Slashdot Mirror
Now in English: VALO-CD Open Source Software Collection
spuguli writes "VALO-CD is an open source software collection similar to The Open CD. Version 8 is now available in English. The open source collection has been available in Finnish for several years, but now it has been translated into English and is available internationally as well. The collection contains pretty much everything a typical end user would need: LibreOffice, Inkscape, Firefox, Audacity and many other programs. The main goal is to increase knowledge about open source software. The programs are for Windows since most Linux distributions already contain most of the programs, and Linux users obviously are already aware of open source. The CD is developed collaboratively in a wiki. It is freely available as a torrent download."
These aren't Linux distros. They're collections of Windows versions of opensource applications.
How is this better than what's already out there with Open CD, for example?
Maybe "better" isn't the correct word. What does this offer that another open source compilation doesn't already offer? More up-to-date programs?
of the nightowl collection cdroms with bbs stuff. Waaaaay more awesome than "firefox" and "libreoffice". Meh!
it's all fair and well not reading TFA but you never even read TFS FFS :P
if you had you would not have just came out the gate a tad early
The latest version includes Firefox 6.0.1. 'Nuff said...
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
... is a repository system of free software.
A CDROM image does not really cut it. Sure, a handful of packages give a taste of what's available, but there's a lot out there that cannot be fit on a CD. And there is no way to keep up with updates except manually.
One of the greatest advantages of many Linux distros is that they have repositories of software that are kept up to date, with just about everything you could ask for in F/OSS.
Windows users are stuck crawling the likes of Tucows and Download.com and the venerable Simtel archive is not even a shadow of its former self (really, have you seen it lately?). Windows users just don't even know how nice it is to open up a software management window and get free/open source software without hassle. Signed packages in a vetted searchable mirrored database really is the way to go.
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BMO
Open source programs, whether through malice or incompetence, might display rectangular dialogs with incorrectly rounded corners.
I'm sure we all agree that would be a catastrophe. Apple are 100% correct in applying the principle of "better safe rather than sorry."
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Yes, it's exactly what I was writing about. The OpenDisc includes Firefox 6.0.1. Sorry, probably I should've added a quote for context, but I did not imagine my post would end up with more upvotes than the parent.
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
What kind of open source software other than perhaps LibreOffice or gimp would most people be unacquainted with already?
All of it. I would say that about half of computer users barely know what programmes they're using. They just recognise the icons they need to double-click to do what they want (e.g. "need to open the internet" => double-click the blue "e")
It's one thing spreading the word, and quite another posting about something like this on a site like Slashdot.
A fair point. I imagine the point in this is that people will be able to get the less computer-savvy to install such programmes, without getting them to just download and install it. A lot of people would still associate quality software with installation from a disc. A lot of people fear every installer downloaded from the internet, with good reason. Seriously, most people are not capable of deciding what software to use and setting up their system as such. But the software these people use greatly affects us all.
However, I personally have long since stopped trying to influence other people's habits. Make one suggestion and you become responsible for all the consequences.
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But, given the current Firefox release schedule, that's probably only a few days old.
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The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society Open Source Software for Windows CD (and DVD) seems to have a larger selection than the VALO offering.
You have a good point. So who's willing to donate money to free software projects, with the funds earmarked to bring the software up to the aesthetic guidelines of the platforms on which it is intended to run?
Another trouble is that windows software doesn't come in compressed archives that you can copy somewhere -- MSI is more complicated.
I was under the impression that .deb and .rpm were also more complicated than a tarball. How is MSI more complicated than .deb?
>you'd think they would offer a repo with signed freeware software for their customers.
They don't even have to provide the actual server space. All they have to do is provide the infrastructure in the OS and it will happen. You'll see mirrors of free Windows software pop up on servers everywhere. It's how the community works.
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BMO
6.01 is pretty new. And if they wanted a stable release they should have stuck with version 3.6.
Open source software is written to get a job done. Actually most proprietary software is the same way. I see quite a lot of proprietary programs that are pretty ugly while getting the job done and making a lot of money at it.
I've tried downloading it twice. The CD I burned was not useable and using MagicISO to mount it also failed. ???
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
I was gonna say, doesn't that make it current as of about last week?