TheOpenCD 2.0 Released

HenrikOxUK pastes "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of TheOpenCD v2.0. The disc contains old favorites like Mozilla, OpenOffice, AbiWord, Gimp in updated versions, but also has some noteable additions like Firefox, Thunderbird, Blender and Gaim. The CD browser technology is also new this time, and is based on Gecko (see screenshots). This approach should make it simpler to make derivatives, including localized versions, some of which will be out shortly. We have timed the release to be out just before the holidays so you can fill the stockings of friends and family with Free and useful software. Read more or get a copy from one of our FTP mirrors or on Bittorrent."

Comments

What is OpenCD?

[eln]

Well, the site is hopelessly slashdotted, so what is OpenCD? Is it just a collection of open source programs on a CD or what? What is the reasoning behind it, and what is it meant to do?

Thanks for the info.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[abysmanu]

TheOpenCD is a small collection of only the highest quality OSS for Windows, easily available on a CD. The programs are carefully selected to ensure stability, ease of use and a clean install and un-install from your computer. The CD is intended as a first introduction to the world of OSS, but it is our hope that you will later go on to explore other projects, and at some stage you may even want to try a whole new operating system, such as Linux (sometimes called GNU/Linux).

Re:What is OpenCD?

[RealAlaskan]

Well, the site is hopelessly slashdotted, so what is OpenCD?

From memory, it is a CD of Open Source programs (like the ones mentioned in the blurb) for Windows. It's a bit like gnuwin, which probably isn't /.'ed yet.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[WarmBoota]

TheOpenCD is a collection of free software that runs on Windows and is handy for spreading free software "love" to people who would never think to run Linux. It's an attempt to show people that free doesn't have to equate to low quality or lack of features.

Besides the above raison d'etre, I think it's great to have around for the times when a machine doesn't have MS Word installed or a decent ZIP utility, or a decent graphics editing package.

I'm glad to see that Blender has been added. The Blender created trailers on the previous version were a tease

Re:What is OpenCD?

[MartinG]

Yes, it is "just" a CD of open source apps, but:

- All packaged for windows
- Nicely presented and professional looking
- User friendly a point and click autorun menu which launches the various installers and has a nice description and screenshots of what the various packages are.

Basically, it's the ideal way to introduce your windows user friends to open source if they don't know about it already.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[jayteedee]

TheOpenCD 2.0 released

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of TheOpenCD v2.0. The disc contains old favorites like Mozilla, OpenOffice, AbiWord, Gimp in updated versions, but also has some noteable additions like Firefox, Thunderbird, Blender and Gaim. The CD browser technology is also new this time, and is based on Gecko (see screenshots). This approach should make it simpler to make derivatives, including localized versions, some of which will be out shortly. We have timed the release to be out just before the holidays so you can fill the stockings of friends and family with Free and useful software. Get a copy from one of our FTP mirrors or on Bittorrent.

The following programs are included:
Productivity

* OpenOffice 1.1.3
* AbiWord 2.2.1
* PDFCreator 0.8

Design

* GIMP 2.0.5
* Blender 2.35a
* Dia 0.94
* TuxPaint 0.9.14

Internet/Networking

* FireFox 1.0
* Thunderbird 1.0
* Mozilla suite 1.7.3
* Gaim 1.1.0
* Filezilla 2.2.9
* TightVNC 1.3dev6
* WinHTTrack 3.32-2

Multimedia

* Audacity 1.2.3
* Celestia 1.3.2
* CDex 1.51

Utilities

* 7-zip 3.13
* Notepad2 1.0.12
* SciTE 1.62

Games

* Sokoban 1.187
* Battle for Wesnoth 0.8.8
* Lbreakout 2.4.1

With this release we also start a long-term working relationship with the Ubuntu Linux distribution. We include a brief introduction to Ubuntu in our browser and will continue to supply technology and expertise to the Ubuntu LiveCD.
About TheOpenCD

TheOpenCD is a small collection of only the highest quality OSS for Windows, easily available on a CD. The programs are carefully selected to ensure stability, ease of use and a clean install and un-install from your computer. The CD is intended as a first introduction to the world of OSS, but it is our hope that you will later go on to explore other projects, and at some stage you may even want to try a whole new operating system, such as Linux (sometimes called GNU/Linux).
-- TheOpenCD Team

Re:What is OpenCD?

[HexaByte]

The OpenCD is a CD compilation of various Open Source software for WinDo$e. It's a great way to introduce people to what open source has to offer, and the software included is also usefull and of good quality.

When your friend is telling you they're about to plunk down $350 for MS Office, you can hand them an OpenCD and tell them that the office suite on there reads and writes to MS Office formats, but cost $0!

Re:What is OpenCD?

[Anonymous Coward]

The idea of the OpenCD is to have a whole lot of high-grade GPL'd software for Windows on one CD. So, you carry it with you, make copies, send it out to people, whatever, and I think the hope is to win converts and make good PR for the idea of open source and the GPL

So, it includes office apps, games, screensavers, audio apps, etc. Both really usefull stuff and fun/useless stuff. And it's all Windows software, so you can show people to benefits of open source software without trying to convert them to a whole new OS all at once.

Maybe they have a better/more accurate/more concise explanation on their web site, but it's /.ed right now.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[eln]

Thanks for the info! Sounds like a worthwhile project for gently easing people toward the Open Source world. I've already managed to convince my entire family to switch to Firefox, so I know how hard it can be to break people of old software habits.

One question though: Why include both Mozilla and Firefox? I know a big part of open source is choice, but are you worried about causing confusion with multiple programs for the same purpose?

Re:What is OpenCD?

[GoofyBoy]

Which Windows?

95/98? NT? 2000/XP?

Or all of the above?

Re:What is OpenCD?

[Exocet]

What you said ...and I believe oriented for the Win32 platform. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The reasoning?

"These programs on this CD are free. They're often as good as - or better - than their non-free counterparts. Almost always not ad-ridden like their non-free counterparts. Oh and, if you were so inclinded, you could modify the source code of the software and customize it for your business or something."

What's it meant to do? The same thing any free thing is meant to do. Draw customers/users into the fold. Spread the good word. Generate goodwill towards the FOSS community. Educate. Help people take back their computers and the web.

BTW: While I love open source stuff for Win32, I live in reality. Sometimes it ain't there or sucks. I maintain a fairly diverse wiki page of useful tools and apps. If you're interested, email me (slash041210@exocet.ca) and I'll email you the link. You might find something there you didn't know was free (but not necessarily OS).

Re:What is OpenCD?

[Nurseman]

Why include both Mozilla and Firefox?

Mozilla is a full service suite, browser, mail client, HTML editor. FF is a lean mean browsing machine. Smaller footprint.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[m50d]

In general, all of them. I think a few apps only work on 2000/XP.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[Total_Wimp]

The thing I really like about TheOpenCD is the fact that a group of experts have lent their endorsements to the software. They've sort of certified them as proffesional in appearace, straightforward and useful with no major security flaws.

When a newby (or even an old hat like me) sees several open source projects for a similar software type, it can be difficult to choose which one to try. TheOpenCD gives a good starting point for many software categories.

How many VNC flavors are there out there? How do you know which ones are pretty good and easy to use and which ones are more hobbyist oriented? I can't and wont tell you that TightVNC is "the best" but it was a great starting point for me to learn more about VNC. Now that I've used it a bunch of times I can feel a lot more confident about looking at other VNC flavors.

Similarly, 7-Zip has replaced WinZip as my Windows zipper of choice. Even if I had heard about it elseware, I might have been reluctant to try it without a recommendation from someone I could trust. TheOpenCD gave me that recommendation.

In fact, though I'm an experienced computer admin, I got a lot of good, free (both kinds) software from TheOpenCD without needing to install and uninstall hundreds of different programs looking for "the best." This is because of the great job the project has done of picking quality software.

THANKS VERY MUCH TO THE TEAM FOR MAKING MY LIFE EASIER!!!!

TW

Re:What is OpenCD?

[pherris]

Why include both Mozilla and Firefox?

Because they really are two different projects. For the benefit of others:

Mozilla is the traditional Mozilla "suite" with a web browser, email client, irc client and web page creator that work very well together. It is well tested, very stable and one of the most refined FOSS projects out there. Usability has been fine tuned over the years. It is a good choice for someone that prefers "all in one" application suites like OpenOffice or other similar office style program suites. If the only web browser you've used is IE and the main reason for switching is stability and security, the Mozilla suite is a good choice for you.

Firefox is the new kid on the block that has shed the baggage of it's older sibling. At it's base is a web browser that's built for speed. It has no other bundled programs but can be extended more ways than most anyone has thought of yet. It's clean and fast but currently lacks some of the refinement (especially in the area of defining preferences), plug-in compatibility and stability of it's older brother. Firefox is a good choice for the experienced web user that is willing to try the future with all of it's joys and minor disappointments. It is young and a work in progress but it is the future. Someday the Mozilla suite will be retired and Firefox with Thunderbird (the Mozilla email client) will replace it.

