[HLUG] Places where linux is used that you wouldn't normally think of ...

[Richard Smedley]

On Mon, 2007-12-03 at 19:10 +0000, David Shorthouse wrote:
> I was actually reading an artical on the ubuntu website  saying that the 
> latest versions of Ubuntu need 128meg to run. There was a thread leading off 
> that that suggested another version ubuntu that wasnt so bulky...
> The jist of the conversation was that Ubuntu is meant so everyone can use it.. 
> but because of the way machines have progressed its outgrown that initial 
> phase it did say something about people in 3rd world countries having pcs of 
> a P3 with 32-64meg ram and 4gig harddisks.. now has Ubuntu outgrown its 
> original project of supply it to the people who cant afford the new spec pcs. 
> I think so.....

Hello David,

XUbuntu runs well enough with 128MB. This is the RAM that 
typically came with a Pentium II machine of seven or eight
years ago, or a PowerPC beige Mac of a year earlier. 
[Subtract one year for budget machines.]

The typical office sends its PCs to landfill every three
years (Last year the UK tipped 3 million PCs into holes
in the ground, and the USA 30 million).

At six or seven years most PCs have a pretty short life
left for hard drives, fans and power supplies - all of
which would be further stressed by the climatic conditions 
and dodgy electricity supplies of the majority of African
nations.

iow suggesting that Ubuntu is not helping people who cannot
afford new PCs is a tad misleading, if you are implying that
your criterion covers waste produced in the 1990s.

Please note that while there are occasions where sending
old PCs to Africa may be a worthwhile exercise, rather
than just a neat way to steer toxic junk away from British
landfill sites, these occasions are few [1]. Better to fund
new designs appropriate to where they will be used - eg OLPC [2],
with its extremely low power consumption; sealed, diskless
design; readable screen; tailored GUI; etc.

> I am not really an ubuntu fan anyway... 

I'm not a fanatic, either, but I'm extremely grateful that
it's brought software freedom to millions of new users :-)

Best wishes,

 - Richard

[1] And please note that these comments come from someone recycling
machines here and overseas - it's good to do, but it's important to know
the limitations.

[2] http://laptop.org/