Mini Linux distros such as Lubuntu, Puppy Linux, and Tiny Core Linux are designed to fit on and boot from small media, such as USB flash drives, flash memory cards such as Secure Digital or CompactFlash, and regular and mini CD's. In theory, if you have reboot privileges, you can carry your own OS and data files in your pocket, and summon them up on whatever hardware you encounter, without affecting the native installed OS and data. Tiny Core is only 11MB, but may be a bit challenging for Linux newbies. Puppy Linux is about 100MB, which obviously takes longer to download, but is more user-friendly, with wizards and documentation.
You probably won't be able to boot a mini Linux on library or Fedex-type rental computers. In a corporate environment, their security setup might not actually prevent you, but you might still have a red-alert security freak-out descend on you, immediately or later.
In fact, lots of competent Windows users are going to find this concept scary, even if you are a good friend. It's natural for people to be afraid of stuff they don't understand.
Maybe a better way to do mobile computing with a mini Linux is to use it to resurrect an older notebook computer. Linux mini-distros can run installed on some fairly old hardware, in some cases down to Pentium I with 32MB RAM. You can often get such machines cheaply or free, because relative to current Windows versions, people will tend to consider them useless. OpenOffice.org, Firefox, and Thunderbird are all available free for Linux, along with lots of other software, and you can use Wine to run compatible Windows software that's not available natively for Linux. This is a good dodge for penniless students, too.
Another available win in this area is replacing the typical 2½-inch notebook hard disk with an adapter and SDHC or CF flash memory card. You should be able to significantly extend operating time between charges by doing so.
Conventional wisdom says that one can now do anything on a laptop/notebook computer that can be done with a desktop PC. In TV and movies these days, everyone seems to have a slim notebook, wireless Internet, and no desktop PC. I've been dubious about this style of computing, at least for ordinary folks not rolling in money. If your only computer is a notebook, which you carry around lots, what happens if it develops a hardware problem? You have no computer? With a generic desktop PC, if something like a power supply quits, you just need to replace that piece.
If you use a cheaply-acquired older notebook, with a mini Linux installed, just for mobile stuff, and it quits, you can just say "easy come, easy go," take it to the local computer recycler, and scrounge yourself another one. Also, since your mobile computer is not expected to do everything in this model—requiring it to have every port type known to Man—it can be a light and handy notebook with a slim form factor.
site feedback