Re: RMS: users request you perhaps program HURD: they fear the path the linux kernel is going.

Re: RMS: users request you perhaps program HURD: they fear the path the linux kernel is going.

[Jean Louis]

* Svante Signell <svante.signell@gmail.com> [2019-11-13 17:01]:
> On Wed, 2019-11-13 at 16:36 +0530, Jean Louis wrote:
> > 
> > It is time to make fully free FSF endorsed GNU/Hurd
> > distribution.
> 
> As you might know, Guix is working on to also support GNU/Hurd. Maybe you can
> make contributions there (in addition to Debian GNU/Hurd).

That is excellent and it is good for Western world users.

Yet Guix operating system has higher requirements, it is not operating
system for average user, especially not for people in third world
countries. While global perception is that Internet is everywhere, it
is not quite, and people in third world countries still use older
computers, Internet is very expensive or difficult to reach.

From:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Guix#Guix_System_Distribution

Quote:

At the cost of greater storage requirements, all upgrades in Guix are
guaranteed to be both atomic and efficiently rolled back. This also
enables multiple users to safely install software on the same system
without administrator privileges. The extra storage requirements
translates to greater bandwidth usage when binary substitutes are
downloaded compared to distributions such as Debian. If the user
chooses to build everything from source even larger storage space and
bandwidth is required.

That is my experience, for simple upgrade, I had to spend considerable
amount of data, waiting time, and space on the hard disk. I think, but
not know for sure, that system like Guix SD cannot be used straight
from the DVD only, it requires Internet and downloading.

Operating system shall be self-contained, usable only from the DVD. I
hope I am wrong in case of Guix. My impression is that it depends on
Internet and thus it is only for people with Internet
connection. Majority of the world computing is still offline.

This may sound surprising for many. But that is the case in Rwanda,
Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Tanzania alone is like France and Germany
together, there are Internet points where Internet can be used and
there is Internet, but people are not connected. Majority of computers
are not connected to Internet. It is possible to use mobile data, but
that is very difficult with higher demands, and not reliable.

I do hope to get better fully free system distribution that can be
used straight from the DVD.

Even Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre that I am using now, cannot be
installed only from the DVD, not that I know. It required Internet. By
duplicating repositories or packages, I could spare Internet to
duplicate system on other computers, yet it is very difficult.

Jean