Hello Solusers 
As everyone is most likely aware, the last few weeks have been extraordinarily hectic for both myself, and the project. Firstly, a word about my activities, as they directly relate to SolusOS
Activities of Ikey
Really didn’t deserve a bold header. Anywho. I finally moved from where I was living to somewhere much nicer, and much safer. As I’ve stated on G+ I’ve been busily painting the flat making it that bit more hospitable Having now resituated in suitable digs, I’m getting other things into order, such as income. Yeah, I know, nobody wants to hear that kinda thing. But its kinda important. We all gotta work As much as I’d love to work away 24/7 on SolusOS, its not something that’s viable right now. As much as I kindly appreciate all the support and donations from the community, at present it won’t cover my rent. So I’m off, in October, hopefully to take on a job in highway maintanence. Simple job, pay the bills, keeps me afloat. Then I can use my evenings + weekends on SolusOS development.
Direction of SolusOS 2
Understandably I’ve caused a rather loud flood of whispers through various G+ and forum posts. Time to set the record straight
SolusOS 2 will no longer be using straight up Debian as the base of the distribution. I believe, personally, that it is in the best interests of the project if we’re in control of every aspect of the distribution, which means controlling the flood gates. The intention is to move to the PiSi package management system (as seen in Pardus) and establish a new clean base.
Status Report Of Eveline
SolusOS Eveline is the current release of the project and is very much supported and maintained. Over the last week or so I’ve engaged in a mass-update to the current repos, bringing in many missing packages, updating core packages and adjusting the system to how the users wish it to be. This will continue for some time. In the next two to three weeks you can expect the 1.3 Respin, which will be fully up to date, with further optimisations, some installer additions, a new update client + package manager and the 3.5.4 kernel, amongst other features. This will be considered the last feature release of Eveline, all respins afterwards will only be updated ISOs
Why PiSi?
Currently we use the .deb format and apt-get/dpkg for our package management. However, given the sensitive needs for our particular packages, it would seem best that we could use a package system most appropriate to our needs. Enter PiSi,
PiSi supports delta packages out of the box. This means that you only download the changed part of the packages as opposed to an entirely new package, vastly reducing bandwidth usage and server resource consumption. It has an extraordinarily elegant yet simple package format, making the creation of packages incredibly easy for myself, contributors and the future SolusOS Community Repos. PiSi packages also support “actions”, i.e. this package update requires a system reboot, etc. Not only that, but through Python a powerful scripting interface is exposed, allowing cross-package configuration, and advanced post/pre/ installation tasks. Due to the COMAR configuration system we could add interfaces to all the core packages of SolusOS and offer a totally integrated experience at every level.
The Downfall
Going with PiSi requires building a new repository from scratch. Or.. does it? I’m currently creating the package specifications for the new repositories in an automated fashion, as can be seen on the forums. Each package in Debian is downloaded, the configuration options are pulled from the makefiles, dependencies are then recomputed and mapped. All Debian/Ubuntu specific patches are removed to provide clean secure packages, which will then be rebuilt on the buildfarm as as a vanilla repository for SolusOS 2. That’s just the starting position. We’re aiming for a release in 2013, and given the progress I’ve already made, it won’t be a late release. Any package that a SolusOS user currently has access to, i.e. non-free & proprietary, as long as they do not depend explicitly on dpkg or apt-get, will be reintroduced into the new SolusOS 2 repos. All drivers and firmware will be available and convertible for the SolusOS 2 repos.
SolusOS Services
The SolusOS Wiki is now up, and can be accessed online via http://wiki./index.php/Main_Page
We are currently setting up a new bug tracker, this will be available in the next 5-10 days at bugs./
Reglue Project
As many also know, a long while back Ken Starks and myself spoke at length about a custom system for his charitable project. SolusOS 1.3 will form the basis of the SolusOS/Reglue system, which will be distributed by Reglue to underprivileged young people in Texas. The ETA is roughly 4-5 weeks for a finished Reglue system based on 1.3 release date of 2-3 weeks from now.
Sponsorships
For the last 6 months, possibly longer, we have been “officially sponsored” by SoluWorks, Ltd. However, after recieving only 2 donations of an amount nowhere near the promised target (roughly 3% of the amount), and sporadic communications from the company, I feel it may be time to drop the company from the sponsorlist. Bringing us back to a round total of 0
Paid Support
SolusOS is obviously a project I spend much time involved in but is not a corporation or company of any description. Therefore, to respond to those who have asked, we cannot offer “paid support services”. However, it is feasible that if an individual or company wishes to sponsor SolusOS for a small amount, one-on-one support, advice, guidance and remote assistance can be given in exchange. For example the individual could decide that they wanted 3 sessions per month, which would be agreed on beforehand, and I would be more than happy to provide the support myself.
Last But Not Least
SolusOS may be the work of but a few, but it is the result of many. Everyone involved in SolusOS, whether it be working wikis or frequenting forums, you’re helping the SolusOS community. You are the community. Without you, SolusOS is nothing. To you I tip my hat
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