Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

We are trying to fix a laptop computer (ME) for someone in another town 
for doing email at wifi hotspots, and I offered him a loaner.  Having seen 
what just happened to an XP computer that got hit by a virus (which 
disabled the antivirus program and let in 84 others in one browsing 
session) I would not lend anyone a Windows computer without antivirus 
protection, and my laptops won't be usable with the antivirus program 
slowing them down.  BL has never gotten viruses that I know of.

Opera 8.54 with JWM in BL3 at 800x600 let me sign up slowly (use BASIC 
non-ActiveX LITE version as home page) and send AOL mail (default is HTML 
but settings, compose lets you remove that - unbeknownst to everyone 
writing me from AOL) but the SUBMIT button was nearly off screen bottom. 
Zoom out. No way to optimize for a smaller screen (unlike fastmail.fm).

AOL requires typing in words from images to sign up, twice.

I cannot get rid of tabbed browsing by unchecking 'Open pages in tabs'. 
Is there some other way?  'Memory cache automatic' might swap cache to 
swapfile.  Perhaps 'no cache' would make things even faster but it might 
cause problems that I cannot fix long distance.

Opera set to not display images downloads them (and probably caches them) 
anyway.  Other ideas for saving memory?

I would use kernel 2.4 with an orinoco card for broadband.  He goes to 
McDonalds to do email.  Would he need encryption?  The weather here is not 
good for lugging laptops around in right now to test (big snowstorm).

How would I best automate it to boot and run dhcp, load X and Opera?
He would then just exit Opera (or not?) and reboot.

I have five days to work on this.  He may decide against it but I would 
then have optimized my laptop for broadband at the library.

Sindi Keesan