[Buddha-l] Is this guy an, er, budding bodhisattva of IT?

[James A. Stroble]

On Wednesday 25 April 2007 16:44, jkirk wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/2pwpm2
> The 2007 Rave Awards
> Technology: The Wizard of OS
> Mark Shuttleworth | Ubuntu
>
> Used to be, Linux was easy to champion but hard to use. That was before
> Ubuntu. The free open source operating system - complete with a word
> processor, Web browser, spreadsheet application, and PDF reader - is
> elegant, secure, and intuitive. For that, we can thank South African tech
> entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.  [more]
>
> Anyone tried Unbuntu? Does it really work?
>
> Joanna

I currently  use Debian GNU/Linux  myself, but I really think we should avoid 
a distro war on buddha-l, as it can get worse than dharma battles.  So to 
answer the question:  yes, and yes.   The word "ubuntu" mean "humanity" (one 
of the Confucian virtues, if I am not mistaken)  in South Africa, 
Shuttleworth's home turf. 
 
The good thing about Ubuntu is that you can download a disc image, burn that 
to a cd,  reboot your computer off the new CD, and you can run the  system 
from the disc without changing your current setup.  If you like it, then you 
can install to the hard disk. If not, reboot after ejecting the cd, and your 
back where you started. 

There are several alternative versions of Ubuntu, that basically use different 
graphic desktops, such as Kubuntu, (KDE desktop), and Xubuntu (something 
else), and some special purpose, like Edubuntu.  You can find all kinds of 
linux distros  at  http://distrowatch.com/ .    Too many, infact. 

One thing you may not be able to do right off is view/listen to certain 
proprietary codec audio/video files, for example DVD movies.  But there are 
ways that this can be fixed. 

Did we not have a discussion about the need for a Buddhist Linux Distro or at 
least a theme for Ubuntu a while ago?   (Unlike the recent theodic 
(theodical? ) postings I am really trying to make this relevant to the 
academic study of Buddhism, really.)



-- 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; ~ ) 
     J a m e s   ( A n d y )   S t r o b l e 
          H o n o l u l u ,   H I 
      h t t p : / / w w w 2 . h a w a i i . e d u / ~ s t r o b l e / 

:The right way to seize a philosopher. Crates, is by the ears: persuade me  
then and drag me off by them; but if you use violence, my body will be with 
you, but my mind with Stilpo."  Zeno of Citium, Diogenes Laertius, VII:24