It really is the best of both worlds. Both have different pros and cons. I'm glad both were included.

Re:What is OpenCD?

[Bustedpc]

With this release we also start a long-term working relationship with the Ubuntu Linux distribution. We include a brief introduction to Ubuntu in our browser and will continue to supply technology and expertise to the Ubuntu LiveCD

indeed most of the listed software is on the Warty Warthog release (both windows and *nix versions)

score +5 usefull to debian for actually detecting and enabling my audgy out of the box, and it works a butload better than in windows :)

A must download

[adeydas]

Another nail in the coffin of M$. That's how the free market moves. Let's dump the pub tonite and hit the download site...

Re:A must download

[Anonymous Coward]

You, sir, are both a thief and a murderer, for you have killed a baboon and stolen his face.

Re:A must download

[laurent420]

normally someone is in their coffin before you start putting nails in it. they still have 90% of the home market and a good 60% of the server market. and until those figures are under 50% i wouldn't go calling anyone dead.

Re:A must download

[marcus]

Actually most coffins are assembled, ready and waiting for someone to die rather than built on demand.

Closing the lid, that's different. ;-)

Re:A must download

[LiENUS]

normally someone is in their coffin before you start putting nails in it.

Normally you start building the coffin before the person is actually put in it.

Re:A must download

[DogDude]

Let's dump the pub tonite and hit the download site...

So, do you sit and stare at your monitor for hours, watching each and every download? Call me crazy, but if I want to download something big, I'll start it, which generally takes all of 30 seconds, then leave to go to the pub (or the bar). Not a big fan of sitting watching a progress bar myself, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Re:A must download

[forrestt]

I love watching the progress bar. It reminds me of Star Wars, "Almost there, Almost there...."

Re:A must download

[thephotoman]

Haven't you heard? MS is dead and Netcraft confirmed it!

Re:A must download

[Finuvir]

I love watching the progress bar. It reminds me of Star Wars, "Almost there, Almost there...."

Me too. It feels like levelling up. ;)

Re:A must download

[Colonel Cholling]

and until those figures are under 50% i wouldn't go calling anyone dead.

Unless their name is BSD, of course.

Re:A must download

[adeydas]

no, usually i start the download followed by diablo...

Re:A must download

[majesty2180]

Couldn't agree more... having spent hours of time getting the individual applications for people and putting something half a###d together, it is cool to see someone making a project out of it. Keep up the excelent work!!

Re:So i'm going to pay for open source apps?

[BuddieFox]

Well, if you want someone to take the time to burn you a CD and send it to you, its a fair assumption that you'll have to pay for the blank CD, postage and packaging and perhaps a little for the time it takes to burn it...
Although it seems that you can download the CD for free from the mirrors?

This might be useful for the large masses of people who do not yet have broadband,you know there still are some of those out there..

While this is great for open source advocates...

[which way is up]

While this is great for open source advocates... there still resides a contingent of resistant people that see open source as nothing more that 'a fad' or 'over-hyped'. A cd is great for trying to package all of these apps together but what open source really needs is a marketing plan.

If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?

Release notes

[HenrikOxUK]

RELEASE NOTES - TheOpenCD v2.0

TheOpenCD project is pleased to announce the release of version 2.0 of our Windows-FOSS distribution. We have timed the release to be out just before the holidays so you can fill the stockings of friends and family with Free and useful software. Major additions in this version include Firefox, Thunderbird, Blender and Gaim. The CD browser technology is also new this time, and is based on Gecko. This approach should make it simpler to make derivatives, including localized versions, some of which will be out shortly.

The following programs are included:

* Productivity
o OpenOffice 1.1.3
o AbiWord 2.2.1
o PDFCreator 0.8
* Design
o GIMP 2.0.5
o Blender 2.35a
o Dia 0.94
o TuxPaint 0.9.14
* Internet/Networking
o FireFox 1.0
o Thunderbird 1.0
o Mozilla suite 1.7.3
o Gaim 1.1.0
o Filezilla 2.2.9
o TightVNC 1.3dev6
o WinHTTrack 3.32-2
* Multimedia
o Audacity 1.2.3
o Celestia 1.3.2
o CDex 1.51
* Utilities
o 7-zip 3.13
o Notepad2 1.0.12
o SciTE 1.62
* Games
o Sokoban 1.187
o Battle for Wesnoth 0.87
o Lbreakout 2.4.1

About TheOpenCD:

TheOpenCD is a small collection of only the highest quality OSS for Windows, easily available on a CD. The programs are carefully selected to ensure stability, ease of use and a clean install and un-install from your computer. The CD is intended as a first introduction to the world of OSS, but it is our hope that you will later go on to explore other projects, and at some stage you may even want to try a whole new operating system, such as Linux (sometimes called GNU/Linux).

Re:Release notes

[RikRat]

TheOpenCD sounds nice, the first thing I am gonna do is download and burn a couple CD's for classmates. But does this CD have an update function or something? I mean, after a month or something, most of the software will be out of date (eg, new versions available). What about that?

Re:Release notes

[pHatidic]

But where's nethack?

What I really want is a CD of open porn. Imagine a website you could go to and submit naked pictures of yourself in public domain or under creative commons. It would be an archive of free porn. Instead of "I'd hit it", I'd "rip mix burn it."

Re:Release notes

[Anonymous Coward]

* Utilities
o 7-zip 3.13
o Notepad2 1.0.12
o SciTE 1.62

EMACS?

Re:Release notes

[Anonymous Coward]

http://freenet.sourceforge.net/

upload away.

Re:Release notes

[Anonymous Coward]

Free Porn at http://www.wifelovers.com and http://www.myfirsttime.com

Re:Release notes

[BobNET]

EMACS?

It's supposed to fit on one CD.

Ubuntu

[jrutley]

I'm surprised that the summary didn't mention that it was partnering with Ubuntu Linux. There's a link to it on the main window (but you can't see the screenshot because it's Slashdotted at the moment).

Re:Ubuntu

[HenrikOxUK]

That's true, we are partnering with Ubuntu. The current version of the Ubuntu LiveCD has a scaled-down version of TheOpenCD on it. Get your copy here.

-Useful- CDs all over the place

[Zorilla]

Free CDs that actually have useful crap? Where is AOL's marketing department when you need them?

Re:-Useful- CDs all over the place

[Anonymous Coward]

off wondering why they didn't come up with such a good idea...

Re:-Useful- CDs all over the place

[dr_dank]

Where is AOL's marketing department when you need them?

The unemployment office, most likely.

Gifts for young hackers!

[the talented rmg]

Well my little brother is a bit of a budding hacker. He's really into Blender and Python right now. He probably doesn't really need this CD since he's got his own setup already, but it's always good to encourage kids to get into this stuff at an early age.

With Microsoft and recently and more chillingly the government itself constantly chipping away at our freedoms, it's crucial to make sure we bring up a new generation of programmers who understand their civic responsibility to protect freedom of speech, whether its political or digital.

If we don't keep the ranks of young hackers swelling, we can expect Microsoft to take over. Without a constant stream of competitive free GPL's software and other viruses, their ascendency is just a matter of time. Give the the gift of resistance!

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[Peldor]

If we don't keep the ranks of young hackers swelling, we can expect Microsoft to take over. Without a constant stream of competitive free GPL's software and other viruses, their ascendency is just a matter of time. Give the the gift of resistance!

Tinfoil hat not included.

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[LWATCDR]

Hacker??? Since when is using a graphics program hacking??? To hack is to code. Unless he is writing code that is going back into Blender I would say that that he is not a hacker.

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[Neoncow]

What if he's six!!?

=)

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[Anonymous Coward]

He's really into Blender and Python right now.

Python is the main language for scripting Blender.

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[adolfojp]

...my little brother is a bit of a budding hacker. He's really into Blender and Python...

Emphasis on Python. Therefore, by your standards he IS a budding hacker. Emphasis on budding also. We have to be carefull not to become bullies and assholes you know.

Cheers,
Adolfo

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[LWATCDR]

Maybe I am old school but scripting blender is not too me hacking. Sure it is fun, educational, I would even say he could be considered talented but not what I would call hacking. Not a judgment on the young mans talent but I see way to many people that can run adaware and install a video card calling themselves hackers.

Re:Gifts for young hackers!

[adolfojp]

I understand your point of view on the young people that call themselves hackers and I couldn't agree more. Too many script kiddies brag about being hackers. I make a living by developing software solutions and wouldn't dare to call myself a hacker.

At the moment of my post I perceived your comment as being elitist, and yet, I share your views on the subject. Perhaps I should think twice and post once.

