Wiki » Mageia Ideas Page

More ideas for coming releases of Mageia. Please leave your name in case we need some more information on your proposal. Please check Mageia 2 specifications before your proposal is maybe there already

Installer

• Use edition-based screenshots during installation (marcello) - link;
• Allow during the installation to choose the desktop enviroment and below the type of installation (more than one choice: general, edu, games, office, graphics, audio creation etc...) using (and creating) appropriate the task- packages (marcello);
• Use checkboxes to choose the DE (so it's possible to install more than one DE on Free edition) (marcello);
• Consider having a frugal based install CD available (no apps just system) and leave the apps for later download, something like a basic network 'wired' is. (scsijon)
• Since boot.iso file is to be used together with a stable internet connection, construct some kind of function to let it find all hardware & install needed packages related to it so you won't have to install it later on via harddrake. (Umeaboy)
• Because you can choose to install development-packs in the installer I'd like to have matching devel-packages for all packages that the Mageia-installer installs for you to get rid of possible errors when you use Magea to compile/recompile or build packages & also that saves time. (Umeaboy)
• Considering making the installation-process for Cauldron when using the boot.iso method updated so people can see what's wrong with layout [such as spellingerrors & new fixes that is to be tested]. You may have to consider enabling Testing-medias for that. (Umeaboy)

Base system

• kernel update auto-management (marcello) - When kernel is being updated, we must handle the update in a easy way and we should hide old unuseful one. Everything should be automatizated

Installation media

• Create Hybrid ISO (as Mandriva ones): a single DVD medium both Live and installable (marcello)
• Allow custom packages to be compiled & built to be included in official medias. (Umeaboy)
• Multifile DVDs : A base ISO file that boots + includes the most commonly used packages, which will recognise supplementary ISO files on the same media. This would allow supplementary ISOs containing packages such as nonfree firmware, developper supplement, games, etc, only limited by the imagination. The base ISO (plus preferably the nonfree firmware) would fit on a standard DVD, and possibly all would fit on a 8 G USB key. Users with appropriate optical drives (dual-sided DVD or blueray) would also be able to put all on the same media. This would allow more flexibility for users, particularly satisfying the preference of free-only advocates vs those of just-works-out-of-the-box users (by having nonfree firmware as an easier option.). It also means that more users could install virtually everything they want/need from a single media. (andre999)
• Make seperate dual and noarch-medias. (Umeaboy)

Package management infrastructure

• Add in rpmdrake the feature that a package could be searched by description and not only by name.[already exists - click on magnifying glass to select search by name/description/summary/name-of-included-file]

To use urpmf --summary <word> could be a solution? (stblack)

• To facilitate the testing of core software directory update-testing, it might be interesting sub-divided the main directory (update-core testing) like this: kde4-4.6.5, firfox5, xxxx6, Which will be added as a direct source ftp://xxxxxx/Core_update-testing/kde4-4.6.5

for exemple: opensuse as proposed: mozilla 6 alpha: , allowing to test that mozilla. (carabao)

• Change the system of deposits for the software.

Why not use the system where the opensuse rpm 32 and 64 are in the same deposits. Depending on the installation that was done, the version 32ou 64 software is installed automatically. In the case of the 64, if the software is not 64, it will automatically install the 32. This avoids having to juggle deposits 32 or 64 depending on the type of software. (carabao)

• Add feedback of keyword/country selection bug 3579

• Front-end wrapper for the urpm* toolset. example: On a ubuntu based or debian based system you can use 'apt-get install' to get packages or 'apt-cache search' to search for packages. A tool called aptitude bundles this into one command. 'aptitude install' to get packages, 'aptitude search' to search for packages.

Graphical environments

• Provides real minimal desktop task => just a web navigator, a mail client,a text editor, a konsole.

So the user can eventually after add more plasmoids/widgets /office apps etc etc. (mikala)

• Agree if also includes a file manager (andre999)

• add meta packages that allow pre-configured custom window manager, bar, launchers to make branching out into using a WM easier for newer users. What is offered by other distributions is either 1 custom desktop (usually openbox) or Desktop Environments. This would be especially nice for those with older hardware because then Mageia would not only be a distribution that ran well, it would be a distribution that ran well on any hardware thrown at it.

KDE

• Add a Newbie HOW-TO during installation (or to the default desktop) (marcello) - [[1]];
• add some widget to KDE default desktop (marcello) - Add Notes, weather, calculator widgets;
• localise "Join The Mageia Community" string on desktops;

GNOME

• Readd the possibility to change theme for the login-manager. (Umeaboy)

OTHER

• You have razorqt v4 already listed and available as a qt4 desktop, however no qt4 window manger seems to be there. Add qlwm, eggwm or a similar stable qt4 based window-manager. This could then allow the start of development of a pure (or as much as possible) qt4 Mageia. This, I believe, 'should' allow mageia's 'front end' system to become relatively independant of the hardware platform, and this should mean it could be adaptable for nearly any device. ?Big Idea?, yes, but it's got to start with tiny proof-of-concept steps first! (scsijon)

System configuration (draktools...)

