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Why Tinkering With a Linux Install Will Become a Lost Art

Category Administration Linux Ubuntu
This summer, I've had the opportunity to update, migrate, and reconfigure workstations and laptops over to Linux (mostly Ubuntu 8.04). It can be a lot of trouble, depending on the complexity of the install (e.g., multiple sound cards) or the state of the wi-fi drivers. I'm doing this because (1) at each cycle with each system I pick up a little bit more about Linux and (2) right now, it's the most direct way to build a solid Linux workstation for my friends and family.

But, I don't expect to be offering this service in the future. After all, once I've polished up the installation, it's just too easy to create a master image for anyone else !

For instance, my parents visited this summer and I helped my Dad choose a Lenovo 3000 N200. This is a terrific buy at $400, and it took me a weekend to put on Ubuntu with the right network configuration, etc. I've created a backup of the system (http://www.clonezilla.org) which is about 2.5 G.

Now, I have a Ubuntu image for the Lenovo 3000 N200 which anyone else can use. You don't have to fuss with reading a wiki page where I detail all the little widget tunings I turned. Just grab a copy of the clone'd image and install onto identical hardware. Trouble is, I don't know where I can upload my 2.5 G of files.

So, I'm betting that within 18 to 24 months, we'll start to see sites which will host hardware-specific-images. The manufacturers and the resellers would l-o-v-e to see free images, and the Linux FOSS community would l-o-v-e to see more Linux desktops.

And, just when I was getting good at modprobe.

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Comments

Gravatar Image2 -
Yes, I could work through Amazon S3 (probably through Jungle Disk), but I'm not looking to be hosting. Hm. It could be a business model, I suppose, but I already have a full time job and two teenagers.

Gravatar Image1 - create an account with amazon S3. Storage costs $0.15 per GB per Month, and data transfer out is quite reasonable:
$0.170 per GB - first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.130 per GB - next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.110 per GB - next 100 TB / month data transfer out
$0.100 per GB - data transfer out / month over 150 TB

{ Link }

There are a lot of free tools to use with S3 for managing, uploading etc.

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