Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 01:18:14 -0500 From: "Charles Pelletier" <fozekizer@attbi.com> To: "Nathan Kinkade" <nkinkade@dsl-only.net>, <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: I need some help... Message-ID: <001f01c266b6$d4039200$32040101@hume> References: <F153hGvDpEDiOa7ddhl000005d3@hotmail.com> <20020927215324.38dc1eaf.nkinkade@dsl-only.net>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
quite honestly, i think you are wasting your time working with 286's. even people who can't afford computers know better than to use a pre Pentium machine. while you do have a noble cause in mind, you must realize that 286's, even with tweaking, can hardly even run DOS, let alone connect to the modern internet. good luck, but you're better using anything less than a 486 as a step stool or paperweight. --charlie pelletier --litmus(mp3.com/litmus) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nathan Kinkade" <nkinkade@dsl-only.net> To: "C T" <willtop27@hotmail.com> Cc: <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 11:53 PM Subject: Re: I need some help... > On Fri, 27 Sep 2002 20:46:12 -0700 > "C T" <willtop27@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > To whom it may concern, > > > > My name is Craig and I am in the process of forming a non-profit > > organization that takes old computers (286's etc...), setting them up > > for email, word processing, internet browsing, spread sheets, and them > > giving them to people who can't afford computers. > > > > One of my obstacles is finding an OS package similar to MS-DOS, but > > doesn't cost money. > > > > Does FreeBSD distribute something simple that would operate on older > > machines? > > > > Thank you, > > Craig > > > Craig, > > I volunteer at an organization here in Portland, OR that generally does > what you are describing. It is called FreeGeek (www.freegeek.org). > FreeGeek usually recycles anything less than a Pentium (i.e. 286, 386, > 486). The current processor specification for computers that are put > back out into the community are Pentium 166MHz-233MHz. The full specs > are at http://www.freegeek.org/freekbox.html. Believe it or not, we > seem to receive plenty of donated machines that fall into this range. > FreeGeek is currently installing Debian Linux on these machines. Trust > me when I tell you that even a P166 with 80MB RAM (72 pin SIMMs) is just > fast enough to make X, Mozilla and a few other applications run > reasonably. Of course, if you plan to put out non-graphical, text only, > console basesd machines then a lower spec may work for you. In any > case, if you plan to run X and any sort of browser you probably don't > want to go below a P100, and even this is pushing it a bit. I've talked > to a few people at FreeGeek about getting FreeBSD on some of the boxes, > but they are too firmly entrenched in Linux. > > Good luck, > Nathan > > 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
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?001f01c266b6$d4039200$32040101>