Well folks I had to make some changes to PC/OS, obviously for cosmetic as well as functional.
I had to skip Ia_Ora due to a rendering bug and I wasnt able to track it down to fix it so I went with Nodoka colors which is a slightly less shiny theme but its functional, works and works well the Window decoration stayed the same.
The functional part is this. I wanted to make sure I went by the trademark guidlines set out by Mozilla so I took out some of the extentions in Thunderbird and in Firefox. Media Player Connectivity is installed by default because of media player functionality as well as Google Gears and Lightning is installed by default in Thunderbird but those are the only ones. If I didnt do this I would have had to change the name from Firefox to something else as well as Thunderbird so it was easier this way.
People have asked for either TrueCrypt of Cryptkeeper. Since TrueCrypt doesnt rely on gnome libraries and apps like CryptKeeper does, TrueCrypt is it.
In OpenWorkstation to avoid packages that may confuse the masses I took out the media creation tools and they will be offered on the Media Creation Pak that will ship with every copy of PC/OS OpenWorkstation. So if you are buying OpenWorkstation for your developers and secretaries you wont have to worry about excessive packages. Software Development tools will remain bundled with OpenWorkstation as well as Eclipse and Gambas.
VLC 0.9.3 will probably ship with both releases. Im having to strip quite a bit out of OpenDesktop and may have to strip out WINE but whatever I strip out will be available via Feature Paks
Welcome to PC/OS
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Finalizing PC/OS
Well guys the Package freeze for 2009 has been initiated and finalized. This concludes the development of PC/OS 2009. All thats left is the final testing phase which brings out any and all final bugs and we are working very hard to squash them before they get to you, the user. So lets go over whats different.
The theme is ia_ora which originated with Mandriva Linux and the Moheli Window decoration is used. The Crashbit orange icon theme is used. So we are pretty much satisfied with the new interface and the new layout which is only one shelf versus the two shelf that was utilized in earlier versions.
These are some of the packages that the two releases have in common. PC/OS OpenDesktop and OpenWorkstation. Fontmatrix has been added for Font Management, Wine 1.1.6, Gimp 2.6, Pidgin 2.5.1, Asunder for CD ripping and UFRaw, kernel 2.6.24-21. LikeWise Open Fall edition, Gnome Photo Printer, Unison, OpenSSH and Denyhosts has been added as well. Gufw has been updated to the latest release. Firefox 3 has been added to replace Flock. Picasa was removed from OpenDesktop due to the fact that the size of Picasa 3.0 took it over the 700mb CD limit. In OpenDesktop gThumb replaced Picasa. Picasa will be included in the Feature Pak for OpenDesktop. Picasa will be included in OpenWorkstation.
OpenWorkstation keeps its professional theme with all the developer tools and multimedia tools. OpenOffice.org 3.0 has been added to OpenWorkstation. Eclipse will be included as will Gambas 2. Gambas replaces RealBASIC as RealBASIC wasnt as popular as one would have hoped. It will be included in the OpenWorkstation Feature Pak.
Some changes that were cancelled includes WICD. This was cancelled due to the fact it worked fine on a live system but the LiveCD plays havok with WICD so NetworkManager was retained.
So once again, everythings finalized and the final stage of testing is through. In three weeks PC/OS 2009 will be released.
The theme is ia_ora which originated with Mandriva Linux and the Moheli Window decoration is used. The Crashbit orange icon theme is used. So we are pretty much satisfied with the new interface and the new layout which is only one shelf versus the two shelf that was utilized in earlier versions.
These are some of the packages that the two releases have in common. PC/OS OpenDesktop and OpenWorkstation. Fontmatrix has been added for Font Management, Wine 1.1.6, Gimp 2.6, Pidgin 2.5.1, Asunder for CD ripping and UFRaw, kernel 2.6.24-21. LikeWise Open Fall edition, Gnome Photo Printer, Unison, OpenSSH and Denyhosts has been added as well. Gufw has been updated to the latest release. Firefox 3 has been added to replace Flock. Picasa was removed from OpenDesktop due to the fact that the size of Picasa 3.0 took it over the 700mb CD limit. In OpenDesktop gThumb replaced Picasa. Picasa will be included in the Feature Pak for OpenDesktop. Picasa will be included in OpenWorkstation.
