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Ubuntu Considering an HTML5-Based OS Installer (phoronix.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Ubuntu's Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life, Mark Shuttleworth, is considering backing a new Ubuntu installer that would be using HTML5 via the Electron Framework. This theoretical installer would re-use the company's existing HTML5 code for managing MAAS installations, integrate with Electron, and also better support their Snap packaging format, according to his proposal. What could possibly go wrong with an HTML5/Electron operating system installer? Mark also announced that Ubuntu 18.10 is codenamed the Cosmic Cuttlefish.

6 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. Cool! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope it has jQuery. It's the best!

  2. and i say to myself by bobmajdakjr · · Score: 4, Funny

    i wish the live cd/usb booted slower its just not slow enough. thisllfixit.

  3. Sounds Awesome! by darkain · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In theory, HTML5 based installer sounds awesome. The core system management would still be the same, just a few shell commands initiated from JavaScript within a minimalistic browser environment...

    But then I looked into what this "Electron" framework actually is, and who's using it for what.

    1) Skype - buggy as fuck
    2) GitHub Desktop - clunky as fuck
    3) Atom Editor - slow as fuck
    4) WordPress - need I say more..?
    5) Slack - too many issues to even name any
    6) Discord - known for literally blue-screening computers
    7) Visual Studio Code - classic VS was amazing, why fuck up a good thing?

    I'm all for rapid development within HTML5 + JS + CSS, but PLEASE, for the fucking love of god, use tool sets that don't have such a horrendous reputation!?

  4. So? by c · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He's talking about replacing Ubuntu's configuration/install engine with... a different configuration/install engine. It's fundamentally just a big script that gathers input from the user and punts the results to a bunch of other scripts and applications to do the actual install magic.

    Other than the people maintaining it, who really gives a shit what language/framework it's built with?

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  5. How about an installer with some added features? by ctilsie242 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Debian/Ubuntu's apt system has been good over the years, since it doesn't have the "rpm hell" RedHat based distributions have, especially if one has multiple repositories.

    It would be nice if they had the ability to roll back a version update without having to reinstall. AIX had this functionality, where if an update caused major problems, rejecting the update and rolling back was easy.

  6. Why? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just write the damn thing in Python or whatever language is hot at the moment. Use framebuffer graphics and a simple mouse driver like FreeBSD uses. How high up the abstraction layer can we go just to copy files to a storage device?

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