Custom carpc distro - Page 5

blk · 01-13-2007, 02:36 PM

ubuntu is a good deal because virtually everybody will be able to add their own stuff with just an apt-get - the down side is boot times.. although with upstart it got a lot better
on my current carpc i have an ubuntu with initng and ratpoison and i can boot in 20s from poweron to xterm - it'd be very good if we could get 15s (that's just a little more than my display needs to unfold)
frontends:
- myth is good, touchscreen support is in, but it isn't that great (still need an escape key, music selection sucks with touchscreen)
- nghost, still in development (kev and i are working on it, you're welcome to join, or comment) - has great touchscreen support and is geared towards being the best carpc frontend for linux - downside: doesn't have a plugin framework (yet) -> a non-issue if you're not a dev, and are happy with what's in (mp3 playback, video playback, rss, gpsdrive support (

) )

kev000 · 01-16-2007, 12:24 AM

rebuilt ubuntu and tested it out. Just as a test I kept gnome and removed openoffice and evolution. I added mplayer and some sdl libs and had a final .iso size of about 570mb. I've listed a few more things to remove as they are not needed.

I've started a forum for the project over at nanonymous.org for anyone that is interested in putting in there 2 cents or helping out with the development. I'll need some help with package removal scripts and additional packages users may want. Customized splash screen would be nice too

so if there are any artists out there...

thanks

kev

Slimline · 01-18-2007, 11:22 AM

nghost is stable then? Is it EPIA specific also? The reason I ask is because I'd like to load it on a laptop that I have at my mercy...

kev000 · 01-18-2007, 08:05 PM

nghost the frontend is becoming very usable and stable. However it is still in development.

The car PC Distro (pls give me a name...), is still in its early development stages. I hope to have a torrent download in a couple weeks for people who want to test it. I have set up a discussion on the video drivers and I want to include only those drivers that will exist in car PCs. Via, Intel, etc.

we still need people to volunteer for making boot splash and user themes so anyone is welcome.

-kev

Eubey · 01-20-2007, 11:28 PM

why not do sometyhing like this? http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Knoppix_Remastering_Howto
it is based on debian, which is what ubuntu is based on, so you can use apt-get and stuff, looks easy to do

blk · 01-22-2007, 08:38 AM

starting from knoppix you're gonna have to remove a lot of stuff - i guess it's easier starting from a slim live-distro or just from scratch using some live-tools (which make a live-distro from what you installed)

Eubey · 01-22-2007, 05:24 PM

i tried installing reconstructor on my ubuntu machine but it keep needing dependencies that couldnt be found for some reason. I am going to try again with a different install and see if i cant get it to work. also, if someone gives me some ideas / sketches of what the boot and splash shoudl look like, i will make them in photoshop.

kev000 · 01-22-2007, 06:15 PM

[QUOTEalso, if someone gives me some ideas / sketches of what the boot and splash shoudl look like, i will make them in photoshop.[/quote]

That's great! As soon as we decide on a name (we still need more voters on the poll), we can start coming up ideas for the boot/splash.

Quote:

tried installing reconstructor on my ubuntu machine but it keep needing dependencies that couldnt be found for some reason.

reconstructor should work if you apt-get install fakeroot and dpkg-dev. You might have to enable the universe and source repositories in your /etc/apt/sources.list

I've built several scripts to remove unnecessary packages from the system. I have the iso image from 710mb to around 530mb. I'm thinking of switching from reconstructor to uck (ubuntu customization kit) to further reduce the image size. The reason for the switch is that reconstructor currently doesn't support the xubuntu livecd. They are working on this however. The xubuntu live cd is about 540mb at the start. If I can remove 200mb worth of packages we have a distro that is ~300mb. UCK supports xubuntu and kubuntu along with ubuntu. I'm still going to experiment more by removing the gnome stuff and adding the xfce manually. I will start a poll also in the nanonymous forum for which window manager users will want.

Eubey · 01-22-2007, 06:24 PM

i was just kinda messin around, but if it is called ghostbox, heres kinda an idea sketch thign.

cept the edges woudl be trimmed so none of that crap outside the rounded rectangle would be there

Eubey · 01-22-2007, 06:27 PM

p.s. what about I.C.E. as a name (In Car Entertainment)

kev000 · 01-22-2007, 08:49 PM

Nice!! Plus I really like ICE for the name. Linux ICE... just sounds good... Anyone else second that?

Eubey · 01-22-2007, 09:05 PM

If we use ICE i have a pretty cool ubuntu type splash in the works. I will keep it hidden until we make an official decision. Once we make a decision, i will buy a domain and set up hosting as well if noone has any objections to that. I already have a junkload of hosting id ont actually use for anythig, so i would only be out like $10 for domain so it wouldnt be a huge deal.

Eubey · 01-22-2007, 10:14 PM

haha i finally got reconstructor installed and... i'll let you deal with that... too complicated lol.

Since noone else has volunteered, i will appoint myself graphics guy for the project for now, so just tell me what you need and what dimensions to have it in, and I will do my best to make somethin pretty sweet.

Toe · 01-23-2007, 08:18 AM

I like ICE too. But why not abbreviate the Linux too? That'd make it LICE.

Seriously, though, that's really is the best name yet in my opinion.

thiggy · 01-23-2007, 11:31 AM

edit: will it support flac playback?