Updates!

TTOS Linux Updates for November, 2021

I apologize for the lack of blog post updates recently. But a lot of progress has been made on Project Chicago as well as updates to TTOS Linux Boston. We are still shooting for a New Year's Official Release but here are our goals / wishlist for the new build...

• EFI/UEFI support during install process (our build system was designed prior to standardizing EFI and has not seen significant updates to it's code base other than compatibility and maintenance updates since 2002. This will be a much needed major overhaul of outdated code in the build system without having to change our build process and flow)
• A single "merged" repo. Current versions of TTOS Linux utilize both TTOS repositories and Debian Repositories. The Chicago repo's are not yet setup and we are going to make some changes to how we do this. First, we are switching all development to a Debian Sid based repository that will will call "Boiler". We will actually produce "TTOS Boiler" releases. This will effectively be a rolling release distribution always up to date (but not without bugs). We will then mirror debian repositories as well as adding our own packages to the repo from now on. Chicago will be a mirror of Debian 11 Stable with TTOS Chicago specific packages included. All development will be on Boiler and then builds will be made for Chicago (or future current) when they are proven stable releases of the applications.
• ProShield Internet Security Suite - We made huge efforts to bring a new Internet Security Suite into TTOS Linux. Since ufw-kcm was only compatible with QT4 and KCM4, this option hasn't been available in all TTOS Builds based on Plasma 5 (without KCM4 installed). To replace ufw-kcm, we started ProShield Sentry project to go along with our ProShield AV. A Stable release will be included in the Chicago official release by default. Much of the UI is modeled after the beloved kcm-ufw. ProShield Suite is independent of KDE libraries so it currently is not for KCM however the advantage of a standalone is that ProShield does not require all the KDE dependencies to run on other desktop environments. It only requires the correct QT dependencies.
• TTOS Welcome - The current version of TTOS Welcome is completely functional however it is a jumbled mess of scripts and in code commands. It is not easily portable to other DE's because of this. The new TTOS Welcome is being designed to be a completely modular build. Most of the functions will be in a separate project. The UI's will include the ttos welcome header file to add all of it's functions. Keeping one code base means that when we code a UI, we are only coding a simple push button that performs the actions of the functions called. This way, a single change to a function can change functionality for all version of TTOS Welcome (ttos-welcome qt, ttos-welcome gtk, ttos-welcome gnustep ect... any language we want to code a UI in basically).
• Builds - The initial build of TTOS Linux Chicago will be a KDE release with a Linux Enterprise Server release shortly after. This time around, we plan to make a net installer where any release can be selected during install (requiring active internet connection). We also plan to release nightly builds of alternative DE's and base the TTOS Linux Game distro after the debian backports giving a more up to date system close to Boiler distribution but more stable for every day use.
• We are still working on some artwork. Currently, we are stuck with a lack of artwork other than branding. Any artwork submissions or donations are more than welcome. Our theme for this distribution is the city of chicago. Some original photography of the city will be more than happily accepted.
• Thank you all for your continued support, and please stay on alert for the release of TTOS Linux Chicago in less than a couple months!!! :)