Cheers, Adolfo

Excellent application for bittorrent!!

[Anonymous Coward]

The file is coming in at a nice speed, while the web page is heavily slashdotted!

Now if only they had put up the website as a torrent as well....

Re:Excellent application for bittorrent!!

[over_exposed]

You, my friend, are an idiot... There's a .torrent link in the story summary.

Re:Excellent application for bittorrent!!

[alexbartok]

You, my friend are even more of an idiot. He was attempting to make a joke (+ failed miserably) about making the _site itself_ a torrent.

What would've been nice

[jambarama]

is if they'd not been slashdotted in less than 5 minutes! No actually a list of what is on it to see if it is worth torrenting would have been awesome, anyone get through?

"So you're saying I'm invincible?"
"No Mr. Burns, with the slightest gust of wind..."
"I'm invincible!"

Coral Cache doesn't work?

[Anonymous Coward]

Here

Release schedule

[calibanDNS]

I don't have any of the detials of their release schedule, and can't get to the because the site is slashdotted, but wouldn't it make sense to automatically generate an iso of this collection on a weekly basis? A lot of the software proejct that they include (e.g. Firefox, GAIM, Mozilla) have new releases very frequently. One problem that I've found while providing tech support for my wife, 4 brothers-in-law, parents, and wife's parents is that they are all very slack when it comes to updating software.

Re:Release schedule

[nine-times]

wouldn't it make sense to automatically generate an iso of this collection on a weekly basis?

I think that would run somewhat contrary to the purpose of the CD. From my understanding, they've patched together known-stable builds of each of these apps for the purpose of introducing the less technical to the world of OSS. Anything automatically generated is bound to come up with a few extra quirks now and then.

Besides, all the software is freely available over the net. If you ever really want to generate a truly up-to-the-minute version, download all the apps independantly and burn them to CD.

Re:Release schedule

[Anonymous Coward]

TheOpenCD people have been discussing this very issue. One idea that was proposed was that major releases have change of software included, while minor releases are updates to this saftware with no new titles.

They actually have an active newsgroup topic about this.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[KillerDeathRobot]

If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?

I think for the average Joe, the fact that it's free and works is pretty much enough (especially for programs that don't have free, closed source alternatives).

! entire CD

[Tribbin]

You can also just browse the site for software instead of downloading the entire CD. Then also you are sure you have the latest version of whatever.

The site is not yet updated, these are from 1.4:

http://theopencd.sunsite.dk/programs-v1.4/

a few other things to add

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd like to see freeciv and bzflag on that CD.

I am going to pull it down anyway though.

Re:a few other things to add

[Zorilla]

Still wondering about their choice of games...

LBreakout: The only paddle game that's rated PG

"...Dammit!"

Mirrors, with release 1.4 and 2.0

[RealAlaskan]

Version 1.4:

linky
linky
and version 2.0

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Spoing]

1. If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?

Never try and talk anyone into anything. Instead, show them. Give them some software.

Once they convince themselves, mention that it is open source and that there's more where that came from. You will find that they begin to look for OSS instead of asking what it is...and they might even ask what makes something OSS vs. freeware or addware.

BitTorrent File

[HenrikOxUK]

http://hirisemultimedia.com/TOCD2.iso.bz2.torrent http://www.theopencd.net/torrent/TOCD2.iso.bz2.tor rent

In related news...

[JediTrainer]

KNOPPIX 3.7 has just been released

Crank up your torrents!

For those who don't already know, (quoting the site), "KNOPPIX is a bootable CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices and other peripherals. KNOPPIX can be used as a Linux demo, educational CD, rescue system, or adapted and used as a platform for commercial software product demos. It is not necessary to install anything on a hard disk. Due to on-the-fly decompression, the CD can have up to 2 GB of executable software installed on it."

Hmmmm... I like the new /.

[Anonymous Coward]

News For Nerds, Press Releases That Matter!

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[forsetti]

"what open source really needs is a marketing plan"

I hear this often, but why? Nobody is making money off open source, many are doing it as a hobby. Do I need a marketing plan to go build paper airplanes? Or even to share my paper airplane designs?

OpenSource is great (IMHO) because you can use if you want, and ignore it if you don't want it.

Leave it to those that are trying to make money (RedHat, IBM, Sun, Novell, etc) to do the marketing.

Not means to an end

[bstadil]

what open source really needs is a marketing plan.

You seems to misunderstand the "purpose" of open source.

It's to allow Freedom for the people that wants it, and create the best SW possible. A marketing plan is somewhat counter to the movement as a plan per se will impose constrains on the development process. Marketing plans are for companies lik RH, Mandrake and the like not for the FOSS as a movement.

Lastly the superiou development method will win in the end. There is just so many transatlantic boat tickets you can sell in the age of aviation.

Re:Not means to an end

[which way is up]

"Lastly the superiou development method will win in the end."

Last I checked, windows was still winning.

Re:Not means to an end

[Brandybuck]

You need a marketing plan if you need to justify your own choices. Open Source is about diversity, but for many people conformity is the priority. In other words, an adolescent geek using Linux won't be happy until the other adolescent geeks around him use Linux as well. Replace "Linux" with any other choice, such as "AD&Dv3.5", "GTA:SA", or any particular brand of caffeinated soda.

We need marketing because adolescent geeks need validation. I'll now sit back and watch the insulted moderators run roughshod over this post...

Re:Not means to an end

[Anonymous Coward]

You seems to misunderstand the "purpose" of open source. It's to allow Freedom for the people that wants it, and create the best SW possible. A marketing plan is somewhat counter to the movement as a plan per se will impose constrains on the development process. Marketing plans are for companies lik RH, Mandrake and the like not for the FOSS as a movement. Lastly the superiou development method will win in the end. There is just so many transatlantic boat tickets you can sell in the age of aviation.

Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[the_rajah]

Open CD is a nice idea, but I've been doing this sort of thing myself for a long time.

I include, at a minimum:
Firefox
Thunderbird
Open Office
Latest AVG free Antivirus download
Ad Aware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Zone Alarm free version
XP security utilities from GRC.com

I keep these installs in a directory on my HD and update as new versions come out. Then, when I want to give one to someone, it's easy to burn a fresh copy. I usually carry one with me in my briefcase along with a Knoppix Live CD and a Xandros free version Install disk (in case I get a convert). These have been useful a number of times.

"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Anonymous Coward]

Zone Alarm isnt Open is it now?

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[quamaretto]

I have a similar collection of software that I've been parading around when asked to aid those whose emachines, running AOL, have been overtaken by viruses and spyware. (I'll have to try Zone Alarm.)

Of course, the idea behind the OpenCD is to showcase Open Source stuff (libre); AVG, Ad-Aware, SpyBot S&D and Zone Alarm are merely free (gratis), and exist because of the underlying proprietary model and cashflow from sale of software and upgrades. And the point of the CD is to spread {Open Source|libre} software, not just to hand out cool programs. (I'm not saying I'm against Ad-Aware and Spybot and co., but they're not in the "free software" camp.)

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Anonymous Coward]

If I remember correctly, AVG, Ad-Aware, and Spybot all prohibit redistribution, other than downloading directly from their site.
This hurts the "burn and give to your friends" approach.

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Hank Chinaski]

the programs on your CD maybe free as in beer, but not free as in speech. so it's different thing than the OpenCD.

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, sometimes non-open source software have distribution restriction. It is probably ok to do CD with AVG to give to friends and family. But AVG etc. might not allow people to distribute iso images of such CDs on the web (we will have to read the licences to actually know, I didn't read them).

In addition to being open source, the CD is fully redistribuable.

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to 99.999999% of anyone on the planet!

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Slack3r78]

I keep a similar collection for my own internal use, but I really like the OpenCD for another reason - it gives me a nice collection of free apps with a nice frontend that I can give to customers and let them explore it on their own.

With some people, a nice, polished presentation is almost as important as a nice, polished product.

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[Anonymous Coward]

You might like to look at irfanview as an addition to your list, though I have only one windows system on my home network left, so I'm a little out of data with state of the art windows freeware.

Re:Rolling your own... CD, that is..

[RobertLTux]

okay so why not do this do a hacked version and include those NONGNU bits just please mark the disc clearly and or reskin. (basic instructions under The I icon in the lower right corner of the home page)

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[BW_Nuprin]

My tactic is to install stuff from TheOpenCD whenever my friends ask me to pirate Office for them. Simple, legal, and productive!

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[which way is up]

To an average joe, IE is free and works enough also, just ask my family.

Still no Frozen Bubble?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've talked to a number of people who have submitted this as a candidate. Why does it keep getting rejected? I was under the impression that the Windows ports have had installers/uninstallers for some time now.

It would certainly help expand their "Games" section.

Re:Still no Frozen Bubble?

