FTOSX Desktop 2004 Release Notes

Copyright © 2004 Future Technologies Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is available at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html.

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Introduction


The FTOSX Desktop Project starts in August 2000, to create a development enviroment
to solve the Graphical User Interface under GNU/Linux OS.

The name "FTOSX" stand for "Future Technologies Operating System based on the Linux Kernel
and the X Window System", therefore, basically X stand for X Window System.

The name is similar to "MacOSX" from Apple Inc, that adopt UNIX inside the OS.

In the past years the FTOSX takes the direction to be the arena to Develop the
Personal Operating System, originally called YourLinux.

Note
Because Red Hat is the most used distro, and FTOSX adopt a capitalized
version, we comment here some changes.

The X Window System, is the X.org implementation XFree compatible. However
we rename the package name to "X".

MySQL packages have the name: "MySQL-*" instead of "mysql", like are used on RedHat
and other distro.

The same is valid for PostgreSQL, that uses the SQL letters in uppercase.

The packages arts are renamed: "aRts", the same is valid for Qt, instead
to call it "qt". Also OpenMotif is capitalized.

We includes a C-Lisp compiler used to compile "maxima" the DOE (Department of Energy)
GPL version of Macsyma, that is superior compared to Mathematica (TM).

Also other UNIX-old style programs had been added like: "banner", "archie".

A BASIC interpreter is included, called: "bas".

Also the package: "TeXmacs" is present as well the package "scribus".

Table of Content.

  • Introduction (this section)

  • Hardware requirements

  • Overview of this release

  • Installation-related notes

  • Package-specific notes

  • Packages added/removed/deprecated

  • An overview of the FTOSX Project

Hardware Requirements

The following information represents the minimum hardware requirements
necessary to successfully install FTOSX Desktop 2004.

Note

The compatibility/availability of other hardware components (such as video
and network cards) may be required for specific installation modes and/or
post-installation usage.

CPU Requirements

This section lists the CPU specifications required by FTOSX.

Note

The following CPU specifications are stated in terms of Intel processors.
Other processors (notably, offerings from AMD, Cyrix, and VIA) that are
compatible with and equivalent to the following Intel processors may also
be used with FTOSX Desktop.

o Minimum: Pentium-class

FTOSX Desktop 2004 is optimized for Pentium PRO (and later) CPUs, but also
supports Pentium-class CPUs. This approach has been taken because
Pentium-class optimizations actually result in reduced performance for
non-Pentium-class processors.

o Recommended for text-mode: 200 MHz Pentium-class or better

o Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz Pentium II or better

Hard Disk Space Requirements

This section lists the disk space required to install FTOSX Desktop 2004.

Note

The disk space requirements listed below represent the disk space taken up
by FTOSX Desktop 2004 after the installation is complete. However, additional
disk space is required during the installation to support the installation
environment. This additional disk space corresponds to the size of
/FTOSX/base/stage2.img (on CD-ROM 1) plus the size of the files in
/var/lib/rpm on the installed system.

In practical terms, this means that as little as an additional 90MB can be
required for a minimal installation, while as much as an additional 175MB
can be required for an "everything" installation.

Also, keep in mind that additional space will be required for any user
data, and at least 5% free space should be maintained for proper system
operation.

o Custom Installation (Minimal): 620MB

o Server: 1.1GB

o Personal Desktop: 2.3GB

o Workstation: 3.0GB

o Custom Installation (Everything): 6.9GB

Memory Requirements

This section lists the memory required to install FTOSX Desktop 2004.


Overview of This Release

The following list includes brief summaries of some of the more
significant aspects of FTOSX Desktop 2004:

Note

You can install FTOSX Desktop 2004 with SELinux enabled by entering selinux
at the Boot: prompt when booting the FTOSX Desktop installation program.

[3]http://freedesktop.org/~xorg/X11R6.7.0/doc/RELNOTES.html

More information about X.Org is available at [4]http://www.x.org.

