:: Re: [DNG] Refracta on Distrowatch
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Author: Robert Storey
Date:  
To: dng
Subject: Re: [DNG] Refracta on Distrowatch
Hi all,

I think this idea of having a Clearlooks option is fine. It would be a nice
feature to boast about for the next release (version 8.1?).

> Only problem I see with that is that refracta is pared down to fit on a

cd so there might not be room to do it that way.

I'm of the opinion that trying to squeeze everything onto a CD is kind of a
dated concept. I can't remember the last time I saw an actual CD drive (as
opposed to a DVD drive). OK, I guess you can still find CD music players,
but on computers, CD-only drives are a blast from the past. And Refracta's
big selling point is actually its capabilities to run off a USB stick.
Maybe somebody somewhere feels a need to max out at 700MB, but I'd
personally be fine with one GB.

While I'm meditating on this particular subject (the iso file size), I also
think it's worth considering if there's a better way of dealing with the
firmware drivers for wifi. The complexity of setting that up probably
scares off a lot of people from installing Refracta. The first time I
installed it, I didn't know how to set up wifi and had to ask fsmithred for
help (which he graciously gave). That's why I went into details in the
review explaining how to do it. But anyway, if there is an easy solution to
that problem which increases the size of the iso file beyond what will fit
on a CD, again I have no problem with that. Just thought I should voice
that opinion here - others may not agree.

As for when Refracta might get reviewed again on DistroWatch, I don't think
there's a hard and fast rule about it, but in general when there's a new
release with some noteworthy features, it should be fine to write an
article about it. I'm not the one who makes the final decision on what gets
published, but my experience is that DistroWatch management is very
reasonable - if there's news to report, they'll report it.

So here's to hoping for a great new release in 2017.

cheers,
Robert