simplygnustep-announce Mailing List for Simply GNUstep

I've added all the new, very nice stuff from the ImageApps Collection.
the sgstep-meta-user package has been bumped up to version 0.0.4 as 
well.

New Stuff:
ImageKits		:Frameworks used by all the ImageApp's applications
Preview		:A general purpose viewer
ViewPDF		:A specialized PDF viewer, it can also navigate PDFs
Camera:		:Downloads images from your digital camera
ImagesManager  :Use it to manage your image collection

Just do a:

apt-get update

followed by

apt-get dist-upgrade

(a regular apt-get upgrade will not retrieve the new packages)


Chad

> A "Software Update" type app, which should be a simple wrapper around 
> apt.  A framework may be in order here too.

Apt is written in c++, so I guess integrating it directly is out of he 
question.  the command line tools can still be used "behind-the-scenes" 
though.

Another thing that is needed:  GNUstep configuration of debian 
packages.  Right now debian packages can be configured text-based 
(using Dialog) as well as using GNOME.  Allowing GNUstep configurations 
would be needed eventually.


Laters,


Chad


On Jan 3, 2004, at 11:32 PM, Chad Hardin wrote:

> Both the sgstep.com/org/net and simplygnustep.com/org/net servers 
> seems to working as expected!
> -------------------------------
> The simplygnustep software repositories have been moved to 
> simplygnustep.com/org/net.  They are no longer hosted by sourceforge.
>
> So to keep up with release, change "/etc/apt/sources.list" to:
>
> deb     ftp://simplygnustep.com/simplygnustep/ binary-i386/
> deb-src ftp://simplygnustep.com/simplygnustep/ source/
>
> and you're all set
>
> make sure you do a:
>
> apt-get update
> and
> apt-get upgrade
>
> after changing "/etc/apt/sources.list"
> ---------------------------------
> Yes, the project is still alive!  :-)
> I've been experimenting with making debian install cd's and have been 
> sucessful in making some.  An important first step.
>
> There are still some issues which need to be addressed:
>
> A new (and working) X11 window manager to replace WindowMaker
> A XFree86 configurator written in GNUstep
> A "Software Update" type app, which should be a simple wrapper around 
> apt.  A framework may be in order here too.
>
> There are other things as well, but I can;t think of them right now.
> If you want to write the above apps, they do NOT need to be solely for 
> SimplyGNUstep.  Just create your apps for the whole GNUstep community 
> and I will package them for SimplyGNUstep.
> ---------------------------------
> Anybody else want sgstep email accounts?  There were quite a few 
> people who signed up for some, but my research indicated they don't 
> really use them.
> I've turned sgstep into a completely free service, with optional 
> donations.  check out http://www.sgstep.com
>
>
> LAters,
>
> Chad

What's new:

Both the sgstep.com/org/net and simplygnustep.com/org/net servers 
seems to working as expected!
-------------------------------
The simplygnustep software repositories have been moved to 
simplygnustep.com/org/net.  They are no longer hosted by sourceforge.

So to keep up with release, change "/etc/apt/sources.list" to:

deb     ftp://simplygnustep.com/simplygnustep/ binary-i386/
deb-src ftp://simplygnustep.com/simplygnustep/ source/

and you're all set

make sure you do a:

apt-get update
and
apt-get upgrade

after changing "/etc/apt/sources.list"
---------------------------------
Yes, the project is still alive!  :-)
I've been experimenting with making debian install cd's and have been 
sucessful in making some.  An important first step.

There are still some issues which need to be addressed:

A new (and working) X11 window manager to replace WindowMaker
A XFree86 configurator written in GNUstep
A "Software Update" type app, which should be a simple wrapper around 
apt.  A framework may be in order here too.