[DeKO]

The Frozen Bubble's author don't want people porting his app to non-free operating systems.

Re:Still no Frozen Bubble?

[HenrikOxUK]

There will never be more than 5-6 games at any one time because that would skew the profile too much. We could of course do a games-only disc one day.

Re:Still no Frozen Bubble?

[mrchaotica]

You could change the profile from being based on # of programs to % of disc space -- then you'd have to add games to skew it away from OpenOffice. : )

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Anonymous Coward]

Mayhap more effort should be placed on referring to "Open Source Software" as "Free Open Source Software" (at least where applicable).

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[temojen]

If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?

That's the point of the OpenCD. The conversation is sopposed to go like this:

Average Joe Why should i use open-source? OS Advocate Here, I'll show you.

Reviews?

[RM6f9]

My job involves supporting windows users. While I'm not stupid, I *am* woefully in need of education about Linux as well as being an icon for lazy. Is there in existence an objective review of the various Linux setups that would allow me to build a complete desktop windows replacement for Linux/computer dummies, a.k.a. my family? I'm not averse to doing some learning work, I just want to ensure I'm getting the best/most out of that effort. Help?

Re:Reviews?

[clickster]

There are reviews all over the place if you Google, though most are from people who lean toward Linux (nothing wrong with that - just pointing it out). As someone who uses both Windows and Linux quite a bit and who supports a Windows environment, I'll give you some very short reviews of major distros:

First, Wireless networking with most wireless NICs is a pain in the $%@ regardless of distro. Xandros 3, Fedora Core 3, and Mandrake 10.1 are supposedly better than this. If you're deploying extremely consistent hardware (i.e. everyone has the same model laptop and NIC) then it might not be that hard once you figure out how to get your distro to work with that specific wireless NIC.

Laying Wireless networking aside for a moment, most other things run smoothly. Here is the basic rundown of the free (as in beer) distros:

Xandros - I haven't used 3.0 yet, but all previous versions. This is perhaps the best distro to use if you're trying to wean Windows users onto Linux. It's look like Win XP. Xandros normally costs money, but they have an "Open Circulation Edition" that is free. There are only a few features missing. Unlike the paid version, you cannot install Microsoft Office. You can't really do this on most distros anyway, so it's not a big deal. The other is that they knock the CD burn speed to 4x I believe. Other than those two things, it's the full version. As for packages, they have a nice selection, but you can always get packages from a Debian repository if they don't have what you want.

Fedora Core 3:
I've been using this since it came out. I never really like Red Hat. Nothing about it really stood out. The last version I had used was Red Hat 9.0 (before they split and started making Fedora as well). But I have to tell you, Fedora Core 3 is great. It's runs smoothly, it's well put together, and it looks great. Most Linux lovers will tell you that eye candy isn't important, but let me tell you from experience that when you're trying to sell Linux to a Windows user, eye candy can make all the difference. I highly recommend this distro

Mandrake 10.1
I haven't used this distro yet, but used to use Mandrake frequently. It's usually a stable distro and has a ton of packages. It's very end-user, workstation oriented. Great for newbies.

Debian:
Also haven't used in a while, but it was a pain in the #$&@ to install. Now, once you had it installed, it had by far the best package support of any distro. You could get anything for Debian and programs were a snap to locate, install, uninstall, and update. The best thing about Debian is its package manager, apt-get. You can use it to install, uninstall, and upgrade your programs (packages). If you want to install package X and it requires packages Y and Z, you're hosed in most distros until you go out and find/install Y and Z. With apt-get, it basically says, "oh, you need Y and Z. Let me find them. Here they are. I'll install them as well." Sweet. I hear the installation has gotten easier, but have no personal recent experience.

NOW FOR THE PAID DISTROS:

Xandros 3.0 (the paid version)
All of the benefits of the free version, but normal burn speeds and you can install MS Office.
While this sucks in some ways because you're still paying the MS tax, it may be a necessity for you users or for the companies you do business with.

Lycoris/Linspire:
I'll lump these two together. They're not bad, and are targeted at Windows users, but I would recommend Xandros over either.

SuSE:
Formerly my favorite distro. Very flashy, has a ton of packages on the install CDs/DVD. The absolute best part is YAST2. It's the configuration manager (think of Win XP Control Panel, but better integrated) Control almost everything from one place. It's by far the easiest to figure out how to configure. Novell bought SuSE and are integrating it into their products. They've released Novell Desktop Linux, which is based on SuSE and is supposed to be great. I believe you ca

Re:Reviews?

[RM6f9]

Thank you, both to the author of the above and the individual who emailed me privately with a link to some other reviews.

Re:Reviews?

[wnknisely]

Check out the Mepis Distro (http://mepis.org/) - it allows you to run in a Live CD environment to test your hardware.

I've got it running on a couple of public access terminals at our church - no one has had any problems using it yet.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[which way is up]

You are right! You don't need a marketing plan to build anything. However, you do need a marketing plan if you want people to use it. Think dot-bomb...

Some mirrors

[HenrikOxUK]

ftp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/pc/OpenCD/
ftp://ftp.uni-ba yreuth.de/pub/pc/TheOpenCD/
ftp://sunsite.informa tik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/mirror /opencd/
ftp://ftp.freenet.de/pub/filepilot/windo ws/tools/t he_open_cd/releases/
ftp://ftp.uoi.gr/mirror/open cd/
ftp://neacm.fe.up.pt/pub/OpenCD/
ftp://ftp.f unet.fi/pub/mirrors/theopencd.org/TheOp enCD/
ftp://theopencd.hands.com/theopencd/
ftp:/ /www.mirrorservice.org/sites/gd.tuwien.ac.at/ pc/OpenCD/
ftp://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/windows /opencd
ftp://planetmirror.com/pub/opencd/
ftp:/ /ftp.heanet.ie/pub/TheOpenCD/
ftp://cs.ubishops.c a/pub/windows/opencd/

Arrgh!

[Pacifix]

Thirty seconds ago I finished collecting, burning and giving most of this software for a friend - along with zonealarm, avg antivirus, etc - whose computer has been zombied, specifically because OpenCD was too out of date. Then I open /. and see this. Ain't that always the way?

Re:Arrgh!

[codewritinfool]

Reset your clock, you're living in the future.

Piracy

[mulle]

I'd say that the biggest obstacle for free software, as in beer and/or as in speech, is that the Average Joe simply borrows a CD with commercial software from someone and thus the actual price of the software in question becomes a non-issue.

I honestly think that one of the best things that could happen to the free software community would be if Microsoft could somehow make it impossible to use priated versions of their software.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Tribbin]

At home, I did it the Microsoft way. I installed OpenOffice and Firefox. Made them the default apps and removed the IE icons in the All Users dir. I told my family I would install MS Office 'some day'.

Worked for me to convince them. They don't want anything else now.

No Linux

[silicon-pyro]

I want to see a linux distro, so that I can have a linux session on my emulated windows session on my linux box.

But seriously, I would think that the ultimate OSS, namely some flavor of linux, would be valuable to have on the CD that somebody new to open source could try? I met some distros that were easy to install/uninstall and use safely when I first dipped my tows into the linux water.

Re:No Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

you want Knoppix (click on the anglo-american flag for English)

Re:No Linux

[magefile]

CoLinux is what you want - it runs in some sort of emulated or pseudoemulated mode, so you don't have to boot (like with Knoppix). Or you could do it the hard (but faster?) way with Bochs and whatever x86 distro you want.

Re:No Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

CoLinux is definately cool, BUT it's support for hardware beond video and storage is extremely limited and no matter what the remote X terminal method used is, it is very slow. As usual, it's amazing that it works as well as it does, but it's virtually unuseable as anything other than a way to install and lightly check out multiple distros for fun. Getting real work done on it is marginal.

Re:No Linux

[magefile]

So don't use X. I have a friend who runs an email server on it just fine, because he's bash-only.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[JohnVbs]

"If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?"

If you're an average joe you don't have enough money for proprietary software such as Office of Photoshop and the word "free" sounds very appealing.

Re:So i'm going to pay for open source apps?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they'll use the eBay model of pricing:

- CD: $0.99
- Shipping: $14.99

Of course, when it arrives there will be a $2 stamp on the frayed-and-falling-apart envelope.

For MS Windows users?

[Anonymous Coward]

Too bad they didn't include good, easy to
use firewall software, anti-virus software,
and at least 2 different anti-spyware packages,
as well.

Just because these Windows users can get a
boatload of great F/OSS packages, it doesn't
mean that they still won't get owned within
the first 30 minutes of logging on the internet.

Re:For MS Windows users?

[MadChicken]

Great idea, but do you have any suggestions? I know there's clamav (GUI Windows version) but where can you find OSS firewall and/or anti-spyware?

Re:For MS Windows users?

