[Linuxjunior-devel] Status Update

[Matt <mva...@gm...>]

Hello Everybody,

First I would like to thank everyone for their patience, I know this 
project is off to a slow start, with no source code or any files for 
that matter currently available on the sourceforge site, as well as very 
little information.  I'm hoping to change all that within the current 
weeks.

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging support, I have had several 
inquiries into contributing to this project, and I'm hoping to start 
this project off by making a minimum of weekly status updates to this list.

Proof of Concept
I have put together a proof of concept distribution, meaning now one 
that I plan to put into full development but use as a basis, mainly in 
part with the Linux From Scratch guide.  I have decided now to fork over 
from any distributions mainly because, this project has a very niche 
purpose with kids and security in mind, and being so, I feel that the 
amount of work to truly customize a current distro to meet our needs 
would be just as much work as creating a new one.  I could be wrong, and 
if anyone disagrees, please, in a nice manner of course, feel free to 
voice your differences.

Proof of Concept Status
Linux Junior is now fully bootable functional Linux distribution, 
however, it is currently lacking any GUI desktop.  I have spent a 
tremendous amount of time reviewing some of the popular desktop 
enviroments such as KDE, GNOME, etc..  All those details I will get to 
in a minute.  I have created the machine in a virtual box enviroment and 
then tested the enviroment in another virtual box machine, by creating a 
compressed tar archive, copying it over, untarring it, and using a 
Fedora live cd to chroot into the enviroment and then configuring grub.  
This is going to be the method of "installing" the distro until a full 
installer has been created.

Installer
Anybody interested in working on the installer with me, help would be 
greatly appreciated.  I am planning to use grub to in an ISO to boot to 
the installer.

GUI Desktop Enviroment
Any thoughts on which GUI desktop enviroment to use would be greatly 
appreciated.
The criteria  for the desktop enviroment for Linux Junior are as follows:
- Easy customization
   In my opinion, designing a desktop for younger children is a bit 
tricky in that it needs to follow some conformity of desktop use, while  
very visually and interactively appealing.
- Lightweight
   I know this term is thrown out their quite a bit in the Linux 
community as well as in other Operating System circles, however, this 
project wouldn't be the same if it required the latest and greatest 
hardware to run, it would simply be out of budget, and one of the goals 
of this project is to allow for parents' to provide a computer to their 
children who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.
- Security
   The less loopholes, both for outside sources and for the more 
explorative children to go through, the better.

Documentation
My final subject for today will be documentation.  As you can probably 
tell by reading this email, I am not the best with grammar, and being on 
the development side, I know I am probably going to miss documenting the 
basics of documentation for both end users, and developers.  I have 
developed an opinion that some of the more popular software have become 
that way due to great documentation (and great software, but of course, 
that's coming too ;-) ).  I have created a wiki page hosted through 
sourceforge at 
https://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/linuxjunior/index.php?title=Main_Page 
.
This week my goal for the wiki is to:

1) Get rid of default text left in their from the MediaWiki installation
2) Document software packages currently included in distribution
3) Document what ares need work
4) Document where to get help
5) Document on how to contribute
6)  Document the current installation process as described above with 
the .tar.gz package.
Whew!  That's alot to work on!

As you can see, their's alot to get done, so don't be afraid to speak up 
on what you can or what you would like to help in.  And before I forget, 
we are looking for art contributors to help with the Linux Junior logo.

I know this was alot to read, so just to keep it fresh in your brain, 
here is a quick summary:
- Proof of concept is bootable!  (files will be uploaded hopefully soon)
- Currently distro has to be manually installed, ANY VOLUNTEERS FOR THE 
INSTALLER?
- Needs to choose what GUI/Desktop to use
- Documentation is in the process, but a call for volunteers is being 
made!!!

Thanks again, and I hope to hear from all the great minded people out there!
Matt V.