Deciding on a "base" for Debian Jr.
We're now in the thinking-things-through stage for making a task-jr
package and a number of companion jr- meta packages that will extend the
functionality of the "base" task-jr. I think, after discussion with some
other developers, and after skimming the recent discussion on debian-devel
about the need to curtail the explosion of task- packages that there
should be only one task- package for the present. The rest will be
ordinary "meta" packages which is what a task- package is except without
the "task-" prefix so they don't show up in tasksel during a fresh install
of Debian.
So, let's hear your ideas about what goes into task-jr. The focus needs
to be on what a child and a child's sys admin wants in a bare minimum
installation for a system that they use exclusively. This could include a
few things for their amusement, but keep in mind that the base system
should be installable on systems with very low resources (CPU, disk,
memory) so nothing fancy. Think about the "Debian Jr. Ultralight" system
that we discussed earlier. A more comprehensive set of games, for example,
could be later installed by a "jr-games" package or (if they have the
hardware for it) "jr-games-3d". Also, we are aiming at the whole
eight-and-under range with this base install, so things that are included
should have broad appeal. Some of the desktop "toys" come to mind, a
lightweight text-editor, something to draw with, and a handful of games
with controls that aren't too difficult to work. Most of the "education"
oriented things are going to be targetted at specific age-ranges and are
probably disqualified on those grounds.
Don't worry about picking and choosing individual packages that are
already handled by a task- package. For example, not everything that is
needed for an X installation needs to be hand-picked. We can simply make
task-jr depend upon task-x.
Finally, one of the big choices is going to be what to supply as default
window managers. So far, I'm thinking fvwm and wmaker. Let them try both
and choose whichever suits their tastes.
Comments please?
Ben
--
nSLUG http://www.nslug.ns.ca synrg@sanctuary.nslug.ns.ca
Debian http://www.debian.org synrg@debian.org
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