Re: SEUL: Re: Proposal for using a single mailing list [was Re: Oneend-user distribution?]

[Michel Stam <michel@wight.ddns.org>]

Donovan Rebbechi wrote:

> On Fri, 9 Apr 1999, Michel Stam wrote:
>
> > A- Why don't we look at the best parts of every distribution ?
> > I know this is a hell of a lot of work, but take all the best parts, put it
> > together, and try to create something even better ? That way, everyone
>
> creating a new distribution that is radically different to everything else
> out there involves a lot of resources. Don't assume that you have a
> million super programmers under your command. You don't. SEUL doesn't,
> Independence doesn't , and neither does LaetOS.
>

That is just a suggestion, Donovan. Perhaps you are still thinking of three
different groups, I'd like everyone to work together to the same common goal. I do
not know how many people each of the groups has at its disposal, but this does not
mean starting from scratch, because it is also possible to take binaries from the
different distributions to make this work. So don't think of this as needing to
compile everything from scratch. It does involve a lot of work, I'll grant you
that.

Oh yeah, I don't remember having asked for a million of super programmers. People
who can program (any number), or people who can devote time to this will do.
Remember that I'm not trying to build and release a distribution in one week.

>
> > B - Why don't we try to share as much of the code among eachother as possible,
>
> good idea. Once somebody has some code (-;
>

From my point of view, everyone should have some code, perhaps not much, but it's a
start. Every distribution has some code, lets put that together then see what we
(don't) have.

>
> Independence primarily package software, and don't write code. Think of
> Independence as "software talent scouts". We hunt down good software and
> package it.
>

As I said, we could make use of this by putting all these packages together to
create something very good.

>
> Of course, there's nothing stopping you grabbing our src.rpm packages ,
> and using them to build them to whatever format you prefer.
>

This is something we could do, but it would still mean three different groups
trying to accomplish the same thing. Don't you think that by working together we
could accomplish a lot more in a lot less time ?

>
> > instance, LaetOS and Independence both need a graphical install program and a
>
> nobody needs a graphical install program.
>

I disagree; To get people to use Linux means that it should have a familiar look
and feel, which I regret to say is Windows for most people. That includes a
graphical install program.

>
> Hardware detection is a worthwhile goal, but you need some good
> programmers on your team to do this. IOW, Redhat and SuSE are better
> equipped to write installers than us ...
>

I heard LaetOS is having pretty good software for this at the moment. Perhaps it is
worthwile to take a look at that before trying to rewrite it from scratch. Like I
said, use the software from another distribution to enhance your own. Don't try to
re-invent the wheel.

Btw, I can write programs, so I know what I'm talking about. And yes, this is a lot
of work, but is there a deadline for this distribution ?

>
> > C - Why not try to standardize the parts of the Linux OS which have not been
> > standardized already ?
>
> this is really for the big distros to fight about. Now if anyone can get
> something like LSB working, this would be nice ...
>
> -- Donovan

Why ? Because we are small we are not allowed to do this ? Someone's got to start
with this, or nothing will change at all. If the standard is good, it means that
most programs (games, apps and such) will run on any distribution, regardless of
what distribution it was made from or who created it with what purpose. This is
where I'd like to go, so users are not tied to the company who created the
application anymore.


Regards,

Michel