[ubuntu-za] Zabuntu

[Morgan Collett]

On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 12:13, Jonathan Carter (highvoltage)
<jonathan at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> Hi Ubuntero's
>
> Previously, there has been quite a few attempts to create a "South
> African" Linux distribution that includes language packs and software
> that may be specific to our region (mapping software, language tools, etc).
>
> Debian-based systems like Ubuntu are very modular, you hardly ever have
> the need to create a complete new system to achieve a goal. By removing
> or adding some packages you can easily change your installation to match
> your needs. You can even change the role of a computer completely, like
> turning a desktop computer into a server machine or vice-versa, simply
> by modifying the packages that are installed.
>
> There are still many good ideas out there and software that would be
> nice to have available for our local users. Instead of proposing a
> custom installation disc for these ideas and software, I propose we set
> up a local Ubuntu repository for this, or even just a PPA in launchpad.
> If a user wants to install a package containing a screensaver with local
> pictures or a program that can teach them to speak isiXhosa, they can
> simply get it from our software repository. I've called it Zabuntu so
> far just so that it's called something, it can be called something else,
> or even just the Ubuntu-ZA repository if people will be more comfortable
> with something more formal.
>
> Will anybody be interested in contributing? I would like to make it easy
> for many people to contribute, even non-technical people. An easy
> project would be for a package that contains wallpapers with pictures
> from around the country. This way all that you need to contribute is a
> camera and the ability to send us the pictures.
>
> If there's enough interest, we could of course spin CD's of each release
> that contain our most popular packages by default, although this
> shouldn't be our ultimate goal at the moment in my opinion. We can also
> have our repositories distributed on the Freedom Toasters and have them
> mirrored locally.
>
> Am I talking crazy? Should we go ahead with this as an official
> Ubuntu-ZA project? Would anyone be interested in contributing?

Having got my feet wet with packaging and PPAs recently, I'm more than keen.

I suggest making a separate Launchpad team so you can see who is
really interested - but yeah, let's make it an official Ubuntu-ZA
project.

Regards
Morgan