[ale] Donated computers

[Christopher Fowler]

I'm thinking real hard about proposing the K12LTSP project.  If they
can get around the fact that it ain't windoze and make it work like
others have then it might be successful.

The do have network capability.  I may have to buy them a cheap switch
at Fry's but these machines do have network cards and they have a small
network.

I'm going to look into using Edubuntu in LTSP.  See if it has a setup
for LTSP.  
On Thu, 2006-11-16 at 20:03 -0500, Jeff Hubbs wrote:
> Christopher Fowler wrote:
> > My kids' daycare was donated about 8+ computers.  Apparently my wife
> > volunteered me to take a look.  Today I looked.  It appears all of these
> > machines are Dell Dimension XPS D333 computers.  The have all the normal
> > features but are PII-333 adn 128m of memory.  Where it counts they seem
> > to be lacking.  IMO these computers would make nice boat anchors since
> > they are heavy and can grab mud easily.  
> >
> > My thought is that these computers feel like circa 1998 machines.  I
> > could treat them as such.  They could load Win98 on them and then find
> > educational software from around that time that is compatible and run
> > that.  As long as the machine is good they will be in good shape.
> >   
> You'd have them buy Win98 licenses, first supposing that they're even
> available for sale (which they almost certainly are not)?  You know, you
> can't just take some Win98 CD you found and install it on even one of
> those machines legally, much less all eight.  If you went ahead and did
> it, you're giving that daycare a BSA poison pill!
> > I wanted to try the educational version of Ubuntu but that would just
> > require too much memory and CPU.  Even trying to find and get memory for
> > these systems would be a pain.
> >   
> You already have RAM; you may have to scrap one machine to get it.
> > I wish that when people would donate computers they would at least try
> > to donate something they would find worthy for them self.  Don't donate
> > the stuff you consider trash.  I know there is a parable that talks
> > about this.....
> 
> If the machines still had value to the donor, they'd still be using
> them.  The reality is that they're self-limited to the Microsoftian
> "bargain" that maintains that such machines are flatly ineligible to run
> current versions of operating system software.
> 
> In Linux-land, of course, that's a load of crap.  Others have suggested
> that some LTSP variant be used; that's certainly a reasonable
> suggestion.  However, without any network plant, that's a non-starter. 
> 
> If you wanted to add cables and a switch and do an LTSP rig, here's a
> way that you might go about it.  Use RAM and disks from one or more of
> the machines and add them to one of the machines to make a server - put
> two drives in it, one per controller.  Pull or at least disconnect the
> drives from the others.  Use the server's drives either as RAID  or just
> to get  things (e.g., swap) separated.
> _______________________________________________
> Ale mailing list
> Ale at ale.org
> http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale