Change your OS build method to Novo

[TheeMahn]

I used to be a Reconstructor dev. I do understand automation & love it. I used to integrate Reconstructor in Ultimate Edition. I did have an admin that was against such posts, I however am for progression of Linux. I do not care if John Schmuckelli uses your tool to build the next Ultimate Edition & perhaps be more successful at it then even I. Linux is what advances and I love to help educate ppl.

I will try your tool, I can almost promise you I will not use it to personally build Ultimate Edition. That does not mean users of Ultimate Edition will not try / like your tool. I said I would come back to this post (I am installing 377 updates

How I build Ultimate Edition currently (6 debs in Ultimate Edition 2.8):

Deb #1: ultimate-edition-2.8.deb
Description: This deb is a metapackage & installs 1000's of packages (Ultimate Edition related software)

Deb #2: ubiquity-slideshow-ubuntu_30_all.deb
Description: This is the installation slide show package. This displays features, donors, credits, etc.

Deb #3: ultimate-edition-2.8.0-plymouth_all.deb
Description: This deb installs the Plymouth splash screen.

Deb #4: ultimate-edition-2.8.0-xsplash_all.deb
Description: This installs the XSplash (I think they are working on ripping out this feature if they have not already done so)

Deb #5: ultimate-edition-theme-2.8.0-all.deb
Description: Installs virtually the entire theme set for Ultimate Edition, wallpapers, cursors, GTK's, Metacity, Emerald, compiz files, etc. Does not set any defaults.

Deb #6: ultimate-edition-customizations-2.8.0_all.deb
Description: I have saved the best for last. This is one heavy deb. This deb creates the users /etc/skel/ and sets defaults for the O/S. Compiz settings sets the wallpaper, start up programs, users homepage, Installs Ultimate Edition Guide and sets Icons, Gtk, Metacity, Emerald, sets Compiz to engage by default, sets metacitys layout to the way it should be, sets RSS feeds. I could go on and on over this package, this is the one that took me 4 months to write.

I chroot into 10.10 in this case, copy those 6 debs to /tmp and dpkg -i *.deb & the O/S is ready for building. I do not see any program making it any simpler then that. It used to take me weeks to make an O/S, I built both alphas the same day, then again I did not care about bugs... It is an alpha, come time for final, I will go through it with a finetooth comb.

[LastOS]

I can't find them debs anywhere -

I looked in here http://downloadue.info/repo/ but there not there, I take it that they only exist on your collection

I was just gonna check out the debs to see how hard it will be to convert them to a preset rather than just installing the debs from a script it would be better to separate out the ultimate-edition-2.8.deb in to the Application Lists so they can easily be modified.

[2hot6ft2]

I can't find them debs anywhere -

I looked in here http://downloadue.info/repo/ but there not there, I take it that they only exist on your collection

I was just gonna check out the debs to see how hard it will be to convert them to a preset rather than just installing the debs from a script it would be better to separate out the ultimate-edition-2.8.deb in to the Application Lists so they can easily be modified.

You can't find those debs because Thee created them himself and as he said it took 4 months. Thee does a lot more to Ultimate Edition than just install themes and packages, he tweaks it and fixes things that the debs don't. Personally I don't see how a OS builder app. can replicate what Thee creates. I'm sure that some people will find the program useful and will try it out just the same.
Just thought I would field the deb question for you. I have had the pleasure of looking at how a few of them are made and even if someone were to use them the same way, starting with the same base, I don't think the results would be the same for the reasons already stated.
Enjoy and best wishes.

[LastOS]

Well it's able to fully replicate what he does in the debs, only instead of being closed sourced and complicated for other to update it expands the power of more than one person working on improving the end results as well as making things extremely simple to customize.

It allows replacement of the debs by giving the same methods but in separate places:

• The appslists folder allows you to include many files with lists of apps, separating them in to easy to change categories.
  
