Mar 19, 2008

Test pre-releases in a more eco-friendly way.

Idea description:
The idea is for a very simple and user-friendly program, which provides the user with an up-to-date list of pre-released (alpha, beta, release candidate…) versions of Ubuntu. The user then chooses a version, for instance Hardy Heron Alpha 6, and the program sets up the partitions needed and installs the selected (ISO) data on the users USB flash drive. Now the user can boot up on the USB flash drive and install the selected release as if it was from a CD. Afterwards the user can erase the data from the flash drive by clicking the “remove data” button inside the program.

Reason:
1. The short release cycle in Ubuntu (and many other distributions), means that every six months, many people download the Alpha 1, 2, 3…, Beta, Release candidate and at last the final release. That’s a lot of CD’s being burned, and when the release you downloaded is outdated, you properly won’t use the CD again. Linux is actually quite eco-friendly (http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/items/environment/index.php?lang=), but this program could provide a way to reduce the amount of CD’s ending up in the trash bin.

2. This program would also provide a tool, that would easily make users able to carry a portable Linux version (and their portable desktop) around with them on their USB flash drive.

Contribute:
Please comment on this project! If you want to help out (especially programmers) please let me know.

Links:
Below is a guide to install, boot and run Ubuntu 7.10 from a flash drive. It seems kind of difficulty, especially for beginners, compared to how I imagine this program would work.
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09/28/usb-ubuntu-710-gutsy-gibbon-install/

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