Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other goodies

[ChiendeRue]

Let's see how much interest we get for this thread.

I'm a new convert to Kubuntu 6.06
I'm sure that once (if ever) everything will work the way I want, I will never look back at windows or even at my Mac laptop for that matter.
BUT that's the problem. I'm praying for automatix to install all the stuff I want: MP3, firefox, acrobat, thunderbird, GIMP, you name it...

Now to my point: I'm hoping for some clever programmer to create an install disk that has all these typically desirable features. Then all the clever linux experts could easily remove that non-free stuff that they don't want.
It would leave all the weary novices like me happily playing with Kubuntu until we are ready to customise.

What do you say? Hands up anyone who likes the idea.

Or did I just try to reinvent the wheel and someone will post just such a link

Or is that illegal? What do I know? Maybe there are countries where such an install disk would be perfectly legal...

[Fenyx]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other goodies

Best answer you would get?
1. It's illegal in some countries
2. It goes against the Ubuntu/Kubuntu philosophy.

Of course, someone could make their own Live CD of Kubuntu with built in support for these restricted stuff, but I don't think it should still be called plain "Kubuntu", because it would go against what Kubuntu believes in.

As for Firefox, GIMP, Thunderbird, etc., the rationale for having only one program for one task is part of Ubuntu/Kubuntu's goal to deliver a desktop that is easy to use. And part of being easy to use means being less confusing. And less confusing means that you have less duplicated stuff installed. Why the Kubuntu developers decided not to have Firefox or Thunderbird, or why it installed Krita instead of the GIMP, only they could answer. But I believe that these are possible reasons:
1. They want to fully promote the KDE desktop
2. They believe that the KDE apps are on an equal footing with their other counterparts. In some cases, I do believe it to be so.

Btw, I believe the reasons why Ubuntu used Firefox instead of GNOME's Epiphany browser are:
1. Firefox is, IMHO, very much ahead compared to Epiphany.
2. They need the Gecko rendering engine for the Yelp help system. But since the Gecko engine is currently shipped/distributed only with Firefox, they just decided to make Firefox the default browser as well (rather than have two browsers installed).

Hope that answers some of your questions.

[ChiendeRue]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other good

Thx for your answer,

A lot of things there that I didn't realise.
You probably know that Vietnam is at the top of the world for use of illegal copies of Windows. I read somewhere that it's 95% here. I have not met many of those remaining 5%. You can buy copies of any software you want in any street you pass through, as long as it's windows based. Exclusively Intel, exclusively Microsoft. I challenge you to find a shop where you can buy a legal copy in Hanoi.

(K)Ubuntu has everything going for it. It is sooooo close to being visibly better for most people. I'm an expatriate here, but I see Vietnamese friends buying their first computers. They're struggling with viruses, spyware and malware. They're buying crappy copies of all sorts of software because it's all that's available. People start buying pre-installed win-XP machines now. 300$ For the whole thing at the supermarket.

How much better would it be for everyone if they could get a stable open source Ubuntu. Wouldn't that be in the spirit of ubuntu? They would not get addicted to Microsoft like we all did. In a developing country, Linux could be even more important than in the developed world.

Just get the Linux pre-installed computers out there. Or otherwise installation-CD's that save you the pain that I've been going through in the last two days. I see an extremely desirable operating system, but I just can't get it to work as I (and many others) want, it's just tantalisingly out of reach. I will eventually work it all out, I'll stop nagging because I will forget how esoteric the whole linux thing looked at first. I appreciate that Ubuntu has made it all far simpler. I once tried Knoppix and abandoned it after 30 minutes. I most of all appreciate the forums and the excellent help available. But I also realise that very few here speak English well enough to take advantage of the forums.

A little wizzard perhaps? Just like you see in all the paid-for software. I'm sure it's not so hard to do.

Stephen Hawkings has a good sense of humor in his "Brief history of time". He says that every formula in his book halves the number of readers, so his book has only one. Well for Linux, every line of code you need to learn halves the number of users.

Just some of my ideas for what they're worth.

Cheers,

CDR

[Fenyx]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other goodies

There's another distro you might want to try out if you want to use KDE, keep the Ubuntu repositories, and still have built-in support for "restricted" formats: SimplyMEPIS 6 (not the older 2.4 something version) which is supposed to be released this week. When it comes to KDE-based distros, I actually find it to be a better one that Kubuntu. (This might sound a bit alien to you, but you'll catch up soon ).

