Miniconda must:
- work (in text mode obviously) with (much) less than 32 MB of RAM. Ideally, if X is the minimum amount of RAM that a very custom compiled 2.4 kernel needs to run one single server, it should be no more than that.
- work on a stand alone PC, without network card or modem… and possibly without floppy and CD at the same time (all laptops more than two years old, I think). Other sophisticated options (ftp, http,…) are welcome, of course, but only after we have made an install method which works even in a country school where there are no other CPUs (and sometimes phone plugs) in a 20 mile radius.
- be multilingual, in text mode,from the very first screen, to be useable by non English speaking people. This would help people who now noting of English, without forcing the installer to go graphic to display flags. I think that the fist screen should be something like a series of statements like:
- If you speak English, press 1
- Si hablas espanol, presiona el 2.
- Se vocè falar o portugues, faz click no 3.
- Si vous parlez francais, s’appuie sur le 4.
- Se parli Italiano, spingi 5
- …
- work on monochrome monitors
- set up our custom rc files at the end
- (for desktop use only) Create a boot sequence as fast as possible. In this context, is it possible/does it make sense to start some services (SMTP, maybe networking) after the system has given you a prompt and let you in? On a desktop you must not be ready as soon as possible to exchange email.
The reason for requirement #5 is that we want to help unexperienced users. The configuration files of all the applications should be already set up for the most common use: single workstation connected to internet in dial up. This means for example, that at the end of the installation, iptables should find itself already working for that situation. However, we can’t certainly duplicate many RPMs, or pretend to force all their maintainers to our idea of the default setup. Above all, it must be possible to upgrade the system or add other packages from the official RH Cds. Hence, after installing all packages, the installer should launch some script which saves all the original RC files and then places ours. We have to figure out if this script (or scripts) can and should be a separate sub-project