The distro market is already bloated.
Even if you created a distribution that does everything you described, it's just going to be yet another distro in a sea of distros.
Most people will stick with the biggest ones, Red Hat/Fedora, Debian, Slackware, Gentoo (don't flame me if I missed your favourite :))
And only a small people here and there will tinker around with the lesser known distros.

I doubt we'll ever see the day when one particular distro out shines all the rest and takes over.
Everyone's preferences are different and individual's will each stick with the distro that makes the most sense to them.

True.. But don't you think there's missing one too for the average people. ?
I agree with you that people takes the ones they find special for themselves.. but for the people who barely know about computers, who only know how to pull the switch to turn winXP on. what about them ?? there's missing a distro these users can use too..

And thats a LOT of people..

I disagree. I think Mepis and Linspire do a pretty good job of covering that. The real problem is that no matter how easy a Linux distro gets to install, most computer users do not want to install an OS. They want "to pull the switch to turn winXP on." That's all they want. If they turned the switch and Linux came on, it'd be fine.

Yeah Mepis does really well for that. Hated Linspire when I got an ISO of it Bittorent when they changed their name. There were no apps to speak of, although they claimed them by putting CNR links throughout the menu.

I think what is really missing is another distro with similar goals to Vector but different implementation. I liked that Vector was a newbie-enhanced version of Slackware, but did not like how they did it or how they are doing it right now.

As long as linux just is pre-installed in very few retail-mashines today, I think we MUST do SOMEthing.

Maybe tell retailers even more about linux, so they'll preinstall more linux on their computers, so people can choose better..

but.. yes.. its true that people want a preinstalled system, but for those who are skeptics about pre-installs, they must choose an individual installation solution too.. and..

I give up... I'll try otherways to bring out the "message"..

hey, thanks :)



to the topic: go try yourself the Linux from Scratch thing and see how is that. you might just realize you better stick with your old system after two days of compiling:cool:

Or maybe it really COULD be a necessary thing to make a whole new... I'm already started at it..

Maybe add some support for the gamers, like mac game compatability. that would get some users

Hey what happend to the thread where the guy wanted to make a new distro, but had no clue how to do it. If I remember correctly he wanted to do something Gentoo based.

It was here about a month ago. Ran 5-6 pages.

Xandros does 90% of what the OP in this thread stated he wants.

Sounds more like another newbie wanting Linux to be just like Windows, only a little better. For that there is Linspire or Xandros, both come preinstalled on PC's available at Wal-mart and Sam's Club.

Ubuntu, MEPIS and even PCLinuxOS are very simple installs; and very easy to use.

Personally I will stick with Debian and use Ubuntu as my play system.

I still want a new form of linux..

And no, I don't want it to be like "windows, just better".

Oh, well.. yes.. you COULD say "windows, but better", but then the WHOLE windows must be reconstructed to end up with my "wanted"s

And then it really isn't windows anymore right ??

No, I want a whole new distro, and if all my and all the people's need cant be fulfilled., we simply have to make a new linux-revolution, a whole new system, and maybe call it linux2, and the finally system something cool too.

And guess what, I'm already as told before, started to make on with some of my friends..
"And yes, I also program, I'm not just looking and give orders"

Its time to go forward, not to walk in the same steps we'd done so far.. I mean for the general people..

I'm of two minds on this. MS is currently feeling a little threatened by Linux, but only in the server market, and not on the desktop. The Linux desktop still has a ways to go, before being able to threaten MS. Many general users have invested largely in MS compatible software (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, MS-Office, various games, etc) so, they're not likely to give it up. Xandros provides Windows emulation software to allow installation of such things, but, for the general user who's invested in Windows software, it makes more sense to stick to the original OS. If applications become served over the internet, this would eliminate that. For example, dictionary programs, or encyclopedia programs, do not need to be installed on local computers, because they are readily available on the internet. One day, perhaps, photoediting, video editing, word processing, spreadsheets, viewers, games, etc, will be accessed on supercomputers outside of your localhost, using any operating system. Google, I think, is working on this.

Right now, Linux users still have to struggle with finding Windows codecs to look at stuff. If you have a parallel port scanner, well, forget it. "How come I only have two choices of screen resolution?" "Well, no problem, just type dpkg-reconfigure x..., and answer a few technical questions about your monitor..." "What?"

So, in summary, my first thought is that Linux isn't quite there yet, in spite of how good Ubuntu, or Xandros, is. My second thought, though, echoes aysiu's, in that the distros are already out there, and are fine. The problem is getting people to adopt them. A guy I knew bought a used computer with Windows 2000 on it. He complained to me that it was really slow, had problems with adware, etc. So, I gave him a Live Ubuntu disc, telling him that he could test a new OS run entirely off the disc. I warned him that it might be a little slow, due to running off the disc, but that if it worked okay, it would rock when installed to his hard drive.