Btw, Ubuntu is just one of those distros that don't ship/distribute built-in support for restricted formats. It takes this philosophy from it's parent distro Debian. Other distros, like KNOPPIX and MEPIS, don't follow suit. Also, another distro called Linspire is currently working really hard to have computers with pre-installed Linux systems. Of course, their system/distro. There are also Linux distros that come close to having a Windows like product and support system, where you buy a boxed CD/DVD installer, together with manuals and commercial support. These distros include Red Hat, SUSE, Linspire, and Xandros.

So really Ubuntu/Kubuntu is not the only Linux choice out there. There might, in fact, be better distros, depending on what the user needs. Most people who use Ubuntu are the ones whose needs are met by Ubuntu's philosophy and products.

About Vietnam being the center of pirated software, I'm not so sure about that. I'm from the Philippines, and I've heard that we are on the top of that list. We even have stalls selling all kinds of pirated software inside respectable and well-established malls. Unfortunately, I was once an avid consumer of those kinds of goods.

[ChiendeRue]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other good

Now THAT is an answer worth and

I must visit the Philippines one day! Not only do I now understand what's going on, I will also seek out SimplyMEPIS 6
You've saved me a lot of frustration. My respects to you for comparing these different distros.

Thanks again Jucato

[TheDarkSavant]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other good

You can have all you want, I think, with a two step install.

1. Install Kubuntu
2. Install Automatix

Automatix with automatically install all the 'other' software that you want but doesn't come with default Kubuntu.

[ChiendeRue]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other good

Oh yes indeed,

It exists! (K)Ubuntu, total beginners' flavour! It's called SimplyMEPIS 6.0
For now, I still need to settle for a trial version: 6.0 RC 3 but it satisfies me more than pure (K)ubuntu.
It can be downloaded here: http://www.mepis.org/node/1462
It comes with a user guide: http://www.mepis.org/files/MEPIS%20User%20Guide.pdf
The official SimplyMEPIS 6.0 will be released soon... I hope.

Why does the absolute beginner, that I am, like it?
The install CD comes with firefox and support for MP3, flash, JAVA, and plenty of other "non-free" stuff that I want PLUS amaroK that I have learned to love.
Once I will get to know the tricks of the trade, I will be able to customise at my own pace. I don't need to mess up seven installations before getting it right.

This must be the true straingth of Linux. The variety of distributions suiting each different user.

Message for beginners: Rather than trying to adapt your distro, it's sometimes easier for you to switch to another one.
I'm so new at Linux, I didn't realise that different distributions offer such a variety of programs included.

Bravo to all Linux developers for freeing us from Bill & Steve.

[Fenyx]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other goodies

Glad you found a distro that you like or did want you want. With the number of distros available out there, from the big guys like Fedora Core and SUSE, to the small, practically unheard ones like BLAG, DSL, or GoblinX, finding the "right" distro for yourself is quite an overwhelming task.

The good news about your choice of MEPIS is that the next release of MEPIS due in a few days (SimplyMEPIS 6) will now be based on Kubuntu (it was directly based on Debian in the past). This means that MEPIS will now have all the Kubuntu goodness that people enjoyed and have all the benefits that MEPIS has to offer. I'd like to think it's the best of both worlds.

If SimplyMEPIS 6 lives up to my expectations, I might see myself slowly migrating to the pyramids. (Shh... don't let the others know. )

[ChiendeRue]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other good

Muchas gracias Jucato, for pointing my nose in the right direction!
I owe you a beer if you ever make it to Hanoi!

Cheers,

CDR

[DigitaLink]

Re: Kubuntu install CD with built in support for MP3 & other codecs & other goodies

Oddly I moved to Kubuntu FROM SM6 RC3. For whatever reason, it would NOT give me access to my second hard drive unless I was root. All the fstab entries were right, I even set it with explicit "users" permissions ... NOTHING worked. It would give me access for a couple of reads/writes, then errors until I opened Konq as root. And the installer wouldn't let me choose partitions from hard drives other than the install drive like Kubuntu did. Maybe part of the problem? I don't know. But I have a second drive that I use as /home, and SM6 wouldn't let me do that. So I just can't use it, as much as I like that distro.

But if you want something that has the 'restricted' bits already in place, and like Kub, SM is probably the distro for you. They are very similar, short of what Warren has pre-configured on top of a Kubuntu install. Don't forget to sign up at mepislovers.org - FABULOUS support community. Very friendly folks.