[Indic-computing-devel] Bootable OS requirements

[<jk...@Fr...>]

One of the sub-projects that Indic-computing project aims to
facilitate is the creation of a bootable OS that has packaged-in
support for Indian Language computing.  By this we mean that a
relatively inexperienced user should be able to boot into this OS (say
from a CD) and have at her disposal tools to operate in Indian
Languages.

Such an OS distribution could serve as a starting point for

	- demonstration CD showcasing the progress of indian language
	  tools
	- the creation of customized versions of the OS for 
	  use in "embedded" applications like rural information
	  kiosks and the like
	
This mail is meant to start a discussion on the requirements of such a
demo OS.  We need to discuss if such a project is (a) a good idea (b)
and if so, what kind of features and software we should target and
making part of this OS.

Here are some first cut requirements:

a. The OS should be boot off 'common' hardware.
	
   In the indian context this means x86 architecture PCs.  x86 PCs are
   very diverse in hardware components; we will need to support a
   'reasonable' range of hardware (for some definition of 'reasonable').

b. Do we require the OS to be 'installed' or should it run directly
   of the CDROM?

   Running directly off a CDROM is useful for demos.  However,
   unless the boot and device probing process is made fully automatic,
   we'll need to ask hardware configuration related questions
   each time we boot and this can get quite irritating.

   Q: Is a feature wherein the OS keeps mutable data (user data,
   log files, configuration data etc) on a hard disk, while keeping all
   other files on read-only media useful?

c. The OS should present a GUI interface to the user from the start.

   We could have an X server and a graphical login start off at
   boot time, providing we can solve the issues of X Server configuration
   at boot/install time.

d. The application mix provided on CD should work seamlessly together.

   Basic capabilities for a demo CD could include: 
	- Web browsing / creation of web pages
	- editing of text files (word processing)
   	- printing of indian languages
	- other text processing

   Since we are looking primarily at open-source tools, we'll need 
   build and packages these applications in such a manner that
   they all work together.

e. ...others...


Regards,
Koshy
<jk...@fr...>