Yep sounds great and a real good un too! My only worry on this would be the cost of maintaining the stocks of those USB drives.
Presumeably this would be just a web based and not a telephone based service Alan? How about taking it one step back and providing CD / DVD with just the new apps and dependancies, and updates that the user requires? For instance you install the Live CD so have the basic package. You log onto "Al's virtual store" and look at the descriptions of those apps available in whichever repo is available to you. You select those apps you want to try, and 48 hours later the CD / DVD arrives with not only those packages you requested, but all the updates for the base install. Next time around, the system remembers what you have already asked for so sends out the updates for those as well as the new requests. Additionally, you could have a monthly or bi-monthly subscription to send out all the updates that have come out during the previous period. If you don't like the package, you remove it from your personal list, and so won't get any further updates. This seems a cheaper and less difficult system to maintain. But it's unfortunately not that green, and more importantly I haven't got a clue as to how practical it is either! It also means that the cost to the end user is less as we aren't holding a returns fee with all the cost and implications that that entails; instead all they pay for is the cost of the CD / DVD, P&P and a small mark up to cover running costs. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a really grand idea, and certainly would enjoy the challenge of something like this! To be honest and pre-echo a subsequent mail, it sounds so good that someone somewhere must already run such a service ....? Actually, following on from this how does Ubuntu distribute it's Live CD's worldwide - are they all shipped from the States or are there stocks held throughout the world for local distribution? E -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jim Kissel Sent: 04 June 2007 10:54 To: Alan Pope; British Ubuntu Talk Subject: Re: [ubuntu-uk] repo in a box Alan Pope wrote: > On Mon, Jun 04, 2007 at 08:49:08AM +0000, liam jackson wrote: >> Hi >> I have asked several people this question, but do not get any replies, >> I have just installed ubuntu onto my pc at home, but as I am not on line i have to use a library pc for any downloading at present, (i on the sick and cannot afford it at present). i want to install a different media player, but just can't seem to do it, >> 1st, do i have to be online to load programes? > > Further to this.. > > I have often thought that someone should provide a service where you can > "rent a repo" on a USB hard disk. You would pay a company a deposit for the > disk and then subscription, and for that money you get sent a USB disk > containing the entire Ubuntu repository for the release you are on (or the > next one up you want to upgrade to). At any time you could send it back and > get it updated and returned (24/48 hour turnaround would be appropriate). > > This would work well also for people on dialup or people in outlying areas. > It would also be good for people with many machines which need updating - > such as a school - but limited bandwidth. > > For the technically minded this could be easily implemented with the use of > apt-mirror to mirror the repo(s), and rsync to update the USB hard disks. > The entire repo for one release is about 30GiB at the moment, which easily > fits on a cheap small USB hard disk (retail currently around 35GBP. Using > laptop sized ones there is no need for a power supply (although if a machine > has issues with power the user can supply one themselves), and the postage > would be relatively cheap. > > The main issues I see with this are:- > > 1) Licensing - would it be 100% legal to redistribute the entire (main, > restricted, multiverse, universe) repository? > 2) Cost - it would need to be less than the cost of capped broadband - > although for those people with no opportunity to get broadband this might > not be a problem :) > 3) Drive failure - disks being sent back and forth in the post might lead to > a shorter lifespan? > 4) Trust: Would a customer trust that the disk really does contain the repo > and not some nasty spyware etc. > > Maybe a system with different levels. > > Bronze: You get one repo on the disk and can send the disk back once a > month. > Silver: You get two repos (e.g. Feisty and Gutsy) and can send the disk back > twice a month. > Gold: You get three repos (e.g. Dapper, Feisty and Gutsy) and can send the > disk back four times a month. > Platinum: You get all the repos for all versions of Ubuntu released so far > (Warty through Gutsy) and can send the disk back as many times as you like. > > All disks would also contain the ISO images which match the version of > Ubuntu being mirrored, and would clearly contain all packages for > Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu, server etc. > > Of course for platinum I realise that some versions are no longer supported, > but if people have machines that have been installed from Warty and want to > upgrade rather than re-install this provides an option to them. > > It should be possible to upgrade/downgrade at (for example) three times a > year between bronze/silver/gold/platinum. > > Yet another hare-brained popey idea. I like it Al! Let's do it. JV? > > Comments welcome :) > > Cheers, > Al. > > > -- Simple effective migration to Open Source based computing Jim Kissel Open Source Migrations Limited w: http://www.osml.eu e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] p: +44(0) 8703 301044 m: +44(0) 7976 411 679 -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