I met up with him a few days later. He said that the Ubuntu live CD worked even better than his Windows 2000 hard drive. But, he told me, he went to the Ubuntu site, and downloaded the install file. It wouldn't install, because the Windows installer said it did not recognize ISO files, he reported; so, he's staying with Windows. "It's not a program of Windows, it's a replacement," I said. He said he did not want to lose some files he had on Windows (letters he had written). Save the letters to a floppy, I said, install Ubuntu via a disc I'll give you, and then transfer your letters from the floppy. He "corrected" me that "it was not that simple". He then told me there were many "dll" files that would have to be transfered to run media. No matter how I tried, he was convinced that Ubuntu could not run without Windows being on the system. So, even when Linux works better, people still will not budge. SuSE, Xandros, Ubuntu, or Mepis are just as easy as Windows, I feel.

So, what's the answer? Well, I do agree that variety, and flexibility are great potential strengths of Linux. For instance, I work at a shelter for 76 homeless people. I'm going to set up a donated Pentium II with Debian for the homess clients of the shelter. I've got the okay from management to have it connected to the adsl internet connection that is there for the office computers, provided that porn and gambling sites can't be accessed. So, using dansguardian, and guarddog, I'm blocking this. GDM will automatically log the general user in, and shortly, a whole community will meet Tux, and with him, see the World Wide Web. SuperTux will definitely be a hit.

If Linux wasn't available, the mere cost of a similar Windows solution would make it impossible. So, community initiatives is a real strength of Linux, I think. Some day, it will take over the world.

Do whatever you want. No one can stop you. It's GPL'ed. The code is open source. If you want to make a new distro, make it. If it's good, it'll be adopted. If it's crap, it won't be.

To mark_alfred, excellent post. I can't believe your friend wouldn't adopt Ubuntu. He would've been perfect for it. Oh, well. The shelters can benefit!

Ok, forgive me if I appear a little bit out of the loop on this point I'm about to make. I would like a device manager and simplified driver model similar to windows. I don't care for Microsoft, but I must give them credit in this department. If Windows doesn't recognize something, it'll give you a nice graphical tree and let you know what it could and could not find. Plus it gives you the ability to install/update drivers rather easily. If there is such a thing, could someone point me in that direction? I've seen SuSE's version, and while nice, it doesn't allow me to easily update drivers or see what wasn't recognized. Again, if I'm mistaken please, someone correct me??

Travis

Here's a story...
I know this guy who is a die hard windows fan. Checks the MS webpage everyday and is frantically waiting for the new version of IE (NOW with TABBED BROWSING!!!!!) I listened to him tell me about how he went out and bought a copy of 98 to put on an old pc he was setting up. I thought "heres my chance," so I went home and burned him a copy of Mepis. I chose Mepis because of its livecd option and because when I tried it, well; it just worked. I gave it to him and told him to just pop it in, reboot and enjoy. A few days went by with lots of excuses and then finally I heard,
"last night I tried that CD you gave me."
"Oh really, what did you think?"
"Not bad, everything worked and the internet was found instantly. It also comes with a ton of programs, even an Ipod manager."
"What about the desktop, was it graphical enough?"
"Looked good, I was surprised its not what I expected Linux to be like."
Heres where we start to lose people:
"I also tried it on my laptop"
"Howd that go?"
"You mean other than the fact that my screen was about half the size and it couldnt find my wireless network."
His problem was solved by downloading nvidias newest drivers and setting his SSID, pretty simple. Pretty simple for someone who knows (and cares) what an SSID is, and wants to learn how to untar and install something. The truth is that most of the world dosent care all they want is to hit a switch like someone already said.
You wanna make the worlds best distro accessible to all, write device drivers/installers. Then find a way to easily implement them The other stuff you talk about is already there (portage, apt-get, Gentoo, Mepis, Debian). Solve the problem with all the distros, don't waste time making whats already there.

Surely 99.999% of the point of Linux is EXACTLY that you DO want to know what is going on and can adjust / build your system accordingly.

If you want an all Automatic system then I'm sure Mr Gates will oblige you quite easily.

The whole point of Open Source is that if (and when) things do go wrong people want to be able to see what's happening .

Also with Linux You have a choice (unlike Windows) with what you want to install.

If you don't get some control over this your system will eventually be riddled with Adware, Spyware and who knows what else.

I like the GUI's available with most distros --but it's also nice having a command line available and being able to compile / build from source if you really have to,

Cheers

-K

And finally --please let's have a decent DVD player --I'm sicke of the cludge surrounding Libdvdcss and all the other junk --just to get a DVD which I've LEGALLY PAID FOR viewable on a laptop --why shouldn't I watch a DVD if I'm stuck on a train or in an airport for a few hours.
-K