The shell choice, memory issue, and even the naming issue all come down to how many hats the Indiana project is supposed to wear.
If Indiana going to be a one stop shop for opensolaris binary distributions, then it had better find a solution to the default script issue so it won't break thousands of scripts of users migrating from Solaris 10. If it is going to try to replace linux in all of the places Ubuntu and other Linux distributions are currently used including embedded applications, old Windows PCs and small laptops for those of us who don't buy a new one every 2 years, then it needs to recognize that 512MB is still a high minimum memory footprint. But if Indiana is going to be targeted towards a specific type of hacker/developer who already has a high-end PC with loads of memory, then we can ignore these issues and might as well not limit ourselves to what will fit on a 650MB CD because DVD's are just as cheap these days and I can't think of any PC with more than 512MB that doesn't also have DVD capability. The use of a liveCD instead of a liveDVD seems to be a throwback to Ubuntu which _does_ work on a 256MB laptop. Why limit yourself in the media dimension while assuming everyone has lots of RAM? In my opinion Indiana should be just another opensolaris distribution for those who like Ubuntu and have very modern thick client X86 PCs. It should have the freedom to use bash and whatever linuxisms make it appealing to Ubuntu fans, but wherever possible it should be designed such that it shares a common base API with lighter weight distributions such as Nexenta, Belenix and even Solaris 10 which all run on lower-end hardware. Aubrey Li wrote: > On Nov 9, 2007 2:21 AM, Sanjay Nadkarni <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Marty Duey wrote: >> >>> On 11/8/2007 9:37 AM, Shawn Walker wrote: >>> >>> >>>> On 08/11/2007, Marty Duey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> On 11/7/2007 10:49 PM, Shawn Walker wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> On 07/11/2007, Moinak Ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>> It is because the miniroot is 146M in size which on a 256M >>>>>>> RAM system does not leave enough memory to run GNOME. >>>>>>> A smaller miniroot combined with an alternative lighter >>>>>>> weight WM like Xfce will be needed. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> Actually, I think it would be possible to lower this requirement to as >>>>>> little as 64 to 128mb for the text installer if we actually produced a >>>>>> miniroot specifically designed for "headless systems". Mind you I >>>>>> don't think a system with less than 512mb is going to be terribly >>>>>> usable (at least w/ a graphical desktop of any sort). >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> The One Laptop per Child (OLPD) program championed by MIT is targeting a >>>>> low cost laptop (less than $200 and moving toward $100) that will could >>>>> potentially be put into the hands of millions of people in developing >>>>> countries. The memory spec for the system is 256MB (see >>>>> http://laptop.org/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml). >>>>> >>>>> Granted, the demographic OLPD is targeting is not necessarily a primary >>>>> target of an OpenSolaris distribution, but it is a data point on that >>>>> should be considered for the miniroot/WM combination. >>>>> >>>>> >>>> Yes, but it is important to remember that that is a very specialised >>>> target. That's practically an embedded target in my mind. >>>> >>>> It is not logical (to me) to try to target "average desktops, laptops" >>>> and at the same time an extremely specialised target like OLPC. >>>> >>>> Not only that, the OLPC has a significantly reduced functionality set >>>> compared to an "average" system. >>>> >>>> I believe that such targets require special consideration that is >>>> beyond the scope of our primary ones. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> Shawn, I agree that the target audience is "special" (if not >>> specialized). Perhaps you're more versed in the design parameters of >>> OLPD than me, but from what I read one of the principles is not to limit >>> the users ability to "...reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software, >>> hardware, and content." >>> >>> As for "significantly reduced functionalities" that depends on your >>> perspective. No, it's not going to match up to a $1000 laptop in many >>> ways, but in others (wifi, power) it will equal or surpass such. People >>> can look at the list of source (http://dev.laptop.org/git) and the specs >>> (above) and decide for themselves the level of functionality. >>> >>> Again, I'm not saying that school children in Ethiopia are anywhere on >>> the list of target audiences, but the 256MB design point shouldn't be >>> dismissed because of that. That's all. >>> be >>> >>> >> It indeed should not dismissed within OpenSolaris community. But that >> is not what the Indiana distro is focusing on. Other distros can take >> up that focus. >> >> -Sanjay >> > > OK, I think I get the point(please correct me if I'm wrong). I had > have the higher expectation than Indiana. I thought it considers the > different requirement and will release desktop edition, server > edition, etc. But sounds like the primary goals is not for the low > resource target. Not only indiana, but SXCE are not fit for 256M > system any longer, That's fine. we have no choice but just need to > re-consider our project. > > Thanks, > -Aubrey > _______________________________________________ > indiana-discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/indiana-discuss > _______________________________________________ indiana-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/indiana-discuss
