Well, okay, this is interesting. I'll have to grab a copy of the database and probe it. (For an idle fantasy, this is sounding more and more doable!)

Regarding the format of the CD, I was thinking of a linux boot disk, along the lines of Knoppix ( http://knopper.net/knoppix-info/index-en.html ) and dyne:bolic ( http://dynebolic.org/ ). The actual package I had been thinking about was Morphix, but their site seems to be down.

Anyway, these are LiveCDs that most relatively recent Intel-style machines can boot from. There are PPC (ie: Mac) boot disks of similar sorts, including Knoppix offshoots. (I started investigating linux LiveCDs when I figured I might not be able to afford another Mac (been an Apple user since '85.)) When you boot a LiveCD, you get a linux desktop, and with Knoppix, you can't even alter the PC's contents unless you really try to.

As for the "It's updated constantly" point raised above, well, part of a project editor/admin's function is to set deadlines and come up with version numbers (and names! For instance, Ubuntu's current release name is "hoary" and dyne:bolic's is "LUMUMBA".)

So, thanks. I'll be looking at that database.