[Mageia-dev] Identifying Target Markets

[Frank Griffin]

Marc Paré wrote:
> Le 2010-09-30 07:21, Graham Lauder a écrit :
>>
>> The "feel" to me that came from the brainstorming was that Mageia
>> could be
>> marketed as the "Family Distro".
> I think that if you target the software packages that are compatible
> with Educational software advocated by educational organizations, we
> could make quite large inroads in the adaptability of Mageia.

I think that these are endeavors for an entity which is exactly what
we've just got done saying Mageia *isn't*, namely a commercial venture.

Currently, the package inventory of Mandriva is fairly all-inclusive,
and I don't think we should abandon any specific interest group. 
Mandriva may have to do this to remain commercially viable - we do not.

However, let me try to translate your desires into a more technical
objective that would meet the need..

Traditionally, the MDV ISO-building process has been complex, not
well-documented, and difficult for anyone outside of MDV to use.  I
think Mageia should have a simplified process for package selection that
would enable community users to assemble install ISOs geared to specific
needs, such as those you mention.  This should be as easy as
constructing an ISO using k3b or brasero, but would need to be driven by
the RPM information (e.g. requires).  Actually, a lot of the RPMDrake
design could be used (if not much of the actual code) to allow a user to
drag and drop Application Categories or specific packages.  As with any
CD/DVD burner, the GUI would keep track of whether you were over the
limit for the volume size, so that you could then pare the package list.

This would allow us to have as many ISOs (or ISO sets) as there are
people interested in maintaining the individual content lists.  You
could have a server version, an office desktop version, a games version,
an education version, a power-user version, etc.  It would also end the
endless bickering among those who want every media combination from a
stub-based full network install to a fully self-contained multi-DVD or
even Blu-Ray install.  You want it, you design it, you press the button
and build it.

It should not be too difficult to write a utility that goes through a
content list and automatically updates the package names to newer
versions, so maintenance could be minimal.  Of course, you'd need to
fire up the build utility to see if there are new package requirements
or if you've exceeded your space constraint.

These need not all be available on the same release date.  Whatever we
decide constitutes a "core" set could form the actual release, with the
others appearing as the interested groups have time to produce them.

Another idea that fits with this is the concept of a two-tiered install:
create a single general-purpose bare-bones ISO that installs a common
baseline of packages, and create a variety of secondary install ISOs
geared to specific audiences.  People would download the common one plus
whichever other(s) they wanted.