[Tutor] curses

[Tiger12506]

> There IS a way to try Linux, Python, and curses WITHOUT
> installing anything to the hard-drive of your MSWindowsXP
> computer, and that is to download a Linux LiveCD ISO image,
> and make a bootable CD from that image. Your computer
> BIOS should be setup to boot from a CD.

*That* is the problem. I have *NEVER* been able to get a computer to boot 
from a CD. Yes, the BIOS settings are there, the CDs all seem valid (they 
all have the appropriate MBRs etc.) and yet *none* of the computers I have 
ever come in contact with will boot from a CD. You can imagine the hell I 
have to work through trying to repair damaged XP installations. (The Windows 
OS installer fits on SIX floppy disks, and if you choose an install option 
that you didn't mean to, you can't go back. You have to restart and run 
through all six disks AGAIN).

> Put the LiveCD in
> the CD drive, and reboot. The LiveCD runs in RAM, so you
> need at LEAST 128MB RAM to run it (for good results).
> Since it runs in RAM, nothing touches the HD. When you
> are finished, simply Shutdown the computer, take out the CD,
> and reboot into MSWindowsXP.

RAM isn't a problem. Nothing touches the HD unless I want it to... ;-)
It would be great to be able to boot from a CD, it seems that the
the computers that fall into my lap all need to be tweaked from a bootdisk
before they will boot Windows.

> Warning: there are over 200 Linux LiveCDs to choose from!
> Not all of them are designed for developers, so they may
> or may not have Python installed by default. One easy-to-use
> general-purpose Linux LiveCD is called SimplyMEPIS.
> You can find a download mirror here:
> http://www.mepis.org/mirrors
> You should have a fast connection to download this ISO image.
> The SimplyMEPIS LiveCD is about 700MB in size!

The size of a CD. Aah. To stuff your media as tightly as possible. That 
worries me. I like very clean, very efficient things. ;-)

> Python is already installed, as well as the curses module.
>
> This is a general-purpose desktop OS that runs the K Desktop
> Environment (KDE), and has all sorts of interpreters and compilers
> on it besides Python. It has a 75% 'Ubuntu' core with a 25% MEPIS
> wrapper that makes things work out of the box.
>
> A Linux LiveCD can be carried with you, and used on remote
> computers without having to install anything on the remote computer.
> So you can have Python with you, wherever you go. =)

I tried to install linux on one of my old desktop machines. The boot install 
floppy that I used put junk characters on the screen, and certainly didn't 
bring up the install menu ;-)
Debian looked the most promising at the time for easy install and casual 
trans to linux.

Thanks for the advice, though.
JS

PS
> Hey bhaaluu - I've enjoyed your posts to the list so far.  They're very
> informative and well-written.
> -Luke

I agree completely!!!