Re: [gDesklets] about category

[Bjoern Koch <H Humpel gmx de>]

Hi,

> If there will be such archive as Sidecandy...

Well, there *IS* and has LONG BEEN a SideCandy archive. This is
basically the mother of all (newer and working) themed desklets.
It contains three display files (cpu, netowrk and time) and a template
as well as the candy.script. After its release there have been A LOT of
SideCandy based desklets (at least 19 I know of).

After its release a few other themed archives (with a basic set of
display files) have followed, like VerticalCandy, FTB and SideStripes
(and maybe even more).

Just take a look at the desklets archive!

And by the way: SideCandy has been released by the "official gDesklets
team" (kind of at least).

> (though I don't really see the sense for it)...

well, too late for that :)

> it would be better to have it as a package for different linux 
> distributions that users can download from website or distributions 
> repository.

The default way to install desklets has always been "downloading from
the website and dropping it on the shell" (so far).

Furthermore there has been the Debian package and maybe even a few others.

Even on gentoo a few desklets have found its way into the repository
(http://packages.gentoo.org/search/?sstring=gdesklets)
but the maintainers didn't like the idea of having an ebuild for ALL
available desklets. There would simply be too many files, ebuilds etc.
So most of the ebuilds are still in the gentoo bugs system
(e.g.
http://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&field0-0-0=product&type0-0-0=substring&value0-0-0=desklet&field0-0-1=component&type0-0-1=substring&value0-0-1=desklet&field0-0-2=short_desc&type0-0-2=substring&value0-0-2=desklet&field0-0-3=status_whiteboard&type0-0-3=substring&value0-0-3=desklet)
waiting for their move to the repository (which will obviously never
happen).
So a "Debian package" (like putting every available desklet into one
archive) might find its way into the gentoo repository, but why should
someone really like to download and install more than 100 desklets (if
not more) if (s)he only will need a few of them ???

In my point of view BOTH approaches (one package/ebuild per desklet or
all desklets in on archive/package/ebuild) are unsuitable for any kind
of package manager.

> But I would better see a default package containing working desklets
>  under GPL license first.

Well, basically all the themed archives are such "default packages" as
they come with a few selected and basic display files.
Like SideCandy, FTB, SideStripes, Gauges etc. etc.
Most of them are still working, too ;).

> Current desklets archive (debian) is such a mess of half of them not 
> working at all and the other half full of bugs that no one can fix 
> because of licensing reasons.

First thing to be done would be getting all the desklet developers back
to gDesklets. But I guess the last year has scared most of the away :/.

> I'm curious how you would want to do it another way.

I personally like the way it has been before (remembering the good old
g.g.o. times!). Go to the homepage and browse around. Dran'n'Drop the
link (or the downloaded archive) onto the shell... and there you go!
Pretty eays and intuitive. And back then there have been lots and lots
of users and downloads!
It's the same if you are looking for extensions for FireFox & co. They
don't need any kind of "default extension package" and "auto available
desklet downloading tool" etc.
But of course you need a good searchable homepage for that (and an RSS
feed etc. would be nice, too).

> I would not recommend to install desklets from website as a default
> way.

Taking a look on the situation in the past 1.5 years I wouldn't
recommend any distribution package. I really don't want to be harsh, but
who would be taking care of this/these packages ??? (yeah, I know, you
already started the "basic desklets" branch at launchpad).
[overdoing]
If this package ends up like "the rest of gDesklets" you would be
caring users away. Just like the Debian package...
[/overdoing]

;)

Greetings, Bjoern