

50 mb Linux livecd distro with a XUL interface and 10 second boot - sandGorgon
http://www.xpud.org/
The April release of xpud brings a re-designed interface, called 'Plate',  based on XUL and moblin patches integrated with the 2.6.28 kernel. 
The distro is built off a build system that repackages Ubuntu debs.
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ruby_roo
Can someone tell me if this is a good idea?

You put this fast-booting live distro on a thumbdrive or disc, and it boots
straight into a kiosk mode where you have just a full-screen browser that is
restricted to your web-based sales portal. Perhaps it is simply an online
store catalog with shopping cart and checkout.

Let's say you sell products at various fairs or conventions - maybe you travel
a lot - wouldn't it be nice to be able to turn any cheap, old computer with a
network connection (maybe you have many of them) into a fully-functioning on-
site store in under 10 seconds without having to mess with anything? Just plug
in that USB drive, boot, remove the USB drive, and you're done (or you do the
same for a set of machines). If someone kicks out a power plug, just reboot
like you did the first time and relax, knowing that the same exact
functionality will be available on every computer you run this on, every time,
with nothing to configure, nothing to install, and leaves no footprint on any
of the machines you touch (runs completely in memory).

If needed, this fast-booting kiosk distro could download config settings from
your web service (maybe you want to change your prices or catalog depending on
the computer's location).

Could something like this reduce the cost and hassle of running profitable
vendor kiosks at fairs/festivals/shows/conventions/malls/lobbies? Enough to be
worth paying for such software?

What are the implications of instantly deployable, domain-specific thin-
clients along these lines? What are the risks? Or is this just backward
thinking?

~~~
patio11
_What are the risks?_

You can't trust the hardware or the network, for one. Did you check for a
hardware keylogger?

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ggchappell
Can someone figure out:

(1) What does "compatible with most major Linux distributions like Ubuntu or
Fedora" mean? It's a separate distro, right? I've never heard of one distro
being "compatible" with another.

(2) Does the "media player" play DVDs?

~~~
jrockway
_(2) Does the "media player" play DVDs?_

Probably not, since that's technically illegal.

~~~
ninguem2
What's wrong with inserting a DVD on a computer's DVD drive and watching it
using this distro's media player? GP didn't say anything about ripping.

~~~
jrockway
I didn't make the law, but technically, what you describe is not lawful. I
think, technically, you can do it... but vendors can't distribute the compiled
code that does it without a license from the DVD consortium folks.

~~~
BjornW
AFAIK and IANAL you're not completely right.

It depends on the type of DVD you use. If for instance it's a movie DVD using
something like CSS (remember DVD Jon?) and you access it's content by breaking
the CSS "protection" then you're right. Basically if you need specific codecs
or circumvent certain "protection" layers it would probably be something that
you might want to check with a legal expert. In any other case where you want
to access a plain DVD, AFAIK this is completely legal anywhere in the world.

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jrockway
Incidentally, I tried Moblin in a VM earlier today:

<http://moblin.org/documentation/test-drive-moblin>

It boots from nothing to a working desktop in 8 seconds. Wow!

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BetaRepeating
booted in 5.4 seconds on my computer!

Acer Aspire 4730z Intel Pentium dual core T3400 (2.16GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 1MB L2
cache) 732MB Mobile Intel Graphics 2GB DDR2 RAM

Using the USB boot, version xpud-0.8.9

wifi didnt work with my Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network
Adapter 802.11b/g/draft-n but i havent had a chance to fiddle with it.

this concept is a good one, but it is obviously still in infancy and has a
long way to go. I will personally be watching this distro closely to see where
they go

one thing that concerns me, where on earth is the community?

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kbrower
eee 700 compatible <http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=65169>

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schtono
...using SSDs?

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smallfries
Love the boot time on this. . . . boxee on the go ?

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digispaghetti
On my Acer Aspire One (1.6Ghz Atom, 1Gb ram) with a 2Mb/s USB stick I counted
about 16 seconds to boot from selection, overall about 30 seconds with my BIOS
boot.

Couldn't get Wifi to connect, and a lot of missing features.

Very interesting though, could be perfect for quick kisok-style applications
as well as a quick boot loader - looks like the plan allowing other OS's to be
booted into from it.

~~~
cdr
10 seconds (or 16?) doesn't seem that great - XP boots that fast for me. I
didn't watch the video though, and most of my boot speed is due to my Intel
SSD.

~~~
stcredzero
If this boots from a CD or a rotating HD in 10 seconds, then they could have
an "instant-on" netbook. Instant-on netbooks and laptops will win over the end
user. This is a step towards turning the computer into an appliance.

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TweedHeads
Upvoted for XUL

