Now that Delft and Toronto are done, and they are doing fine:

Which features do you miss in MCNLive?
What can be improved?

What would you change?

Anything you know from other live systems that you would like to see?

Let us know ...

ATM we are: HighKing (Michel), Maurice (Mauricio), korrel (Marco, the rpm packager), PeterM (Peter, design), a bunch of testers - they are all active on mandrivaclub.nl.
And me, I am here :-)

Don't know if this is included already or not but ntfs-3g by default for removable and non-removable drives

Maintain VirtualBox, but upgrade to 1.4.0 which just came out.

Add truecrypt 4.3a which is a small package, allowing full disk encryption. A user could boot up from a mcn-live CD, mount a 100% truecrypted drive, then start up a VirtualBox VM containing any other OS ( you could have several ).

Why truecrypt, rather than dm-crypt, etc.? Because, it is also used within the full range of Windows OS ( 2000, 2003, XP, Vista ), and containers and drives could be used in a multi-boot scenario or after upgrading from Windows to mcn-live.

A small increase in size of mcn-live could make it the dominant distro used by the thousands of TC users worldwide. Take a look at : www.truecrypt.org

2,812,689 downloads, 5108 yesterday alone.

If you add it, we'll announce it in the TrueCrypt forums if you wish.

I'm about to kick VirtualBox 1.4.0 to 2007.1 /backports, so it should be easy for the MCNLive guys to pick up.

My wishes.

* lzma compression for squashfs, to get smaller live systems (need to wait for a new MDV kernel)
* general clean up and different unionfs setup for mklivecd OR switching to draklive

I would like to see a live system, where you don't need to reboot. This may sound a bit gaga ...
For linux newcomers from the windows world. They would go to a webiste, and can perform some action so that a live system is downloaded and installed in a virtual image on their HD, without rebooting, without re-partitioning, without changing the bootloader.

ATM these are several steps the user has to do: Install VirtualBox on Windows, download the iso, start vbox, create a virtual image, run the live iso ... and so on. Though it is pretty easy, it would be nice to have a small wizard to perform these actions.

VirtualBox 1.4.0 is in 2007 Spring /backports now, you (and the MCNLive guys) can grab it there

Thanks Adam

(The next weeks I won't be able to work on MCNLive because my build sytem is RMA, but we all can make a remaster-on-the-fly, with the new vbox and also i would like to get familiar with truecrypt on a live system)

I like the applications that are already available on toronto. Some reviews have complained about opera, but I like the way it handles downloads and bookmarks better than firefox. I like koffice over ooo since it is lighter - not as full-featrued as ooo, but certainly more than gnome office. Overall, a great selection. Here is an idea for an extra application:

I see that ksync is included, why not a full palm application?

I have been thinking about the ntfs-3g/fuse and perhaps qdvdauthor and dvd::rip, but have not come to any solid conclusions yet.

john

Due to the HD space required for dvd::rip, I'm not sure it'd be useful to include on a livecd, not to mention it'd be very resource intensive and may not run particularly well in a livecd environment. If you installed the livecd to HD, then yes, it may be useful, but then you can add repo's and install it from there.

Just to let you know, I do follow this thread, looking forward to more requests and ideas.

Reg. NTFS read-write, ntfs-3g - the stable version is included and enabled in MCNLIve Delft and Toronto. You can choose it at the boot menu, default is read-only. What would you prefer: to enable rw as default on the live-system or let the user decide?
Info: so far we have not seen any problems with ntfs-3g.

truecrypt is now in cooker, re-branded as realcrypt because of license issues but with the same functionality.
Will add it in the next MCNLive -- as soon as we are starting to work with cooker.

I have been using Mandrake Linux on my servers since the first incarnation of mandrake about 9 years ago. i have always installed it the same way with the same features. and left it running in the corner without really a need to use it, it just serves, as servers do. I had never used X, CLI all the way, since management is via remote there was never a need to install X, until recently when i decided to explore my Mandriva options once again.

a few days ago i downloaded the MCNLive distro to mess around with it because i thought it could be used in a manner that i was thinking i would find useful. unfortunately its not going to do what i want, the way i want it to do it. BUT i have been using it as a means of learning the ins and outs of the Mandriva distro. Whoever thought to build this distro the way they did, is a genius! i love it. the opportunity to install or remove software at will. and the simple fact that when i do mess something up (which i always do, trial by error) all i gotta do is hit the reset button, wait about 2 minutes and BAM! its all right back where it was. AWESOME!

so since i am a new user and i have the feeling that most live distros are aimed for and appeal to the windows users, my opinions as to what i would like to see installed on future releases my not carry any weight. with that being said, here are my suggestions:

1) Mozilla-Firefox, i use it on my 'doze computer because its way better than IE, and i have installed it (over and over again) in the MCNLive environment. native 'doze users might find it comforting to their new workable platform without the need to install it every time they boot it up to play with or explore it.

2) Clam-AV or OTHER AV, probably would be useful to have an anti-virus program thats got a GUI for scanning the fat partitions found by we windows users, again for familiarity for native 'doze users and of coarse with a GUI option so as not to intimidate them. and an easy option to update AV definitions without tons of hoops to jump thu.

3) USER LOGIN, the automatic guest login is great, but in my case i would prefer the option to to make a new user and have that new user either auto login or rather than boot and auto login to the KDE, be presented with the login screen on boot. Or is there the possibility that on boot the native Mandriva 'Add User' window can be presented to make a new default user? I have not yet figured out how to delete or rename user to lurch and retain all of the desktop and menu functionality, it always reverts to the standard KMenu.