More information about the X.Org X11 implementation is available at
[5]http://xorg.freedesktop.org.

Note

Some file names have changed; refer to the X Window System section of
this document for more information.


Installation-Related Notes

This section outlines those issues that are related to Installer (the
FTOSX Desktop installation program) and installing FTOSX Desktop 2004 in general.

Note

FTOSX actually, adopt the "anaconda". We re-pack it like "Installer" changing
the images with FT images. It is planned to remove also the Gtk and pygtk
library and rewrite it with PyQt, to support also themes in the installation.

Installer Notes

Use the dd command to write the image.

Note

The ability to use this image file with a USB pen drive depends on the
ability of your system's BIOS to boot from a USB device.


NOTE: You must boot from CD-ROM 1 (or a rescue CD-ROM) in order to use
this feature.




NOTE: This change also applies to the Security Level Configuration
Tool (system-config-securitylevel).


It is also possible for the FTOSX Desktop installation program to
initiate a connection to a listening VNC client. This is done by using
the vncconnect boot-time option:

linux vnc vncconnect=<client>[:<port>]

(Where <client> is the hostname or IP address of the system running
the listening VNC client, and <port> is an optional port specification
that may be specified if the VNC client is not listening on port 5500,
which is the default port for this type of connection). The following
examples show the how the boot-time option is specified for standard
and non-standard ports:

linux vnc vncconnect=pigdog.example.com

linux vnc vncconnect=pigdog.example.com:27910

The system that is to run the listening VNC client must then launch
the appropriate software to run the VNC client in its listening mode.
For the VNC client supplied with FTOSX Desktop 2004, the following command
is sufficient:

vncviewer -listen

In addition, a new kickstart directive has been added to support
VNC-based installations:

vnc [--password <password>] [--connect <host>[:<port>]]

(Where --password <password> is an optional parameter for specifying a
VNC password, and [--connect <host>[:<port>]] is an optional parameter
for specifying the host (and optionally, port) of a system running a
listening VNC client.)

NOTE: If you specify any of the VNC-related boot-time options, they
will override the corresponding options present in the kickstart file.

Installation-Related Issues

NOTE: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean graphical installations started
using the "nofb" option will start in English, and then switch to the
appropriate language once the graphical phase of the installation
process begins.

pci=off ide1=0x180,0x386

This option allows the installation to proceed normally; any devices
not detected due to the use of this option will be configured the
first time FTOSX Desktop is booted.

setfiles /etc/security/selinux/file_contexts /root

After issuing this command, graphical logins as root will work as expected.

The workaround is to login as root and run the following command:

chmod -x /sbin/mii-tool

Note

Running this command is recommended for all installations.

Package-Specific Notes

The following sections contain information regarding packages that have
undergone significant changes for FTOSX Desktop 2004. For easier access, they
are organized using the same groups used in Anaconda.

Core

This section contains the most elemental components of FTOSX Desktop,
including the kernel.

glibc

To enable this feature, find the following line in /etc/default/nss:

# NETID_AUTHORITATIVE=TRUE


Next, use a text editor to remove the leading '#' character, saving
your changes when done.

Note

No cross-checks of the netid.byname map are done by either the NIS
server or client. Therefore, the responsibility of ensuring that
netid.byname contains appropriate information rests with the system
administrator.

It is also possible to improve NIS performance by using the
services.byservicename map. If this map exists and has been built
properly, its use can be enabled by the following setting in
/etc/default/nss:

SERVICES_AUTHORITATIVE=TRUE


The services.byservicename map must contain both names of services and
aliases as keys, both without protocol specified and with protocol.
Recently-updated FTOSX Desktop and Solaris NIS servers provide
properly-built services.byservicename maps.

o Native POSIX Thread Library (NPTL) support is unavailable in
architectures below i686. This includes VIA, AMD K6, and i586 Pentium
processors. This is known to be problematic for certain applications
that rely on NPTL db4, such as subversion.

kernel

Note

The dpt_i2o driver previously used to support many SCSI RAID
controllers under 2.4 kernels is no longer supported. However, the new
generic I[2]O layer supports most of these controllers. In addition,
it is now possible to use I[2]O on 64-bit architectures.

