[Ubuntu-be] FOSDEM on February 24/25

[Jan Claeys]

On do, 2007-02-15 at 18:04 +0100, Christophe Vandeplas wrote:
> Jan Claeys wrote:
> > On do, 2007-02-15 at 05:29 +0100, Snulkid wrote:
> >> But maybe you could launch among them the idea of a "Belgian 
> >> personalized CD" ?
> > 
> > That might be a good idea; maybe we can even press our own CDs then, if
> > we can find some sponsors.
> 
> I think this is *not* a good idea.
> 
> Let me explain why.
> First of all a personalised edition requires quite some testing and
> changes. Thus taking huge amounts of time. Time you'll spend on it on
> every new release of ubuntu. This will also create more segmentation,
> more distro's in this wild forest of different distro's. You also have
> the need to distribute on CD, online,... what can cost quite some money
> and time.

The Ubuntu "desktop" CD can be customized very easily, by adding &
removing packages from the image it contains before assembling it.
Several LoCoTeams are already making their own localised images...

> What I think can be a good idea is to work with the locoteams to
> personalise the ubuntu install to take count of the country you are in.

It already does that, as far as possible (unfortunately, one CD can't
hold all translations etc.).

> Or to make an application that will list all the 'country-related' stuff.

You mean something like a "Belgium" category in 'gnome-app-install'?

> By these means it will take less time of testing, distributing,
> refactoring,... and will prevent segmentations of the official ubuntu-cd

Some people would have to do the work and do some testing, but
everything /should/ work if installing those "Belgian" packages manually
works already now.  Which means that making this disk could also improve
Ubuntu proper for use by Belgians, by finding/solving bugs.

> I'm also pro a system where the user can check a box during the install
> to say he wants to download the proprietary-codecs-etc from the net.

This would mean changing the installer, and would be more work.
(But maybe the "Mint" people have done this work already?)



Anyway, it's just a proposal...


-- 
Jan Claeys