Building/remastering a video call specific distro

[dcnarad]

Hi,

I have been using puppy linux for a long time, but recently wanted to build/remaster one for my kids online classes. Since I am neither a programmer nor have the time to build one (2 kids + work), I was wondering if there is a pre-built videoconferencing puppy around (if there is none I can build one with step-by-step instructions).
My requirements are that it should have zoom, google meeting/hangouts and teams(via playon or other emulators, if not possible, I can live with it) and a hidden browser (so it can open zoom links and close, but kids can't wander in to the interweb by accident). The desktop will have only 3-4 icons (basically kios like interface)
I intend to run this on a old HP pavillion dv6, so the kids can jump in, have their call and close.

Any help in this regard is much appreciated.

Thanks

[rockedge]

Interesting. Will look into it some more. I know there are several members who work on music studio specialized Puppy's and some other projects of constructing kiosk type systems. Now add @mikewalsh and his wealth of knowledge of building portable apps and I'm thinking there could be a future here.

[mikewalsh]

Hi, @rockedge / @dcnarad :-

Yes, it sounds "do-able", doesn't it? Have to be a 64-bit Pup, 'cos of Zoom & Teams both being 64-bit apps. (I know Zoom supposedly works as 32-bit as well, but nobody - including myself - has ever been able to get that one functioning under Puppy, so.....I gave that up as a "lost cause", ages ago).

I'm thinking Fossapup64, here. Partly because it's the newest, but mainly because Phil has built it in such a way that the adrv is removable for a 'bare-bones', but still fully-functional Puppy. So:-

• Replace the adrv with a custom adrv containing Zoom-portable, Chrome-portable, and Teams-portable. These would all sit in /opt.

• Set Chrome up to run Hangouts (is Hangouts still working? I thought Google were supposed to be dropping that one...) as a "web-app", so it'll open Hangouts up in its own window, like a desktop app.

• And set Chrome to be the default browser - possibly removing the built-in one - along with setting it to start in the background at boot via the 'silent-launch' --switch. Makes it more responsive, since it's actually already running.

I'll have to re-build Teams-portable, since I haven't really done much development work on that; I only built it as a 'proof-of-concept', TBH, just to show it could be done.

I'm also not au-fait with how you determine which icons will show on the desktop at boot. I presume it's summat to do with /root/.jwmrc, but that gets overwritten by /etc/xdg/templates/_root_jwmrc at every boot.....so I'm still none the wiser as to how JWM/ROX in fact determine this.

Thoughts?

Mike.

[Clarity]

This is an idea for comtemplation. It works for me when I tested last year.

I cannot remember if I used FATDOG or FossaPUP64.

1. Start a KVM virtual guest (QEMU)

2. Boot a ChromeOS within (Tovalds loves that desktop)

Perfomance was GREAT! ... But it was a bit of a pain to setup as the booting system needs various partitions to boot.

So, instead, I just ran the ChromeOS as a native boot.

There are 2 versions of open-source setup for x86 PCs based upon whether you have an Intel or an AMD.

• Setup USB for boot on AMD

• Setup USB for boot on Intel

KVM guests are FAST and make efficient use of the operating system providing isolation from the main Host Linux.

ChromeOS is a very efficient standalone having lots of good reasons to run standalone without the Linux management layer.

It any of these interest you, run with it. For KVM on FossaPUP64, look at the first page of 2 of that FossaPup64 forum as the author shows QEMU-KVM use. Also, here, there is a brief write-up on KVM in Puppyland with a "Usr Guide" referenced within.

Edited: Added a last paragraph-sentence change.

[rockedge]

but that gets overwritten by /etc/xdg/templates/_root_jwmrc at every boot.....so I'm still none the wiser as to how JWM/ROX in fact determine this.

the files that need to be modified or created to control the desktop icons is a function of the ROX pinboard desktop. Those files are here -> /root/Choices/ROX-Filer/PuppyPin

Screenshot(2).png (13.94 KiB) Viewed 173 times

In the rox-filer Options the pinboard configuration file name can be selected as well as from the JWM Desktop Manager and Icon Layout configuration GUI.
In /root/.xinitrc the rox --pinboard PuppyPin gets selected as X11 and the X server start.

Just make a backup and modify the /root/Choices/ROX-Filer/PuppyPin to reflect the changes to a custom icon layout.

[mikewalsh]

Hi, rockedge.

Ahh. I've been eyeballing the PuppyPin file, actually, and wondering if that was the way to make a custom layout. In the envisaged "Fossapup64 VideoKioskPup" (yeah, I know, it's a bit of a mouthful, ain't it? ), this would in fact be pretty 'bare', since I'm only envisaging 5 or 6 icons on the desktop, total.....which is, I think, more or less what dcnarad wants.....simply access to the video-calling apps. And perhaps a 'power-off' icon, too.

I've got it mostly built, TBH. I'll give it a trial run before bed; that way, I can 'sleep on it'.....

Mike.