You are all missing the easiest solution: --- unite contib and main ---
There is nothing easier than this. - no need to explain the difference to everyone - no need to try to tell the world that contrib exists - no need for users to configure multiple repositories - no need to move apps back and forth
The only drawbacks would be:
- more security updates (this could lead to safer distro though, ditch the unsafe apps altogether)
- we would have to ditch some apps to make it fit on one DVD (we could easily remove some crap from contrib, leading to more raliable/useful apps!)
The major advantages would be:
- Mandrake would outshine debian and suse in number of packages
- people would get used to having thier dependencies met by urpmi FROM DVD/CD, and would find it hard to live without urpmi, or go back to slow and high bandwidth apt-get
In other words, going back to any other distro would suck... fewer packages, more complicated dependencies, no DVD with everything, more downloading from the net... etc. etc.
There would of course have to be a separate, server-specific version of the distro too, which would probably be small and out of date, but this is already the case anyway (can you say SNF?).
Think it over before you flame me.
Austin
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Austin Acton
Synthetic Organic Chemist, Teaching Assistant, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto
MandrakeLinux Volunteer Developer, homepage: www.groundstate.ca