Easwar Hariharan wrote: > Hello. > There is a backlog of requests on the wiki CDs Wanted list at > http://db.glug-bom.org/wiki/index.php/CDs_Wanted#Requests_ Easwar's message got me thinking about an idea once again. A low end computer system with a big HDD, speakers, dvd writer and *no* monitor, *no* mouse could be used to setup a dvd burning kiosk for dishing out Linux distros. By avoiding the use of a monitor, the cost and size of the system comes down and power bills are less too. Orca which is a screen reader will do the talking.
The ISOs of various distros are loaded into the HDD. There is a simple interface that lists all the distros as per their category and every ISO has a unique number. The index of this list is printed on paper. Those who require a CD/DVD simply approach the guy manning the kiosk and select the distro from the printed list. The guy punches in the numeric code and Orca reads out the distro details and says "To create the media select enter. To cancel select Escape". On punching Enter, the tray opens up and it says "please insert the disk and close the tray". The disk is then recorded automatically at a decent speed, not too high, not too low. After burning, the tray opens up and announces the successful finish of the process. The loading of the distros can be done once every month or 2 months through the optical drive and a talking interface to add the distro, name it and get an incremental number for it. The kiosk operator need not be a computer savvy person. By removing the monitor, we also prevent misuse of the system for other purposes. The entire hardware cost of the kiosk should be about 12K to 13K or even less depending on the available hardware. Colleges can make use of this kiosk and charge a small fee for the media + labour. They get to keep the fee to cover their operating costs. We could collectively donate such machines to some colleges to start with and study the response. -- Regards, Rony. GNU/Linux ! No Viruses No Spyware Only Freedom. -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