[zcat_NZ]

There's a Windows (2k/xp) Firewall on sourceforge, but it's 'not quite there yet' and IMHO neither is clamav..

. it doesn't detect polymorphic viruses. I'm not sure how common these are, but it disturbs me that there's a whole class of viruses clamav can't see.

. it doesn't scan on demand. Every other virus scanner does this by default.

. Although there's a plugin for Outlook, that's the only mailer supported. Most people use OE. many use Thunderbird or Mozilla and while these are resistant to most viruses users can still run attachments if they try hard enough. Clamwin doesn't intercept and scan pop3 or imap yet.

If you want a Free firewall for your windows box dig out an old p133 and install one of the many 'linux firewall' projects. If you want Free virus scanning for your windows box install procmail on this linux firewall and dump all the file-types that only ever get used by viruses (.scr, .cpl, etc) then scan the remaining mail with clamav just in case..

If I got this in my stocking

[kevin_conaway]

I would poop in that persons stocking next year.

Seriously, we had a similiar discussion on this a while ago. Get the person something THEY want, not something YOU think they want.

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[magefile]

Yeah ... I'm giving a Mepis CD and this to my relatives who gave me a Bible last year (knowing full well that I'm an atheist).

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[Richard_at_work]

Im an athiest and I have a Bible. Why? Because the stories in there are fantastic, if you take them at just that :)

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[magefile]

It's not having a Bible that irritates me. It's the blatant disrespect for my beliefs, and the fact that they're showing that they think that my beliefs will be changed that easily.

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[SenorChuck]

Yeah, I know this thread is entirely OT, but...

I don't know your relatives, but do you think there is a possiblity that they are not necessarily trying to convert you? It's entirely possible that they gave you a bible so that if you're in the mood to read something different, you could pick it up and might even find yourself interested.

If I sent you a collection of music from bands that you had heard of through people that you thought were crazy and based your opinions about the bands based solely on those people, having decided that you didn't like it from there.. would you throw them out before even listening to them?

There's more in the bible than "you're gonna go to hell if you're bad."

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[magefile]

Agreed ... but it's a religiously oriented gift from a family that's made it clear that they disapprove of my family's beliefs, and my family has made it clear that we don't care that they disapprove. Occam's razor. Perhaps I should've clarified, though.

Re:If I got this in my stocking

[Anonymous Coward]

Are the relative's lasts names Balmer or Gates by any chance? 'Cuz that would be just perfect.

Wow!

[temojen]

That's a newer version of GIMP than Gentoo (x86 linux stable)

Re:Wow!

[djcapelis]

3des ~ # esearch -cI gimp
[ I] media-gfx/gimp (2.0.6): GNU Image Manipulation Program

Unstable has a newer version, things have to be bug-free for at least 2 weeks before they move to stable. With GIMP releasing fairly frequently, it's not surprising. If you want cutting edge, hit unstable as always. If you want stability, don't.

Re:Wow!

[temojen]

If you want cutting edge of the GIMP in gentoo you'll have to compile it yourself. 2.2-preN isn't even in portage yet (with good reason, it requires freetype 2.1.7+, which breaks compatibility with code written for freetype 2.1.5- (changed a global include file name)). I tried it, but it still didn't support 16b/channel, so I re-emerged gimp-2.0 and went back to useing cinepaint for my digital camera pictures.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[which way is up]

"and the word "free" sounds very appealing."

So does the word 'pirated'.

Shameless plug

[Anonymous Coward]

We are selling a similar CD to those who cannot download the packages themselves. It includes Firefox, Mozilla, Thunderbird, Gaim, and OpenOffice for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

www.bestofopensource.com

Feel free to send this link to friends/ relatives that do not have high bandwidth downloads...

Re:Shameless plug

[NardofDoom]

OpenOffice.org for Mac shouldn't be on there until it has an OS X native version that doesn't use Java. If they don't know about OSS, I wouldn't expect them to know how to use X11.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[forsetti]

But, do open source developers "want" people to use their product, or rather are they just happy when people do?

Do OSS developers gain anything from people using the product?

Does an open source product go "out-of-business" (like dot-bomb) when people do not use it?

The developer's interest may fade, but the development of an open source product will not go "out of business" because of lack of revenue. Revenue (income) is really the only justification for the effort necessary in creating a marketing plan.

Torrent

[ethame]

Now, why isn't there some big news story about how bit torrent is being used legally to distribute free software? So frustrating.

it's cool

[michaelbuddy]

Some of us have time to look at all the sites, open directory, gnu win, sourceforge, and some of us don't have the time, or we like bundles of the good stuff. Personally I wish the openCD included a few more utilities, like Rename-it, extra python stuff for gimp, and as much simple documentation as possible.

But it's pretty awesome that they have put it together for people, offering it for free and promoting. As far as marketing goes, I don't see making postcards, and infomercials would ever work, since the return won't be high enough, but allowing all people who love open source to burn a CD quick, and show friends, keep in our tech kit, whatever is a good thing.

Yes it's for windows, 90% of people have that. It's great because it's kind of an official build that you could give to a school, or library.

the OPENCD is like an introduction. Then when you need to look deeper for tools and projects, you can start here.

Re:it's cool

[codeconfused]

I find it was very good also. I look for any windoze open source I can find and burn copies. This was done very well for a windows user to look at, view and install.

CD browser gecko-based?

[rubenmv]

Anyone knows more about this? in this project or another one?

Re:CD browser gecko-based?

[PinkX]

Yes, it's called DiscTree:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/disctree

Best regards.

Re:CD browser gecko-based?

[RobertLTux]

yes indeed the actual runtime is a hacked copy of K-Melon (with most of the chrome removed)

Re:CD browser gecko-based?

[2bluemike]

This sourceforge project seems completely new/empty/abandoned.

Here is the 'Disctree PHP Code Documentation:' OpenCD DiscTree

But even this doesn't exactly spell it out for your average computer user. Maybe you can download the CD and hack the browser? Any other ideas? I'd be into making my own version of this...

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[grumbel]

### what open source really needs is a marketing plan.

What OpenSource needs is better software, not a marketing plan. You can't 'talk' people into using OpenSource Software when they have already purcased superior non-free software. Lets face it, in lots of areas OpenSource is simply inferior to proprietary software and will stay so for a long time to come, better marketing won't change that, IMHO it already is over-hyped way to much. What OpenSource needs is better software, doesn't even need to be better then the proprietary software, even so that would be of course a great plus, it just needs to be a little bit better than "good enough" and people will switch automatically on the next updated when they can save a few bugs and still get there work done equally easy. OSS isn't there yet, but slowly moving into the right direction, just give it some time and keep the hype low.

Spoiling people now with marketing lies (Gimp: Your Photoshop killer for 0$, OpenOffice: ...and you will never touch MS Office again, Inkscape: Revolutionary Vector Graphics...) will just make it much harder to get people to use OSS software tomorrow when it finally might be 'good enough' for the average user.

Why not make it bootable too?

[Jagasian]

In addition to including installers for open source Windows software, why not also make the CD a bootable Knoppix CD? That way Windows users can use open source apps on Windows, in addition to experimenting with Linux.

Re:Why not make it bootable too?

[grumbel]

1) Disc space will most likly be to limited to be full of OSS software for Windows and for Linux

2) There is already the Ubuntu live cd, which contains a full Ubuntu Linux live distri and in addition to that a bunch of popular OSS software for windows, but due to 1) most likly quite a bit less then the OpenCD.

Re:Why not make it bootable too?

[HenrikOxUK]

most likly quite a bit less then the OpenCD.
Yes, only 7 apps. But it uses the same CD browser as TheOpenCD and was in fact made by the same people. (look for more such stuff in the future ...)

Clickable Links

[Anonymous Coward]

ftp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/pc/OpenCD/
ftp://ftp.uni-bayreuth.de/pub/pc/TheOpenCD/
ftp://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/mirror /opencd/
ftp://ftp.freenet.de/pub/filepilot/windows/tools/t he_open_cd/releases/
ftp://ftp.uoi.gr/mirror/opencd/
ftp://neacm.fe.up.pt/pub/OpenCD/
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mirrors/theopencd.org/TheOp enCD/
ftp://theopencd.hands.com/theopencd/
ftp://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/gd.tuwien.ac.at/ pc/OpenCD/
ftp://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/windows/opencd
ftp://planetmirror.com/pub/opencd/
ftp://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/TheOpenCD/
ftp://cs.ubishops.ca/pub/windows/opencd/

"Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: You can type more than that for your comment."

This text here to combat the lameness filter.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[JohnVbs]

"So does the word 'pirated'." Not to someone who prefers to be legal.

No OSS mp3 player / jukebox?

[mortram]

One thing surprisingly missing from the Windows platform is a good open-source media/music jukebox player. FreeAMP doesn't appear to be in active development anymore, and while Foobar is great and *almost* open, that hasn't been updated in some time either.

