Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 15:36:34 -0600 From: "Doug Poland" <doug@polands.org> To: "BWS - Offwhite" <brennan@offwhite.net> Cc: "Daniel Taghioff" <Daniel.Taghioff@btinternet.com>, <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>, "Mark Rowlands" <mark.rowlands@minmail.net> Subject: RE: A simplified operating system for developing countries. Message-ID: <NDBBKMNOJKJGAEKJNLIAEEFIEPAA.doug@polands.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0011091212460.52515-100000@home.offwhite.net>
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Perhaps QNX is an option http://www.qnx.com/demodisk/ > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of BWS - Offwhite > Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 12:33 > To: Mark Rowlands > Cc: Daniel Taghioff; freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > Subject: Re: A simplified operating system for developing countries. > > > A rant would have very much out of place. > > Access to information is just as important than food and shelter in the > long run. Through my access to the internet I was able to learn Perl and > now I am able to make a very nice living doing that. I now maintain > multiple servers as a sys/database admin. It all started with me learning > on my parents 486 PC. > > If I were in a country with limited resources I would appreciate access to > a system which allowed me to learn and to become aware of opportunities > which were not there before. > > You have to start somewhere. > > So, to get started with your search for a easy to install OS, I would > really try Linux if you are not all too familiar with the hardware. It > does a great deal of auto-detecting for you. But if you have a decent > understanding of the hardware you could easily use FreeBSD as well. You > can purchase a copy for $40 and duplicate it as much as you like. > > http://www.freebsdmall.com/software/ > > You may also want to look over EasyBSD. It is a new branch off FreeBSD > which aims to make BSD easy for everyday users. > > http://easybsd.sourceforge.net/ > > There is also Pico BSD, another FreeBSD branch which is supposed to fit on > a floppy. You can boot right off it, but I am not sure the status of > that project. > > http://people.FreeBSD.org/~picobsd/ > > It seems that project is progressing nicely. I am not sure if you could > install a text browser with the dial-up version, but that seems to be a > typical user for it. > > Good Luck! > > Brennan Stehling - web developer and sys admin > projects: www.greasydaemon.com | www.onmilwaukee.com | www.sncalumni.com > > Do you ever find it is easier to explain an idea if you put it into > Star Trek terms? > > > On Thu, 9 Nov 2000, Mark Rowlands wrote: > > > On Tuesday 07 November 2000 22:58, Daniel Taghioff wrote: > > > > > > I am studying development studies in London, and I am > interested in low > > > cost internet technologies as a tool for allowing people to organise > > > themselves to improve their social situation, espaecially in the third > > > world. > > > > > > I am looking around at low cost networking solutions like > Linux, freebsd > > > and netbsd. What I am looking for is the simplest possible operating > > > system, which takes the least possible disk space, and will > run on a the > > > largest possible range of 486 and pentium hardware, allowing > text download > > > form the internet and simple spreadsheet and wordprocessing functions. > > > > > > The idea is that with a few floppy disks and a refurbished > computer (with a > > > modem), people with access to a phone line (not as simple as > it sounds) in > > > the developing world will, with very little previous experience of > > > computers, be able to install such a system and access > information from the > > > internet in a text format, without outside support. > > > > > > Is this possible? > > > Is anyone already doing this? > > > Is anyone interested in doing this? > > > > I was going to write a long rant but this aint the place. I think > > food, water, shelter, democracy, rule of law, freedom from > interference by > > well meaning western technocrats, come a little higher up the > list than the > > ability to surf Slashdot. > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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