I would like help making an independand Linux Distribution based on Ubuntu

[MCVenom]

Are you sure? I thought MINT had its own repository.

Mint uses an exclusive repo for some of the software unique to Linux Mint (ie: Mint Menu, Software/Update Manager, etc.) For everything else Mint uses Ubuntu repos.

[gosalia]

'Gosalia is one of the only Linux distributions in the world that supports... [various codecs]'

That's a bit misleading, I realize you're trying to push a product, but maybe you could say one of the only ones that provides out of the box support?

Yes that is what we said, I believe, when we created the CREDITS page. We gave CREDITS to the vast software utilities we used, we have not created any softwares ourselves yet, but have enhanced and incorporated those of others to create an Distribution packed with "others" work, with full credits as deserved ofcoarse.

http://www.gosalia.org/index.php?opt...d=78&Itemid=59

[nixclusive]

We have a universal account on many forums under the name - Gosalia. Who is on each account depends on the time people have to surf the internet. In this case, yes I and the person who went on the other forums previously mentioned, are two different people.

I'm breaking my oath of not posting anything that does not help at all just to say you'll have an identity crisis
Anyways, back to your error, I'm not sure what you need to change to fix that error. However, it looks like changing ownership of the files being used to uid 0 should help.

chown 0:0 <filename>
or
chown 0:0 <directoryname> [-R]

-R flag to do it recursively.

Regards.

[Søren]

*Makes mental note to avoid gosalia*

[ubiquitousblake]

Thank you for your comment, I will pass it on to the heads. I am glad you like the Windows interface, we are soon to put in KDE with loads of functions for both Macintosh and Windows Users. Also you mention that it is not different from Linux Mint or Ubuntu, can I ask you, out of curiosity, what do you think is not different and what do you think we should do?

This would help our team and I WILL pass your comments. Thanks in advance.

Over all, the theme and idea of this system are well formed. They incorporate the power and popularity of the GNU Linux platform, as well as the elegance of current proprietary systems that most people currently use. However, to differentiate your product from that which you derive it, you must have a very profound point. A simple UI modification would not be sufficient to necessitate your product, as appealing as the idea of native system elegance may be.

For example, Ubuntu's purpose is to give Debian Linux a more frequent and stable release cycle, as well as to make it more simple and more user friendly. With the backing of Canonical and the community, this is largely achieved. Linux Mint prides itself on being almost totally community driven. Though Ubuntu has a larger community overall, Linux Mint has a larger ratio of users actively participating in the community and developing. Even other systems such as Ubuntu Studio and Kubuntu have a main focus. Now, I'm not saying you don't have one, but I am saying that it is difficult to perceive.

If you were to differentiate your product from other similarly derived Linux distributions, I may suggest that you target a specific platform. I find great need for battery optimization on Linux running on laptops. Netbooks have software that is optimized for their form factor, while laptops run the same version of the OS designed for desktops. Horrible battery management ensues. Mac OS X is able to ensure long battery life because Apple manufactures both the hardware and the software. Making managing battery life very native to them.

With Linux, and Windows, this luxury does not exist. Perhaps, however, you could make a very laptop friendly distribution targeting mobile users that need the power of a desktop with the battery life of a netbook. This is where your distribution owuld be highlighted. Make a distribution that focuses on something like battery life, and you are guaranteed a large user base. With the power and versitility of GNU Linux coupled with its large software base and already large community, all you have to do is bring the elements togeather.

In retrospect, if you could target laptop users who need battery life and powerful software resources, I could not only see the necesity of your distrobution but I would actively support it. However, as I previously stated in my original post, you have quite a bit of work to do. In Ubuntu 10.04, HAL is totally removed from system boot-up. This decreases boot time largely. Couple this quick start time with highly effecient battery managment, as well as a very optimized UI for proprietary users, and you have a very well planned OS. Again, this is an example of a point that you utilize in building your system. Others exsist, but in my opinion, there lays a large base of users that would migrate to you should you tap into their craving for battery managment on the larger laptop platform.

Best of luck in your ventures!!! =D

[ubiquitousblake]

'Gosalia is one of the only Linux distributions in the world that supports... [various codecs]'

That's a bit misleading, I realize you're trying to push a product, but maybe you could say one of the only ones that provides out of the box support?

Totally agree here. The statement is misleading. Installing codecs is super simple and easy. However, users probably wont know which to install if they're not very savvy with computers in general. Make these codecs standard with the installation and you'll have a valid marketing point!

[Søren]

I thought sabayon came read to rock 'n roll with all that stuff?

[gosalia]

Over all, the theme and idea of this system are well formed. They incorporate the power and popularity of the GNU Linux platform, as well as the elegance of current proprietary systems that most people currently use. However, to differentiate your product from that which you derive it, you must have a very profound point. A simple UI modification would not be sufficient to necessitate your product, as appealing as the idea of native system elegance may be.

For example, Ubuntu's purpose is to give Debian Linux a more frequent and stable release cycle, as well as to make it more simple and more user friendly. With the backing of Canonical and the community, this is largely achieved. Linux Mint prides itself on being almost totally community driven. Though Ubuntu has a larger community overall, Linux Mint has a larger ratio of users actively participating in the community and developing. Even other systems such as Ubuntu Studio and Kubuntu have a main focus. Now, I'm not saying you don't have one, but I am saying that it is difficult to perceive.

