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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: KDE Linux/BSD distribution
From:       Uwe Thiem <uwix () iway ! na>
Date:       2004-10-26 16:33:15
Message-ID: 200410261833.15428.uwix () iway ! na
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On Tuesday 26 October 2004 15:27, Simone Gotti wrote:
> On Tuesday 26 October 2004 15:14, N. Thompson wrote:

> > In reply to another one of the posts I know its a lot of work to make my
> > own distribution from scratch, I was thinking about this last night and
> > personally all I think we really need to do is find a way to install
> > another great distribution, change the software to what we want and
> > update the KDE to the latest version then learn how to make packages for
> > it, include all the best KDE software, remove all the unnecessary Gnome
> > components and make it installable by CD. No distribution I can think of
> > includes great KDE software, tweaks from KDE-look.org and other stable
> > enhancements and software that hasn't made it into the official KDE
> > branch yet.
>
> You have described gentoo...

In a way, yes. Only you need a helluva lot of bandwidth to go gentoo. Not much 
of deal in Europe and the US (and, maybe, Australia) but in other parts of 
the world, like here in Namibia, it's a real pain to build gentoo. I know 
what I am talking about because I am in the process of doing it. ;-) Learnt 
to like gentoo a lot in the process, though.

On the topic of building a distribution being a lot of work, actually, that 
isn't all that much if you base it on some sane one available. What is a 
infuckingcredible lot of work is first to make it secure and second keep it 
secure by rolling out security patches as fast as possible after holes have 
been detected. 

Since your distribution will be KDE-centred, I guess you are targeting the 
desktop. Desktop security is different from server security. Most folks in 
the Linux and BSD communities focus on server security where the system 
integrity is paramount. On a workstation, why should I concern myself all 
that much about the system? I have a perfect backup for it, the CDs/DVD I 
have used for installation. Sure, if my file and directory permissions are 
halfway sane and someone writes a worm/virus that manages to sneak into my 
account, all other users' home directory are safe but *mine* is not. The 
little sucker can still erase *my* home directory and that is where all my 
valuable data resides.

Making it next to impossible for a malicious piece of software to muddle the 
user's data *and* keeping the convenience of modern (GUI) apps means you 
really have cut out your work for yourself. ;-) And keeping it that way 
through updates and security patches will keep you busy for a long time. 
Something like eternity or, at least, close to it. Which, as Rowan Atkinson 
said, is a heck of a long time. ;-)

I am not saying it can't be done. I am just saying it needs a lot of qualified 
labour to do all the work. Welcome to the club! 

Uwe

-- 
Alternative phrasing of the First Law of Thermodynamics:
If you eat it, and you don't burn it off, you'll sit on it.

http://www.uwix.iway.na (last updated: 20.06.2004)
 
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