SoC2007 Live CD

Here are some ideas regarding DTP Live CD.

The aim of this project is to create a costume GNU/Linux Live CD bundled with FOSS applications used in Desktop Publishing field. This is to make it ready out-of-box for non Linux users and newcomers, and any one else as well.

base distro

I think Kubuntu is a good choice for a base distro, because:

• Being a debian based distro, so we can benefit from all debian technologies (like apt) and community support as well.
• It is one of the most widely used distros these days, it has a very wide user base and well established community support.
• Virtually any piece of software available for debian is available for ubuntu at the same time, which mean we've an extensive set of available applications.

Be careful: (K)Ubuntu's version of Qt has some nasty bugs that cause issues with Scribus and other Qt based programs. I suggest you use Debian/Knoppix instead.

Some comments:

• OpenSuse is also an option as it contains almost everything we need and I have a build server account. Moreover, Ubuntu seems to not only have some Qt bugs but odd and random 'can't print' issues. I second using Debian/Knoppix instead.
• Please do not install any of the following: gv, ghostview, gpdf, evince,ggv. They are either old or too disfunctional to use with Scribus EPS/PDF. --mrdocs 12:21, 24 March 2007 (CET)

Software to be included

3-D software

• blender
• Art of Illusion requires Java
• planetGenesis

Clipart

• OpenClipArt (maybe OOo and/or scribus 1.4 can be shipped with OpenClipArt integration)
• collection of maps for OOo from http://ooo.hg.free.fr/
• Even more clipart (and OOo templates) from http://www.stud.uni-goettingen.de/~openoff/proooboxorg/cdinhalt/html/artwork.html broken link --Khaledhosny 14:07, 24 March 2007 (CET)
• The GIMP user group provides a collection of images produced with GIMP. Maybe they are worth being included, in case the copyrights allow for that (pls. check with the creators before using).

Desktop environment(s)

• KDE
  • I strongly recommend KDE as default. We can show off drag and drop.--Mrdocs 22:27, 2 May 2005 (UTC)
  • It might be useful to include the KDE Baghira theme for MacOS X users. A little script that changes the desktop to Baghira could be useful too, together with a short description ("If you want your desktop to resemble MacOS X, open Konsole and type ./macosxlook.sh, then hit "Enter", or something like that; same for Win2K or XP users. There should be menu entries for easily switching between a yet to be determined KDE theme and OS X/WinXP/Win2K themes).
  • Clean up the Kicker and remove unnecessary/irritating entries
  • Create a new structure for the Kicker (eg an extra DTP entry with sub-menus for image editing, DTP, vector drawing, fonts etc.)

Documentation

• grab all documentation available under a free license and make it easily accessible in a uniform layout (html, pdf)
• introduction which autmatically shows up after "login" (similar to the current introduction to Knoppix)
• Make sure that Python, SVG, and ODF documentation is included.

Email clients

Needed for collaboration on the projects

• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Kontact

Fonts

• A collection of high quality fonts (type 1, ttf, otf) available for free distribution
  • (Be careful with distribution provisions in license when it comes to fonts)
  • Remove crummy fonts so they can't accidentally be used for production

• Install this collection of well designed free fonts for Central Europe, provided by Polish TeX User Group:

ftp://ftp.gust.org.pl/pub/GUST/contrib/fonts/ Description and links to font packages (pl)

• See also fonts listed in Right font 4 right purpose, in Where_can_I_get_good_fonts?, and on Open Font Library

• Linux Libertine Font
• DejaVu Font

Font utilities

• Fontforge - Font editor.
• Fontlinge - Font collection manager.

HTML editors

• Quanta+
• KompoZer

Image viewers

• gwenview
• Digikam - photo management tool + showfoto (with libgphoto2 support)
• Showimg
• imgSeek

Layout

• Scribus stable — currently 1.3.x series
• Scribus cvs snapshot — installed as an addition to the stable version, for those wanting to use latest improvements

Misc Utils/Apps

• kde-extras Kcolor, Kruler
• kde-graphics-scan (kooka + x-sane)
• Dia http://gnome.org/projects/dia
• xsane http://www.xsane.org/
• Kooka
• lcms
• LPROF
• ICC Examin
• k3b - DTP files can become huge, so it's a good idea to have a cd burner handy.
• kxmleditor - A fine editor for xml files, can be handy to repair damaged SVG and sla files.