OpenWorkstation keeps its professional theme with all the developer tools and multimedia tools. OpenOffice.org 3.0 has been added to OpenWorkstation. Eclipse will be included as will Gambas 2. Gambas replaces RealBASIC as RealBASIC wasnt as popular as one would have hoped. It will be included in the OpenWorkstation Feature Pak.
Some changes that were cancelled includes WICD. This was cancelled due to the fact it worked fine on a live system but the LiveCD plays havok with WICD so NetworkManager was retained.
So once again, everythings finalized and the final stage of testing is through. In three weeks PC/OS 2009 will be released.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
How PC/OS is built
I have been asked on several occasions how PC/OS is created and what I do thats different than what other Linux distributions do and whether PC/OS is just a "snapshot" of my own workstation. I decided to go into detail on what I do and if you have any advice on what I can do differently dont be afraid to drop me a line.
I have 2 systems. Ones called Core and the other Server Core. What I do is take a base install of Xubuntu and strip it. I take out all user applications so when Im done there is no web browsers, no mail client, no games in another sense of the word its stripped with only a few applications, Remastersys, ndiswrapper, XFCE and thats about it. Overall that install is only 300mb in ISO form. Updates are then applied to kernel and what little is on the system. I then have 2 systems that I use for building OpenDesktop and OpenWorkstation. Prometheus is OpenDesktop and Rome is OpenWorkstation. I take the core system and install it on both of these systems.
There is the planning stage. I take a six mile walk where I just think about PC/OS and what I want to include and what I can do to improve the system and this is the stage Im highly over critical of myself. I take out all my frustrations. At the end of the Six Miles I sit in a Seattles Best Coffee shop and still go over what I was thinking about. I then send out an e-mail and we get together and go over the plans. This is the vocal stage this is where I piss people off and they piss me off and I contemplate dropping the project but I never do. I also contact current users and ask them what they want to see changed and what can stay the same.
Next comes applications. I keep a list of decided applications that are in each and go scour the web. I do this to find the updates and revisions. i go to places like GetDeb.net and project websites. I go through project changelogs and see whats been fixed and see whats not and what problems are introduced. I then look for deb packages, if none are available I compile the applications myself and create the deb packages. I then install into the base system change what needs to be changed and create the initial ISO. Insiders and the dev team have access to these systems and can add and change as long as they keep a log of what changes are made and I inventory these systems on a regular basis.
Next comes testing. I install these systems on 2 laptops and use the system and see what works, what doesnt and what changes need to be made. this includes taking out applications, kernel tests and driver testing. I keep a running log of whats wrong, what works, what doesnt and what changes I made that actually work. I then make the changes, rebuild the ISO and pass it on to beta testers. I use a control group of beta testers so that its easier to keep track of problems instead of sifting through massive amounts of e-mail. Some of these people are corporate users, home users and a few others and they crunch, beat up and destroy the system and I get their feedback and make any changes that need to be made. There are 3 different levels of testing. Alpha which is ussually the initial build, Beta which has more changes and Delta which has the final changes and this is where PC/OS is finalized.
Final test, Omega which is given to the control group this is ussually the gold build. they test it and make sure everythings gold quality and then we go live. The final RTM ISO is built, and uploaded to the mirrors and the general public for download. The current build systems are imaged and made into VMs and then maintenance packs are created. After the release the team gets together and we have a Pow-Wow ussually over Skype and decide on what goes into the Feature and Addon Paks.
The same process is followed for OpenServer and appliance.
Ussually I start on the next release around the Delta stage.
So overall thats how its built. No snapshot is made of my own workstation and there is a lot of testing before its decided whats a success and what isnt.
Right now on 2009 we are on the Delta stage and Im beginning to think about PC/OS 2009.1
I have 2 systems. Ones called Core and the other Server Core. What I do is take a base install of Xubuntu and strip it. I take out all user applications so when Im done there is no web browsers, no mail client, no games in another sense of the word its stripped with only a few applications, Remastersys, ndiswrapper, XFCE and thats about it. Overall that install is only 300mb in ISO form. Updates are then applied to kernel and what little is on the system. I then have 2 systems that I use for building OpenDesktop and OpenWorkstation. Prometheus is OpenDesktop and Rome is OpenWorkstation. I take the core system and install it on both of these systems.
