Suggestion: "Kickstart Package"

[sbjaved]

Ubuntu has many users (like myself) without a configured/fast internet connection. Since they are stuck without internet, many of us clueless newbies have no mp3 playback, DVD decoding and video support.

I read a thread about it on which some poor guy suggested something about getting that working offline and he was told that ubuntu was totally about the net and he better try something else. Let me say that I don't have net access or mp3 support/video support/DVD playback but i still spend 1/3 of my PC time in ubuntu. I love it so much that i've converted songs in .ogg format just to make it work in ubuntu.

So heres my proposal: Why don't we have something like a "Kickstart Package", something that has a collection of absolutely neccessary codecs (What's must-have can be decided with a poll)...Not Megabytes of Security updates or Applications...Just barebones stuff to get a newbie a happy-out-of-box experience. He just downloads a heavily compressed single file that installs all the packages that he needs to get mp3/dvd/video working.

That would be a big boost for all the people with dial-ups or unconfigured modems or offline PC's. They just download a .deb off the net on another PC and paste it on their ubuntu-desktop via a USB/CD and are ready to hear/see their collection. Who cares about MB's of security updates when you rarely get on the net, even that on a dial-up?

Right now getting stuff to work has a single way-Go Online. There must be an Offline way for at least basic stuff such as this.

What say people??

[mips]

There are add on cds available.

[jclmusic]

i agree. an offline version of automatix or easyubuntu would be good.

[darkhatter]

This is one of the features being talked about in feisty, I don't think it works offline but it allows users to get all the not so open packages in one go