[MLB-WIRELESS] Melbwireless Linux distro

[Jason Hecker]

>Like MS, it's common because it's Simple and GUI... Are simple and GUI
>things you really want on an early pentium sitting on a roof? Prehaps
>a distro like Slakware or Debian, which is more CLI based may be a
>better alternative.

?!  Huh?  I think things need clarification...

The distribution would have the bare set of binaries libraries and a 
minimal kernel with a heap of drivers in module form to suit everyone and 
their hardware.  On top of this there would be various useful wireless and 
networking utilities and some sort of web server so that configuration of 
the system could be done remotely from a web page.  I'd really like to hide 
all the finicky details of the drivers and utilites behind a simplified web 
interface.  Notwithstanding, you could SSH into it and muck with things the 
Good Ol' Way.  All the source, kernel and all would be compiled from 
scratch.  All up I am thinking the total package would be no more than 10MB 
or so.

Where RedHat comes into it is the library and gcc environment.  Most people 
would have ready access to RedHat7.x (big but reasonable assumption) so if 
they wanted to develop for the distribution or add in their own drivers, 
utils or whatever then they would do it with RH7 with little fear of 
incompatible libc versions and gcc versions.  I had enough grief trying to 
get CIPE compiled and working without locking up the target PC in LRP 
(Linux Router Project) - in the end someone was kind enough to do it for me 
on a Debian system similar to what LRP was originally made on.  Too much 
agro.  I got the feeling a lot of LRP users were hamstrung coz they didn't 
have the right set of libraries and GCC and couldn't be arsed to install 
some old Debian just to make some binaries (like me).

So, there is no GUI, no Redhat no nothin' like you were saying with the 
target distribution.  It's all simply _developed_ on Redhat boxen.


--
To unsubscribe, send mail to minordomo at melbwireless.dyndns.org with a subject of 'unsubscribe melbwireless'  
Archive at: http://melbwireless.dyndns.org/cgi-bin/minorweb.pl?A=LIST&L=melbwireless
IRC at: au.austnet.org #melb-wireless