• The Overlay folder will overlay any tar.gz files on to the built OS as well as allowing you to make quick changes to the FSOverlay folder so you don't have to rebuild the tar.gz to test ideas.
  
• The Scripts/Pre-Apps folder allows ANY executable scripts to be ran BEFORE installing anything more than the debootstrap and a few essential apps (like wget and apt-key) This allows you to add repositories that are not in the sources.list before building anything.
  
• The Scripts/Post-Apps folder allows ANY executable scripts to be ran AFTER installing everything, to fix problems, install flash and java and any other tweaks and changes you want to do.

With these three methods you can replicate the results of these debs, I was not questioning the passion and skill involved with Thee spending 4 months making his own method of creating his own customized OS, I was just trying to ask if his release strategy the best way for the continued development of Ultimate Edition from multiple people at the same time, by sharing your presets between creators you can simply grab their scripts, apps lists and overlay archives to include in your own presets, thus cutting out the need to continually upload debs to a repository for a test build.

The thing with it all is if Thee uploaded his debs to a repository the builder can install them as they are, without having to base the build on an existing Ubuntu ISO build, but a fresh up to date, customized one.

The truth, I don't use Ultimate Edition, I am able to program my Ubuntu based OS to have many features (especially context menus), so the only reason I created Novo Builder was to give other people the power to build without the months of learning that Thee and Myself had to spend on it first!



Screen Capture of My Context Menu (Panel backup saves the Gnome Panels and their Content so you can mess about and restore it back again without needing to go to cli or gconftool-2), It is available on the Novo-Repo along with the builder (all my work is open sourced and easily available) - I just hope that the potential is seen and this is not ignored, I am just trying to bring my years of building OS's across to Linux, It took me many months as well to get the builder and scripts to function without errors so lets not talk about who does the most work or produces the best results and see if we can gain knowledge between our efforts.

My Repository:
http://www.cyvoc.net/novo-repo/

[nesnfsn]

LastOS:

Real basic question - After reading your posts, and parsing through your website and its forum threads, is there an application for Novo that runs in linux distributions, or does it only work in Windows?

I understand that you can create your own customized linux distro (well in theory at least), but I have abandoned MS Windows after many years of virii and system crashes with my wife's and kids' computers. I either use OS X or Ultimate Edition (sometimes Mint).

Look forward to your explanation of how I can get your prized creation to work within Linux.

nesnfsn in sunny South Florida (not yet, too early still this AM).

[LastOS]

There is no Windows Linux builder, it's only for Debian based linux OS's. (Ubuntu, Ultimate, etc)

To install in your Linux:

Download and extract this: http://www.cyvoc.net/novoweb/Install_Novo_Builder.bash.tar.gz

Run the Install_Novo_Builder.bash file it extracts, it will ask for your sudo password to add the novo-repo (cyvoc) repository to your system, it will then proceed to install Novo Builder to your Menus - Applications/System Tools/Novo (Root) location.

[Cell]

This is actually a pretty cool no brainer (I like things that make my life easy) app you have going on.I played with it for a few hours only...this weekend if I have time Ill make a media os I been wanting to do.

I commend you on your work.

Cell

[LastOS]

Thanks Cell, glad you like it, also your welcome to use any of the stuff from LastOS Linux/Novo-Repo for your own projects, there is not much yet, but it's growing

[Cell]

I'm finding the scripts deb is wanting to over write my existing folder.Another thing....just a little nice criticism.The help file,or lack of.

Cell


Edit:Correction...its trying to install an existing script.

[LastOS]

Here's a help file I been working on:

http://www.cyvoc.net/novoweb/Novo_Help.odt

It's been hard making this project, except for the engine scripts I've done it all alone, including the forum, webpage, help doc, Gambas code, testing, presets (Including all the mods I did for LastOS), deb, repository etc etc - so yeah it's a little scarce and fragmented in the area of help and information, examples. I hope it gets a userbase of people or even some more devs - but if not, it does the job I made it for (making an up to date LastOS Linux )