[olpc-software] How fast does it take to write a system from a scratch?

[davef at tetsubo.com]

> Stephen J. Smoogen wrote:
>> With these systems how long does it take to write 250MB of data onto
>> the system? And are there any strawmen for how the laptop will be
>> installed from say the teachers computer or the overworked IS
>> technician who bicycles from village to village?
>
> I don't know how many minutes we're talking about.  Probably not many.
> But the idea with this system is that it anyone has enough knowledge to
> re-install the system.  That means simple, simple, simple.  And keeping
> the OS stateless.
>
> Here are a couple possible deployment scenarios:
>
> o Someone has problems with their laptop.  They decide to try to
> re-install the operating system.  They borrow the USB key that the
> school has, puts it in the laptop and boots off of it.  It automatically
> replaces the OS without affecting the user data or the applications that
> are installed on the system.
>
> o See above, except that LinuxBIOS lets us boot off the local wireless.
>
> o Two students can connect their laptops together using a USB cable and
> the broken machine can be re-installed from his or her friend's laptop.
>
> The basic idea is that the reinstall of the OS isn't scary, doesn't
> require questions and can be accomplished by anyone.  And that the apps
> don't really require administration.

If you're using LinuxBIOS to reimage over wireless, you can ignore reimage
over USB entirely - always use wireless, and your "school usb key" turns
into just another laptop. You then don't ever have to distribute usb
keys/whatnot, as somewhere upstream has internet access and thus becomes
the source for the upgrade. Is the intention to "force" upgrades, in that
you always want the laptop to install updates? That keeps it simple, and
lets you virally spread the update. It will of course be important to make
sure the updates are key-signed, so you don't get rogue updates floating
around.

As I mentioned in my earlier mail, state will be a big issue. How do you
intend to keep it stateless?