Re: The Distribution

[Rick Jones <rickya@siservices.net>]

George Bonser wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 19 Jan 1998, Rick Jones wrote:
> 
> Note that I might not have been clear in my language.  corsica's
> /pub/debian directory is an NFS mount over the internet from another
> debian mirror. If you have a resonably fast net connection and a static IP
> I can export it for you but I am simply mounting the /pub/mirrors/debian
> from ftp.kernel.org so you can do the same thing and cut me out.

I see.  I didn't know there was a Debian NFS mount location.  Public
anyhow.

You said something about creating space for SEUL also.  You meant
mounting it from their server?

> > I don't know if we should use unique package names.  I was trying to
> > compile a windows manager to check out and found imake was missing.  It
> > isn't called the imake pkg any more under Debian but is in the README
> > for compiling.  There must be some standard naming convention someplace
> > to use.  At least accepted naming conventions to go by.
> 
> We are going to need unique names if we change anything. For example ...
> fvwm2_X.YY.Z-N.deb might become fvwm2_X.YY.Z-N_SEUL.deb.  This prevents
> someone from having their SEUL package overwritten accidently if they
> connect to a debian archive.  We make the SEUL package conflict with the
> Debian package so it will throw you into a conflict resolution and alert

Why not do it the same as Debian - fvwm2_x.yy.z-n.sul <- Does the job.

> So far from what I have seen in the /etc area, fvwm2 seems to be the most
> extensible and the most easilly auto-updated and the most easilly
> customized. The dotfile generator also allows user configuration.

Take a look at Afterstep, WindowMaker, and Enlightenment.

> See above.  I am not against anything but I truely feel that the fvwm2
> package is currently our best option.  One problem I had with WM on my
> system was that it displays something down in the lower left corner of the
> screen but I can not make out what it is. Fvwm2 displayed fine, icons,
> pager, even representations of apps in the pager. It is a Cirrus CG-5428
> card.  If we go with wm, I am going to have a broken display until I can
> figure out what is wrong.  wm was broken at all resolutions.

The last call is for the *installation wm* not the *main wm*.  WM2 will
be replaced by whatever the main is decided to be upon completion of
installation.  I chose it because it's footprint is less than 53k while
the others are many times more, yet it presents a fair display which can
be enhanced with a background jpg, and looks nothing like Windoze.  It's
the bare minimum, which is exactly what we want for the install process.

I'm still researching choices for the *main* window manager.

	Enlightenment, WindowMaker, Afterstep, FVWM2

are the choices I'm looking at, in order of current preference.

There are pro's and con's to each of them. I think that when that WM
opens in front of them for the first time, it should blow their mind. 
Many have seen a Mac, Unix, OS/2 interface before.  They are expecting
the same old dull interface with a few differences.  When a WM like
enlightenment pops on screen, the eye candy will make their tongue
drop.  It's like a movie with great special effects opposed to obviously
fake effects.

Before you say it, I am also considering function.  Eye candy is
worthless if it doesn't get the job done.  I'm shooting for the best of
both worlds.