Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

> On Mon, Dec 18, 2006 at 05:23:39PM +0000, sindi keesan wrote:
> > On Mon, 18 Dec 2006, Lee Forrest wrote:
>
> I've fixed the top posting. But I won't do it often. And I've
> already blocked one person on this list from my mailboxes
> for doing it chronically.
>
> It _stinks_.

Please explain what top posting is.

> > He is coming by in three days to work on it with us. I asked
> > him what software is on it now. If it has XP, is there some
> > easy way to add BL3? I used qemu in BL to run DOS (badly) -
> > would I use qemu to run BL in XP?
> >
> > If it has ME I can run loop linux. If it has 2000 we have the
> > CD so I can risk shrinking it, but how do I shrink an NTFS file
> > system?
>
> I first ran linux by reinstalling XP and leaving enough space
> for linux to run on, and booting from a floppy. (Could be
> a CD, of course.) You could also use an app like partition
> magic to shrink the windows partition, but I hear they are
> risky.

He bought the computer used and is unlikely to have received an XP CD with 
it.  If he wants to keep XP, I am not going to shrink it, and I don't 
think our DOS PQMAGIC could shrink XP anyway.  Nor can we assume he has a 
working CD-ROM drive (our best laptop does not).

> If your friend doesn't have enough commitment to do that he
> should just run one of the live CDs, like slax or knoppix.

He knows nothing about linux, just asked if I could get his daughter doing 
email and I suggested linux.  It boots a lot faster, even from floppy 
disk, and I don't want to learn enough XP to help him with it.   I should 
look up qemu in the archives.

We could make him a copy of an old DSL (Damn Small Linux) version but I 
find it more confusing and you can't customize it.  We want something 
simple and single-purpose.

> BL would not be for him. This is definitely a hacker's distro.

I am not a hacker.  This is the only linux I have run for more than half 
an hour.  Everything I know about linux I have learned here.  There are 
quite a few other beginners.

> Lee