Postscript and pdf instruments

• gs-afpl >= 8.50
• Gsview
• Pstoedit
• Xpdf << note 3.02 was recently released and supports transparency much better now

the new Xpdf also supports anti-aliasing of vector outlines (the lack of this feature in earlier releases of xpdf and in other floss pdf viewers is a major issue among e-zine authors) --Mhanski 12:45, 24 March 2007 (CET)

• kpdf 3.5+
• pdftohtml http://pdftohtml.sourceforge.net/
• Multivalent Java Tools - http://multivalent.sourceforge.net/
• pdftk - the pdf toolkit - http://www.accesspdf.com/pdftk/ (or are we typically avoiding commandline tools ?) (there is a pdftk service menu for KDE)
• PoDoFo + PoDoFo Browser (requires Qt4)
• Consider Adobe Reader 7.x, but check the licence first. OpenSuSE 10.2 is shipped with AR. Currently, no FLOSS PDF viewer is even close to AR!

Raster graphics

• The GIMP (including the separate+ plugin!)
  • Make sure all available plug-ins are included
• ImageMagick http://www.imagemagick.org/
• KSnapshot
• Cinepaint see: http://www.cinepaint.org
• Krita
• ExifTool (extracts EXIF, ICC, and many other informations from pictures) http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
• Hugin, PTStitcher, PTOptimizer, Nona, Autopano-sift, Panorama-tools, Enblend, ptfilter, ... : tools to create panoramas from set of photos (lots of links from http://bugbear.blackfish.org.uk/~bruno/panorama-tools/ )- Many tutorials on the web that could be a great added value, if their respective authors allow us to distribute them (http://hugin.sourceforge.net/tutorials/, http://www.philohome.com/barrelpers/barrelpers2.htm, http://rbpark.ath.cx/tutorials.html, many others). Some tools / plugins for Gimp an also be found for correction of such pictures (barrel distortion, ...) (PTLens, clens, for example). Sorry, no time to do further searches... Just a few ideas for now.

System software

• Networking tools to enable establishing working network connection
• Tools for easy installation of the Live system to HDD if necessary
• CUPS
• Apache (for CUPS and Batik) Apache not needed to run Batik, only compile
• gutenprint (gimp-print 5.0)
• JVM 1.4.2+ for running Batik and/or delineate

Trace tools

• Autotrace http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/
• Frontline - GUI front end to autotrace http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/frontline/
• Potrace http://potrace.sourceforge.net/
• pstoedit http://www.pstoedit.net/pstoedit
• potracegui http://potracegui.sourceforge.net/
• delineate - Java based GUI to autotrace and potrace http://delineate.sourceforge.net/

Typesetting

• teTeX http://www.tug.org/teTeX
• LyX http://www.lyx.org
• Kile http://kile.sourceforge.net
• Texmaker http://www.xm1math.net/texmaker
• pdflatex http://www.tug.org/applications/pdftex

Vector graphics

• Inkscape
• Batik - a collection of Apache XML modules for on the fly export/conversion of SVG http://xml.apache.org/batik/
• Skencil - has the best SVG+EPS capabilities. Requires python-imaging http://www.skencil.org/
• Karbon14 - A vector drawing application.
• SVG importer for OpenOffice.org 2 (requires Java RE 1.5)

Web browsers

Needed for looking up materials and for collaboration over the web (include a bunch of DTP bookmarks)

• Konqueror, it is already part of KDE.
• Mozilla Firefox (with svg plugin...)

Word processor(s)

Required to edit large amounts of text easier than in scribus

• OpenOffice.org
• KWord (can be used for basic PDF editing)

OCR

It may be a good idea to bundle it with gocr with easy to use GUI (Kooka).

Find a an appealing name for the distro

Probably one of the harder nuts to crack ;)

Proposals from the old LiveCD draft

• Scribux (too similar to Scribus?)
• Publix (there may be trademark issues with this one since it is the name of a U.S. supermarket chain
• scribOS - Linux DTP CD
• FOPUX (Free and Open Publishing Linux)
• OpenCanvas (another name with trademark issues, since there already exists a drawing software called OpenCanvas)
• OpenPage
• OpenPub
• OpenDTP
• Design on Disc (from bug #1763)
• Artix or Artux (combining Latin ars (art) with the almost obligatory *ix/*ux)