There is the planning stage. I take a six mile walk where I just think about PC/OS and what I want to include and what I can do to improve the system and this is the stage Im highly over critical of myself. I take out all my frustrations. At the end of the Six Miles I sit in a Seattles Best Coffee shop and still go over what I was thinking about. I then send out an e-mail and we get together and go over the plans. This is the vocal stage this is where I piss people off and they piss me off and I contemplate dropping the project but I never do. I also contact current users and ask them what they want to see changed and what can stay the same.
Next comes applications. I keep a list of decided applications that are in each and go scour the web. I do this to find the updates and revisions. i go to places like GetDeb.net and project websites. I go through project changelogs and see whats been fixed and see whats not and what problems are introduced. I then look for deb packages, if none are available I compile the applications myself and create the deb packages. I then install into the base system change what needs to be changed and create the initial ISO. Insiders and the dev team have access to these systems and can add and change as long as they keep a log of what changes are made and I inventory these systems on a regular basis.
Next comes testing. I install these systems on 2 laptops and use the system and see what works, what doesnt and what changes need to be made. this includes taking out applications, kernel tests and driver testing. I keep a running log of whats wrong, what works, what doesnt and what changes I made that actually work. I then make the changes, rebuild the ISO and pass it on to beta testers. I use a control group of beta testers so that its easier to keep track of problems instead of sifting through massive amounts of e-mail. Some of these people are corporate users, home users and a few others and they crunch, beat up and destroy the system and I get their feedback and make any changes that need to be made. There are 3 different levels of testing. Alpha which is ussually the initial build, Beta which has more changes and Delta which has the final changes and this is where PC/OS is finalized.
Final test, Omega which is given to the control group this is ussually the gold build. they test it and make sure everythings gold quality and then we go live. The final RTM ISO is built, and uploaded to the mirrors and the general public for download. The current build systems are imaged and made into VMs and then maintenance packs are created. After the release the team gets together and we have a Pow-Wow ussually over Skype and decide on what goes into the Feature and Addon Paks.
The same process is followed for OpenServer and appliance.
Ussually I start on the next release around the Delta stage.
So overall thats how its built. No snapshot is made of my own workstation and there is a lot of testing before its decided whats a success and what isnt.
Right now on 2009 we are on the Delta stage and Im beginning to think about PC/OS 2009.1
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Interface changes on PC/OS and the use of Prism
Well we decided to go to a single shelf interface on PC/OS. This is not the only release that has a single shelf. PC/OS Appliance also has a single shelf. On that release its to save screen real estate on the smaller screens. Surprisingly enough the response has been overwhelmingly positive. This includes the beta testers and the control group as well as corporate users. The ia_ora theme and the Moheli theme also seem to be well recieved so this is what we will go with. This should end the "interface war" and welcome in the new professional look that many users have been longing for. The new default wallpaper will be the one represented in the screenshot but will be blue. This has been derived from the KDE 4 wallpaper used in a couple of distributions. This will be the last interface change for awhile. All releases will have the same.
The use of Prism will be the new delivery mechanism for web apps. No longer will Firefox launch when using web apps. Gears will still be included for use with Google Docs. I have realized the inclusion of Live Mail and live maps has not been popular. Well thats going to change a bit, Google Maps is the most used map app on PC/OS so live maps will be removed. Live Mail will remain, like I said, I know anything by Microsoft isnt necessarily a popular choice but considering OpenDesktop is used by new users who are used to and want Live Mail. I may consider support for Outlook Web Access at a later time and if I can get some if any help from Microsoft. I do consider support for Microsoft services paramount and will support them when I can and depending on Microsoft themselves.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Progress report and deeper thought
After further testing and continuous beta testing we have finalized much more regarding PC/OS. For OpenWorkstation we have evaluated whats included in other high grade distributions like SLED, Xandros and others. Fast share, Instant desktop search, development and workstation related tools. With OpenWorkstation we aim to provide something that not only the creative types can use but professional users as well. Does this mean unbundling development and multimedia tools and providing them as addons through an offline repository? I dont want to pull a Microsoft and congest the market with multi-versions. So we are evaluating this approach as to what we should do in regards to what will ensure the success and adoption of PC/OS. As further testing and beta testing and countless hours of lost sleep add up and answers become clear we are more determined than ever not to just congest PC/OS with a hodgepodge of shit that is a nightmare for the system administartors that have to deploy it. It has to be adminstratable. These are problems that Im now focused on.
