Using a vm brings its own problems as well- I'd say there is no "perfect, easy" solution.
On the other hand, I have had very good luck with the Mepis LiveCDs: very few hardware problems other than some wireless nics. If you install on one computer you can also create a bootable usb drive with just a few clicks.
The BEST solution for learning purposes would be to install a distro in dual boot, but for portable use, a Mepis LiveUSB should do pretty well.
Here we have a story of a teacher who has a valid concern (in theory) over what might be going on in her classroom and then reacts out of ignorance. No effort was made by the teacher to actually research the subject before jumping to conclusions and sending off what must be one of the silliest, most ridiculous emails I have seen. A thought that might have helped prevent the teacher avoid the ridicule that will follow: "Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
In truth I am not entirely surprised by the teacher though.
Nor am I too surprised by the blogged response that perpetuates the negative stereotype of linux users as arrogant, obnoxious know-it-alls who might be a little bit crazy... (Conspiracy theory? Please.)
Linux improves all the time. The amount of POSITIVE media attention and awareness linux gets continues to grow, as does marketshare.
The response posted in the blog reinforces my belief that what holds linux back the most is some of the users.
Too bad, really, because linux users and the community is also one of the greatest strengths we have.
Kinda tough to find ONE online vendor with good prices that has ALL the parts you need for building your own computer. Only a few around, really, and I think Newegg is probably the best of them overall, but ZipZoomFLy (as stated before) is pretty good as long as they have the parts you want.
Amazon can be be pretty good but the pc hardware selection is far smaller than a big, pc-centric etailer.
Directron is good for many things, and on some parts may have the lowest prices you can find- yet on others be among the most costly.
Jab-Tech has a more limited selection than some of the more well known places, but the pricing on what they do have is usually pretty damn good.
It seems to me that you will need to look around at a few places to see if the parts they carry will meet your goal- price out the full system and see which one ends up the cheapest.
Alternatively, if you are willing to deal with at least a couple of vendors, you can probably save a couple of bucks (even counting shipping) and avoid tax.
Newegg is the easiest, fastest and most simple option though, and may still be worth it, even with tax depending on how you value your time. The prices are not usually the LOWEST available, but they ARE usually within a few dollars- on everything you'll want or need. From just one vendor.
If I was doing a complete. ground-up system, I'd probably go with a few vendors myself: stick with 3 or less and you maximize savings and minimize hassles.
Both of these articles present exactly the same conclusions, people.
In a nutshell:
The ozone layer is recovering; slowly, but it IS recovering. Some areas show improvement now, others are still getting a bit worse but the net toatl is improvement that may have us near pre-industrial layers of Ozone aorund 2050.
Many of the comments on this topic bring to mind another thing about the modern world that I find even scarier than loss of ozone:
People who think they have a clue when they do not even know a thing about the topic on which they speak.
Slashdot Mirror
Using a vm brings its own problems as well- I'd say there is no "perfect, easy" solution.
On the other hand, I have had very good luck with the Mepis LiveCDs: very few hardware problems other than some wireless nics.
If you install on one computer you can also create a bootable usb drive with just a few clicks.
The BEST solution for learning purposes would be to install a distro in dual boot, but for portable use, a Mepis LiveUSB should do pretty well.
Here we have a story of a teacher who has a valid concern (in theory) over what might be going on in her classroom and then reacts out of ignorance.
No effort was made by the teacher to actually research the subject before jumping to conclusions and sending off what must be one of the silliest, most ridiculous emails I have seen.
A thought that might have helped prevent the teacher avoid the ridicule that will follow:
"Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
In truth I am not entirely surprised by the teacher though.
Nor am I too surprised by the blogged response that perpetuates the negative stereotype of linux users as arrogant, obnoxious know-it-alls who might be a little bit crazy... (Conspiracy theory? Please.)
Linux improves all the time.
The amount of POSITIVE media attention and awareness linux gets continues to grow, as does marketshare.
The response posted in the blog reinforces my belief that what holds linux back the most is
some of the users.
Too bad, really, because linux users and the community is also one of the greatest strengths we have.
Kinda tough to find ONE online vendor with good prices that has ALL the parts you need for building your own computer. Only a few around, really, and I think Newegg is probably the best of them overall, but ZipZoomFLy (as stated before) is pretty good as long as they have the parts you want.
Amazon can be be pretty good but the pc hardware selection is far smaller than a big, pc-centric etailer.
Directron is good for many things, and on some parts may have the lowest prices you can find- yet on others be among the most costly.
Jab-Tech has a more limited selection than some of the more well known places, but the pricing on what they do have is usually pretty damn good.
It seems to me that you will need to look around at a few places to see if the parts they carry will meet your goal- price out the full system and see which one ends up the cheapest.
Alternatively, if you are willing to deal with at least a couple of vendors, you can probably save a couple of bucks (even counting shipping) and avoid tax.
Newegg is the easiest, fastest and most simple option though, and may still be worth it, even with tax depending on how you value your time.
The prices are not usually the LOWEST available, but they ARE usually within a few dollars-
on everything you'll want or need.
From just one vendor.
If I was doing a complete. ground-up system, I'd probably go with a few vendors myself: stick with 3 or less and you maximize savings and minimize hassles.
I expect that they will discover them to be military rations before long.
Both of these articles present exactly the same conclusions, people. In a nutshell: The ozone layer is recovering; slowly, but it IS recovering. Some areas show improvement now, others are still getting a bit worse but the net toatl is improvement that may have us near pre-industrial layers of Ozone aorund 2050. Many of the comments on this topic bring to mind another thing about the modern world that I find even scarier than loss of ozone: People who think they have a clue when they do not even know a thing about the topic on which they speak.
*CPU Heatsinks have fans that are usually the loudest part.
*Check your video cards, folks- many of them have loud fans as well.
*hard drives and optical drives (cd, dvd) can be noisy when reading and writing- they may spool up to MAXIMUM speed and be quite noticeable.
Personally, when I run my main computer I can literally hear a piece of paper drop on my desk- but then I am a water cooling hobbyist.