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• Launchpad Entry: usbinstall

Summary

This spec is for a USB ubuntu installer. I am aware that it is possible to copy the contents of the alternate CD to a USB stick and use syslinux to make it bootable, but this is too tricky for most users. It would probably have ot be a program which partitions a USB drive and extracts an Ubuntu installer on it.

Release Note

This allows users to install Ubuntu from a USB device easily. (Sorry if that's not what a Release Note should be, I don't know what a release note is!!!)

Rationale

Although CDs and DVDs are easy to use and fairly cheap, they have some major downfalls:

• They are relatively slow compared to USB
• They are write once (except for CD/DVD RWs, which are even slower than their write-once counterparts, and it is impossible to delete individual files on them, the whole disk must be erased instead) whereas USB can be overwritten almost infinite times. Once you've finished with a CD, it's useless, but once you've finished with a USB drive, you can just wipe it and use it again.
• Flash memory is often thought of as the storage medium of the future
• Flash is smaller. On a 4GB pen drive, you can fit about as much as 5 CDs.
• The USB device needn't be flash. If it's a 250GB external hard drive, that can fit about as much as 300 CDs on it.
• USB drives are more robust. If a CD is scratched, it may not work. USB drives can generally take a lot of abuse before they'll get damaged.

Use Cases

Deborah has an insane thirst for speed. She thinks that installing Ubuntu off of a CD is too slow.

Mike has just purchased one of IBM's [http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/engineered/imgs/be-spill-resistant_355x263.jpg waterproof laptops], and he wishes to install ubuntu on it while underwater. He has a [http://www.supermediastore.com/adata-rb1-my-flash-1gb-usb-20-usb-flash-drive-waterproof-rubber-housing.html waterproof pen drive] which he wishes to use. (Ok that was a joke...)

Ed is tired of having his desk covered in Ubuntu CDs which he hasn't used for years. He wants to be able to re-write them, but can't stand the slowness of CD-RWs.

Susan is too lazy to buy CD cases (and she doesn't have the space for them) so her CDs keep getting scratched. She wants to be able to use a medium which doesn't get damaged or corrupted as easily.

Phillip has no CD drive (I know this is a rare situation, but it's happened to me before when mine broke!) he wants to install Ubuntu. He follows [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick this guide]. He succeeds, but, as a Linux illiterate, it takes him a very long time.

Assumptions

• The world is round

• The user has a >=700MB pen drive

CategorySpec