While it seems like a good idea, I would be concerned with the resources that the firewall would use, and the possibility that it could exacerbate performance problems on some of the lower-end implementations. If firestarter is added, I suggest that the person running the install be given the option to not run it.

Marc

Hi,

Firestarter actually is very kind and I have not noticed any issues what so ever by having enabled even on my 400 or 600 mhz boxes.That was also why suggesting it be added to the sudoers list so that mythtv user can control it when ready or needed. It also protects those on dialup.

I actually have a whole shopping list that would be nice (my view of course) as a pull down during install. Not everyone runs their KM box as a "pure" pvr/dvr and for those that don't, at install is the time to make any additions. Usually not far down the road the repositories change and so as an after thought someone wants to add firefox (iceweasle) it may actually break their machine.

As insurance against that, I always save the installed debs in the /myth partition (special folder) so six months down the road I can build another box or rebuild my current box and still keep my toys ~ tools.

New people building a first time machine may not even realize for several months that they CAN do other things with their new KM box. digikam is great for manipulating those hundreds of gallery images, I use Imagemagick (I use the convert) and also gimp. Plus an outhouse full of other tools, ntpdate, festival, espeak, ftp, proftpd, mgetty, fortune, gnome-games, frozen-bubble & frozen-bubble-data are just a few.

They really don't consume much for / space and once I have the debs life is good

As for a desktop, fluxbox is good for me, only thing it won't do is let me put junk and icons on it. And Tux likes a clean living room anyway. Right click and you can get to your apps.

As one might guess, my KM boxes do a whole lot more than just tv. Those that do just tv, do it well but I am not limited.

Mike

KnoppMyth is meant to be looked like an appliance and not a desktop. While you'll be able to make R6 more desktop like and not lose want you've add during an upgrade... KnoppMyth out the box, will always be focused as a PVR.

KnoppMyth should be behind a firewall, not the firewall. Security is a full time job. What the project would need, is someone to step up and be responsible for a security configuration. In addition, this person (or persons) would have to keep an eye out on all packages included by default with KnoppMyth for any security updates. Anyone want to volunteer?

Hi,

I'd like some of the great administrative interfaces that the folks over at the ubuntumyth project have come up with. I've setup my Ubuntu-desktop as a part-time front end, and i have to say that i was very impressed with the tools that they created. I'm a long time knoppmyth user, and I like the idea of having a distro just for myth, but they have some great easy tools.

Also, I second miro, and i'd really like lirc support. I'll have to work on that.. and I'd like to see it startup by default, and rather then launching it from the myth menu, just put the focus onto the miro interface..

pro

R6's "Service Menu" will be tightly integrated into the look of the overall system. During the current configuration process, the options you have now will always we accessible via the Service Menu.

While others are adding GUIs, the overall functioin is something KnoppMyth does. Stick with us... The KnoppMyth isn't just "Debian with MythTV". Since the beginning, my focus has been PVR. R6 will wrap up this focus even more tightly.

You can count on the latest Miro when R6 is released. If it is one thing Miro is lacking, it is that it's interface doesn't lend itself well to being controlled via remote. That isn't really something we can do anything about. If you come up with something, I'd be happy to consider it for inclusion.

it wasnt meant to be an invitation but thanks for that critique dude.

What is it you are trying to state? Give examples of what is it you are trying to do via a command line and how GNOME would resolve this?

nothing really to resolve. it was a suggest request - quite generic i suppose rather than for a specific reason. if no one felt gnome was necessary than nobody would choose it as an option during install. no one except me.. as i install opera, a email client, a few dvd authoring programs, and id like to add gimp. and would prefer to launch them from a desktop manager. my girlfriend lacks the interest to remember how to launch an xterm.. so over time i've simply added a few extra buttons into the knoppmyth menu and added opera as the mythtv browser. (i was never able to access the programs i added though fluxbox.. but then i never tired hard as i dont like the look and feel of fluxbox).

if you don't feel it's necessary or appropriate then dont include it.... who am i??.. nobody thats who....again it was just a suggestion. And i think that it's cool that youre interested in adding programs that people will find useful. clearly some of those suggestions will be wise and will be included.. and some of those suggestions will be crap and wont. forgive me if my suggestion is crap. km is geared towards a stand alone pvr box.. which is great. adding gnome as an optional extra means that people who want to use their myth computer for other things may more likely choose km over other distros.

HI,
I also have a very healthy respect for KM and it's purity as a pvr however Cecil would probably have Knightmares if he saw what me KM boxes really do

I also fully understand that it is MEANT to be hidden behind a firewall however with the many new comers to KM who may not have any idea about protecting themselves and some of the rest of the world, will surely place a box or two on the open net without any protection. firestarter helps to keep the bad guys out. As for the security of the many internal packages that task is beyond any individual.

A simple opt out at install time to at least offer some protection for those who don't know. Almost everyday I run into someone new that has their M$ machine directly on the net simply because they just don't know.

I will continue to add it the machines I build, it was only a suggestion for the R6 list that I think would benefit many.

Mike

I was just trying to explain why Gnome isn't something that a
lot of KM uses want. You appear to have chosen a distro that
doesn't fit your needs, and I suggested an alternative that
might be better suited for what you said you wanted.

The KM distribution CD is full, so adding Gnome would require
getting rid of a lot of other stuff. That wouldn't be an issue
if KM switched to a DVD medium (something that's been
discussed).

As long as there's a way to not install Gnome, I wouldn't
object to it being included as an option.

_________________
Grant

I've read through this and this is the only unmentioned request I have left:

Install of Front End Only (tunerless), then link it to the BE server.

The average (new) user doesn't need this, but I realize that a number of folks on the board ARE running multiple KM systems.

An elegant solution to the "backup the shows" problem. Some sort of way to backup the recordings through the gui to a separate drive/directory. Maybe it could do it slowly in the background and not interfere with recording or playback.

This would make sense to do, within the context of "storage groups" coming in MythTV. It may already be in there, I don't know. But if MythTV won't do it (move recordings from one storage group to another), it would probably follow on as an enhancement within MythTV.

Hi,

I hacked out a WD BookWorld (network special) and then added an entry to my KM /etc/fstab:
//myBookWorld/PUBLIC /myth/book smbfs noauto,users,username=mythtv,password=xxxxxxxxxx,uid=1006,gid
=1006 0 0

So if I need content or want to save content there is a 500gig space common to any machine I may wish to use.

Mike