LiveContent

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LiveContent is an umbrella idea which aims to connect and expand Creative Commons and open source communities. LiveContent works to identify creators and content providers working to share their creations more easily with others. LiveContent works to support developers and others who build better technology to distribute these works. LiveContent is up-to-the-minute creativity, "alive" by being licensed Creative Commons, which allows others to better interact with the content.

LiveContent can be delivered in a variety of ways. The first incarnation of LiveContent will deliver content as a LiveCD. LiveCDs are equivalent to what is called a LiveDistro. LiveCDs have traditionally been a vehicle to test an operating system or applications live. Operating systems and/or applications are directly booted from a CD or other type of media without needing to install the actual software on a machine. LiveContent aims to add value to LiveDistros by providing dynamically-generated content that can be added

Contribute!

Creative Commons encourages others to provide ideas, feedback, comments and connections to other projects on this wiki page. There are many ways to contribute:

  1. Sign up for an account on this wiki and begin adding to the community - your knowledge, ideas and contributions are welcome
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  3. cc-devel listserv - Creative Commons developers email list - http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Mailing_Lists

Roadmap

June 11

  • Brainstorming "best-of" CC-licensed content to include with the LiveCD
  • Connect with other organizations - ALA, LITA, FOSS
  • blog post about the project

June 18

  • (DONE) talk to scott about helping us with builds with the correct sizing
  • trying out different spins (tvol)
  • bug jon to get test computer (tvol)

June 25

  • figure out packaging of physical CD (cardboard insert/cd burns/how many/how long it will take to get manufactured/how much) (tvol + alex))
    • (DONE) need to schedule meeting with alex for this week (Monday)
    • Explaining CC on the packaging
  • make public web page requirements on the wiki (tvol)
    • (live.creativecommons.org or creativecommons.org/livecontent or creativecommons.org/live ... maybe for now just redirect to wiki page) (tvol)
    • NOTECH: just clean up this wiki page (tvol)
  • get the automated fedora build system working! (tannewt)

July 2

  • Have daily builds running on redhat infrastructure (tannewt)
  • planning what docs we need to collect for documentation for Fedora, apps, CC-licenses (tvol)
    • pull from documentation on sites--don't reinvent the wheel, utilize wikis, but try to distill important info, especially for new users
    • we want the most of these to be present as documentation within the cd, not in print
  • conceptualize how to have auto-curated packages (pick one package in each media) (tannewt/tvol) - LiveContent takes off
    • what are the top Content Curators to have, one each for audio, video, image, and text, education. (tvol)
    • develop icons for each of these categories? (alex?)

July 9

  • have basic liveCD build completed (tannewt)

July 16

  • Have all top auto-curated packages building on redhat infrastructure (tannewt)
  • Test out auto-curated packages and communicate with tannewt (tvol)

July 23

  • (HIGH PRIORITY) Send off CD for printing early week
  • build up steam for the release
  • library distribution options
    • how many will get sent out?
    • which libraries?

July 30

  • press release about the project -work with worldlabel, redhat

August 6

  • LiveCD rollout at Linuxworld - San Francisco

August 8th

  • LiveCD rollout CC Salon - San Francisco


Formats for distribution of LiveContent

USB

The LiveContent could also be made to fit onto a usb stick so that it can be plugged into computers and boot straight into Linux and/or have Creative Commons licensed content on this thumbdrive.

DVD

The Free Me project has already produced a live DVD with almost exactly the same ideas behind it. More than willing to lend a hand with this :D. Contact me at [1] if you think I could be of use.

CD

We're currently working on creating an ISO image for a bootable system that would be filled with free open source software (FOSS) and CC-licensed content. Creative Commons will team with Fedora (technical support) and Worldlabel.com (development and distribution support) in order to produce a LiveCD.

ccLiveContent v1.0 - testing feedback

  • Please help CC make LiveContent the best it can be! Provide feedback under the following categories, or create your own!