If you were to differentiate your product from other similarly derived Linux distributions, I may suggest that you target a specific platform. I find great need for battery optimization on Linux running on laptops. Netbooks have software that is optimized for their form factor, while laptops run the same version of the OS designed for desktops. Horrible battery management ensues. Mac OS X is able to ensure long battery life because Apple manufactures both the hardware and the software. Making managing battery life very native to them.

With Linux, and Windows, this luxury does not exist. Perhaps, however, you could make a very laptop friendly distribution targeting mobile users that need the power of a desktop with the battery life of a netbook. This is where your distribution owuld be highlighted. Make a distribution that focuses on something like battery life, and you are guaranteed a large user base. With the power and versitility of GNU Linux coupled with its large software base and already large community, all you have to do is bring the elements togeather.

In retrospect, if you could target laptop users who need battery life and powerful software resources, I could not only see the necesity of your distrobution but I would actively support it. However, as I previously stated in my original post, you have quite a bit of work to do. In Ubuntu 10.04, HAL is totally removed from system boot-up. This decreases boot time largely. Couple this quick start time with highly effecient battery managment, as well as a very optimized UI for proprietary users, and you have a very well planned OS. Again, this is an example of a point that you utilize in building your system. Others exsist, but in my opinion, there lays a large base of users that would migrate to you should you tap into their craving for battery managment on the larger laptop platform.

Best of luck in your ventures!!! =D

Hey thank you so much for your feedback. I forwarded it to our heads and they confirmed the idea. I think we are going to create BETA 2 with a Desktop Download and also with a Laptop Download. The Laptop Download will have fast bootup and will be battery-efficient. If you want to help us more, which would be highly appreciated by us, please goto our forums at www.gosalia.org/forums and send your ideas. At this rate, we believe your ideas will be highly prioritized and I think the heads will most likely work on your ideas. Thank you so much for your help.

[gosalia]

Totally agree here. The statement is misleading. Installing codecs is super simple and easy. However, users probably wont know which to install if they're not very savvy with computers in general. Make these codecs standard with the installation and you'll have a valid marketing point!

What do you mean, can you specify more please.

[ubiquitousblake]

What do you mean, can you specify more please.

Of course.

When we Ubuntu users try to play a media file with its respective player, and the codec of said file does not exist on the system, the system reaches out to the repositories to find the correct codec(s). Usually these codecs are named such things as gstreamer plugins-ugly (or something of the sort). Now, because most current Linux users know which codecs they may or may not need, doesn't mean that proprietary users will or wont. But with new Linux users, there are two put-offs: First, GStreamer (they'll wonder what GStreamer is); Second, the word ugly is in the plugin. Now this is very ridiculous, but if they're already unsure what they're installing then this will make them totally reconsider installing anything without some form of instruction.

My first proposition is to include GStreamer plugins for audio playback (mp3, m4a, ogg) My second proposition is to include VLC as the standard video player. In this respect two birds will fall with one stone: no video codecs will be required (though they're usually coupled with the audio codecs); no DVD decoding libraries will need to be installed by the user (or developers)! I use this combination when installing Ubuntu on any computer for anyone. I've always received satisfaction from each and every person for whom I've done this so far.

Perhaps you could also consider a more powerful audio player? I love Rhythmbox because it's light-weight and very well integrated with Ubuntu. However, a more universal audio player like SongBird would probably be more appealing to a wider user base. It has a very appealing UI, large add-on library, and very powerful tools like a built in browser. Though, the add-ons take the cake in the limelight. Also, it's available for Windows and Mac OS X. Windows and Mac users are either already stuck to SongBird or iTunes (most probably one of these two) because of their power. To see this as the default on Gosalia would probably make the transition that much easier to them.

One last thing! Include flash from install! Some users have had problems with flash on Linux. Configuring this to work out-of-the-box would save users the hassle of poorly attempting to configure it themselves should anything go awry. Of course, this means respective configuration of flash for the 32bit and 64bit architectures, but I believe that this would even impress many other distribution users. That you would take the time and care to ensure such surreal usability is pleasurably appealing.

The fact is, that the majority of people don't want to configure their system in any way. They NEED everything to work natively because they're too lazy to learn to do things themselves. People who have never heard of Linux will be ill with the fear of the unknown. More over, people who have heard of Linux and have strong feelings against it feel so because, supposedly, "...a user should never have to open a damned bash terminal to configure anything...". This is something that SUSE is quite well known for, and is highly applauded for.

Looking back, I've written quite a bit! But in brief, the workload is not so much compared to the potential gains. Install codecs, change the audio and video default players, and include flash. Simple enough in theory. Many Linux users may feel differently towards these ideas. 'Why make an open source variant conform to proprietary standards?' Well, that's where the people are. We want to show them that Linux is not only horrendously fast, infamously stable, and almost infinitly customizable. But we want to show them that it can be just as simple and easy to operate as the proprietary systems that they've grown comfortable with!

The task before you is daunting! An unwavering resolve is needed to challenge the "Evil Empire"! But together, I'm confident that Linux can become the dominant OS on both the consumer and buisness computing platforms together!

Again, good luck with Gosalia! =P