Summer Coding 2010 proposal - KDE Netbook Remix

About My Project

 * 1) Name of my project : Fedora KDE Netbook Spin
 * 2) References : KDE Netbook Spin
 * 3) The KDE Netbook Spin is aimed to the operating system of choice for Netbooks. Not only netbooks it will be made to work smoothly with smaller hardware specs (I want to target the likes of Intel Atom) having smaller hard disk. With KDE Netbook Workspace this spin can be a huge success. Already other major Linux distributions are releasing spins targeting netbooks, its time that we do it better than them.
 * 4) Timeline: I have thought of two scenarios. I can pursue this project as a full project as well as a half project.
 * 5) * The proposed schedule for full project is given below. This schedule has been drafted after consulting both Jaroslav Reznik (jreznik) and Ryan Rix (rrix).
 * 6) *# Week 1: Get ready with Package Splitting and packaging methods. Pick up packages to be split and repacked.
 * 7) *# Week 2-Week 5: Split the packages. Check the dependencies.
 * 8) *# Week 6-Week 8: Loop {Make Kickstart file; Build the distro; Look for further splits;}
 * 9) *# Week 9-Week 10: Check for updates and ensure that they are not broken. Fix any Bugs.
 * 10) *# Week 11: Create documentation. Fix Bugs. Start talking to FESCo to get the spin approved.
 * 11) *In case this project is treated as a half project the proposed schedule is given below:
 * 12) *# Week 1: Get ready with Package Splitting and packaging methods. Pick up packages to be split and repacked.
 * 13) *# Week 2-Week 4: Split the packages. Check the dependencies.
 * 14) *# Week 5-Week 7: Loop {Make Kickstart file; Build the distro; Look for further splits;}
 * 15) *# Week 8: Check for updates and ensure that they are not broken. Fix any Bugs.
 * 16) I would be able to complete this project because: I have remastered Linux before. I have created Live DVDs out of Fedora Live CD to help beginners get started with Linux by including a few packages that are not included in the original distro. Usually it takes me at most a couple of days to do this. So I think striping the  the distro is not a difficult task. My main focus will be:
 * 17) * To help KDE SIG people to split the packages.
 * 18) * To get everything done without any GTK dependencies (or at least minimize them).
 * 19) * Try to involve KDE upstream and report them in case any problems are faced.
 * 20) * To get the spin with minimum possible install foot print. To decide a maximum limit for the footprint me and Ryan Rix (my mentor) have agreed that I will strip down a live CD and check the install footprint.
 * 21) * To get the spin approved from FESCo
 * 22) * To ensure that updates do not break the distro.

You and the community
1. If this project is completed successfully, we will get a robust spin which will run on netbooks smoothly. Ideally, it will have no GTK dependencies. Since it will be designed for smaller hardware specs, some older computers might also be able to run on it.

Mentor Answer: The KDE Netbook Workspace makes it possible for us to target smaller form factor devices, and to increase Fedora's share in both KDE users and Netbook users in general.

Non Mentor's Answer (Sankarshan ):

The KDE Netbook Remix should lead to an immediately possibility of adoption of KDE as a desktop environment by a large cross section of netbook users who use Fedora on their hardware. However, for me, the important benefit would be the re-look into the KDE packages and, take care about splitting them into pragmatic chunks.

There are specific areas in the proposal that needs to be fleshed out and thought out a bit more - what is the ceiling of the Remix that is being talked about, should it have a defined set of packages to begin with to make the netbook experience better. Besides that, at some point during the FSoC cycle for the proposal, there has to be an aggressive sourcing of feedback from the community leading to incremental improvement. This is currently implied in the proposal, this perhaps needs to be explicit. Since a couple of parts require stakeholder involvement and sign-off, having dates/timelines attached that can give an idea of slips if at all, would help keep this project progress visible.

I don't use KDE on my netbook, but I'd love to see this being undertaken and, maintained so as to benefit The Fedora Project as a whole and, the KDE+Netbook folks in particular.

2. What will you do if you get stuck on your project and your mentor isn't around?

If I get stuck and my mentor is not around then I will turn to community for help. I will use IRC (#fedora-kde, #kde) as well as mailing lists to ask for the help regarding my problem. I will not limit myself to Fedora community only. Being a KDE spin, I will also try to get help from KDE community too. Of course Google search is always a very powerful tool.

3. In addition to the required blogging minimum of twice per week, how do you propose to keep the community informed of your progress and any problems or questions you might have over the course of the project?

Apart from blogging and mailing to the mentors, I will idle on relevant irc channels (I usually hang on #fedora-kde, #fedora-india and of course #fedora). Shooting periodic mails to mailing list is also another option. Apart from that I will create a wiki page which will describe the work I am doing and the progress itself including the problems faced.

Miscellaneous

 * 1) I can set up the packaging and distro building environment easily. I have done it before so it is not a big issue.
 * 2) I have talked to Ryan Rix (rrix) as well as to Jaroslav Reznik (jreznik), the mentors for this project. I have told them about my plans and approach to the project. I will be in constant touch with them and/or any other mentors assigned. Apart from him I have also talked to rdieter about the project workflow. The relevant IRC logs are up on http://adimania.fedorapeople.org/logs.
 * 3) My T-shirt size is M.