[clue-tech] Installfest in 3 weeks.

[T. Joseph Carter]

On Sat, Aug 05, 2006 at 07:10:03PM -0600, David L. Anselmi wrote:
> What distros do you want at installfest?  Let me know so I can start 
> downloading.  (Let's see, 56kbps x 3 weeks = 10GB of download time left. 
>  Don't forget there are 10 bits per byte on dialup.)

Current Ubuntu variants would be nice.  I can suck them down pretty
quickly if need be.

Undoubtedly you'll have someone with old enough hardware for Debian,
although if I want Debian anymore I bootstrap it with Knoppix myself.

Gentoo and current Fedora are also likely to be desired.

I'd have those on hand no matter what.  SuSE and Mandriva seem to have
largely taken a back seat for the time being.  In some ways that's too
bad, I'd love to see what some third-party developers could do with YaST
in the same spirit that apt has been embraced by the rest of the Linux
world (even if none of the embracers have offered their patches as of the
last time I talked to Culus, which was admittedly years ago..)


> Bear (on the BLUG list) suggested using an NSLU2 to make a boot server 
> and package repository.  Then you could netboot, pick your distro, and 
> get going without dealing with CDs (assuming your NIC supports PXE).

I don't have one, but I love the idea.  Theoretically you could use the
network installs of most of these distributions to really speed up the
process.  The exception here would be Ubuntu, but you could still install
that as a server, connect to CD content mirror on the NSLU2, and suck down
the rest of system faster than you could ever pull it off CD.


> I don't have a NSLU2, but I do have a spare box.  So maybe I'll put the 
> ISOs on it and see if it works.  (Having ISOs would enable us to burn 
> CDs for those who want them and save the Internet connection for more 
> fun things.)

I can possibly donate a few hours' use of a USB2/FW400-attached Pioneer
DVR-109 (16x DVD+-RW drive), though the physical drive is currently
mounted in my Tetris-configuration MythTV box.

There is a plan to build a new MythTV box and restore my ASUS Terminator
to its original purpose of being a small personal server.


> Mark your calendar, August 26th.  The big blue room won't have AC that 
> day so you don't want to be in it.
> 
> http://cluedenver.org/display.php?node=installfest

I don't really think I can bring all of that hardware with me on the bus,
but I sure could manage an external drive which a modern Linux kernel Just
Works With off a USB2 or Firewire connection.

Depending on just how hot it is and how bad the bus travel is like to be
that day, I might strap a tower into a GearGrip or bag it for protection
and toss (read: carefully place) it into my little cart.


Someone who knows the area better can maybe check my logic for me:

Take 401 -> Mineral Station
Light rail -> Littleton Downtown  (awfully familiar trip thus far!)
66 -> Arapahoe PnR (about 2 miles)
473 -> Yosemite & Dry Creek.

Not real close, but that's as close as I'm going to get most likely.  The
return trip has > 1 hour spent waiting because the 473 misses a 66, but if
someone is going that direction, I could catch one at 16:24 and be home by
17:30, which isn't bad really.