infinityOS 1.0 RC3- The media distribution

[darkphoenix22]

infinityOS 1.0 RC3 has been released to Sourceforge. This release is mostly bug fixes, however, there is one major usability fix. The package is now included on the Live CD/DVD and is preserved during installation, so you no longer have to update it manually after installation.

Because of the above, you now should never need to use the command-line on infinityOS to do anything (although it will always be there). All functions should now be fully exposed in the graphical user interface in a completely straightforward manner.

A full list of the updates in infinityOS 1.0 RC3 (excluding general package and program updates) is available here: https://launchpad.net/infinityos/+milestone/1.0rc3

Grab it from here:

http://infinityos.net

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Overview of infinityOS:

infinityOS is a media-orientated Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It strives to be as easy-to-use and lightweight as possible, while retaining a full range of multimedia features. It includes a fully integrated BitTorrent client capable of automatic downloading and a wide variety of media codecs, so your entire media library may be played out of the box. It supports most computers, from netbooks to desktops to media centers.

It was created due to a belief that the means of the production, distribution, and consumption of our media should be completely free and open. This holds true even if our media may not be free-of-charge. It is intended to be a platform on which one may use his media, free of restrictions beyond those of copyright itself.

We have an unique release structure where the core operating system, based on Ubuntu, is updated approximately every six months. However, software that you use on a day-to-day basis, such as your media player, web browser, or instant messenger, will be updated to the to the latest version provided by its developers. This release system allows for your computer to be completely stable and error-free while the things you actually use are kept completely up-to-date. This is called the "semi-rolling" release system.

Support for each version of infinityOS will be provided in the form of feature updates and security updates. Feature updates, which include new features (ie. new version of applications), will be released for each major version for a year. Security updates, which provide security related bug fixes, will be provided for each major version for approximately 18 months (depends on the time of the release).

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I am horrible at image editing. This is why I need your help to finish the branding on infinityOS. Here are some of my ideas:

- Wallpaper: The wallpaper could be based on this Firefox Persona: http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/181657 (I was flattered when someone else made that ;P). I like the idea of Infinity Tux peeking out of the bottom of the screen.
- Icon for login screen and the Xfce Menu: I was thinking we could make the infinityOS icon be the head of Infinity Tux.
- Boot Screen: Full color, full body Infinity Tux with a background gradient like the Persona above. I'm thinking there should be a circular throbber like the Mac OS load screen.

Any help I get with this will be greatly appricated. I am no master of Photoshop or the GIMP. :P

I have setup a thread to help you guys brainstorm and contribute:

http://infinityos.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10

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The next release, infinityOS 1.0 RC4, will be a true release candidate. I intend to rename "1.0 RC4" to just "1.0" if there are no major issues with it. Because of this I have a bit of a list of things I would like included for RC4, some of which I need help with.

- infinityOS is listed as Ubuntu in the Grub bootloader. I would like to change this to infinityOS without recompling the kernel.
- I would like to have a clipboard manager enabled by default. But I would need to be able to disable the tray icon, to avoid clutter.
- I would also like to set the time to local time, instead of UTC. I tried doing this, but it seems to have gotten reset when I made the Live CD.
- Complete removal of PulseAudio from the Ubuntu packages. This thankfully seems to be centered around one package: gnome-media

All full list of targeted bugs is available here: https://launchpad.net/infinityos/+milestone/1.0rc4

I would appreciate any help or directions I can get as I want RC4/1.0 to be the best release it can be.

Thanks for reading this,
Ryan

[darkphoenix22]

Note: We do not have a media store yet, but will likely in the future.

[darkphoenix22]

As a few users have asked for rudimentary social networking integration, I've decided to add Pino, the Twitter client, to the next release of infinityOS. I thought about adding Gwibber, the client Ubuntu is using in Lucid, but it is becoming way too bloated and requires way too many dependences (I predict it will support mail in the next release :P).

I've also asked my friend who makes Facebook apps for a living and knows a crap ton about the Facebook API to bring Facebook support to Pino.

http://code.google.com/p/pino-twitter/

[darkphoenix22]

The Pino lead developer has asked us to postpone the implementation of the Facebook API for 2 months.

This is good for everyone, as it gives my team (and anyone wishing to get involved and contribute) more time to look over and learn Pino's code as well as giving everyone more time to thoroughly learn the Facebook API.