Custom Ubuntu and Remastersys

After a discussion with a collegue, we both felt their is a need to provide a good custom Ubuntu installation, focussed on Java development. Since I’m very interested in actually creating something, I started to google. I’ve installed Ubuntu a couple of times over, it’s frustrating reinstalling all those applications again and again.

My eye came fairly quickly on Remastersys, a backup utility for Ubuntu (and others). A small tool that can make a distributable iso of an existing installation. I’m not a Linux Guru (I’m below average), so this is exactly the kind of software I was looking for.

Anyway, been playing for a couple of hours with it, made a distributable installation of a vm. First one made my Ubuntu crash, but without free diskspace I could only blame myself. Especially with a large warning screen advising me beforehand! Anyway, second time went like a charm. It took about 25min, which was surely doable. It comes with a clean UI. One click and the distro is being created. Lovely simple!

Next thing on my list is a presentation about Java Software Testing (more about this later), after that I’m definitely going to create my own Linux distribution containing essentials like:

• Java 6 and Java 5
• maven 2
• eclipse, with some basic plugins like svn, checkstyle, Spring IDE and such. Might even be the new SpringSource Tool Suite, if it’s final by then.
• eis4linux
• Firefox with excellent plugins like Mouse Gestures, Download Statusbar, Googlepedia, Firebug, Web Developer and such.
• FileZilla
• more if I find the time.

More to come!

Andries