There are other things as well, but I can;t think of them right now.
If you want to write the above apps, they do NOT need to be solely for 
SimplyGNUstep.  Just create your apps for the whole GNUstep community 
and I will package them for SimplyGNUstep.
---------------------------------
Anybody else want sgstep email accounts?  There were quite a few 
people who signed up for some, but my research indicated they don't 
really use them.
I've turned sgstep into a completely free service, with optional 
donations.  check out http://www.sgstep.com


LAters,

Chad

The new GNUMail and its Pantomime library are available
To get them do a:
apt-get update
and then a
apt-get upgrade

The new GNUMail integrates with AddressManager, which is VERY nice!

Chad

On Dec 25, 2003, at 11:24 PM, Mayuresh Kathe wrote:

>
> On Friday, December 26, 2003, at 10:24AM, Chad Hardin 
> <ceh...@ma...> wrote:
>
>>> Would you also offer a WebDAV interface to the storage module?
>> That's the plan!  :-)
>
> Thats great, when is it going to start?
> I am itching to test it out...  :-)

It's gonna be somewhat difficult because, AFAIK, linux does not have 
any kind of support for mounting webdav filesystems.  There are some 
webdav clients, such as cadaver though.  Using a client is pretty 
clumsy though, it's much better to be able to mount such things.  If 
anyone is looking for a good linux project, this would be it.  Read on.

Right now you can use ftp to see your directory.  There is also some 
experimental support for mounting ftp servers in linux, I need to check 
into how well that works out.  You can info on it here: 
http://ftpfs.sourceforge.net/
This may also be a good starting space for anyone wanting to write code 
for mounting webdav filesystems.


Also, in the next day or twi the www.sgstep.com portal will be open and 
you'll be able to check your email, browse your home directory, 
upload/download files to your home directory, and do some calendaring 
stuff, all via the web.  This is all thanks to the openwebmail project. 
very nice project.  It's gonna be sutomized to look steppish, including 
having GNUMail icons.




>
>
>>> How many people can your server easily handle?
>> I really don't know.  I can handle about 2000 accounts in storage, but
>> it's the bandwidth I'm not sure about.
>
> Its the bandwidth that becomes the make-or-break factor...

Yes, I can boost it up to a maximum upload speed of about 1.5Mbs.  That 
of course, costs more, so I won't do that till it's evident that it is 
needed.  I don't have any bandwidth limits though, which is good.


>
>> You account is setup.
>
> Thanks...  :-)


You're welcome

>
>> IMAP must be on SSL, the server is mail.sgstep.com
>
> Is there also POP?

Yes, it appears to be working, please try it out both with and without 
SSL.  It's preferable to use SSL so your password is secure.


Thanks!

chad

>
> ~Mayuresh
>
>
> The loser now will be later to win,
> for the times they are a changin'
>   - Bob Dylan

IMAP is mail.sgstep.com, must use SSL

POP is mail.sgstep.com (need SSL, could someone try both for me and see 
if it working correctly?)

SMTP is smtp.sgstep.com, also needs SSL, without authentication (I'm 
fixing that, SMTP really should have authentication)

If smtp.sgstep.com does not work for you, then the DNS record for that 
hasn't reached you yet, just use mail.sgstep.com

Also, try and do a ftp and see that works for you, if you would please. 
  SFTP is coming soon....

WebMail is coming soon too....



Enjoy!

Chad

I ran into some problems tuning the mail server and it's giving me 
problems.  I'll let you know as soon as it's settled.

thanks!

chad

Michael,

I agree!  However, there are quite a bit of people out there still 
relying on yahoo and hotmail type accounts.

I'm glad you brought up PHP in home pages..this is exactly the kind of 
feedback I'm looking for.

