In a recent Suitwatch column, Doc Searls talks about the issues of running and living with Linux on a new IBM laptop.
I have been wanting to run Linux for some time but have not had a spare machine to install it. I thought about a dual-boot install on my wife’s machine, but there would be hell to pay if I hosed it.
Awhile back I ran across Knoppix and decided to give it a try on my IBM T20. I was intrigued by the ability to run a Linux distro without having to install anything (this is a work machine). After downloading the ISO file and figuring out how to burn an bootable cd-rom, I was ready to give it a whirl.
I inserted the cd, restarted and lo and behold the machine started up and went throught the loader process. It did a fine job of recognizing my wi-fi card and other hardware. Once the loading is done, it boots you into the KDE desktop.
Here’s where it got a little tricky. I needed to configure my wifi card to get access to the net. Off to google I went and a short time later I had it working. I was able to see other wireless networks in my area by using kismet.
Any configuration changes you make aren’t saved unless you install to your hard drive. There might be a way to save the configs between sessions, but I have not had the time to dig that up. There are a ton of applications on the CD including OpenOffice, but I did run through many of them.
Knoppix is Debian based and after my initial experience I would be willing to do a full install of Debian some day…now I just need to get my hands on an extra machine.