interface

  • desktop icons look like part of the background- they should somehow be raised or otherwise be made to look like an icon, rather than part of the background.
  • not clear that using two desktops makes sense; just one more thing for people to click on and be confused by. Make it only one desktop by default, and remove the applet from the panel.
  • make CC the default search in FF.
  • would remove DOM Inspector plugin from FF, and add the MozCC plugin.
  • why OpenOffice? Abiword and Gnumeric fit onto a liveCD much, much better- could fit another several dozen megs of content, at least, if you made that swap.
  • if there is a global CC ical file, the calendar should be subscribed to it so that it shows up in the calendar in the panel clock.
  • I'd remove gnome-terminal, at least from the final build. No need to have it clutter up the iso or the menus.
  • folders that are 'bookmarked' show up in the 'Places' menus; would be good to bookmark the various Audio/Video/etc. folders, I think.
  • nautilus thumbnails certain media types. The thumbnails should be pre-generated so that there isn't excessive drive access and clock icons when people open the folders for the first time. (They are in .thumbnails, I believe.)
  • nautilus can put icons on individual files. I suggest that perhaps nautilus should include icons representing the licenses, and then each media/content file can have the license represented as an icon on the file. (Either as a supplement to, or a replacement for, the ugly license.txt file. The license.txt can be hidden with by placing it in .hidden, as in http://svn.gnome.org/viewcvs/livecd-project/trunk/locales/en_US/home/Desktop/Images%20from%20GNOME%20community%20events/.hidden?view=markup)
  • nautilus can reorder and remember the order of files; would be good to order the content directories something like content / web links / license.txt. (That information is stored in ~/.nautilus/metafiles/ if you need to back it up.)
  • the pictures should be titled with names/author ('foo by Steve Bar.jpg'), instead of 1.jpg, 2.jpg, etc.
  • web icons should have the globe replaced with the sites favico or something like it. I believe the same trick as previously can be used for that.

content (audio/video/image/text/education)

proposed additions/deletions to content/applications

bugs

  • wireless is not supported on all machines
  • system time is incorrect
  • is there printing support?

comments/questions

ccLiveContent v2.0 - Libraries

Rationale

We believe that the LiveContent CD can be a gateway distribution device to test the waters of using free open source software within library settings. It will also help to spread the message about Creative Commons and provide examples of different media that has been licensed under Creative Commons. We wish to promote network effects for open source in general - get more people involved with supporting FOSS, CC.

Target

Our first LiveContent CD will be created for librarians to test for public terminals at libraries. The object is to get as many libraries to install Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on their current systems. We will be aiming the implementation at librarians and library administrators.

We strongly believe that libraries are a great way to plant seeds in the community to help the FOSS movement expand. This project will help bring more awareness to open source by providing an example of an operating system and free open source applications that could be implemented on library patron terminals. If the ideas can catch on, the long-range effects might be that libraries would begin to implement free open source software on machines permanently, thus providing a wealth of benefits both to patrons in terms of a more free computing environment and severing the long-standing ties between libraries and proprietary software license fees.

At this time, it seems that CDs provide the best media format that is accessible to most library computer terminals.

potential benefits

  • libraries
    • save money on proprietary software licensing - total cost of ownership (tco) is less
    • libraries can be seen as cutting edge in adoption of open source
    • more control over computing environment
    • can test on machines without installing
    • can also install directly from a desktop image
    • most productivity and creativity applications have a free open source counterpart
    • increase services to user by offering more software

potential concerns

  • public libraries vs academic libraries - public libraries have less resources, less staff time to examine new products and test out - at the same time FOSS might most benefit small public libraries, especially rural
  • academic libraries are often equipped for more research, and might be better geared towards having the resources for testing and future development
  • what kinds of agreements do libraries have with software providers now, if any?
  • make the cds very intuitive, well-labeled, good supporting documentation - fedora has a lot of good documentation, +/- of liveCD
  • will we only make spins for i386? - probably the architecture of most library terminal machines, unless some use older macs - ppc
  • how do we distribute without spamming?
  • will libraries trust what we send to them?
  • will libraries notice it or have time to look at it?
  • less to do with the software and more to do with presentation and documentation
  • focus on low income areas, rural?
  • will CC put on material that covers all the different licenses? or least restrictive? - attribution only
  • different libraries have different budgets which allow for a vast range in hardware and training
  • The mailing will have a mail back questionaire asking did they install software and other general questions. - rethink this idea due to spamming/response issues? - think about other ways to gather feedback
  • what about adding the CDs to library collections? - might be a good way for people to install or use at home, but doesn't align too well with the applications and content becoming obsolete
  • accessibility

What is the current landscape for library computing?

  • at San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) main branch, there are two types of computer terminals:
    • those that are used solely for card catalog lookup - no other features provided
    • those where patrons can access the internet (via internet explorer) and use the Microsoft Office 2003 suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) - there are no other applications that are accessible through the tailored, limited-view interface

Proposed LiveCD Contents

Fedora 7

Fedora 7 is the Linux operating system that will be running live from the CD. Fedora 7 can be customized by creating "spins." Spins are custom builds of the CD with applications and features that meet the users' needs. A specific spin can be documented by including a "build date" on the CD and its packaging. Any user who has installed Fedora on their machine can spin custom LiveCDs.

