\title{Ominiverdi LiveCd Update}
\author{by Luca Casagrande}
\maketitle

\section*{Newsletter Volume 1 Livecd}


\subsubsection*{From OSGEO}

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\begin{description}
\item Luca Casagrande 

luca.casagrande@gmail.com 

http://ominiverdi.org 
\end{description}

\section*{1 Introduction}

[edit]

\subsection*{1.1 What is a LiveCd}

As Wikipedia reports, Livecd is a ``generic term for an operating system
distribution that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard drive.
Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as a CD-ROM (Live CD), DVD
(Live DVD), USB flash drive (Live USB), among others.'' By using this
technology, users can get a ``taste'' of a full GNU/Linux box without fighting
with any setup or installation. Once the LiveCd has been booted, everything is
loaded in RAM, keeping the hard disk safe. Of course, once the machine shuts
down, every change is lost. [edit]

\subsection*{1.2 Applications}

There are many applications that can be satisfied through the use of a livecd:


\begin{enumerate}
\item Running your favorite system anywhere you can find a PC. With a Pen
Drive to save your data, you will have a perfect survival kit. 
\item For teaching purposes: During a workshop, your audience can have
anything you think is appropriate to increase the learning process. 
\item Using an old machine: liveCd can be run on an old machine and also
without a HD! 
\item Spreading data: it's a very cool way to distribute your work. You
deliver your work (for example output of complex elaboration) and all
applications needed, configured to appreciate it best! 
\end{enumerate}

[edit]

\subsection*{1.3 Limitations of a Livecd}

Inside a livecd we have the kernel, drivers, WM, and all the applications
required for a working environment. Of course, it is rather impossible to put
all the drivers that would suit all the machines that have been created. It
can happen that, during boot, the CD stops or something else goes wrong (e.g.
missing lan detection). Thanks to the work of a lot of people (in primis
Knoppix) we have very good software that detects hardware during boot but,
like every software application, there can still be bugs. As you can
understand, the idea of having a universal machine is a high expectation and
the road to achieving this is still long. 

On the other hand, no information is saved while working in the LiveCd
environment. If this is a favorable aspect (e.g. keeping your hard disk safe),
it can be tedious from another point of view. A solution is to use a Storage
Device (like a USB HD, for example) to store all your output. This approach
can also be used to save configuration files, so that you can keep your
settings after rebooting. [edit]

\section*{2 LiveCd and open source geospatial software}

LiveCd can be a valid tool if applied to open source geospatial software. 

An example of an application of liveCd and GIS FLOSS is to run a workstation
that will allow users to explore data inside it or, for example, in a remote
Postgis DB. Old machines can be used to make access points to the database and
can be set up with a viewer that is always available (as Internet Points do
with a browser), allowing the saving of data on a storage device. 

During the FOSS4G 2007 at Lausanne, we used 2 LiveCds during seminars (ka-Map
and Grass 3d). We also allowed participants to immediately test what they had
just see in the slideshow. Once the workshop ended, they were able to keep
their liveCd and use it at home or at their office. This is a good example of
the great potential of a liveCd deployed for Educational purposes. [edit]

\section*{3 Ominiverdi Livecd}

[edit]

\subsection*{3.1 Objective}

Our liveCd will always try to offer users the following: 

\begin{enumerate}
\item Up to date software with every main official release 
\item Included guides, documents and tutorials 
\item Good hardware compatibility 
\end{enumerate}

[edit]

\subsection*{3.2 Tecnical development}

We decided to use Catalist: the same tool that the Gentoo Release Engineering
Team uses. 

This choice is based on 2 main reasons: 

\begin{enumerate}
\item To use a system that will keep the updating stage fast and safe 
\item To allow the customization of everything inside the CD 
\end{enumerate}

[edit]

\subsection*{3.3 Desktop 2007.0}

Our first release for 2007 contains this software: 

\begin{itemize}
\item QGIS 0.8 
\item GRASS 6.2.1 
\item PostgreSQL 8.1.5 
\item PostGIS 1.1.4 
\item GDAL 1.3.2 
\end{itemize}

The system runs a 2.6.18 Linux kernel and uses GNOME as a Desktop Manager. 

While writing this abstract, we are waiting for the release of the 2007.1 Qgis
0.8.1. [edit]

\section*{4 Future Development and Tasks}

Our goal is to keep the CD updated by creating new versions on a regular
schedule, or at least as soon as major updates or included software will be
released. 

At the moment we are working on two tasks: 

\begin{enumerate}
\item An Installer for the livecd 
\item A server edition with mapserver and some webgis applications 
\end{enumerate}

[edit]

\subsubsection*{4.1 LiveCD installer}

The installer will be accessible through an icon on the desktop. The
installation process will guide the user to the setup of the GNU/Linux
distribution on his/her computer. Hard disk installations will allow better
performance and the possibility to update all packages, thanks to the core of
the Gentoo Linux ( http://www.gentoo.org/ )system. [edit]

\subsubsection*{4.2 Server Edition}

The server edition will target a server machine with minimal graphical support
but with a fully-featured set of applications to offer OCG Web Services and
UMN Mapserver frontends (ka-Map, Open Layers, p.Mapper, ecc.). [edit]

\subsubsection*{4.3 More Info}

\begin{itemize}
\item Ominiverdi Livecd Project: http://livecd.ominiverdi.org 
\item Gentoo Catalyst Project: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/releng/catalyst/ 
\end{itemize}


