Off-Topic > Starter Packs

starterpacks should be .tcz

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Guy:
Prepacks should be tcz. I would like the Tiny Core to look into this seriously. Following are some reasons.

1. If the prepacks were tcz, a new user could download the iso and write it to a cd, run Tiny Core from the cd, connect to the internet, open the app browser and install tc-install.tcz. Then install Tiny Core on the computer.

This cannot be done the way prepacks are now.

2. Another option would be to run Tiny Core from the cd and put tc-install.gz on a usb drive. With fluff removed from Tiny Core, the user needs to mount the usb drive, and use command line to create a tce directory on the usb drive, then copy tc-install.gz to it.

Many new users will find that too difficult.

3. Option 2 will not always work. Many older computers do not access the usb drive early enough to use the tce directory. If it was a tcz, Install Local can be used to install tc-install.tcz.

With tc-install.gz, it cannot be installed using install local. So that method is not possible.

4. Experienced users could remaster Tiny Core including the prepacks, and give it to their friends.

New users will not do that.

5. After installing Tiny Core, tc-install.tcz could be removed from OnBoot.

With tc-install.gz, it needs to be removed from the directory. Many new users will not understand.

6. There are other situations where having prepacks as tcz would be an advantage, but I think you should get the idea by now.


I see many advantages in making prepacks tcz, and many disadvantages in using gz.

I would like to hear what the Tiny Core team and others think.

jur:
I am also concerned about the experience new users would get when firing up TC for the first time. Remembering my own experience as a new linux user, it was not a little baffling, and I tended to compare it with puppy which guides you through installation at every step with lots of info. Info which in text format does not take much room.

So here would be my suggestion: With a brand new TC boot, how about providing a Install icon similar to what is offered by say ubuntu live CD. This would start a script which would download the installation pre-pack, copy to RAM (or loop mount it?), and start the install with some choices provided along the way. Just a more user friendly way for the many new users. Old salts don't need this but newbies do.

This Install icon and pre-pack would be auto-removed after use, but still be available as an option from the repo for re-download. Or something like that.

I am not sure if a .gz can be made to run after booting. If not, then Guy is right: a .gz pre-pack would force a second boot.

tinypoodle:

--- Quote from: Guy on May 13, 2011, 04:44:24 AM ---1. If the prepacks were tcz, a new user could download the iso and write it to a cd, run Tiny Core from the cd, connect to the internet, open the app browser and install tc-install.tcz.

--- End quote ---

If I have understood right, the purpose of nettools.gz is exactly to break the circular dependency and achieve connection to internet by usage of prepack, so depending on internet connection under TC in order to download prepack would defeat the purpose.

Jason W:
I think we have all seen the difficulties folks are having with manually downloading things like wireless-tools.tcz, adding it to a tce directory, editing the onboot.lst, and so on to try to get connected.  Or any other situation where you don't have network access but need an extension first.  Though I wrote a script to make it easy to set up a tce directory and populate it with extensions, even from Windows, folks still seem to keep having trouble with downloading outside of the appbrowser.

By downloading one file, then running a simple command, it should make the process a easier especially for first timers needing wireless stuff or NIC firmware installed first.   

roberts:
I am working on making prepacks better supported in v3.7. Developing...

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