-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I find this interesting.... (I notice someone else mentioned something too...I guess say it and others with similar ideas come out of the woodwork) I thought of basing a Distribution on Debian but... a VERY TINY dist... in fact the way I am thinkin gof...it wouldn't matter what it was base don... the basic idea I had was a Dist that you put ina CD and a floppy (standard install)...go through a few easy configs... boom..instant X Terminal (litterally functionally an X Terminal... would run completely off another system...the only local tools would be used for upgrading to the newest version of the X Server itself) I was thinking Debian would make a good base for such a thing... I dunno who would find it usefull but... I know at school (WPI) they had rooms full of X Terminals and they were very usefull... and with this setup you could have another CHEAP PC running another Log-in-able X interface I think it woul dbe cool...but I don't see myself even starting on it for another year (I don't know enough right now to do it... and in 1 month I see some stuff happenin gin my personal life which shoul dslow things down for a while) - -Steve
On Fri, 1 May 1998, Jim Pick wrote: > > Hi all, > > I read with interest Bruce's post that he wants to work on another > Linux distribution. :-) > > As long as we are talking "pie in the sky" stuff, I thought I'd let > loose with the news that I am also developing an alternative Linux > distribution. I've sort of hinted about it on several of my webpages > anyways. I've had this idea for two years (at least), but it's just > lately that I have actually started to work on it. > > Here are my plans: > > - mid/late-1999 for first release (codename: Skaha) - I'm not rushing > things. :-) > > - it will be a strict subset of Debian (and will include support for > upgrading to full Debian distribution via apt) - basically, Debian > is the "upstream" distribution, and this would be a "downstream > distribution" > > - dpkg based > > - probably using apt (perhaps with an additional front-end) > > - targetted towards desktop use only, no server apps, just a few games > > - minimal size - optimized for installation via 28.8k modem via FTP, > which will be the primary distribution mechanism (not CD). > > - slickest, easiest install in the business > > - self-hosting (it has everything needed to compile itself) > > - 100% open source / DFSG compliant (no non-free or contrib packages) > > - minimal set of install options: > > 1) console only (with base application set) > > 2) X11 user (primarily Gnome/Gtk based, I hope) > > Includes base application set, with: > > one window manager, one editor, one file manager, > one email/news program, several web browsers (with one > front end), one documentation system, several scripting > languages > > The following application sets can be chosen (preliminary): > > 2a) graphics - Gimp, 3D apps > 2b) publishing - TeX, SGML, etc. > 2c) small business - GnuCash, Inventory, Taxes > 2d) CAD/Robotics/Control Systems > > 3) Developer - all tools and libraries required to make distribution > self hosting. > > - sysadmin (and users) can use apt to install additional packages from > Debian distribution. > > - initial distribution will be i386 GNU/Linux, localized for Canada > and the USA. Beyond that, I may attempt a Cygnus GNU/Win32 hosted > distribution, and maybe ever a GNU Hurd based one. > > - very strong technical direction. As little duplication as possible in > terms of applications and libraries. Everything will be document-centric, > and tutorial driven. There will be a single document model. > > > It will be another Linux distribution - but it will also be a strict > subset of stuff inside Debian. It will be promoted as such. > > It will not have an "open" development model as Debian has. Actually, > initially, it will only have one developer (me). If my consulting > business improves, I might consider paying people to help me out with > it. I don't want any volunteers however, as that would lessen my > control (anybody volunteering for Debian will be helping me out > anyways). > > Most of the work I do will be "open" though, because it will appear in > Debian first. > > The best way to think of this project of mine is basically as "Debian > + editorial control". Or you might think of it as a "Jim's hobby > project" -- a customized "hot rod" GNU/Linux. > > If it turns out well, I'll consider marketing it commercially (it > should be marketable). I will offer a consulting service that > consists of customizing the distribution for clients with > "stylesheets" and "themes". I imagine that many local ISPs might want > to offer their own customized version of Linux to their local small > business clients and home users. > > As it will be "Open Source", other more-commercial distributions such > as Red Hat, Caldera and SuSe can steal stuff with no complaints from > me. > > The driving motivation for doing this isn't commercial though - it's > basically a "soapbox" for me to express what I think should be in an > OS, and what shouldn't. My point of view is that most of the code > that a user really needs has been written already - most of the work > needed to build a really nice OS doesn't consist of writing more code > (too many free software projects are going down this road). Mostly, > it's just a packaging/integration and documentation job to make the > current codebase more digestable. Debian already does a lot of this, > but this will be focused in a way Debian can't be. > > I plan to develop some documentation and live tutorial technology > which will go far beyond what any free software app currently has. > The whole system will be keyed off of the documentation - rather than > leaving it as an afterthought. Much of the work I'm going to put into > preparing documents and metadata for LinuxHQ and dwww will also go > into this new system. > > The release schedule will vary dramatically from Debian's. There will > be stable and development branches. There will be a new stable > release approximately every two months (built from packages from the > Debian unstable distribution, but tested). Security bugs will be > immediately put into the stable release. > > Because there will only be a small set of packages to test, and a > small closely-knit release team, rapid stable releases can be done. > > For the most part, the development branch will just be a strict subset > of the Debian unstable distribution. Basically, it will be the same > packages. Due to the differing release schedule, there will probably > need to be quite a few non-maintainer fixes - but these will all be > pushed upstream to Debian. Any packages tha I develop specifically > for this distribution, I will also upload to Debian. > > There will be a separate bug system, but most bugs will be fed > "upstream" to the Debian bug system (with patches if they are easy > fixes). There will be relatively few bugs, because the packages > released into stable will have been rigorously tested. There will be > separate mailing lists in addition to the Debian mailing lists. > > Unlike Bruce's project - this project will have a symbiotic > relationship with Debian. If it works, it will attract new users to > the Debian code base. Also, the more successful Debian is, the more > successful this subset of Debian will be. > > I'd like to see more people announce that they want to develop their > own "subset" Linux distributions based on Debian. I'd be willing to > collaborate on tools to make this easier. > > The big problem with Bruce's idea of developing yet another volunteer > distribution is that he will once again have no control over what the > volunteers will be doing. He'd be much better off using the same > model I am going to use, which allows for near 100% editorial control, > without giving up the benefits of having hundreds of developers > feeding code in. Of course, if he wants to base a distribution on rpm > rather than dpkg (bad idea, IMHO), he'd be better off basing his work > on the Stampede distribution, and organizing a recruiting campaign for > them. > > In summary, don't hold your breath for my "subset distribution" of > Debian - it will take a long time to pull together. But I strongly > believe that this is a model Debian should encourage. > > The Debian distribution "proper" may never have more market share than > the commercial distributions such as Red Hat, Caldera, and SuSe. > However, it is entirely possible that derivative subset distributions > of Debian could dominate the Linux marketplace (especially given the > technical superiority of Debian). > > Cheers, > > - Jim > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3a Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBNUrLwXxvn0zebBV9AQEGWwQAo4jVzpdbMjo8OroEJKNWImqFwQMhvKWV 1IhMFUANq879N54dzed5X5BQJx5+k1Rl1n7r7IxP6t1wJ9l+aEKeYFL95Gk1b5g/ eqXK2bWHvZbKOk0zAzaUQB2ZFIL6erI3nfexZ5z8V3go2tGLk0xifvqaysocW0Jp eUVYjzp865E= =Biyd -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]