• Think about switching draktools to qt4 (marcello).
• List pppoe interface in draknetcenter (marcello).
• Add a feature in mgaonline to install the missing software of the One edition (marcello) - Mageia should offer to install the major software that can't be hosted in Live edition due to a space lack.
• Use of proprietary drivers in Mageia Free DVD (marcello) - Allow during the installation of Mageia 2 to choose wether to use proprietary drivers or not. This will allow to maintain our open-source spirit but will allow also people who are interested only about having a working system to use even proprietary drivers painless.
• Change the string related to Orphan packages (marcello)
• Use networkmanager instead of net_applet (marcello)
• Should switch to another mirror if md5sum of synthesis file is wrong (marcello) - [2]
• Offer a way to override geolocation for Mirror-Location (proximity-estimation) (marcello) - [3]
• Allow to rename net profiles (marcello)
• (comment by Franklin) NetworkManager is too unstable, especially under KDE. My NM failed to connect to any wifi AP and I still have no idea why. Also, networkmanager plasma applet can't setup PPPoE connections.
• Reliable support in diskdrake for gpt formatted disks (andre999)
• Able to handle multiple graphics cards simultaneously. For example, one included in the processor and an external card like the Nvidia platform with Optimus. solution here: http://www.martin-juhl.dk/2011/05/optimus-on-linux-problem-solved/ or other compatible solution. (Proposed in eagleyes), (write in carabao)
• Switch to radio-buttons in drakconnect at the wifi-section when choosing what interface to use. (Umeaboy)

Usability

• Review the whole usability of all draktools (marcello)
• Remove pop-up windows in draktools (e.g. draknetcenter, rpmdrake) (marcello).
• Allow ratings by popularity (and goodness) of programs in rpmdrake (marcello).
• Use action verbs instead of [Yes/No] in dialogs buttons (marcello) - [4].
• Allow opt-out items in task packages. I.e., certain items can be designated as optional, deselectable by the user on install (andre999)
• Make popup windows in draktools that block other actions stay always on top of the window they are called from (a problem in rpmdrake, diskdrake, msec and probably not most if not all other draktools) (andre999)
• Provide a tool to allow a number of variations in the menu system depending on it's use. As examples, have preset's for Generic workstation, an Internet Site, an Office workstation, Developer workstation, Game-player terminal, etc. However it should also allow the control and combining of less-wanted tools under a single main menu item (with the normal submenus), while leaving those packages most wanted separated with their own main-menu item or combined together under a single main-menu, whichever suits the user. (scsijon)
• Install/remove of software: Go away from package-orientation, focus on program-orientation (e.g. Ubuntu Software Center) tobias111 15:13, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Server applications

• Add either just hiawatha to your standalone server list as an equivalent to apache or a LHMP (Hiawatha 7.3, MariaDB - (Formerly known as mysql) 5.1.47, PHP 5.3.3 - using the new Fast CGI manager) combination. Small, easy to work and use for a workstation or small server site and is fast. (scsijon)

Virtualization

• A package to set up cauldron on chroot. With options for different locations, means of access, etc. Useful for packagers, QA, etc that want to run on release. (andre999)

May be that one solution would be to join febootstrap http://people.redhat.com/~rjones/febootstrap/ and add Mageia support.

Development

• Work out some generic standard locations for development tools (which are usually large and can be messy) and enforce them. Such as, I seem to find your qt4 to be under /usr/lib (the old qt3 standard) instead of any of the normally 'recognized' nokia linux qt4 locations of, /usr/local/qt4 - for workstations; /usr/share/qt4 - for servers; or the alternative that now seems to be used commonly of /opt/qt4. This last would and seems to be used so that /opt can be assigned it's own partition and grow or change depending on developmental requirements. Also make use of /etc/profile.d to add tool requirements to paths and settings (scsijon)
• create some 'auto-build' tools for beginners and new builders to use with basic help and autofix components tied to what errors appear. (scsijon)
• A Mageia-app for all stores/market to follow the development of Mageia in many ways would be handy. (Umeaboy)

Security

• Add the user into sudoers list if security level is set to normal (or low) (marcello);
• Develop parental controls to allow adjustment of it by user, age, or group of users (carabao);

Multimedia

• On the desktop on first boot after installation, provide a link to install a codec pack as proposed multimedia mint (proposed in Celtique ) (write in carabao)
• Very good idea indeed if we want some newcomers to stay (Lebarhon)

Internet

Why not propose updates to thunderbird and firefox with no extensions to these are available more quickly in filing update. The extensions are available as xpi on the mozilla site and work well. (carabao) Why not have a simple browser only installed by default and as a step in the installation process give the installer the chance of picking which they want to have from a list. (scsijon)

Don't forget my OpenMageia Studio-idea. bug 3381 (Umeaboy)