Possible new CE project: CE Linux

[ash]

I know, I know.. we have so many dead projects. However, I believe that by suggesting projects to do, theres a chance that a segment of CEans will be interested in it

Some of you may know about Shift Linux, a linux distro developed by the Neowin community.

Shift Linux

I picked that as an example because it was a community project, something that CE wants to encourage here.

I was thinking at some point in the future, when we have more active members, resources, time, etc, we can create our own Linux distro. Now, why? Other than having a project we can all be involved in, we can make it distinctly CE. That is, a Crazy Engineers distro developed by engineers FOR engineers. We can develop an optimized platform where engineering tools can be run quickly, etc etc.

I guess some of us may already have an idea about it. So, please post in your comments and suggestions.. also a name for the project!

[EDIT]

We can also try designing a very lightweight linux distro that can be used in small devices. For example: robots, electronic PDA's, etc. Pretty much like embedded software, I guess.

[joe3204]

found a website for creating linux from scratch. thought it would be helpful

Welcome to Linux From Scratch!

[ash]

Thanks for the link! I'll spend some time looking through the LFS book

[The_Big_K]

[Side note]

We can customize Ubuntu distribution to have our logo & other changes. Anyone wants to shed more light on this?

[Side Note #2] We need to jump start a small online software development project. I bet we have enough number of CEans who are interested.

[ash]

Originally Posted by The_Big_K

[Side note]

We can customize Ubuntu distribution to have our logo & other changes. Anyone wants to shed more light on this?

[Side Note #2] We need to jump start a small online software development project. I bet we have enough number of CEans who are interested.

hehe, I guess some asthetic changes would be interesting Should be easy to do I believe. CE logos, new set of icons, red themes..

Of course, it would also be nice to do a linux distro from scratch. But thats pretty far ahead in the future. CE Messenger should be done first before we pursue that idea!

Speaking of which, I'm brushing up my C with some advanced functions (that wasnt included in my basic C programming course for engineers) this month, so I'll certainly hop on into the CE Messenger project soon. By the way.. can we name the project CE:IM? Or something else thats short? takes to much time to keep typing "messenger"

[The_Big_K]

Hmm, don't go in the "Pointy Haired Boss" way. We'll work on the name last. Let's call it CE IM right now

But where are the developers!

[ash]

Originally Posted by The_Big_K

Hmm, don't go in the "Pointy Haired Boss" way. We'll work on the name last. Let's call it CE IM right now

But where are the developers!

haha, you're right! Or else we'll all end up as chicken men!

I'll type up the brief list of objectives and specifications later tonight, and add it to the CE:IM thread so we call can discuss about it.

[joe3204]

Originally Posted by The_Big_K

[Side note]

We can customize Ubuntu distribution to have our logo & other changes. Anyone wants to shed more light on this?

if we do customise ubuntu, we should probably use 7.10 and not the latest one i.e. 8.04 as it has bugs as of now...

[xheavenlyx]

Here is some info on Linux from Scratch website:

Why would I want an LFS system?

Many wonder why they should go through the hassle of building a Linux system from scratch when they could just download an existing Linux distribution. However, there are several benefits of building LFS. Consider the following:

LFS teaches people how a Linux system works internally
Building LFS teaches you about all that makes Linux tick, how things work together and depend on each other. And most importantly, how to customize it to your own tastes and needs.

Building LFS produces a very compact Linux system
When you install a regular distribution, you often end up installing a lot of programs that you would probably never use. They're just sitting there taking up (precious) disk space. It's not hard to get an LFS system installed under 100 MB. Does that still sound like a lot? A few of us have been working on creating a very small embedded LFS system. We installed a system that was just enough to run the Apache web server; total disk space usage was approximately 8 MB. With further stripping, that can be brought down to 5 MB or less. Try that with a regular distribution.

LFS is extremely flexible
Building LFS could be compared to a finished house. LFS will give you the skeleton of a house, but it's up to you to install plumbing, electrical outlets, kitchen, bath, wallpaper, etc. You have the ability to turn it into whatever type of system you need it to be, customized completely for you.

LFS offers you added security
You will compile the entire system from source, thus allowing you to audit everything, if you wish to do so, and apply all the security patches you want or need to apply. You don't have to wait for someone else to provide a new binary package that (hopefully) fixes a security hole. Often, you never truly know whether a security hole is fixed or not unless you do it yourself.

[joe3204]

i'll get on it as soon as my exams are over. 1 down 4 to go! man i can't wait for sweet freedom!!