$100.00 laptop to run Linux

[rarocks24]

Red Hat was fun for an OS. I have it on my loaned desktop....which I'll probably never see back.

I've considered installing ubuntu on my mbp....don't know if I will or not.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

well linux isn't perfect

No, of course, no OS is perfect, but the point I'm trying to make is that children working with an open source(is that what Linux is?) OS is the perfect vehicule for radically changing the way we do computing - among other things.

I was kinda hoping for speculation about what you folks think these changes will be, and not so much the merits/flaws of the OS itself.

[DysfunctionalVeteran]

...children working with an open source OS is the perfect vehicule for radically changing the way we do computing...

How so and to what purpose?

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

How so and to what purpose?

Yes. Exactly.

[GrantZ]

That's why I recommend Debian or Gentoo.

Gentoo is the best Linux distro if you can get through the installation (which by the way takes about 24 h)

Still Linux really is the best choice (maybe Ubuntu or Xubuntu for a firstimer) for some1 that don't use the computer to gaming or professional suond- or imageediting.

[DysfunctionalVeteran]

Yes. Exactly.

Yes, exactly... what?

I mean, I'm ASSUMING there was a basis for your statement. That it wasn't just a clever sounding snippet that you stuck in your post because it looked pretty.

...children working with an open source OS is the perfect vehicule for radically changing the way we do computing...

So... what is it that you see as changing and why should we change it?

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

Yes, exactly... what?

I mean, I'm ASSUMING there was a basis for your statement. That it wasn't just a clever sounding snippet that you stuck in your post because it looked pretty.

Yes, thank you for not assuming that. It was nothing more than a snippet from my own head. An original thought, go figure. Sorry if it sounded serialized, but I suppose cliches have to come from somewhere, eh?

So... what is it that you see as changing and why should we change it?

Program-wise? I couldn't say. I'm not exactly computer literate, more of a push-da-button-make-it-go, type of user. But that's just it: I was already "old" when computers became household items. I remember getting excited about programs that took several minutes just to load and then, several minutes to compute my input to finally produce something I could have done in seconds with pencil and paper. But instead of saying, "this tech is stupid. It should die," we stayed excited about it and the tech and the programs grew.

People built, from that base, the computing systems we have today with all the social and material changes that accompanied that evolution.

Like what? Ooof! the www, for one, huge, honkin' thing. Blogs and Wikipedia, amazing CGI, better medical practices that allow interrnal repairs with less or no invasive surgery. I don't know how long the list is but it's huge, compared to 20 years ago.

All I hoped to start when I opened this thread was an outpouring of theories, from people who actually know computing, about where this step might take us.

Now, the reason why I see the 100$ laptop deal being an instrument for radical change is that these kids will be starting out with programming tools that are modern day sophicated. It's like - computing wise - we invented the wheel and then built carts to exploit it. These kids are now being given the whole cart with all the bells and whistles and they are gonna turn them into some wild and wonderful vehicule for human and computational progress - because that's what kids do.

And the way that their "internet" is going to work, at first, until the infrastructure is put in place, will allow them to network with other local kids, which will help speed up the changes. I wouldn't be surprised if the first major change is that the old ideas about infrastructure end up being thrown out the window as the kids find a better way to communicate, based on a mentality foreign to most so-called westerners.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

The OLPC has a wiki for those who are interested:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Main_Page

And for Linux programmers who want to contribute to the software:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Our_software

Where can software developers get laptops to work with?
The vast majority of early software developers can work on ordinary Linux laptops or desktops. The machine will run Linux, X, and Gnome. Write your applications to use minimal RAM and minimal file system space, and to not depend on having a color screen. A release of the Fedora software for the OLPC is available (See Installing Fedora Core. If you want to simulate small memory, you can boot linux with the "mem=128m" parameter.) Some developers who need them, e.g. to work on device drivers, will get prototype boards from OLPC. Here are Notes_on_using_the_OLPC_developer_boards.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

And for a vid of a working prototype:

http://www.siliconvalleysleuth.com/2...video_of_.html

[alaskannut]

I don't know much -let me rephrase that - I don't know anything about how Linux works except that it's free and pretty much open to anyone who wants to tinker.

I don't know how soon tech-privileged nations will get these laptops - they are specifically aimed at the low/no-tech nations, but the very fact that technologically uninitiated children are getting the chance to have these devices and an open-style operating system is, I'm absolutely certain, going to revolutionize computing within a decade of their becoming widely available.

And I'm talking serious computing revolution, here, not just different or better programs.

I had Mandrake installed on my old computer, and am looking to install it on my new one, when I get a second hard drive. Bugs aside (I had incompatability issues between its drivers and my comp's hardware) I am quite happy with it and would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade from Windows, as it has an excellent GUI. Just be aware that you may have to work a few kinks out

I have also had some experience with Red Hat and consider it to be an excellent choice as well for anyone who is looking...it is quite easy to use and also has a decent GUI for Windows refugees