Note also that device names have changed. The dpt_i2o driver
previously used /dev/sd?? device names, while the new i2o_block driver
uses /dev/i2o/hd?? device names.

For more information, refer to the "I[2]O on Linux" page:

[12]http://i2o.shadowconnect.com/

This site includes a list of tested controllers, raidutils RPMs
compatible with the old dpt_i2o driver and the new I[2]O layer (for
managing Adaptec RAID controllers), and information specific to I[2]O
on FTOSX Desktop.

Special thanks go to Markus Lidel of Shadow Connect GmbH for
spearheading I[2]O-related kernel and tools development.

Applications packaged as part of FTOSX Desktop 2004 have been adjusted to
take advantage of SG_IO. For example, to burn a CD using cdrecord, the
old-style command was similar to this:

cdrecord --dev=0,0,0 <iso-file>


With SG_IO, the command would be similar to this:

cdrecord --dev=<device> <iso-file>


Where <device> could be any valid IDE (/dev/hdc) or SCSI/USB
(/dev/scd0) device file name.

Graphics

This section includes packages that help you manipulate and scan images.

gimp

Language Support

This section includes information related to the support of various
languages under FTOSX Desktop.

iiimf

IIIMF currently defaults to using Ctrl-Space for toggling the input
method on and off (Emacs users can use Ctrl-@ instead of Ctrl-Space to
set the mark.)

To switch between IIIMF and the legacy XIM input methods, use the
im-switch command. Enter the following command for more information:

im-switch -h

Mail Server

This section contains information related to the mail transport agents
included with FTOSX Desktop.

sendmail

make -C /etc/mail

Note that you must have the sendmail-cf package installed for this to
work.

Sound and Video

This section contains information related to multimedia applications.

k3b

Past users of the CD/DVD burning application k3b may notice that the
program k3bsetup is missing. This is because k3bsetup is not necessary
under FTOSX Desktop 2004.

X Window System

This section contains information related to the X Window System
implementation provided with FTOSX Desktop.

X

X Server Binary

XFree86 X11: XFree86

X.org X11: Xorg

X Server Configuration File

XFree86 X11: /etc/X11/XF86Config

X.org X11: /etc/X11/xorg.conf

X Server Log File

XFree86 X11: /var/log/XFree86.$DISPLAY.log

X.org X11: /var/log/Xorg.$DISPLAY.log

When configuring or troubleshooting your X server configuration, be
sure that you are using the correct files.

- The original (15+ year old) subsystem is referred to as the "core X
font subsystem". Fonts rendered by this subsystem are not
anti-aliased, are handled by the X server, and have names like:

-misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--10-100-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1

The newer font subsystem is known as "fontconfig", and allows
applications direct access to the font files. Fontconfig is often used
along with the "Xft" library, which allows applications to render
fontconfig fonts to the screen with antialiasing. Fontconfig uses more
human-friendly names like:

Luxi Sans-10

Over time, fontconfig/Xft will replace the core X font subsystem. At
the present time, applications using the Qt 3 or GTK 2 toolkits (which
would include KDE and GNOME applications) use the fontconfig and Xft
font subsystem; most everything else uses the core X fonts.

In the future, FTOSX Desktop may support only fontconfig/Xft in place of
the XFS font server as the default local font access method.

NOTE: An exception to the font subsystem usage outlined above is
OpenOffice.org (which uses its own font rendering technology).

