Debian objectives for lenny ... desktop
Hello there
I know you are all busy with the etch release, but i will have time in
beginning of February and i want to propose some issues, and get your
opinion.
See that i am available to help/make them all.
I'll start for one that is the beginning of this all.
Debian is a good distribution that has everything that others have, but
it is always more messy and simple ... i would like to turn that out.
Unfortunately i am not designer ...
The question i bring is enterprise related. I know many enterprises use
debian as server and now ubuntu on desktop. I want to change that, by
making debian an enterprise oriented distribution ( or at least try to
get there).
some opinions here are not very welcome, please don't throw them away.
Some of them are patches to upstream that many of you are not welcome.
I will focus on gnome, because is the environment that i use and
recommend. Please feel free to adapt or give your opinion.
First:
My proposal is to be created, if possible, a desktop-enterprise task in
tasksel.
That task would include besides an enterprise oriented desktop, some
enterprise oriented features.
Some of the features:
- depend on libpam-ldap for configuring out of the box ldap client (or
at least have that option).
- depend on libpam-mount and the possibility for a 3rd party software to out-of-the box configure mounts (give the option to ...).
- enterprise oriented desktop applications (forget synaptic and some
other administrating tools)
- Have an unified artwork for all possible applications (splash screens
mostly), icons and so on.
- provide integrated software for the environment and provide the same on all 3 (gnome, kde and xfce)
- seek for group work application's compatibility out of the box.
- provide boot to shutdown artwork (splashy or usplash - also a target for common desktop)
- smoothier desktop with a nice theme to combine with the artwork (i find the current theme a bit missplaced, also the icons, but there's another story.)
( industrial controls - more whitier - seem to be ok with clearlooks window)
In gnome specially, which seems the most widely used for enterprise features, i would like to seek on other distribution's features that could have in debian,
such prefer gnome-control-center instead of administration/preferences [1][2]. It's easier for users to find that nice place where everything is and they can really see what want to change.
I can be responsible to alert the maintainers of programs with a .desktop file entry in administration/preferences to put their program in the right place, according
do the freedesktop.org spec [3]. This is a long time war in gnome, but i think general users are missing because of that. Ok, you'll point me to some 9999
discussions in gnome mailing lists, wikis, blogs ... but ... think about debian ... think about their users. (well ... this is my point of view).
I once tried to do something like this. And in some way reached, but alone i cannot do. I can propose, but i need people to help to improve it.
In a final way, i think several enterprises trust in debian's security ans stability. Lets take the step ahead for lenny.
Please critic this mail. Constructive critics are better welcomed.
[1] http://beranger.org/misc5/saga_0.png ( sorry it's small)
[2] http://skatstadt.de/wp-content/fotos/sled-10-rc3/Bildschirmfoto4.png bigger
[3] http://standards.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/latest/apa.html
--
Best Regards,
--
Luis Matos
Reply to: