UEFI Support

We've been working hard with adding UEFI to our build system... and sadly, it is not compatible without a complete re-write. The reason is that our build system started in 2002 and UEFI was not a widely used standard back then. The code base has been updated to support newer Linux Kernel based operating systems but not UEFI. After attempting to add UEFI support, it has failed to produce bootable ISO's. In the meantime, we have decided to give live-build scripts a try. The problem with this is that the current version of debian is not running custom hooks and installing packages. A known issue fixed in git but not in mainstream. Scripting everything for cron scripts makes live-build a bit difficult if it has to build from git. Sometimes, this works, and sometimes this fails. Sometimes, updates break things. It is not a reliable build process. Due to this issue, I have attempted to try live build with Ubuntu. Even though it share's many similarities with Debian, it is vastly different. Using Ubuntu as a base, I was able to build a successful UEFI ISO and include the TTOS Repository. Just a warning though... it does boot and shows that UEFI TTOS Linux is possible with live-build on top of stock debian but just be warned, an apt upgrade breaks the system as the TTOS repository Chicago and Boiler is also a Debian mirror for Bullseye and Sid. The ttos-experimental was uploaded as a hint of what a UEFI TTOS Linux experience could be like. While we wait for the official build to be completed, the experimental Ubuntu based build can give everyone something to play around with. The trick is that we want everything to work with our automated build systems and CI/CD workflow. Debian Sid works perfectly for this because of it's rolling release nature. We can develop on boiler, and bring stable packages to testing, and then stable.

Our current plan to finish off the year is to focus on developing the customized software that makes TTOS Linux unique while we wait for live-build patches to move into sid, testing, and bullseye. Then we can produce automated UEFI builds. The current automation system for Legacy BIOS works and this is important to free up the time we need for developing software packages for TTOS Linux. If compatibility with a Debian base UEFI build can't happen in the near future, switching to an Ubuntu Base might be a potential as we can rebase Boiler on Rolling Rhino instead of Sid. In the meantime, leave a comment or send an email if any of you feel like one might be better over the other in the long run. We are open to your input. Rebasing on Ubuntu might be the quicker solution but Debian has been a rock solid core to TTOS Linux for 20 years. Everyone's input is valuable and can help shape the future of TTOS Linux. TTOS Linux is a sum of the experience we intend to give, not the base it is built on. As long as it has a strong foundation, we can build on top of any base distro including Arch or Red Hat. Switching to Ubuntu would be easiest as we already have a CI/CD system for building packages.

That's all we have for now... please keep following up for more news and have fun with the experimental build. Also enjoy the rest of your day!