One of the few reasons I decided not to include Flock was based on the fact the Flock development team iss unwilling to offer assistance. Also if you run PC/OS in a business environment do you want to your users to be sharing photos, surfing MySpace or Facebook? probably not. If you want that you can easily add the MySpace and Facebook toolbars. I included the shortcuts for prism to Google Docs, GMail and GTalk because some businesses use those services, I include google maps because if you are a road warrior, more than likely you need that service. The decision to roam from the Be type theme was put into place for those that want a more professional and consistant look.
As we add final touches, redos take aways and everything else do let us know how we are doing as we add features, continue to tell us how we are helping you. Remember this your OS and you also have a say.
One of the few reasons I decided not to include Flock was based on the fact the Flock development team iss unwilling to offer assistance. Also if you run PC/OS in a business environment do you want to your users to be sharing photos, surfing MySpace or Facebook? probably not. If you want that you can easily add the MySpace and Facebook toolbars. I included the shortcuts for prism to Google Docs, GMail and GTalk because some businesses use those services, I include google maps because if you are a road warrior, more than likely you need that service. The decision to roam from the Be type theme was put into place for those that want a more professional and consistant look.
As we add final touches, redos take aways and everything else do let us know how we are doing as we add features, continue to tell us how we are helping you. Remember this your OS and you also have a say.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Further Changes for PC/OS 2009
First of all, PC/OS Virtual Machine is right on target for release at the end of the month. Its pretty rock solid and stable and is quite ready for release.
Im still doing the app lineup for PC/OS and so far here is a list of what may be included.
WICD - WICD may be replacing network manager because its been my experience its more stable. The only reason NM 7 crossed my mind was due to mobile broadband support which I have found out is limited to 2 carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile. Im still evaluating the two so its up in the air.
Picasa 3 - Much better Linux support and is less buggier than Picasa 2.7
OpenOffice.org 3.0 - Just released today I will offer an upgrade for current PC/OS users
Gimp 2.6
Pidgin 2.5
VLC 0.9.3 ** VLC 0.9.3 will be included in the OpenWorkstation release only. See below for details
Miro **
Referencer 1.1.5
Floola 3.6
** Because VLC 0.9.3 requires the QT libraries it may take the OpenDesktop ISO above the 700mb limit. Miro may be included in the OpenDesktop CD because its still GTK based, takes up less resources and is more of a fit for the consumer audience targeted by OpenDesktop.
Also its has been decided the default theme will change to the Mandriva Ia_Ora XFWM theme and GTK theme. This is not due to outrage over the be theme but because a fresher theme was needed and la_ora cut down on the need to create so many color schemes as it changes with your theme. Ia_ora is the creation of Mandriva and they deserve the credit and Mandriva will be listed in the credits section for PC/OS.
So far its shaping up to be a great release and as soon as more plans are ironed out we will post it here.
Im still doing the app lineup for PC/OS and so far here is a list of what may be included.
WICD - WICD may be replacing network manager because its been my experience its more stable. The only reason NM 7 crossed my mind was due to mobile broadband support which I have found out is limited to 2 carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile. Im still evaluating the two so its up in the air.
Picasa 3 - Much better Linux support and is less buggier than Picasa 2.7
OpenOffice.org 3.0 - Just released today I will offer an upgrade for current PC/OS users
Gimp 2.6
Pidgin 2.5
VLC 0.9.3 ** VLC 0.9.3 will be included in the OpenWorkstation release only. See below for details
Miro **
Referencer 1.1.5
Floola 3.6
** Because VLC 0.9.3 requires the QT libraries it may take the OpenDesktop ISO above the 700mb limit. Miro may be included in the OpenDesktop CD because its still GTK based, takes up less resources and is more of a fit for the consumer audience targeted by OpenDesktop.
Also its has been decided the default theme will change to the Mandriva Ia_Ora XFWM theme and GTK theme. This is not due to outrage over the be theme but because a fresher theme was needed and la_ora cut down on the need to create so many color schemes as it changes with your theme. Ia_ora is the creation of Mandriva and they deserve the credit and Mandriva will be listed in the credits section for PC/OS.
So far its shaping up to be a great release and as soon as more plans are ironed out we will post it here.
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