4) Networking, how about making the computer boot with DHCP as the standard form of obtaining an IP? again most windows users who might consider the migration to linux Mandriva might find this a nice addition over the network setup wizard, or again could the user be presented with a network wizard box similar to an and new user box upon boot? i have seen something like this recently, just dont remember where off hand.

5) Printing, I have installed cups and my network printer, what a pain! having cups service installed or started out of the box might be a nice addition for more long term would be Linux explorers.

6) Boot Menu, i think the boot menu is fine, i prefer lilo over ? (is that grub?) but i don't recall and option that i think should be there (i may be blind), but an option to boot from first hard drive, maybe make it the default if the computer boots and there is no human intervention? also maybe an option to boot to a simplified CLI for recovery or something similar (kinda like the stock Mandriva install media)? just an idea.

7) NTFS, I agree that ntfs partitions should be mounted read-write by default.

8) THE NAME! I think it should be called LURCHLive. (thats my preference anyways).


I don't think it really matters what you do to the future release(s), its still gonna be awesome. i don't think it could ever be bad. and it seems to be the only live Mandriva distro other than the sucky ONE. so PLEASE keep up the good work. i look forward to the next release. I have probably out stayed my welcome so i better go now.

Lurch

I think a lot of what youre looking for is a lot of what I wanted, but then kris explained that in order to 'keep it lean" good for a cheap USB stick or a CD, some things had to be left out or substituted.

Not to mention chris is VERY adament about this NOT being used as a day to day distro, and used as a LIVE distro. I have been playing w/ MCNL for about the last 4 versions and i LOVE it, I eagerly await the 2008 version. For ME this is a GREAT LEARNING tool. I really have learned a LOT.

BUT to get things the way I wanted I did what her website suggests, I rolled my own.

I started w/ a mandriva power pak install to my HD and was very careful about waht i put in, and stripped a GREAT deal out.

When all was said and done my installed setup was about 2.1 GB Fits fine on a DVD and even a LARGE USB key or USB portable HD, butb was still lacking, so I installed enough to MAKE it my desktop, I kept opera, ditched thunderbird, ditched firefox, added the networking, added webmin, cups, nero, gimp, audacity pan and a few other things I use everyday.

Now I seem to be hovering at 3.8GB installed, when I remaster it makes an ISO about 1.4GB, still pretty big all things considered. And although I CAN boot from a DVD an use this as a regular live system, the LAG and overhead (because of what I have added) is huge. I think the only thing on your list I havent looked at is a good AV, and if I continue, that should be my next addition.

BUT then theres 2008...........................

I too think that what chris has done is AMAZING and i praise her efforts, but now I think its up to "us" the ones who want to take it WAY outside its original use, to throw in some of the work!

just my 2 cts.

j

I was just stopping by to add to my post and reiterate a few of the ideas and what i have done when i saw mindwave's post. I too will admit that i have learned sooo much stuff using MCNL this past week, stuff that i could not or was not willing to try on my regular running system out of fear it would royally mess something up and i would have to once again reinstall. i have reinstalled so many times over the past year that I have actually made a batch file to do all of the very repititous stuff that i have to do every time a reinstall as needed. when a new package or service is added to the new system i add the command to my batch/script file to execute it too on new installs, i used that same batch file on MCNL to get my base system the way i like it.

I have not YET looked at the "roll your own' live cd yet, i have not gotten that far. But what i have done is heavily modify my version of MCNL and remaster the CD over and over again to the point that I have a system that I like, I have done so by carefully selecting which packages i want to install and after each package remaster the cd. this is time consuming but its one way to keep from screwing the system up to much. i installed most recently a new kernel. upgraded a few packages and remaster, then once the new system is up and running again, i attemped a fatal 'urpmi --auto-upgrade'. this crashed the system, there was over a gig of packages to download and install, i think it ran out of storage space? so i have decided that since the system is running smooth NOW i will simply wait for the next incarnation of MCNL to be released.

all of the 'ideas for the next release' that i stated above i have added to my personal modified MCNL. they all work fine and i have kept the bloat factor to a minimum. my version is just over 600mb I believe its 603MB to date. one of the things i dont need because i dont have the hardware to support it is the 3D stuff. i have attempted on several occasions with with no such luck to remove all the beryl and matise stuff, this for me (probably because i am new and have no clue what i am doing) has resulted in a system that hangs on boot or in some cases just fails to load X altogether.

so with all that being said, i wanted to add my next(last?) suggestions to the next release wish list.

I realize its probably harder to do than one might think, but:

offer 2 or more different releases, obviously there are 2 releases based on language, but i was thinking, your regular release as well as a stripped down release, no X no KDE no extra widgets and all that stuff, this would allow a user with at the very least minumal knowledge of how to do thing add thier own window manager or basic programs and then remaster as they deem fit.

i will also agree with mindwave that we need to contribute more (or at least some), and they only way that i can learn mandriva and some of the more advance linux stuff is to modify and test MCNL as i go, like i have been. I think i will have to look into the 'roll your own' concept a bit more in depth, this would afford me the luxury opf making it truly my own. once i have at least gotten my own system to the point that a livecd is a reality then i will be more apt to contribute, but now its kinda pointless for a n00b to contruibe, its probably already been done or thought of.

i will say it again, awesome work, keep it up!

lurch