[Fedora-livecd-list] RFC- proposal for livecd filesystem layout changes

[Douglas McClendon]

Colin Walters wrote:
> On 9/20/07, Douglas McClendon <dmc.fedora at filteredperception.org> wrote:
>> Another benefit is making the iso directory structure look nicer and
>> more intuitively understandable for someone looking at it under windows.
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>  This also
>> would make the usb/iso directory structure look cleaner and more
>> intuitively understandable to less linux-guru users when they look at
>> the directory structure under windows (or anywhere)
> 
> I'm not qualified to comment on whether filesystem path cleanups are
> useful for other reasons, but I think the Windows thing is not an
> interesting benefit.  We don't (or shouldn't) require non-developers
> to interact with the directory structure, and developers will have to
> understand things anyways.

This didn't have anything to do with _requiring_ non-developers to 
interact with the directory structure.  It merely addresses the fact 
that they _might_ look at the directory structure by popping the livecd 
into the cdrom under windows.  In that scenario, I advocate the following-

1) It should look aesthetically pleasing and intuitively understandable, 
and not like a bunch of technical gobbledygook.  Naturally this should 
only be done if it is easy to do and has no downsides.  I think the 
patches I submitted (after polishing and testing) fall into that category.

2) It should have a windows autorun that launches a copy of the release 
notes, or some other dedicated "how to use and what to expect from this 
fedora livecd".  These release notes should live on the iso, such that 
they are accessible to the autorun, and also accessible to the user in 
an intuitive and non-threatening fashion.

3) If possible the livecd directory structure should have other 
beneficial things visible to a user looking at it under windows.  I 
admit, we probably don't have the space on the livecd to match the 
ubuntu choice of offering the win32 installers for firefox, thunderbird 
and others.  But if fedora starts shipping a LiveDVD, I think we should 
ship those, along with cygwin, qemu, and perhaps everything that is on 
opencd-

http://www.theopencd.org/

Again, I don't mind shelving these opinions and revisiting them for F9, 
or F10, etc...  But I absolutely _do_ think the directory structure 
matters and _will_ be viewed by non-developer users, whether this is 
intentional, needed, desirable, or not.  And given that, I think it 
should look as non-threatening and intuitively understandable as 
reasonably possible.

$0.02...

-dmc