[CoLoCo] (Fwd) Proposal: Removal of the WinFOSS collection

[Dave Vanderploeg]

Removing the Windows software only makes sense to me. I've never once said,
"I want you to ditch windows, so here's a CD that has Windows software on
it". If we have an opportunity to push FOSS for Windows, we can use other
tools (OpenDisc) to do so.

Dave

On Dec 10, 2007 8:02 AM, Neal McBurnett <neal at bcn.boulder.co.us> wrote:

> FYI.  What do you think of the marketing potential of the WinFOSS
> collection vs other uses for the space?  Do you talk about it when you
> give CDs away?  Do people express interest?  Does anyone who expressed
> interest because of the WinFOSS stuff end up installing and using
> Ubuntu?
>
> -Neal
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Henrik Nilsen Omma <henrik at ubuntu.com> -----
>
> To: Ubuntu-Devel Developers <ubuntu-devel at lists.ubuntu.com>
> From: Henrik Nilsen Omma <henrik at ubuntu.com>
> Subject: Proposal: Removal of the WinFOSS collection
> X-BeenThere: ubuntu-devel at lists.ubuntu.com
> X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.8
>
> Hi,
>
> I propose that we remove the collection of Windows-based FOSS from the
> Live CDs during the Hardy cycle.
>
> It was originally introduced as bridge from the Windows world to the
> Linux world -- let people become familiar with FOSS applications like
> Firefox and OpenOffice on Windows first, making the transition to Linux
> easier. Since then Ubuntu has become easier to install, more user
> friendly and projects like Firefox and OpenOffice have been very
> successful in promoting themselves, reducing the need for distribution
> by us.
>
> It also served originally to fill out the space on the CDs, but that is
> no longer needed (instead, space is tight). We originally included over
> 100 MB of WinFOSS, including OpenOffice, but this has gradually been cut
> back to free up space. The currently collection is basically Firefox,
> Thunderbird and Abiword, and this cannot really be cut back any further
> without making it pointless. With the use of lzma packages and other
> slimming magic, the alternate CDs are set to shrink a bit this cycle,
> which means the Live CDs will be as much of a space limiter.
>
> Including more languages, documentation, example files and applications
> on the Live CDs seems more in keeping with Ubuntu's mission statement
> than including Windows software at this point.
>
> The CD browser utility that currently presents the WinFOSS collection is
> a tweaked Gecko browser where the navigation buttons, context menu etc
> have been removed and which knows how to launch .exe files. It also
> serves a few other purposes, including presenting Ubuntu with text and
> screenshots and launching documentation like the Windows->Ubuntu
> migration guide. We also planned to use it to launch the Windows-based
> Ubuntu installer.
>
> The advantage of the browser setup is that it is fairly easy to design a
> decent looking interface with simple HTML. The downside is that the CD
> browser itself takes about 10MB.
>
> One option is to keep the CD browser as it is (with it's 10MB) and
> continue using it to display/launch documentation and launch the
> Windows-based installer.
>
> A second option is to write a new stand-alone executable (possibly using
> NSIS) that could launch both the documentation, guides, and installer.
>
> A third option is to extend the opening screen of the Windows-based
> installer to include buttons to launch the guides and documentation.
> This is IMO likely to be the most elegant.
>
>
> Henrik
> (maintainer of the WinFOSS collection)
>
>
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