Idea: selling Puppy Linux flash drives

M

MrMormon

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What do you think of the idea of selling flash drives already prepared to boot Puppy Linux on PCs? (I still need to see if I can boot on Macs using online instructions I've found.) I know it's not too hard to prep your own flash drive, even if you have to buy one first, but just think about why this could be marketable.

First of all, advantages of booting from a flash drive include extreme portability for your "computer", having as many "computer" setups as your flash drive can store, non-invasive and (mostly) no-hassle dual-booting, longer memory lifetime compared to live cd, ability to boot on a computer without a cd drive, and ability to run on a computer whose main operating system has crashed or is ruined (or not installed).

Second of all, reasons why Puppy seems to me to be the optimal live usb distro include wide hardware compatibility, ability to run completely in 128MB or less of RAM (making old computers or ones without functioning hard drives usable, and any computer run faster, quieter, and cooler), its completeness yet user-friendliness, and the ease and depth of extensibility and community support (unlike other distros that run RAM-only from a flash drive, and even compares with major distros like Ubuntu).

As to why one might want a flash drive already prepped, there are many variants of Puppy Linux built for different purposes, and many different ways to format flash drives. And puppy drives wouldn't just be for people who are already informed and curious but scared to prep a flash drive themselves. Even though I can prep my own quite easily now, I had trouble at first. These could make great gifts, or save time otherwise spent prepping. Selling Puppy drives could also be a service, where one preps it how the customer wants it.

Maybe I'm just gushing about Puppy Linux on live usb, which I've recently been experimenting with and coincidentally had two genuine needs for already, but I still think this is an interesting idea. What do you think? Would there be a market? Also, SD card+reader vs. plain usb flash drive?
 


Go for it. I found Puppy Linux after my hard drive had some bad sectors and my Windows died. Now I have tried Lucid Puppy, Slacko Puppy and Wary Puppy. Of the three, I prefer Lucid Puppy. I have introduced Puppy Linux to a few friends who were having problems with Windows. I think there is definitely a market for ready-to-use Puppy Linux pendrives.
 
I'd buy one, but I'm not so sure it's something to expect most people would actually use. If you have the room, Ubuntu might be more practicable for the non-Linux savy. I mean- I don't even have a working thumb drive at the moment but how many here could install it on their own. Is there a niche for the idea?
 
Go for it, it may turn out good for you. I've used puppy Linux score and find it very nice os to work with. Fixes all my problem with Linux!


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I believe I've seen people on eBay already doing a similar thing, so it should work. Just make sure that you specify to the potential customer that their rig should support USB booting and that you include some basic instructions for enabling USB booting as some computers don't have it enabled by default in the BIOS.
 
I think that there is a market but that it might be difficult to serve that market unless you were able to get the USB drives or SD cards to people very fast. Otherwise, if it takes a week or more to arrive, those who are interested in such a solution might have time to learn it and would take that route instead. I know that this has been a decision factor for me in some cases.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a dual boot system might also be useful with Ubuntu available as well. That way, it serves the low level and high level at the same time. There have been several times when this would have been useful to me.
 


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