Haiku Distros Are Coming

1

I was reading some of the posts on Vasper’s Blog about Haiku distros.

I noticed a few people wanted only Haiku and no distros at all.

Well, unfortunately for them, distros will be coming out. We already have Pingwinek & Vasper will also be doing his own. And I wouldn’t be surprised if many more start being made.

Now, I do have 2 ideas that’ll be helpful.

First idea is how to reduce the number of distros that will come out.

Haiku, CD1, will basicly be the OS with next to no real applications bundled in. Well, why not create a 2nd CD, with all the applications and programs, as installable packages. People can then either boot the CD2 or run installer on it and select the program packages they want to install onto the Haiku. This way, new users don’t have to search for the applications, download and install them. An Application / Game CD would make things much easier for everybody (and makes a lot of sense).

CD2 should be done by a group of people working together, tested out and sent to Haiku for final approval / acceptance.

And gives the added bonus, that it should reduce the number of new distros (give less reason for people to create their own distro - so maybe we’ll see fewer distros down the road?).

Second idea has to do with naming. There needs to be a rule (the only rule I see necessary) that the term “haiku” can not be used in the name of distros.

Ie: We shouldn’t see names like:
Haiku Max
Haiku Extreme
Haiku One
Super Haiku
GNU Haiku
etc.,

Only official Haiku should use the term Haiku in its name. This should eliminate confusion with official Haiku.

Distros will eventually come and we need to be prepared for them. How many is still not known. Idea #1 will reduce the need for distros and idea #2 should eliminate confusion with which is the real “official” Haiku release to new users.

PS I don’t mind a few distros (5 or so), especially if they offer different optimization and customizations. But, I really wouldn’t want to see lots & lots of Haiku distros coming out.

2

First idea is excellent. This should be at least thought of. This is not going to stop distroes of course, but as you say it will reduce the need.

As for the name, I agree also. Only Haiku should use the name Haiku. All others should just use Based on Haiku. This is exactly why I don’t use the name Haiku in my name proposals for the distro I will be part of (well… unless it is the official Haiku Distro in case there is one).

3

I like the idea of a second CD for a distro and a first CD for the base system (eventhough they should be bundeled on only one Disk, I hate being a DJ). What I miss on your thoughts is the ability to configure default preferences when installing Haiku. There has to be an easy way for someone who builds a distro to set all parameters like Resolution, Alt VS Ctrl, different Servers, etc. For me a distro isn’t just a number of Programs installed, but a special configuration of an OS.

You want to create a sticker? :slight_smile:

I don’t think that makes much sense. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great to let others test programs and for some it will be a good help, but I wouldn’t want to be bound to their schedule and good will. And what about upgrades? Will the distro be checked after each change?

If I would create a distro I wouldn’t care about a third party that wants to test it and I wouldn’t care about approval or acceptance from that instance. Everyone is wellcomed to give coments but at the end I would decide if I release or change something. Since Haiku should not be in the name, I don’t see a problem.

I don’t even think 10000 Haiku Distros are a problem. It’s usually not even the big 10 that survive. If you don’t want to decide what distro to take, take the one you’ve heard most positive from or ask your dice.

With the naming I agree to 100%.

regards
Thomas