Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 18:45:18 -0600 (MDT) From: Atipa <freebsd@atipa.com> To: Andrzej Bialecki <abial@nask.pl> Cc: freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: There was PicoBSD - let there be a Mini... Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980418183838.21983A-100000@altrox.atipa.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.NEB.3.95.980418220717.3473A-100000@korin.warman.org.pl>
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I was working on a Tcl/Tk frontend to Userland PPP. If that would be
helpful for this project, let me know and I will continue work. I put it
on the back burner a couple months ago...
Looking at RedHat Linux as an example of GUI admin tools for UNIX
converts, they use lots of Tk. I think that would be a good addition to a
FreeBSD "usable preview" as such.
This is also like a different project that I was thinking about. My idea
was very similar, except the whole distribution came on a bootable CD-ROM
w/ live filesystem. You could mount /etc on MFS, and fire up a X11 w/ a
basic SVGA server, and use X11 for setup.
Kevin
On Sat, 18 Apr 1998, Andrzej Bialecki wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I seem to have some crazy ideas from time to time... Here's one of them.
>
> I propose to add another type of installation combined with a special
> distribution set. The idea behind it is to let people who are completely
> new to FreeBSD just try the system without really installing it (which
> bears all the hassle of repartitioning etc.), and to have positive enough
> impression to install i then in normal way. I admit that this idea occured
> to me when I tried the JavaPC preview. :-)
>
> Here's what the setup would be like:
>
> * the whole installation (available in sysinstall :-) would place FreeBSD
> on an existing DOS partition. Installation program would create the file
> with filesystem on it (which will then be mounted on a vn(4) device). This
> will require (well, it depends) ca. 16-24MB of free space on a DOS
> partition.
>
> * then the special distribution set would be transferred to the vn-mounted
> file. This distribution would contain (among others): basic system
> utilities, pretty minimal XWindow with SVGA server and a nice window
> manager (qvwm?) with file manager (FreeBSD Explorer?); and of course
> Netscape/Mozilla browser with Java.
>
> * the most important requirement of this set would be that each element
> work as expected with almost no setup on user's part (except
> network/dialup setup, which can be done with user-friendly script).
>
> * the whole thing would be started from DOS (using fbsdboot.exe). This
> will probably require special C:\kernel with small MFS, containing
> init(8), mount, vnconfig etc.. which after booting would first mount the
> DOS partition, and then vnconfig the previously created file with OS on
> it, and mount it on /.
>
> Well, that's basically the whole idea. How do you like it?
>
> I'm willing to try it anyway, and even to write some of the glue code
> needed to incorporate it into sysinstall.
>
> Andrzej Bialecki
>
> --------------------+---------------------------------------------------------
> abial@nask.pl | if(halt_per_mth > 0) { fetch("http://www.freebsd.org") }
> Research & Academic | "Be open-minded, but don't let your brains to fall out."
> Network in Poland | All of the above (and more) is just my personal opinion.
> --------------------+---------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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