Re:No OSS mp3 player / jukebox?

[Anonymous Coward]

FreeAMP was reborn as ZINF. http://www.zinf.org/

Screenshot mirror

[HenrikOxUK]

Here.
(as if /.ing the main site wasn't enough)

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Anonymous Coward]

But AOL is a quality ISP!

Who needs a torrent? :) Mod parent up.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm saturating my 3Mbps cable connection using plain-old-ftp, and I don't even have to share.

Sincerely,
The Leech

PS: Seriously, your post is very insightful. Hope someone mods it up.

as a stocking stuffer?

[Anonymous Coward]

"We have timed the release to be out just before the holidays so you can fill the stockings of friends and family with Free and useful software."

Yeah, I'm sure their faces will light up with joy when they see this gift. That's almost as crappy a gift as that the one proposed in the "Dear Abby" section of /. last year where the guy wanted to give his parents their own website. I'd be curious to read a follow-up story about their reaction. Who knows, maybe they actually used their site to post a blog in which one of their entries dragged Dan Rather through the mud for building a story around false documents in his bid to destroy Bush. But somehow I doubt it.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Vraylle]

Wow, thanks! I've been looking for something like Inkscape for ages!

Funny juxtaposition

[FunWithHeadlines]

"I would poop in that persons stocking next year."

"Get the person something THEY want, not something YOU think they want."

Leading to the obvious question...

Shameless plug

[MMatessa]

We are selling a similar CD to those who cannot download the packages themselves. It includes Firefox, Mozilla, Thunderbird, Gaim, and OpenOffice for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

www.bestofopenoffice.com

Feel free to send this link to friends/relatives that do not have high bandwidth downloads...

BsPlayer?

[Jakhel]

I haven't been able to RTFA, but from the posts here BsPLayer doesn't seem to be among the programs listed on OpenCD. Maybe they should include it and/or Foobar in the next version as well? Just a thought.

Re:BsPlayer?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well I'll attribute your comment to not reading the article, but this is project is to demonstrate OSS not closed source programs for Windows.

Re:BsPlayer?

[SenorChuck]

Maybe you meant Media Player Classic?

I got the first 1.4 delivered free

[bushboy]

I'm hugely impressed with TheOpenCD - I was visiting go-opensource.org and filled in a form saying I'd like a copy.

Two weeks later, one arrived at my P.O.Box - I never expected it and in fact completely forgot I'd asked for one. Comes with a great CD case and the silk screen print job on the CD is highly professional - a lot better than the Half-Life 2 CD's that I bought from those damn corporate pirates ... ;)

Great stuff.

Outdated? Re:Release notes

[otisg]

This is a nice compilation, but how much sense do CDs like these make - by the time they are released some of the software will already be out-dated. I guess people don't have to have the latest version of everything all the time.

Re:Outdated? Re:Release notes

[vettemph]

Correct, If you had Adobe 4.0 PDF reader and then switched to 5.* or 6.* you would be hating yourself because the new adobe tries to be everything and takes 15 seconds to load (vs. the old 2 seconds to load) Secondly, The 30 Billion dollar corp that I work for uses Win2k and Office 97 while we are nearing the end of 2004. We are all happy. Software is only outdated when it does not perform its function well. Oddly enough, you could hand someone a box of Unreal Tournament 2004 and tell them it is Linux software that also runs on windows. :) It's not FOSS and it's not marketed from that angle but who could argue. :)

No, it isn't, but I didn't bill my collection as..

[the_rajah]

all open source. It's just a handy collection of tools that I find useful. Ad Aware, Spybot, Steve Gibson's utilities and AVG aren't open source either.

"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain

Gentoo is dying

[Anonymous Coward]

Gentoo is falling behind. Installing mplayer, for example, applies a bunch of bogus patches that break the program, not fix it.

Re:Gentoo is dying

[temojen]

Oh yeah? Well installing app-text/ghostscript-7.07.1-r7 (the only 7.07.1 after r1 with keyword "x86") tries to apply a patch it doesn't download. And r4+ is a pre-requisite of kghostview, which is a prerequisite of kde.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Xofer D]

But, do open source developers "want" people to use their product, or rather are they just happy when people do?

OSS developers want many eyes to look at their code, and if the project is more popular more eyes will look at it. It is very common for OSS projects to need to reach some "critical point" where it is useful enough to draw more developers before it can really take off. Firefox vs Mozilla is a good example - Firefox has very active plugin development "scene", and Mozilla support is often added as an afterthought simply because it is less popular, even though it is almost the same software!

Additionally, OSS users want many people to use the software because of the network effect - for example, more people using OpenOffice.org mean fewer people locked in to Microsoft Office, which means you are more likely to be able to share documents with a randomly selected acquaintance.

In short, many products work better with marketing plans, even if they come with no cost.

As usual you get what you pay for...

[Anonymous Coward]

...and a lot of this software is CRAP. Try relying on PDFCreator in a commercial situation. which doesn't work from a remote terminal session (in this day and age what the fuck?????). Warning: Recommending this sort of bullshit could get you fired.

Re:As usual you get what you pay for...

[Anonymous Coward]

PDFCreator is a printer driver. Expecting it to work on a remote terminal session is like rearranging your keytops and wondering why the letters didn't change.

Re:As usual you get what you pay for...

[SenorChuck]

Are you going to make me pay the toll before I cross your bridge?

PDFCreator isn't the only software that doesn't work in a terminal session. You can't even *install* Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0's MMC console on a system that has Terminal Services *or* VNC installed. Not even if you're sitting at the local console.

For the software to be useful, you have to be able to use the MMC console.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[ssj_195]

I agree about OSS software being oversold. I was repeatedly informed that Linux + OSS was always more stable, more secure, and just plain better than closed-source software + Windows, so I eagerly downloaded and installed Mandrake 9.1.

Christ. What an incredibly painful experience - konqueror would hard-lock every single time I did a file search. Gnome System Monitor would reliably hard-lock everytime I try to kill a root-owned process (actually, now that I come to think of it, this one still happens). I spent an entire evening trying to install some little toy app - the kind you'd download, install, play with once, and forget on Windows - and just got bogged down in the list of unresolved and mismatched dependencies. Annoyances both minor and major, and too many to list. My reaction was hard to describe, but "violent backlash" is pretty close - I hated Linux with a passion, and wiped it and went back to XP a few days later, and would probably not have gone back to it if Windows hadn't started hard-locking on me [I wanted to see if it was some corrupted driver, or a dodgy piece of hardware, so I tried it with Linux - turned out to be a faulty graphics card fan]

This time as I installed Mandrake 10, my expectations were much reduced, and, after a few teething troubles, I decided this Linux lark wasn't so bad. A few days later, I was hopelessy in love with my clean, functional, legal, free machine, and haven't had a Windows install on my desktop since.

In my case, a chance experience led to a happy ending, but the message is clear - the more a product is oversold, the more bitterly disappointed the user will be when it fails to meet his inflated expectations, and the resultant souring can easily last forever.

bad for MS?

[muyuubyou]

I'm running out of excuses to make my gf switch to Linux or Mac. These people are doing a (too fscking) good job.

--Excuse 1 (dead): "TCO. Windows may have 'come with the computer' but almost anything else will cost you top dollar."

1a. Office apps
1b. a mail client not dumb enough to put everything in the same folder
1c. a browser with tabs and no ads

--Excuse 2 (partly dead): "Security. Windows is too darn insecure and so are many (closed source) apps for Windows."

Quit using IE and Outlook. 90% of the trouble is gone. Still worse than the competition, but dangerously approaching "reasonable" status.

--Excuse 3 (still valid): "But... but... Windows is closed... M$ is evil... they impose a tax on hardware... they expand and overtake a new software branch every year..."

3a. http://www.stallman.org/
3b. http://www.GNU.org/
3c. explanation of the GPL and MIT licenses

Girlfriend: "sure, I'm going to stop using the OS I'm used to and surrender years of Windows trial-and-error because of this guy's philosophy."

Re:bad for MS?

[mattyrobinson69]

Tell her she's a silly woman and knows nothing. Then hog tie her and install linux while she watches.

Thats what i did with my gf

Re:bad for MS?

[NaDrew]

Then hog tie her and install linux while she watches.

Thats what i did with my gf

You had your gf hog-tied and all you did was install Linux?

You need to check your priorities. Linux can be installed anytime.

Re:bad for MS?

[mattyrobinson69]

update:

my g/f has just woken up and reminded me that i also showed her the nice little boot logo penguin that comes with a few distro's by default (and is now on my gentoo install)

Re:bad for MS?

[MegaHyster]

That's kinky! I'm off work tonight, I think I'll do that too...

Of course, my wife might have a problem with that.

