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Date:      Wed, 8 Nov 2000 20:58:14 -0600 (CST)
From:      Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
To:        "Daniel Taghioff" <Daniel.Taghioff@btinternet.com>
Cc:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: A simplified operating system for developing countries.
Message-ID:  <14858.4806.987473.460787@guru.mired.org>
In-Reply-To: <110863877@toto.iv>

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Hi Daniel,

I was hoping someone who knew more about the project would answer, but
it hasn't happened, so I'll do it.

BTW, you'll get better response if you set your mailer to send one
plain ascii copy of a message to the freeBSD lists, instead of one
text and one HTML copy.

Daniel Taghioff <Daniel.Taghioff@btinternet.com> types:
> 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. =
> =20
> 
> Is this possible?
> Is anyone already doing this?
> Is anyone interested in doing this?

Sounds like you want the PicoBSD project. Try searching for that
string on the FreeBSD web site and mail lists. From what I can gather,
they are stripping the OS down to the point where it will run off of
floppies. Everything else is doable. I suspect they aren't using a GUI
environment, though.

	<mike



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