[Infowarrior] - Byzantium Linux 0.3a release

[Richard Forno]

(c/o The Doctor)

http://project-byzantium.org/announcing-the-release-of-v0-3a-codename-beach-cat/

ANNOUNCING BYZANTIUM LINUX V0.3a (Beach Cat)
Approved for: GENERAL RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED

NOTE: This is Byzantium Linux for x86-compatible laptops and desktops.
This release is not compatible with the Raspberry Pi.  We just started
work on that port.

Project Byzantium, a working group of HacDC (http://hacdc.org/) is
proud to announce the release of v0.3 alpha of Byzantium Linux, a live
distribution of Linux which makes it fast and easy to construct an
ad-hoc wireless mesh network which can augment or replace the current
telecommunications infrastructure in the event that it is knocked
offline (for example, due to a natural disaster) or rendered
untrustworthy (through widespread surveillance or disconnection by
hostile entities).  Byzantium Linux is designed to run on any x86
computer with at least one 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless interface.
Byzantium can be burned to a CD- or DVD-ROM (the .iso image is around
372 megabytes in size), booted from an external hard drive, or can
even be installed in parallel with an existing operating system
without risk to the user's data and software.  Byzantium Linux will
act as a node of the mesh and will automatically connect to other mesh
nodes and act as an access point for wifi-enabled mobile devices.

This release is unique because it is based upon the work we did in New
York City in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy in late 2012.  We
were asked by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to help
restore the telecommunications network in the neighborhood of Red
Hook, and the design requirements were dictated by the needs of the
community as described by leaders and elders.  v0.3a constitutes a
formalization of those requirements rather than the ad-hoc build we
deployed in Red Hook.

THIS IS AN ALPHA RELEASE!  Do NOT expect Byzantium to be perfect.
Some features are not ready yet, others need work.  Things are going
to break in weird ways and we need to know what those ways are so we
can fix them.  Please, for the love of LOLcats, do not deploy
Byzantium in situations where lives are at stake.

FEATURES:
- - Binary compatible with Slackware-CURRENT.  Existing Slackware
packages can be converted with a single command.
- - Automatically configures itself on boot.  There is no longer a need
for a control panel.
- - Can act as a gateway to the Internet if a link is available (via
Ethernet or tethered smartphone).
- - Linux kernel v3.4.4
- - Drivers for dozens of wireless chipsets
- - KDE Trinity r14.0.0 (Development)
- - LXDE (2011 release of all components)
- - Mplayer v4.5.1
- - GCC v4.5.2
- - Perl v5.14
- - Python v2.7.3
- - Firefox v13.0.1
- - X.org

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (to use)
- - Minimum of 1GB of RAM (512MB without copy2ram boot option)
- - i586 CPU or better
- - CD- or DVD-ROM drive
- - BIOS must boot removable media
- - At least one (1) 802.11 a/b/g/n interface

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (for persistent changes)
- - The above requirements to use Byzantium
- - 2+GB of free space on thumbdrive or harddrive

WHAT WE NEED:
- - Developers.
- - Developers!
- - DEVELOPERS!
- - No more Bill Ballmer impersonations.
- - People running Byzantium to find bugs.
- - People reporting bugs on our Github page
(https://github.com/Byzantium/Byzantium/issues).  We can't fix what we
don't know about!
- - Patches.
- - People booting Byzantium and setting up small meshes (2-5 clients)
to tell us how well it works for you with your hardware.  We have a
hardware compatibility list on our wiki that needs to be expanded.
- - Help translating the user interface.  We especially need people
fluent in dialects of Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu.
- - Help us write and translate documentation.

Homepage: http://project-byzantium.org/
Download sites: http://project-byzantium.org/download/

This announcement is published under a Creative Commons By Attribution
/ Noncommercial / Share Alike v3.0 License.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)


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Just because i'm near the punchbowl doesn't mean I'm also drinking from it.