Re:bad for MS?

[mattyrobinson69]

just tell her about the fluffy penguin boot logo, and she'l be in a world of her own.

Here's why a marketing plan is needed:

[lpret]

Marketing is not just the people who make advertisements and con people into buying stuff. Marketing, at it's core, is to build a consistent message that speaks to a certain audience. Now, I know that sounds really pollyanian, but this is the OSS community, so we can build it as we want. What is needed is some way to communicate to people what it is and why its better.

Take Firefox for example. It has a clear and concise marketing message: Faster and safer browsing experience. This works incredibly well because it speaks to concerns people have and creates a simple to understand idea of what Firefox is. On top of that, it is built to be an easy transition from the current "standard" in browsing.

If you want open source to spread, a marketing plan is needed. If you don't care and want to keep it in parents' basement, then you don't.

Re:Here's why a marketing plan is needed:

[nine-times]

Marketing is not just the people who make advertisements and con people into buying stuff

Good point. Not all advertising is a con job, and marketing is not just about advertising. Marketing is about how you define your product. It encompasses everything from advertising, packaging, press releases, logos, all the way down to design specifications for the product you're building. So it's not just the communication of "why the product is better," but it's creating an identity for your product, finding a niche or carving a new niche.

So, yes, Firefox has been more successful in its marketing than the Mozilla suite, but not just because they say it's a "Faster and safer browsing experience", but because it is a faster and safer and more refined browsing experience. The developers built the software to fit a market of users that wanted a simplified (but advanced) no-nonsense browser-only piece of software, and everything from their site layout, their slogan, their advertising campaigns, their logo-- everything-- speaks well to the same audience.

That's what marketing is about.

That's really going to help

[Jedi_Knyghte]

If the idea is to get wide distribution . . . why is the bittorrent version BZ2 encrypted? Like your average Windows user is going to have the tools to use it, or care enough to hunt one down if he doesn't.

Re:That's really going to help

[HenrikOxUK]

It's really not meant to be downloded by the average Windows user, but by you, the power user. You are meant to burn copies for your friends. I could have made a self-extracting 7-zip archive which would have been even smaller, but that would have been useless for Linux users to download and burn. If it was made for windows users to download directly it would have been a download portal instead of an ISO image.

The reason it's zipped at all is mainly due to OpenOffice not compressing their Win installer anymore. It's now a full 150 MB (60MB compressed). The original ISO was ~620MB, the bzip file is ~435MB.

Re:That's really going to help

[Jedi_Knyghte]

I can understand the need for compression. But why not zip compress it? That's available on both platforms, and it would remove what seems to me like a needless barrier. Your choice, though.

Re:That's really going to help

[testerus]

I could have made a self-extracting 7-zip archive which would have been even smaller, but that would have been useless for Linux users to download and burn.

7zip works on Linux as well (p7zip.sourceforge.net)

Re:That's really going to help

[HenrikOxUK]

Cool! That was news to me, thanks.

Re:That's really going to help

[HenrikOxUK]

Zip is not nearly as powerful as bz2 or 7zip.

Is the OpenCD bad for open source?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://aseigo.blogspot.com/2004/12/how-to-kill-ope n-source-on-desktop.html

This kde hacker argues that things like the OpenCD will kill the open source desktop.

Though I don't entirely agree with him I think he makes some good points.

For a lively discussion on the topic visit planetkde.org

Not again

[Mantorp]

every time they do this I get re-addicted to Sokoban

Community = Resources

[bill_mcgonigle]

I hear this often, but why? Nobody is making money off open source, many are doing it as a hobby.

Because open source software derives its power from the community. The larger the community, the more resources available, hence the higher quality of the software.

I've brought some really good people over from the Dark Side - it's not fair to say that if they're any good they'd be here already.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[nine-times]

I come from a slightly different point of view when it comes to OSS. I'm not a developer who just wants to make it and use it himself. I'm not a vendor trying to make money off of these projects.

I'm just an open source advocate from the standpoint of a guy who fixes computers for his 9 to 5, and supports friends and family on the weekends. So I want to push open-source for two major reasons:

1. It's free (as in beer), so I can give the people I'm supporting the software they need without asking them to cough of a rediculous amount of money.
2. Poor software design (security), compatibility issues, and file-format-wars have been making many of the popular closed-source software packages a pain to support.

So, yes, I do want to get people to use this stuff. I don't want people to "ignore it if they don't want it." Many of the people who "don't want it" actually don't know what they want, and they make more work for me with that ignorance.

So, yeah, from a non-contributing member of the community, I'd like to see some "marketing", but I'd also say TheOpenCD is a good piece of marketing. It's appropriate for what it's "selling", and it makes some good OSS easily discoverable/accessible to relative novices.

Linspire still free?

[gelfling]

I think if you put Linspire in the discount code field on the ordering page it's still a free downloadable image.

Re:Linspire still free?

[clickster]

I just tried to enter Linspire as a coupon code for the download and it said it wasn't valid

Re:Linspire still free?

[clickster]

Figure it out. The coupon code is LINDOWS.

Re:Linspire still free?

[gelfling]

Maybe it's "Lindows", I forget.

Why Gaim?...

[Extrymas]

...when there's Miranda messenger ?.. Open source, native windows application for icq and bunch of other messaging protocols ? I mean.. Gaim uses gtk, wich is not very stable on windows. And it looks quite odd to windows users.

Re:Why Gaim?...

[HenrikOxUK]

Precisely because Gaim is cross-platform. The aim is to eventually draw people over to Linux, and a good way to do that is to get them using the same apps on the Windows platform first.

Re:Why Gaim?...

[Arctech]

They had Miranda on their previous release. To be honest, aside from an issue with not being able to modify the font sizes, Gaim looked much more clean and polished than Miranda.

And they're certainly not going to flinch for including a project that uses gtk, as they've included GIMP on there for a long while.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[rabbit78]

I never had much luck explaining people what open source is and why it makes sense. The problem is that 99.9% don't care about source code. Heck, when I go back to 1998 when I bought my first box of Linux, I was happy to get a _cheap_ OS with a huge bulk of additional software. I didn't realize that it was in fact free (of charge) and I only pay for the box and CD set. Later (around 2000) I downloaded my first copy of Debian and was very excited about it. I also knew then, that I could get the source code, but I did not care for it. I started caring for the code when I started my first own projects. Now I think that the availibility of code is _really_ useful, because I can fix a program or library if it is broken (which is more often the case then one would think).
But for most people it is simply not important that a program is open source or free or whatnot, they want it to work, and they want it to be cheap or better free of charge. Try to explain them why code availibility is good, or the difference between free of charge and Free and Open Source and you will most likely not listen to you for long.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[b00stA]

If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?

If I'm an average Joe, then I have no question.
I'll just stick with the things I have.

OSS Spyware Removal

[NardofDoom]

Why hasn't anyone created an open source spyware cleaner yet? I think that would be a perfect OSS project, since it's continually changing and needs lots of eyes to keep up to date.

Re:OSS Spyware Removal

[mrchaotica]

Could it be that people who are interested in Free software (and have the skill to write it) and people who need spyware cleaning utilities are mutually exlusive groups? Not many people want to hack something that they don't need or want to use theirselves...

Re:OSS Spyware Removal

[NardofDoom]

Most people who know about free software are the ones *cleaning up* spyware infested computers. If they could do it with an open-source program that they knew worked well and got all the beasties, they'd be happy to use it. Especially if it was easily extensible.

Re:OSS Spyware Removal

[mrchaotica]

That may be true, but I at least don't really care -- if somebody wants me to remove spyware, they're either going to get a reformat, or a look through the Windows task manager and deletion of whatever executables look like they don't belong (and usually that's because I'm using their computer and get too annoyed by particularly bad adware).

What languages are supported?

[testerus]

Does the CD contain any languages besides English?

Re:What languages are supported?

[HenrikOxUK]

No, the standard version is only English, but the new HTML-based system makes modification (and therefore translation) very easy. Several translations are nearly complete, so look for localized versions soon. Stop by the forum and wiki for details (when the /.ing dies down). Also look for a much better translation infrastructure for the next release, planned for April.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot to mention the real reason to run MS products: so you remain compatible with all the spyware, viruses and popups on the internet.

WinLibre 0.3

[Anonymous Coward]

There is WinLibre too.

WinLibre is a rigorous selection of free/open source, legal software for Windows 98, 2000, XP

WinLibre software meets your essential needs : Office (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation), Internet (web, email, messaging), Multimedia (music, video), Create (drawing, music), Tools (file compression, antivirus)

WinLibre stands in two versions: a complete autonomous setup (155 MB) and, a mini setup (0.6 MB) which downloads from Internet the selected software at installation time. It automates their installation.

