I f nothing else, Linux is versatile. You can find Linux on PCs and Macs; some cars use Linux as an embedded OS, and thereis version of Linux that runs on PDAs (as well as iPods, but weire still working on that story). Thereis even a version that someone got to boot on a wristwatch.
Many people like Linux because they can install it on old computer equipment they have lying around; Linux gives that old Mac or PC a new lease on life.
Hey, now! Thereis a thought: What if you happen to have something else lying around the house, say, a dead badger. Could you load Linux on that?
Of course! It isnit easy, but we happened to find instruction for Installing Linux on a Dead Badger on a very strange Web site, and we offer it to you in this installment of A Cool Waste Of Time.
As one might imagine from the name of the site, Strange Horizons, it is, well, strange. It contains a collection of odd bits; poetry, reviews, fiction, and the instructions for installing Linux on a dead badger. If you read some of the other stuff on the site youill find the dead badger thing is not out of line.
Speaking of which, hereis the list of needed items if you intend to attempt a Linux installation on ill-tempered woodland creatures. (Though we suppose the temperament of badgers are somewhat milder once they are deceased.)
Minimum Installation Requirements:
- one (1) pocketknife
- one (1) screwdriver, flathead, to install Duppy card (see item 4. below)
- computer with:
- CD drive
- USB, Ethernet, or a free slot for wireless networking card
- Telnet or SSH client installed
- cyberspiritual controller program such as FleshGolem (MacOSX and Linux), Phranken (Windows 98, ME, 2000), or ItzaLive (MacOS 8.1-9.x and Amiga)
- one (1) Duppy card (available in CardBus and PCI models) or SpiritInTheSky external adapter (available in ethernet and USB models)
- VüDü Linux (available from Twisted Faces Software)
- minimum 3i x 3i (1m x 1m) fireproof surface, in secure, ventilated area
- privacy
- one (1) dead badger, good condition
Now, you have a cool project for the weekend.
Do you have a Cool Waste of Time you found on the Internet? Tell Vern Seward all about it, and heis pass it around...