On 12/29/2012 10:46 AM, James Freer wrote: > On Sat, 29 Dec 2012, Phil Dobbin wrote: > >> On 12/29/2012 09:54 AM, James Freer wrote: >> >>> On Fri, 28 Dec 2012, John R Pierce wrote: >>> >>>> On 12/28/2012 3:21 PM, James Freer wrote: >>>>> You mean the bin DVD. Thing is with the DVD they are big for broadband >>>>> download. I think i'd buy one. But i appreciate your advice. >>>> >>>> unless your broadband is metered, or really slow (and then should it be >>>> called broadband?), 4GB or whatever is really not that big of a >>>> deal. a >>>> few hours, perhaps. >>>> >>>>> >>>>> One thing i did learn with linux when i first started is that it's >>>>> essential to have a spare PC to test a distro on first - then one >>>>> can... >>>> >>>> or install it as a VM under VirtualBox or whatever. Thats certainly >>>> how *I* test stuff, and indeed, I put 16GB ram into my latest >>>> desktop PC >>>> just so I can run several substantial VMs as needed. >>> >>> In the UK most broadband providers offer 10GB. After a distro CD, >>> several >>> clips on Youtube, probably a fair bit of "surfing" - i find myself >>> qualifying >>> for a reminder on broadband usage! I've got two spare PCs so i've >>> never looked >>> at VM and certainly never had a PC capable of taking 16GB RAM. >>> Current PC is >>> only about 18 months old so i think i need to shop more carefully >>> next time. >>> >>> many thanks - i'm off to explore Centos again. >> > > Hi Phil > >> I'm with BT Infinity in the UK. Unmetered & 75 MBps down & 15 up. > > hmm - i think i need to have a word with BT! But i don't see how you can > be unmetered and then 75 down and 15 up tbh. Bit more learning and > exploring necessary. Nice to know someone on the list is fron the UK. > >> If servers are your thing, I picked up a Dell Poweredge 860 with 2 x >> Dual Core Xeons & 8 GB's of RAM for £30 off eBay just before Xmas. You >> can, of course, run XWindows on it. It's a tad heavy on the gas (it's >> about 285W I think) but it's perfect for VMs. > > It's something i want to learn about. My hands are rather full copying > with my mother's Alzheimer's so i don't get enough time. I'll get back > to you if that's ok maybe with some questions. Our LUG group never meet > for 'workshops' so i don't have anyone to ask locally. I see you use > several distros - Ubuntu (im)Precise i've given up on. If you're with BT Broadband, you can upgrade to Infinity free of charge (dependent, of course, if it's available in your area) & it's only about a fiver extra a month on the bill. It's very cheap. By all means, if you need anything, just email me. No problem. Cheers, Phil... -- currently (ab)using CentOS 5.8 & 6.3, Debian Squeeze & Wheezy, Fedora Beefy & Spherical, Lubuntu 12.10, OS X Snow Leopard & Ubuntu Precise & Quantal