in the release cycle you are obviously, > but even quite soon after release there are quite a few). I guess the same > is true of other distros too. > > Is anything being done to cater for the people who get home and find their > computer wants to download 500M of updates over a modem? > > -- > Nick Rout > Blimey, give it a chance! The original task that Chris and Wesley took on was to provide a place in chch to get oss ( not specifically *nix ) media. There is now such a place, and it is open during published hours on a daily basis. OK, it's a Windows network, so of course they're paranoid about security... but it's their ball. There's a huge difference between their current level of risk, which they are managing and (probably) happy with, which includes allowing other people who have rented the hall to plug in a pc one evening a month, whilst on the other hand you're advocating leaving a machine which they know nothing about 'unattended' permanently on their network. Software updates, sure something needs to be done. But let's get it started first (: If there isn't a DVD writer there, I'm more than happy to donate one. Steve Steve.
