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Re: [MiNT] Gentoo FreeMiNT
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From: "Paul Wratt" <paul.wratt@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 1:58 PM
To: "mint" <mint@lists.fishpool.fi>
Subject: Re: [MiNT] Gentoo FreeMiNT
installations. The crux of Jo's content is "keep it simple". ATM the
two clash, which is a result of MiNT as it is now. This again adds to
user woes (pain)
Let's not mix FreeMiNT and EasyMiNT/SpareMiNT/Gentoo! FreeMiNT consists of
the kernel, the AES and some drivers. Documentation for this exists, but
it's outdated and even contradictory at some points. So the FreeMiNT project
needs new documentation - a user manual and installation guide. The wiki
Paul is talking about is under development, and as soon as it's a bit more
mature, you're all invited to help out with this project. More details about
this later :-)
Also, some ten years ago I created a simple MiNT distribution I called
NewbieMiNT. It was nothing but an archive with the mint-folder (with the
MultiTOS AES and some tools) and a simple installer that automatically tuned
the configuration files to the detected hardware. I never finished this
because I messed up my gcc-installation and got fed up, but I still have the
sources and intend to create a very simple installer for FreeMiNT. If I
succeed, I hope that this installer can become an official part of FreeMiNT,
offering "one-click" installation and updates of the kernel and XaAES.
Distributions like EasyMiNT, SpareMiNT and Gentoo are a completely different
matter. They must contain their own installer, user manual and installation
guides. There is a SpareMiNT-section in the wiki but it's separate from the
FreeMiNT-docs. I'm not competent to write any docs on these distributions. I
have a plain, unmodified EasyMiNT-setup which is only used to run gcc from
time to time. 99% of my time in front of the Milan is spent with GEM
programs.
So to summarize:
1. FreeMiNT itself need good user docs and an installer. I intend to help
out on that, hopefully the result will be a more pleasent experience for the
inexperienced user.
2. The distributions also needs better docs. I'll leave that to more
knowledgeable people than me :-)
3. FreeMiNT is not and does not require a full "unix-setup" like a lot of
people tends to believe. Make it easy to install and well documented, and
promote the advantages of a simple kernel+XaAES-setup. Make it more clear to
the users what FreeMiNT is. There are still a lot of users out there that
simply doesn't know what can be achieved with a plain FreeMiNT installation.
Jo Even
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