WinLibre content:

• Office : OpenOffice.org 1.1.3, PDFCreator 0.8
• Internet : FireFox 1.0, ThunderBird 0.9, FileZilla 2.2.9, Nvu 0.50, Gaim 1.0.2
• Create : Gimp 2.0.5, Inkscape 0.39, Blender 2.34, Audacity 1.2.2
• Multimedia : Zinf 2.2.1, WinLame rc3, CDex 1.51, VideoLanClient 0.8.0
• Tools: 7-Zip 3.13, ThightVnc 1.3dev5,NetTime 2.0b7, ClamWin 0.35.4, Notepad2 1.0.12

Re:WinLibre 0.3

[pierrejean.coudert]

The torrent download is 148 MB.

Re:BitTorrent File [linked here]

[bach37]

You actually do want to link a torrent link. It's helpful.

Found a bug in the CD's "browser"

[davidwr]

I'll report this later when the site isn't swamped.

Choose "Home" from the Navigate menu. You get an error:

The file /D:/disctree/en/home_desc.html cannot be found. Please check the location and try again.

The file d:\disctree\en\home.html does exist and is probably what they want.

Re:Found a bug in the CD's "browser"

[HenrikOxUK]

Oh, that's bad news. No matter how much you test, there is always a bug :)

The good news is that people don't have to download new copies, just edit \disctree\en\home.html

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[241comp]

If i'm an average joe, my first question is 'why should i use open-source?" not where do i get it from?
Wrong answer. If you're average Joe then your first question is "How much does it cost?" That is followed by "Is it really free?" followed by either "Cool" if you understand or "I don't trust them" if you don't. People don't need a thing in order to want it. It simply has to exist (at least in the consumer market we live in today).

unstable i think not.

[cyrax777]

Ive been using GAIM for almost a year now and never had anyproblems with it that were not related to the protocols.(ie yahoo changing the ports)

GNUWin

[danZenie]

GNUWin II is a free software compilation for Windows. You will find three main features on it :

* Software

Software GNUWin II includes numerous programs, completely free, which cover a wide spectrum of uses. The complete application list, sorted by type, is available here.

The software included in GNUWin II is not shareware nor freeware, but original free software and Open Source software, for which the source code is available, and that is and will always be free (free both as in "free speech", and as in "free beer").

OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[bach37]

Slightly off-topic, but does anyone know of an open source AVI or MPEG editor for Windows or Linux? Thanks.

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[ssj_195]

avidemux is a pretty good AVI editor, but it can't handle MPEGs, alas.

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cinelerra.

http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[Ziviyr]

Maybe Virtualdub...

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[MohammedSameer]

for windows: virtualdub
for linux:
avidemux, Maybe cinelerra but it's a bit buggy and resource hungry!
You can also use mpgtk, A set of tools, you can use them to split/merge mpegs
encoders like mencoder and/or transcode.
I think kino is a dv or non linear video editor, I can't remember!

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[smokeslikeapoet]

Most of the really good avi/mpg editors and filters for Windows are open source. Virtualdub as previously mentioned, but VirtualDubMod is the current version of the app. Avisynth is the perfect complement to Vdubmod, it acts as a frameserver giving you access to a plethera of filters. Both apps should have made it to the Open CD. There are howtos on both programs here and here. Both sites have PHPBB forums that offer support. Good luck, there is a pretty steep learning curve to AVISynth.

Re:OT: Anyone know of an AVI/MPEG editor?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://cinepaint.sourceforge.net/

50%?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell, Apple's 3% of the market doesn't seem to qualify it for "dead" status yet. I can't even imagine how long it would take MS to dive to that level of marketshare.

Apple 3% == "Going strong!"

MS 49% == "It's dead Jim"

Geeze...

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Anonymous Coward]

Heh funny it's the same technique used by drugs dealers to get new customers.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[ndogg]

Addware? Is that software for adding stuff together? I think I've heard of them. I think they're called calculators. Or do you mean adware?

As an OpenSouce CD....

[Anonymous Coward]

... where is the source of the gecko browser used in the autorun?

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[dfiguero]

Once they convince themselves, mention that it is open source and that there's more where that came from.

You just sounded like a dealer hehe ;)

Great !!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Good to know, might be a good idea for christmas :) at the same time promoting open source, i don't plan on using it because i use linux :)

Re:slashdot sucks

[SenorChuck]

This has been a PSA brought to you by Ima Troll.

Take your adolescent whining elsewhere, please. You make forums an unpleasant place to be.

Please see the following links for further information.

http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030324

The second link may be more within your grasp, as it's not 100% text. It seems people have problems with reading when there aren't any pictures.

What happened to Crack Attack?

[frovingslosh]

It's good to see a new release, but what happened to Crack Attack? From the list of games (don't have my download yet), this game is MIA. I thought this was a reeally great game, and a nice change from most of the "me too" FPS and fighting games out there.

Re:What happened to Crack Attack?

[RobertLTux]

im not sure (and can't check) but i think either there was some sort of distibution problem or CA is just doing a skip for this version ------- NEW FEATURE FOR THIS VERSION the installer disctree can be modified and the cd rebuilt to add/drop programs http://www.theopencd.net/preview/DOWNLOADS to grab the source for distree (have a working php install ready)

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[nimid]

After this it's a simple matter to make them give you 10% of their income and their firstborn. I find that if they don't see things my way after 2 weeks under my wing I give them the 'cold' treatment. You can oust them from your little group and make them feel excluded and unloved but please (and all you novices take note) make sure you have already excluded them from their social circle or you will have to re-induct them again.

Not necessarily...

[eobanb]

Not if your pub has wi-fi.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[KillerDeathRobot]

To an average joe, IE is free and works enough also, just ask my family.

Sure, but Firefox isn't the only thing on the cd. Microsoft Office, for instance, is pretty far from free.

Out of date

[knitterb]

Isn't stuff like this out of date by the time it's released?

PDFCreator - not ready for prime time

[Anonymous Coward]

It's great to see creation of this CD, but to be a bit controversial I am not sure about inclusion of PDFCreator.

I initially thought PDFCreator was the bees knees, as it was packed with features, and even encouraged my employer to remove all the unlicensed copies of Acrobat and replace it with PDFCreator.

However once I had actually deployed it, I discovered it had a problem with overwriting shortcuts - this possed a major problem because my co-workers used desktop shortcuts to quickly access shared and deeply nested folders.

I even reported it as a bug five months ago, and it still hasn't been fixed. Until it is fixed, I don't think the program is ready for general use.

WinHTTrack a good inclusion

[Anonymous Coward]

Good to see the excellent WinHTTrack web-spidering software included. It's powerful while also easy to use. I have found it particularly useful in my own (amateur but earnest) web research in to east asian female physiology.

OpenSource Compatible iso burner?

[RobertLTux]

Does anybody know of a program that can be used to burn the iso file USING WINDOWS that could be put on the mirrors? (or used to create a self burning exe)

Re:OpenSource Compatible iso burner?

[codeconfused]

Here's a link to some http://osswin.sourceforge.net/#cdwriting/ I haven't tried any so I can't tell you how they work.

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[Anonymous Coward]

So where is your generous check for $$$$$$ to hire someone dedicated to come up with a marketing plan and PR materials, take out banner space on major business webzines and sites, pay for a large add on page 1 of the Wall Street Journal, etc.

This is FREE software you know...

Gnuwin proyect

[183771]

Do not forget gnuwin proyect which are searching for people for continuing it.

Re:Gnuwin proyect

[codeconfused]

Thanks for the link :D I make and burn out plenty of cd's for my poor windoze users. Trying to get them as hooked on open source as I am *laffs*

Re:While this is great for open source advocates..

[jonadab]

> The problem is that 99.9% don't care about source code.

*I* don't want the source code if it's written in a language I don't grok,
such as C or C++, which covers over 60% of the software I use. (If the
source code is written in lisp or Perl, that's another matter; in that
case I do want it, certainly.)

So don't explain it in terms of source code, if the person you're explaining
it to won't care about that. You explain it that way to programmers, not
to end users.

Explain it in terms of its other advantages, such as being more configurable
or whatever, or explain it in terms of the development model ("Open-Source
software is software that many programmers all around the world work on
improving, instead of just one company") or something. It's worthless to
tell an end user "YOU can get the source code." RMS only advocates telling
them that because he's so deep into the IT world that the "end users" he
works with are at least power users if not programmers who happen to not
actively develop the particular software in question. If he had to deal
on a regular basis with real technophobes, the kind of people who want to
write down a list of steps on paper when you show them how to copy and paste,
which they promptly forget, he would know that it's meaningless to talk about
source code with those people. You put that in the fine print of the license
they won't read and instead talk about the software on its merits.

Re:Out of date...nope

[codeconfused]

They have the lastest blender 2.3.5 on there. That's up to date. So's gimp and others