Documentation at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD/

There are differnt ways to create LiveCDs with Fedora:

  • Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Revisor (comes loaded in Fedora)
  • Command Line Interface (CLI) - livecd-creator (creates liveCDs), Pungi (creates installation disks)
  • users who wish to contribute to Fedora's internal build system need an account - create account @ http://admin.fedoraproject.org/accounts
  • Koji is Fedora's server that tracks recent builds - http://koji.fedoraproject.org
  • testing notes:
    • fedora 7 LiveCD Gnome runs extremely slow on a 256MB test machine
    • note - productivity and creativity apps cannot be installed at terminals without first installing Fedora - aka liveCD doesn't support application installs before full OS install

FOSS Productivity/creativity/entertainment apps

  • Openoffice - Complete version
  • FireFox - web browser
  • Gimp - raster graphics editor
  • Inkscape - vector graphics editor
  • Worldlabel.com Blank Opendocument Format Label Templates and collection of pre-designed label templates: address, shipping, filing, CD - licensed public domain
  • Collection of clipart from Open Clip Art Library?
  • Totem - audio and video viewer
  • gThum - image viewer
  • Evince PDF Viewer. Possible PDF editor, Openoffice has excellent PDF export
  • SVG Viewer - Gimp


  • note that all these FOSS applications are also available for installation on machines running proprietary operating systems (windows, osx), not just linux machines

Creative Commons-licensed content

We want to provide examples from each category (audio, video, text, image, education) to showcase on the LiveContent CD. We will develop a system that can automatically pull top content from the sites that we choose (and these sites can change as well).

We'll feature one website/service/cc-content provider from each of the 5 categories for this initial run. We should provide examples of cc-licensed materials from each. don't know how many--we'll see how much room is left on the cd:

  • what about cc-videos?
  • possible inclusion of a CC plugin pre-installed in Openoffice.org
  • inclusion of CC plug-in for Firefox?

Documentation

Interface and Display Options

Themeing

  • Gnome with cc desktop, content icons, share/reuse/remix icons

Initial Pop-up Screen

This screen will be loaded upon booting the CD to welcome users and give an overview of the LiveCD.

Some things to include:

  • what is a LiveCD
  • what is on the cd
    • pointer to Fedora docs
    • pointer to App docs
    • pointer to CC docs
  • instructions about how to open applications
  • how to save
  • how to quit?

how to access cc content

  • cc icons on the desktop - utilize icons for the content categories (audio, video, text, image, education)
  • digging deeper - how do we provide more examples? - possibly through the inclusion of examples of how users can share/remix/reuse content using cc - users can click on these icons to pull up a webpage that explains more

Distribution Options

We will investigate options for getting the CDs into the hands of the libraries we wish to target. While we wish to provide a quality LiveContent CD to the most libraries we can, we realize that mass mailing may not be the best way to accomplish this distribution goal, especially since this may be considered a type of spamming. Ideas other than mailing include hosting the contents online and doing outreach to libraries and other interested parties through a widespread press release, listservs, hand out at events, or get an in through professional organizations like the American Library Association.

While we are working towards a deliverable LiveContent CD by August 8, further exploration of a dynamic, automated system should be examined. This type of system could be automated to pull updated content from various sources , current application versions and OS patches and build a CD extremely easily. In this way, users could download the most current build at any time.

During development, we hope to provide preliminary builds and demos that we can send to various organization and libraries so that they can review the LiveContent CD and provide input for further development. Later reviews hopefully will be published in numerous ALA publications. Reviews could be sent with the CD in the mailing so that there is neutral positive influence behind the CD.


Resources

Groups
People
  • Jack Aboutboul - Redhat mailto:jaa@redhat.com - Redhat will provide the themeing and customized builds of the CDs containing the OS, open source apps, Worldlabel documentation, CC content
  • Mr. Alex Choong of Innotech Resources Pte Ltd (worldlabel.com.sg) will cover the cost of duplication of master Library CD. 8000 to 10000pcs with jewel box or sleedve. He wants will also implement a program in Singapore and Malaysia to distribute the CD to libraries. He mentioned wanting reference to this in press releases.


  • Simon Spero at Sun in North Carolina, who might be willing to provide server space to maintain a dynamic build system
Reading
LiveCD Examples
LiveCD Resources

future

  • Researching 3 libraries in Putnam County, N.Y. in upscale districts, the 3 libraries had Openoffice.org, Firefox and Gimp installed. Further research in under privileged areas will be done. Visited private library which relies on Donations in Cold Springs, NY. Had no FOSS installed and where extremely receptive to the CD idea.
  • how can we expand the idea to more libraries, and which are the best to target
  • school integration? k-12, universities?
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