If you wish to add new fonts to your FTOSX Desktop 2004 system, you must be
aware that the steps necessary depend on which font subsystem is to
use the new fonts. For the core X font subsystem, you must:

1. Create the /usr/share/fonts/local/ directory (if it doesn't already
exist):

mkdir /usr/share/fonts/local/

2. Copy the new font file into /usr/share/fonts/local/

3. Update the font information by issuing the following commands (note
that, due to formatting restrictions, the following commands may
appear on more than one line; in use, each command should be entered
on a single line):

ttmkfdir -d /usr/share/fonts/local/ -o
/usr/share/fonts/local/fonts.scale

mkfontdir /usr/share/fonts/local/

4. If you had to create /usr/share/fonts/local/, you must then add it
to the X font server (xfs) path:

chkfontpath --add /usr/share/fonts/local/

Adding new fonts to the fontconfig font subsystem is more
straightforward; the new font file only needs to be copied into the
/usr/share/fonts/ directory (individual users can modify their
personal font configuration by copying the font file into the
~/.fonts/ directory).

After the new font has been copied, use fc-cache to update the font
information cache:

fc-cache <directory>

(Where <directory> would be either the /usr/share/fonts/ or ~/.fonts/
directories.)

Individual users may also install fonts graphically, by browsing
fonts:/// in Nautilus, and dragging the new font files there.

NOTE: If the font filename ends with ".gz", it has been compressed
with gzip, and must be decompressed (with the gunzip command) before
the fontconfig font subsystem can use the font.

Font Preferences dialog. For these applications, a font can be
configured by adding the following lines to the file ~/.gtkrc.mine:

style "user-font" {

fontset = "<font-specification>"

}

widget_class "*" style "user-font"

(Where <font-specification> represents a font specification in the
style used by traditional X applications, such as
"-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".)

Miscellaneous Notes

This section contains information related to packages that do not fit in
any of the proceeding categories.

lvm2

This section contains information related to the lvm2 package.

o The full set of LVM2 commands is now installed in /usr/sbin/. In boot
environments where /usr/ is not available, it is necessary to prefix
each command with /sbin/lvm.static (/sbin/lvm.static vgchange -ay, for
example).

In environments where /usr/ is available, it is no longer necessary to
prefix each command with lvm (/usr/sbin/lvm vgchange -ay becomes
/usr/sbin/vgchange -ay, for example).

o The new LVM2 commands (such as /usr/sbin/vgchange -ay and
/sbin/lvm.static vgchange -ay) detect if you are running a 2.4 kernel,
and transparently invoke the old LVM1 commands if appropriate. The
LVM1 commands have been renamed to end with ".lvm1" (for example,
/sbin/vgchange.lvm1 -ay).

Note

LVM1 commands work only with 2.4 kernels. It is not possible to use
LVM1 commands while running a 2.6 kernel.

Refer to /usr/share/doc/lvm2*/WHATS_NEW for more information on LVM2.

Packages Added/Removed/Deprecated

This section contains lists of packages that fit into the following
categories:


Note

To reduce the length of the following lists,source packages, and not
binary packages are listed.

Packages Added

The following packages have been added to FTOSX Desktop 2004:

Packages Deprecated

The following packages have been deprecated, and may be removed from a
future release of FTOSX Desktop:

An Overview of the FTOSX Project

The goal of the FTOSX Project is twork with the Linux community tbuild a complete,
general-purpose operating system exclusively from open
source software, but specially tbe a Personal Operating System.
Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce
time-based releases of FTOSX Desktop about 2-3 times a year,
with a public release schedule.
FTOSX actually is handled by a single person: Dr. Giovanni A. Orlando.

To participate in building FTOSX Desktop and will invite and encourage more
outside participation than was possible in the past. By using this more
open process, we hope tprovide an operating system more in line with the
ideals of free software and more appealing tthe open source community.

For more information, refer tthe FTOSX Project website:

[9]http://www.futuretg.com/FTOSX

( x86 )

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html
2. http://www.x.org/
3. http://freedesktop.org/~xorg/X11R6.7.0/doc/RELNOTES.html
4. http://www.trolltech.com
4. http://www.kde.org/
5. http://xorg.freedesktop.org.
6. http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
7. https://www.rpmparadaise.org/bugzilla
8. http://i2o.shadowconnect.com/
9. http://www.futuretg.com/FTOSX/