The Open CD forks to OpenDisc [LWN.net]

The Open CD forks to OpenDisc

Posted Sep 28, 2007 0:16 UTC (Fri) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]

Maybe it's just me, but it always bothers me that such projects act as distributors and not as packagers.

For instance:

> TheOpenCD is sponsored by Canonical and thus all the
> software restrictions that were present in Ubuntu also
> counted for TheOpenCD as well. The single most requested
> addition to the disc was VLC, but soon after taking over
> I was forewarned that it was not to be included because it
> was risky software. It included decss, the famous8 DVD-Video
> copy-protection stripping code that allowed you to play DVDs
> on any platform. For that reason I could never include an
> otherwise perfect candidate on TheOpenCD. After deliberating
> on the old forum, the answer was to request a special version
> to be made especially for us that didn’t include decss;
> something I’m sure the developers had a chuckle over, if
> they ever got the request at all.

He had problem that forced him to avoid including the standard version of a certain program. Now let's ignore for the moment the specific cause for this and focus on the proposed solutions:

Is './configure --nodecss' such big a deal? Or removing certain plugins?
This *is* free software and the original authors do not have the final say on whatever can be done with their software. If a software needs to be adjusted to fit into a collection: fine - this is a decision that the packager should make.

Not so easy.

Posted Sep 28, 2007 7:16 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

If this were dist for veteran Linux-users it'll be trivial problem. Not even worth talking about. But it's not. It's disk for novices. If such a guy will try to use VLC and will not be be able to play DVD he'll come to two conclusions:
1. VLC on this disk sux: it does not do what it's supposed to do.
2. OpenDisc sux: they can not even test that VLC on this disk works.
It's very hard to overcome such perception: program downloaded from the web works perfectly, but thos #$@!#@!(*#)@! OpenDick does not - why will I ever trust other programs included on it ?

Remember: Joe Average does not know and does not care about patents and freedom. May be later he'll know about such problems, but not from the start. Version without DeCSS must include stuff to detect CSS-encoded DVD, should ask user if he'll have a CSS license and if the answer is "yes" - download library. In this case the perception will be good - but I'm not sure if it's legal or not...

Not so easy.

Posted Sep 28, 2007 8:32 UTC (Fri) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]

VLC has quite a few other uses. Not just playing DVDs. Right now the result is: "TheOpenCD sux: it doesn't even include VLC!" .

Another thing: they never tried automating the install process. Installing "all programs" (to make you "Joe" happy) takes a huge ammount of time, as you have to press a whole lot of "next" screens. Joe really couldn't care less about everything there.

There are also various creative solutions for that. They normally include getting a "little plugin" from elsewhere, which minimizes the problem.
Avarage Joe may not care about licenses, but anybody who wishes to distibute the CD does.. Can Joe Six-Pack of US legally buy that CD?

Furthermore, if Joe really wanted of change the defaults, he had to change the same default on 8 different screens.

Would I use such a CD to install programs for a friend? no. The reason: after a month or so there are already newer versions on the web. And the installer of the CD is just as annoying as the installer in the packages from the web. So I would never try to "install everything".

This means only programs the user really wants get installed, and hence popular programs don't help carry other programs with them.

CD can not include all possible programs.

Posted Sep 28, 2007 9:04 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

When VLC is absent it looks strange but "normal": there are only so much space on CD, of course they can not include everything! Of course it's strange that when they've included few strange packages but excluded good media player - but oh, well, I can download VLC myself or just continue to use Windows Media Player.

When you take the collection of software (they were quite popular 10 years ago when internet was slow and expensive) you don't expect to see all the software in existence there. So lack of VLC is minor annoyance. But you do expect to find tested and working software there - and VLC without DVD support is "broken" from the normal person's point of view.

Sure, VLC without DVD support is still useful - but for 99% of users it's better to know that they must download VLC separately then to install it and later found out that they can not play DVD they took to watch on the plane...

The Open CD forks to OpenDisc

Posted Sep 28, 2007 13:58 UTC (Fri) by jimwelch (guest, #178) [Link]

I gave a talk at my local Kiwanis Club on Linux about a year ago. 60% of the members are over 60. Only 3 other people are IT types. After describing the software on Open CD, They took all 10 copies I made, and asked for more. They understood the value of FREE, with quality, and without spyware. Some even asked for help in upgrading to linux!

I am looking forward to a new and improved version to give them. I have downloaded and am burning for the next meeting. I see this as a step forward, even if they don't go "whole hog" and install linux. It probably helped when I told them I had been publishing the weekly newsletter for 3 years with Linux and open office.