[maemo-developers] [maemo-developers] Announce: Applications for download available

[From: Gustavo Sverzut Barbieri]

On 10/20/05, Nils Faerber <nils.faerber at kernelconcepts.de> wrote:
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> Gustavo Sverzut Barbieri schrieb:
> > On 10/20/05, Nils Faerber <nils.faerber at kernelconcepts.de> wrote:
> >>Since the developer program's devices are being shipped now we have
> >>created an easy download web page for our application ports to the Maemo
> >>platform:
> >>        http://oss.kernelconcepts.de/maemo/app-install.shtml
> >>
> >>There you will find step by step download links that will directly
> >>install the applications and depending packages on your new device! The
> >>applications provided are:
> >
> > Why not a apt-repo with them?
>
> Oh, we have that too, but the final release software for the device will
> not have any xterm/shell installed and even if you install it it will be
> very hard to become "root" on the device.
>
> Our page is more intended for "normal" users, i.e. people who just want
> to use the software.
> Also the packages on that page are tailored for the application
> installer - due to security concerns the Nokia engineers decided to
> limit the installation to a single subdirectory, i.e.
> /var/lib/instal/... All files will go there so that the applications
> have to be modified for it if they are looking for their files.
> And last but not least the application installer currently does not
> handle dependencies at all so all dependencies of the packages have to
> be removed from the Debian control file - something you probably do not
> want for your packages in a Debian style repository.
>
> So yes, you are right, it would be nice to be able to also use the
> application installer with a regular Debian repository but currently
> this is not possible.


Hum... tricky... how about this solution:

We could have a package called "KernelConceptsRepository", that, when
installed, it will just append your repository to apt/sources.list.

After that we can have some GUI to browse packages from
repositories... but we should come with a clean solution to mask out
system packages! With that user would see a pretty "AbiWord - Text
processor" "Gnumeric - Spread sheet" ... icons in his device.
    This would be something like Linspire "Click-n-Run".

But then we have the security problem to edit /etc/apt/sources.list ... ideas?

--
Gustavo Sverzut Barbieri
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