[PLUG] Call for Developers for the CSLinux project

[Amit Karpe]

Dear Linux hackers,

    As you may be aware, we, the Computer Science
Linux User's Group, are attempting to make our own
re-branded distribution of Linux based on Fedora Core
5.

   This distribution is aimed at having a customised
set of packages that we need in our BCS/MCS/BE/ME/MCA/Diploma
syllabus so that one set of three or four CDs can be
moved around without carring peripheral CDs for Java,
plugins, multimedia, etc.

    Moreover, we were mailed regularly by people that
they had trouble setting up Postgres, PHP, tomcat,
Perl, JDBC, etc. during their time of critical needs.
It is definately not fair to expect people to learn
how to configure these things at the last moment when
practicals are declared within a week.

    Even if someone is capable of configuring these,
it is likely that they may forget at the last moment
and also likely that people wont want to spend time
configuring stuff on the day previous to the exam at
the cost of studying.

    For this purpose, we also aim to provide
pre-configured RPMs and configuration scripts that can
achieve this task within a few minutes. In fact,
CSLinux version 1 released last year allowed even 
first year students to set up many things that TYs
were having trouble with.

     This version will be aimed at pushing this
simplicity and ease-of-use to the next level. With
GUIs, web-based tools for remote management of nodes
in labs, configuration replication scripts for
applying common settings to multiple laboratory nodes,
user management scripts for handling the thousads of
users on college servers, etc.

     For more information on what's been going on in
regard to CSLinux, you are encouraged to join the
CSLUG group 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cslug
and go through the archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cslug/message
. We have also started a Wiki 
seedwiki.com/wiki/computer_science_linux_users_group/
for simplifying this effort and the
link to it can be found in he CSLUG archives.

     We request your participation, support and
encouragement in this effort. Please do spread the
word around.

     We need all sorts of people to help us out. We
need graphics designers to design the themes, logos,
images, wallpapers, bootscreens, etc. for CSLinux. We
require people to modify the installer Anaconda. We
need people to modify RPM files and change the default
configuration in them. We need people to make and
build binary RPMs out of source tarballs for packages
whose RPMs that may not already be available or when
i686 RPMs may not be available.

     We also need developers to develop the
configuration scripts, the small tools that we will
provide with CSLinux and changing initscripts.

     Finally and most importantly, we also require the
BCS/MCS/BE/ME/MCA/Diploma community to contribute their academic
projects to be put up on CSLinux. This is to encourage
students to make professional-grade real-life
applicable projects by providing them a large exposure
within the peer community.

     Also, we need people to search for sponsors. For
example, we may approach coaching classes to sponsor
the project in return for putting up their ads/banners
on our default wallpaper, the GNOME/KDE splash
screens, the default gdm login logo, and the CD covers
and the prints on the CD themselves.

    Absolutely any help will be appreciated a lot. We
would like CSLinux to become a living example of an
open source project that is self-sustaining, started
off by students on their own, and a successful
business model within Pune (although it will be
strictly not-for-profit).

     If you feel that you have completed any
assignment from BCS/MCS/BE/ME/MCA/Diploma to perfection and would like
the community to see it, then we will also be
including such assignments for reference on the
distribution. This is a very highly-demanded feature
by many.

      Your contribution on recommendations to what
tools, packages and documents that should be included
in CSL would be highly appreciated.

       We thank you for all your support in this
matter.

For more information you may contact the following:

Amit Karpe: amitkarpe at vsnl.net, 9226745408
Archis Gore: archisgore at yahoo.com, 9371058022

It would be preferred if you could post your
suggesstions, ideas and contributions onto the list.

Thank you,
Yours sincerely,
The CSL Team

P.S. Please forward this mail to as many mailing lists
and people that may be interested.

E-mail: archisgore at yahoo.com
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/archisgore
-- 
Amit.
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