[K12OSN] RE: upgrades

[Rob Owens]

Sean,

I'm the guy you're talking about.  I completely
understand where you're coming from and I personally
like getting a new system every once in a while, if it
actually gives me new features I need.

But consider my grandfather who would only get rid of
his clunky old '87 Impala station wagon if he could
find a better '87 Impala station wagon.  He's not one
of the people I maintain a computer for, but my mother
shares his DNA and I maintain her computer...  She
drove an '85 Suburban way past its prime because she
couldn't find another vehicle with a bench seat in the
front.

On your Knoppix install, do you install it "normal" or
do you install it by copying the CD iso to the hard
drive?  I think there might be a benefit in booting
from the hard drive as if it was a live cd, because it
would always auto-detect its hardware and not pop up
any confusing dialog boxes saying scary stuff like
"new hardware was found". 

These are the situations I have to deal with. 

-Rob


--- Sean Harbour <SHarbour at nwresd.k12.or.us> wrote:
> The gentleman comparing linux with a 2 year old car
> that you can't get tires for is missing the point.
> Most computers, and servers, do not exist by
> themselves. Their environment is constantly
> changing, and they need
> to be upgraded or patched fairly constantly to keep
> up with the new features and threats from the
> internet.
> 
> Sure, it may seem like a 2 year old car that you
> can't get tires for, but when the new car is free,
> and it comes with many
> improvements, it's a bargain. Especially if the road
> has changed enough the old car just can't keep up
> anymore. As long as you haven't welded your
> possessions to the old car, it's pretty easy to
> transfer your "stuff" to the new vehicle, if you
> have another machine to help facilitate the
> transfer. 
> 
> Many people on this list are using a separate file
> server for all their data storage. Think of it as a
> trailer for your car. You get a new car, and hook
> your trailer with your "stuff" to the new car. Not
> much danger of losing anything if the new car
> crashes and burns.
> 
> The new yum tools for redhat/fedora make it much
> easier to keep up. Maybe within the year we will be
> able to do a simple system upgrade without reloading
> the box. Fun times!
> 
> My solution for my relatives with computers that
> still ask for my help is to load Knoppix permanently
> on their machines harddrive. Scanners, printers, etc
> all have been supported so far. Security updates are
> as simple as "apt-get update", and system OS
> upgrades are "apt-get upgrade". The machines are
> trouble free, easy to add software "apt-get
> synaptic; synaptic", easy to administer remotely,
> etc.
> Most other versions of linux have similiar features,
> but Knoppix has worked quite well and is the
> quickest install in my experience.
> 
> Sean Harbour
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