[nzlug] machine pre loaded with linux

[Robert Coup]

Daniel Lawson wrote:
> Both of you are referring to "thick" client machines, and you will have
> both had a swap partition. I'm sure that's what you wanted to say at
> this point, however the discussion was about how much RAM a thinclient
> needed. At the risk of flogging a dead horse, I feel it should be
> pointed out that not only do thinclients not have swap, but they don't
> as a rule run local applications[1] such as web browsers or word processors.
>   
Surely it would be both cheap and simple for thin-clients to use flash 
for a swap partition?

An onboard SD connector is a few cents, it could connect as a USB device 
if the designer has no engineering skills, and suddenly you have 512MB 
of swap for <US$10.

Along the same lines - since these devices all have USB, is adding a 
card-reader with 1+GB of flash and using that as swap a worthwhile 
expansion option? Can the kernel handle swap on removable devices? Can 
you force it to?

Rob :)