Now I wonder how I could do that and keep the machine secure...I'm 
gonna look into that one!  Any pointers?

thanks!
Chad


On Dec 19, 2003, at 9:55 PM, Michael Adams wrote:

> Hi Chad,
>
> I believe part of the problem is that most of us already have the 
> personal email and website thing sorted out! But if the personal web 
> pages support php then count me in.
>
> Cheers,
> --Michael Adams.
>
>
>
> Chad Hardin wrote:
>
>> I put out a few days back that *anyone* who asks can get themselves 
>> an email account on my new server www.sgstep.com/org/net
>>
>> *I was surprised that only one person responded*, nobody else is 
>> interested?
>>
>> You will also get 100MB of online storage using ftp.
>>
>> In the works are:
>>
>> personal webpages at yourname.sgstep.com
>>
>> online web mail
>>
>> online managemnt of passwords, etc.
>>
>> plus more stuff....
>>
>> Yes, this is kinda like a simple .Mac service
>>
>>
>> I would like to have as many people using the server as possible so I 
>> can get lot's of experience setting in up.
>>
>>
>> Is there any more among you who would like to try it out?
>>
>> (sniff)
>>
>> Chad
>

I'd like to explain exactly what I'm doing here:

First of all, I have realized I don't really have the time to work on 
SimplyGNUstep at the speed which I would like.  I think you all would 
agree that progress has been slow.

the reason is that I'm a very busy person!  I'm currently in Army, 
working more than full-time and going to college full time as well.  My 
wife also works and goes to school full time.  To add to that, we have 
two small children ( a boy and a girl) :-).  you can imagine....

HOWEVER, I will be graduating in about 1 yr.  In addition, I will be 
leaving the Army in about 15 months.  So there is a really big 
opportunity for all this to change for the better.

What I would like is to be able to work on SimplyGNUstep FULL time at 
that point in time  This includes improving GNUstep itself by writing 
new applications and frameworks.

However, there is no way I will be able to do this and support my 
family without some type of revenue to pay the rent, eat food, all that 
nice stuff.

So I have come up with a plan to (hopefully) allow me to do this.  What 
is that plan?  To provide online services similar to Apple's .Mac, but 
for a much lower price (about $25 a year).  The goal is to not only 
provide the raw internet services but to make it in such a way so that 
it totally complements and integrates with SimplyGNUstep.  I think such 
a service is a pretty good deal at $25 a year, maybe I'm wrong....

Now, if I can maintain about 2000 paying users at one time that would 
equate to about $4000 in revenue a month.  More than enough to be able 
to work on simplyGNUstep full tie and produce something really cool for 
everyone to enjoy.  Note that I currently make quite a bit more than 
$4000 a month right now, so I'm not doing this for the money.  If all I 
cared about was the money then I would stay in my nice, cushy, well 
paying army job.

But before this can happen I need to get the server running with users 
so I can configure it and see how well it handles loads.  I need to see 
if my inet service is up to the challenge too  (I have business class 
broadband going in my house).  As of right now the mail server seems to 
working (SMTP, POP, IMAP, with optional SSL), I got DNS working too.  
Right now I'm boning down on PHP and MySQL, which is a vital part of 
all this.

Ok, So I'm asking for as many people as possible to start using the 
server.  I'm not asking for any money or anything, just users.  So it 
would be awesome if you would ask for an account.  tell you friends, 
mom, brothers, sisters etc about it too.  The more the merrier. :-).  
I'm also not going to be charging for SimplyGNUstep, it will always be 
a free system, so this service will support its development.  I may, in 
some point in the future, sell nice, pretty, packaged SimplyGNUstep 
boxes, but that will be optional.  The same CD will be available for 
download, unlike most of the other linux distro's out there.


Thanks!

