...making Linux just a little more fun!
[ In reference to "Build a Six-headed, Six-user Linux System" in LG#124 ]
Ben Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
----- Forwarded message from Peter Sanders <plsander@us.ibm.com> -----
Subject: Re: [TAG] tkb: Talkback:124/smith.html To: Ben Okopnik <ben@linuxgazette.net> From: Peter Sanders <plsander@us.ibm.com> Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:49:14 -0500I just need to figure out which is easier:
- modifying a Live CD/DVD installation -- probably not the easiest to change on the fly or - get a big enough flash drive to hold a reasonalbly functional installation
-- Peter Sanders t/l 553-6186 (507)253-6186 plsander@us.ibm.com
Kapil Hari Paranjape [kapil at imsc.res.in]
Hello,
On Wed, 15 Aug 2007, Ben Okopnik wrote:
> ----- Forwarded message from Peter Sanders <plsander@us.ibm.com> ----- > > Subject: Re: [TAG] tkb: Talkback:124/smith.html > To: Ben Okopnik <ben@linuxgazette.net> > From: Peter Sanders <plsander@us.ibm.com> > Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:49:14 -0500 > > I just need to figure out which is easier: > > - modifying a Live CD/DVD installation -- probably not the easiest to > change on the fly > or > - get a big enough flash drive to hold a reasonalbly functional > installation
Since you mention a live CD/DVD, I suppose you want a "run anywhere" installation. There have been a number of LG articles on this problem, for example:
LG 87 -- Sunil Thomas Thonikuzhiyil -- I Built a Custom Debian CD from Knoppix http://linuxgazette.net/87/sunil.html LG 113 -- Kapil Hari Paranjape -- Roll your Desktop into a USB stick/CD http://linuxgazette.net/113/kapil.htmlA different approach was also written up:
LG 140 -- Kapil Hari Paranjape -- Setting up an Encrypted Debian System http://linuxgazette.net/140/kapil.htmlTake a "standard" Debian installation which has the following additional characteristics:
- starts the vesa frame buffer at boot time - uses the vesa frame buffer for X - uses DHCP for configuring the network - uses LVM and/or disk labels in /etc/fstabThis kind of installation should work on 90% of hardware without additional configuration. (Modulo Wi-Fi).
Install this on a USB hard disk as suggested in my article in (LG #140) You can skip the encryption part if you like.
This will give you a run 90% of places installation with "permanence".
Regards,
Kapil. --
Peter Sanders [plsander at us.ibm.com]
Ben wrote: A quick look at the "Requirements" section of the article says "For six seats, you'll also need a motherboard with an AGP slot and five available PCI slots" - i.e., not just multiple outputs for the same video hardware but actual multiple video cards. That sounds like it lets laptops out completely.
----- The requirement is probably not separate cards, but separately addressable display buffers -- My work laptop, a Lenovo T60 (running Win XP... work's decision, not mine) supports dual displays -- different windows on the LCD vs the back connector.
-- Peter Sanders t/l 553-6186 (507)253-6186 plsander@us.ibm.com
Ben Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
On Wed, Aug 08, 2007 at 01:22:19PM -0500, Peter Sanders wrote:
> > Ben wrote: > A quick look at the "Requirements" section of the article says "For six > seats, you'll also need a motherboard with an AGP slot and five available > PCI slots" - i.e., not just multiple outputs for the same video hardware > but actual multiple video cards. That sounds like it lets laptops out > completely. > > ----- > The requirement is probably not separate cards, but separately addressable > display buffers -- My work laptop, a Lenovo T60 (running Win XP... work's > decision, not mine) supports dual displays -- different windows on the LCD > vs the back connector.
That's a reasonable distinction to make for theoretical purposes, certainly - but in the case of using a laptop to "drive" six displays and keyboards, one of the requirements is six video output connectors, one per monitor. I don't know of any laptops that have such a thing - no matter how many display buffers they have.
-- * Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
Ben Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 11:24:11AM -0500, Peter Sanders wrote:
> Right -- driving 6 terminals would be beyond the laptop... but running 2 > users is certainly possible.
Now that you mention it, that might be very useful: a two-computer network for not much more than the price of one might be quite appealing to a number of people. E.g., you could essentially halve the amount of money necessary to set up a small network, as long as pairs of these "workstations" were close to each other. I wish I had the hardware and the leisure to experiment with that... maybe one of our readers who has the equipment and the enthusiasm will volunteer - and write an article about the process. Shouldn't be very difficult...
-- * Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
René Pfeiffer [lynx at luchs.at]
On Aug 09, 2007 at 1306 -0400, Ben Okopnik appeared and said:
> On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 11:24:11AM -0500, Peter Sanders wrote: > > Right -- driving 6 terminals would be beyond the laptop... but running 2 > > users is certainly possible. >=20 > Now that you mention it, that might be very useful: a two-computer > network for not much more than the price of one might be quite appealing > to a number of people. [...]
And now that you keep mentioning it, I've seen some drivers in the kernel's USB section that drive a VGA display via USB (one is for LCD display AFAIK). More than one keyboard and mouse might probably connected by using USB, too. This calls for some experiments and probably volunteers. ;)
Best, René.
Ben Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 07:53:06PM +0200, René Pfeiffer wrote:
> On Aug 09, 2007 at 1306 -0400, Ben Okopnik appeared and said: > > On Thu, Aug 09, 2007 at 11:24:11AM -0500, Peter Sanders wrote: > > > Right -- driving 6 terminals would be beyond the laptop... but running 2 > > > users is certainly possible. > > > > Now that you mention it, that might be very useful: a two-computer > > network for not much more than the price of one might be quite appealing > > to a number of people. [...] > > And now that you keep mentioning it, I've seen some drivers in the > kernel's USB section that drive a VGA display via USB (one is for LCD > display AFAIK). More than one keyboard and mouse might probably > connected by using USB, too. This calls for some experiments and > probably volunteers. ;)
I hope that our bait^H^H^H^Hencouragement - whichever flavor - works. 
-- * Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *