Linspire's Click 'N Run software repository will be coming online very shortly, could be in the next couple of days: the website is already up. If you are running Ubuntu 7.04, then you can sign up for an account now, though it is only in Alpha; I've signed up and when it goes live I'll include my experiences.
Just tried to install something, but it seems that there not quite ready to go yet. Oh, well. I'll keep trying. And of course I'll keep you posted on this exciting new development.
Another interesting development that I briefly touched on in yesterday's diary is the release worldwide of the Wizpy; the so-called (nth generation iPod killer. Although it's a nice idea, I just don't see it taking off in a significant way; at only 4Gb it's way too small for all it tries to do.
First, it's an mp3 player and video box; it's a voice recorder and fm tuner; and finally, it's a boot up device with TurboLinux as its base. Sweet, but when you pack it full of videos and music, there's scarcely enough room left for saving your work from the Linux desktop.
For less than the advertised price ($250 US), you can get a 16Gb flash hard drive and install a distro of your choice that includes all that you need to watch videos and play mp3s, with plenty of room for both of those as well as room to save all of your downloads/work from the boot up device you created on it.
Overlooked in the excitement created by the release of Fedora 7 was the open source tools that the Red Hat development team also released; among them are Pungi and Koji;
these tools allow users to create their own custom versions of Fedora: With the tools, a user could make a customized Fedora operating system that could be run off a USB thumb drive, a live CD or DVD that doesn't require operating system installation on a hard disk drive. The idea, DeKoenigsberg said, is to give users the maximum flexibility to do what they want with Fedora, even to the point of having multiple, customized versions of the operating system that include different features and desktops for different machines.
Among the new command-line tools are Koji, which takes inputted data and produces code ISO images that are Linux distributions; the Fedora Live CD Creator, which allows the creation of a live CD, DVD or other image; and Revisor, a graphical user interface that sits atop Koji or the Fedora Live CD Creator.
Hook those up with the aforementioned 16Gb flash hard drive, and you have a very powerful and flexible boot up device that you can run on an internet cafe or a friend's computer, all without touching the hard drive of the target machine. Way cool.
Want a liveCD that includes the non-free bits, the wireless drivers for your machine, the drivers for your particular printer/scanner/etc., the particular software that you need to be productive or a lazy bum? These tools will provide that capability. And if the polish and professional look of Fedora 7 is any indication, these will be some very powerful tools indeed.
I feel like I am tethered to very powerful horses (Ubuntu and Fedora 7), each pulling in opposite directions; luckily I have a second machine so I can keep current on both of these fine distros.
It's more than likely that there are individuals out there right now who are rolling some spin off distros using these tools; I'll be first in line to test them out and report the results. Linux is indeed a magical place to be right about now.
Update (thanks! Arnott!): the distros I mentioned earlier are indeed going to come out, and the key bit is something mentioned in passing the above quote called Revisor; it allows for new distros, in this case called 're-spins'. You really need to check out these screenshots. Unbelievable.