[ubuntu-studio-devel] Vision for 19.10 and 20.04 LTS

[eeickmeyer at ubuntu.com]

Hi everyone!

I was just referring back to my previous vision email (
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-studio-devel/2018-October/008940.html
) and wanted to look at where we are with these items, and address any
revised plan we can do.

== Desktop Environments =

=== Phase 1 (GOAL: 19.04) ===

I feel as though this goal was accomplished. ubuntustudio-installer is
now the tool to bolt-on Ubuntu Studio to any other official flavor of
Ubuntu. As I look at this goal I presented in the link above, I feel as
though we have accomplished this.

=== Phase 2 (GOAL: 19.10) ===

I created two metapackages to make the branding happen for other
flavors: ubuntustudio-branding-common and ubuntustudio-gnome-branding.
The gnome one is more specific to stock Ubuntu as it rebrands the GDM
bootscreen. The -common one simply adds ubuntustudio-plymouth-theme,
materia-gtk-theme, ubuntustudio-menu, ubuntustudio-wallpapers, and
ubuntustudio-icon-theme. It would have to be up to the user to select
the GTK theme, wallpaper, and icon theme, but in all this goal has been
done already, and over 6 months ahead of schedule. I'm okay with
leaving this as-is.

=== Phase 3 (GOAL: 20.04) ===

I think this idea should be scrapped as 20.04 (the next LTS) would be a
bad time to add any new, non-trivial features. This is bug-fix and
refinement time, and as such we need to look more closely at -installer
and -controls in this time primarily.


As it stands, I feel as though being able to add Studio on to an
existing Ubuntu flavor is a good thing. Refining -installer would be
good going forward with making it easier for people.


== 19.04's new theming ==

The new theming has been a huge success and met with praise by those I
have spoken with and reviewers alike. The only complaint I received was
the plymouth boot theme, which I intend to revise. I realize it's
boring, and I may have put it together a little hurridly. The biggest
praise I have received has had more to do with the Disco Dingo
wallpaper which became default for this past cycle.

While I do realize the theming and wallpaper are little more than
"fluff" in terms of functionality, you must remember that this is an
Ubuntu flavor made for artists, and as such the goal should be to make
it inspring and beautiful.


== Future Vision ==

I believe the goal of Ubuntu Studio is to make the out-of-the-box
experience for users as simple as possible. As low latency audio
configuration is the most complex and misunderstood part of this, audio
tends to be a major focus. With this, and I'm sure Len will agree, we
will be ironing out the bugs and user-friendliness of -controls and
-installer alike.

Additionally, I feel as though we need to make it so that nobody feels
like they need the KXStudio repos added to Ubuntu Studio; that it's
complete out-of-the-box. As such, I have decided to add as many of the
audio plugins that KXStudio includes to the Ubuntu repositories as
possible. I have already started this process with the lsp-plugins (
https://lsp-plug.in), which is now packaged, tested, and awaiting a
MOTU to swoop-in, review, and upload for Eoan (19.10). I will be doing 
this packaging myself as much as possible. I really need the practice
and need to get my packaging numbers up to join Ross as our Package Set
Uploader, thereby increasing our sustainablility.

For video production, things have certainly changed in terms of content
production. The ethos of home and studio video production has taken a
slight turn towards live streaming, and some of the feedback I have
received has been that we don't include OBS in Ubuntu Studio by
default. As such, with the prevalence of YouTube, Twitch, and other
platforms, I'd like to see OBS (obs-studio) added to our seed. It's
already in the repos, so this should be an easy one to add (Ross?).
Imagine being able to boot to a live environment with OBS already
installed, thereby having all of the tools you need to do high-quality
live-streaming out of the box. 

Of course, I am always a little leary of adding items to our seed since
we have historically and still have the largest iso image out of all of
the Ubuntu flavors. That said, I think these additions are necessary
and pertinent.


That's what I've got for now. Questions? Concerns? Mumblings? Musings?

Erich
----
Erich Eickmeyer
Council Chair/Project Leader
Ubuntu Studio

ubuntustudio.org
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