[Novalug] INTERNET-IN-A-BOX

greg pryzby greg@pryzby.org
Sun May 11 11:24:13 EDT 2014


INLINE response


On Sat, May 10, 2014 at 2:55 PM, Denny Baumann <a4s4evr@comcast.net> wrote:

> Gentlemen,
>
> It was a pleasure meeting with you today and I appreciate Greg setting
> up the box so that you could see its contents and ask questions about
> its use in Haiti.  Some of you may not have watched the IIAB You-Tube
> video which is available at: "http://internet-in-a-box.org/".  While I
> was disappointed that Greg will not be able to devote any time to this
> project for the next few months,  I was encouraged by the response of
> the entire group and your offers of assistance to solve a few of the
> problems which we've discussed.  As I see it, the fundamental decisions
> which I have to make are:
>
> 1.  Should IIAB exist as a stand alone piece of hardware as it currently
> exists, or should we move to a 1TB HD in one of our better laptops to
> serve the same purpose.
>


Since you have laptops available (or a desktop, it doesn't matter), I would
use that instead of the Seagate product.



> 2.  As a stand alone device, what O/S changes need to be incorporated to
> improve its performance AND allow us to periodically modify the contents
> of the box.
>


You can pick any distribution. It can be debian or Fedora/RHEL based (even
SuSE if there is someone who prefers that).  Ideally it would be a 'server'
install so there isn't extra stuff running. Server Install (minimal if
server isn't available) will NOT install a desktop and all the extra stuff.
This will free memory, CPU and diskspace.

Determining the exact packages (webserver and python) you need would take a
little bit of time (10 minutes for an experienced Linux person).


3.  As a stand alone device,  should we be buying a better piece of
> hardware than the current Seagate product?
>


Laptop to replace Seagate-- see #1 and #4.



> 4.  Someone suggested that we could purchase a 1TB laptop HD and load
> the contents of IIAB onto that computer.  What are the advantages and
> disadvantages of that course of action?
>


You have two options. You can put a bigger drive in the laptops (easiest
and fastest since it is all in one) or connect an external harddrive via
USB. The external hard drive would be slower and (probably) require an
external power source.



> 5.  What kind of O/S needs to run on this "master laptop" to make it
> accessible and EASY TO USE by all of the students in the computer lab.
>

See #1, any Linux distribution. Ideally it would be a server without a
desktop. It would work as the current IIAB works but running from a laptop
and NOT a NAS (Network Attached Storage-- Seagate for instance).  The
laptop would need to either be wired or wireless connected to the network.
Ideally if there is a wifi access point that has a wired connection, I
would use that for the IIAB laptop and have the students connect via wifi
to http://know.local/



> That's enough questions for now.  I know that "opinions" are like ?????
> and everyone has one.  I'm now asking for your opinions/input on the
> above questions.  My goal is to sort out these issues and then proceed
> with building an IIAB which is customized for use in Haiti.
>
> Thanks again for your comments earlier today and I look forward to
> working with you on behalf of some VERY needy children.
>
> Denny Baumann
>
> 540-878-3056
>
> a4s4evr@comcast.net
>
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-- 
greg pryzby                              greg at pryzby dot org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gpryzby

TWTR: gpryzby
WEB:  http://www.MakeRoomForArt.com/
BLOG: http://lonetrikerphotography.tumblr.com/ (photos)
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