Chad


P.S.  Note that the server is not just some cheap PC.  For example, it 
has a 3ware 4 port RAID card, the *real* stuff, don't want to lose 
people's data!  :-)




On Dec 19, 2003, at 9:23 PM, Chad Hardin wrote:

> I put out a few days back that anyone who asks can get themselves an 
> email account on my new server www.sgstep.com/org/net
>
> I was surprised that only one person responded, nobody else is 
> interested?
>
> You will also get 100MB of online storage using ftp.
>
> In the works are:
>
> personal webpages at yourname.sgstep.com
>
> online web mail
>
> online managemnt of passwords, etc.
>
> plus more stuff....
>
> Yes, this is kinda like a simple .Mac service
>
>
> I would like to have as many people using the server as possible so I 
> can get lot's of experience setting in up.
>
>
> Is there any more among you who would like to try it out?
>
> (sniff)
>
> Chad

I put out a few days back that anyone who asks can get themselves an 
email account on my new server www.sgstep.com/org/net

I was surprised that only one person responded, nobody else is 
interested?

You will also get 100MB of online storage using ftp.

In the works are:

personal webpages at yourname.sgstep.com

online web mail

online managemnt of passwords, etc.

plus more stuff....

Yes, this is kinda like a simple .Mac service


I would like to have as many people using the server as possible so I 
can get lot's of experience setting in up.


Is there any more among you who would like to try it out?

(sniff)

Chad

I have finished modifying the sources to make them workable with CVS!

I took out all the source codes to the packages and such (things like bash,
gcc, glibc, etc, etc) and modified SGSTEP to be able to DL these sources on
the fly.  This is still a work in progress however and may not fully
compile.  I am testing it now.

If you would like to get the sources from CVS the correct module to check
out is called =B3Prometheus=B2  This will be the new name of SGSTEP when it abl=
e
to be released.

SGSTEP still needs better init scripts, instead of things like having
symlinks called S900network, S100gnustep, etc, etc I would like to have
scripts which check for dependencies and automatically execute each init
script that is needed automatically.
Any takers?  Look at Gentoo=B9s init system for a great example of how to do
this.

I=B9ve been working on the new WindowServer to replace X11, it is called NuVu=
.
The next release of XFree86 may be advanced enough to negate the need to
continue this project however.

Enjoy.

Chad

I changed the release schedule/criteria

http://simplygnustep.sourceforge.net/Schedule.html

The initial source to the distro will be released very soon.  It will be 
about a 250MB DL (bzip2 -9ed :-)

You'll need a separate HD partition to play with it fully, I strongly 
recomend you use some type of virtual machine to test it.
Basically the source will automagically build a complete linux system 
from scratch (many thanks to Linux From Scratch) using the latest GCC 
compiler, linux kernel, etc.  You can then boot into this new system.
Note: it may turn out that this extra step of rebooting is not 
necessary, we'll see...)
To those who DL it: I'm particularly interested in these things:
USB keyboard, mouse
Network
SCSI support
SMP problems
Modifying the build scripts to take advanteage of SMP systems (ie: make 
-j)

To come:
When I get SRPMS built (that should happen quickly) you will be able to 
build the distro iso images.
The next step will be a graphical installer.



When (if) sourceforge grants me permission to put a 3GB CVS source tree 
on their server, cvs access will be also be available.


Thanks!

Chad


http://www.sf.net/projects/simplygnustep

In order to facilitate rapid, easy, and collaborative development, I'm 
restarting development of SGstep from scratch.

The goal is to use the CVS services from Sourceforge to have a complete 
and automatic source-based distribution.
Right now I'm doing all this stuff by scratch and it'  hampers progress 
considerably

Using the above system means that:
1.  you can download the source form cvs, type make, and the system will 
build the iso image(s), including building RPMs.
2.  Porting can be possible
3. Contributions can be easily made.

Basically you'll DL the CVS source, type make, wait about 24hrs (really) 
and out will pop an iso image.  if you encounter a problem while 
compiling, simply fix it and upload your changes to via CVS.
Note that you need a separate partition to use this method because the 
process is
1. build
2. boot into new build
3 complete building

Note that this partitioon will have to be several *Gigabytes*,I'm 
thinking at least 4GB, so you may want to entertataing buying a new HD 
if you plan to contribute.

Of course pre-built ISO images will still be made and available for DL!


Thanks!

Chad

Now it works

Anybody there?  :-)