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Best Live Linux For Christmas Giving?
trustedserf writes "This year I am including a bootable Live Linux CD in many of my Christmas cards. As I'll be making the copies myself I may even change the default desktop background to something personal, or Christmasy before running it off on cheap CD-Rs. The objective is to show people the easiest possible route to using a linux desktop so that they will be: A) Aware and B) Pleasantly surprised. About Christmas they may also have more time to try it out too. Naturally, I'm thinking of Gnoppix, but there are other options.. I use KDE, so I have to decide between it and Gnome. Bearing in mind my objectives, what distro would you choose. Also, importantly, is it possible any of them will damage their hardware (monitors with incorrect refresh etc.) I would be *very* unhappy if that happened. How many of them would fail to boot, leaving a bad impression? Which way would you go about it for maximum "WOW"."
Another nifty customization would be to set the Firefox Home Page to something personal and/or Christmas'ie so they are reminded again of your gift (cool idea) when they fire up the browser.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
I just want to say that I think this is an awesome idea. I've been trying to convince my dad to switch to Linux for some time now- maybe I can guilt him into trying Linux out if I disguise it as a Christmas present!
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
This is not a jab at Linux or anything, but the only things my peers know about Linux is that it's free and it's a Unix clone. Frankly, they would be pissed if I gave them a CD with a free operating system on it and tried to pass that off as a gift. Giving a CD full of free data is rather passe, IMHO. Why not offer to install and give support for a distro or download SuSE/Mandrake/Fedora Core and include a copy of CrossoverOffice (something that, coupled with help in installation and support, might actually move some to migrate). I know this will probably get modded as a troll, but this works. I actually did migrate my father to SuSE Linux on his tablet PC for a time. It was not an easy task to get the pen input working and to get CrossoverOffice working, but he did use it as his primary desktop for a while.
As far as LiveCDs go, I've found SuSE's LiveCD and the Knoppix LiveCD to be pretty good, but the best I've found for out-of-the-box support is the Slackware run-off live distro, Slax. This is what I used for the workstations at my university for the longest time. It comes bundled with X, KDE, a ton of office-oriented applications and has great hardware compatibility. It also fits on a mini CD-R, so it can be kept in a pocket. Might want to consider sending a card with one of those inside it.
"You and your third dimension."
Actually, it seems to me like it all depends.... I've had several relatives and family friends ask me quite a bit about "that whole Linux thing", pretty much out of the blue, after they realized I'm still working in the computer industry.
There's a fair bit of curiousity out there from people who've heard about these cheaper/free alternatives to Windows for their computers. Something they can run as easily as sticking a disc in a drive might be just the thing for them to take a first-hand peek at it.
Much really depends on how many of your family members/relatives already enjoy using a computer. In my direct family, practically nobody does. My mother uses the same PC I put together for her and gave her as an Xmas gift about 6 years ago - and she still struggles to remember exactly how she's supposed to check her email, print it out, and write replies to people. Honestly, she just hasn't been willing to put in the time it would take to get comfortable with using the few programs she wants to use.
Or you could use one of these.
The people that say that this smacks of conversion and fanaticalism are correct. I mean, put it in the xmas cards if you want, but don't get all upset if no one installs it.
I mean seriously, how many people really want to think about OS's during Christmas?
This is a better Halloween gift then anything. You can be that crazy old man that gives out Linux Distros instead of candy bars.
On a serious note.
This puts a thought in my head.
I have pretty much 'zero' interest in running Linux thankyouverymuch.
One of the reasons I don't desire to attempt it is because of the headache factor. Command line commands I don't know, drivers I don't know where to find, sound card that won't work.... blah, blah blah.
All I know is that when I install windows it comes up as advertised.
See, I think this guy is onto something. I just don't think he is thinking of the correct use for it.
What about a seriously generic Linux distro where a newbie like myself could put it in his CD drive, it would boot into some sort of DOS like equivelant where it would ask some simple questions about partioning and formatting the drive, then 20 minutes later it would finish the install and boot me up to a GUI desktop with video drivers installed (well generic ones at least), sound drivers installed and firefox installed.
I am not aware that such a creature exists. It probably does though. But that is one reason I haven't attempted it. I don't feel like taking on a learning curve that for me would start on the install. I can learn about dealing with drivers and command lines and such later. Just get me to a GUI desktop so I have some sort of baseline to work from.
No tux racer? Maybe even the demos of ut2004 or RTCW and Q3A?
Yea, ok, they'd make a "demo Live CD" rather bloated, but the eye candy would be nice...
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
That almost makes it a good idea. Still pretty geeky though.
Send just the cd with simple instructions on it, and have it boot into the desktop and load a slideshow or similar.
Might actually get some people to try it.
I would think twice before doing. Seriously, how many people, whether family or friends, wouldn't think of you as a fanatic or total nerd if you went around giving Linux as a christmas gift.
I have done it, I am a nerd, and the gift was greatfully received, not to mention put to good use.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
passe != "once popular". when i was a kid i recall getting things like "mcdonalds bucks" from cheap relatives that kids would get for afterschool participation. cost nothing to the giver. that might have passed then, but not now. hence, passe. out of fashion. no longer acceptable.
open mouth, insert foot.
"You and your third dimension."
Where would we be if Wheel had hid her round rock in a cave instead of showing everyone how it rolls?
"but he did use it as his primary desktop for a while. "
Why did he stop using it? Was it due to an issue with Linux or something else?
Somebody's been taking too many marketing classes ;).
Never has anyone accused me of that before. You insensitive clod
What I don't get is people going off on the idea this guy's motive is to somehow "forcefeed" people Linux. Is the guy going to their house with a rifle later on to check up on them and see how much they've been worshipping at the Altar of the Penguin? I doubt it.
He's not "adding value" by giving people something they can get themselves just as easily
The "value add" here in MarketSpeak(TM) is that rather than someone getting just a Christmas card, you also get something you can try out on your computer. Or not. The choice is yours. Regarding the "just as easily" bit, that's rather in the eye of the beholder, don't you think? Out of my potential Christmas card list of 40 odd people, I can count on one hand the number of people on that list who would know:
- How to download and burn an ISO
- are on a broadband connection to make it possible
- and even know what a Linux LiveCD is, what it's for, and how it might be interesting to try.
Just because it's easy for you and me, doesn't mean it's easy for everyone.
As an aside, last Christmas when I went to visit relatives in the interior, I brought my laptop with me and some disks, including the latest rev of Knoppix at the time. My sister's computer went tits up at her place on Boxing day, and the whole crowd was amazed to see me put a CD into the drive and boot into a fully functional machine on a CD, recovering all her data before we redid the box. They were even more amazed by the idea that this was a free to give away CD and they could each have one too in case something happens to their machines so they can still get on the web, etc. I probably burned and gave away a dozen copies of Knoppix. Based on that experience alone, just for giving to relatives "just in case", I think it's a great idea.
Got my vote! Installed it for the first time this week. Why can't all distro's do this? I would gut a lot of the apps in it, but at least they are decent apps! All the plugins are done, what more could you ask for? Mepis may very well represent a paradym shift in not only LiveCD's but distro's in general.