Comment # 15 on bug 1196547 from Ludwig Nussel

(In reply to Richard Brown from comment #14)
> (In reply to Ludwig Nussel from comment #13)
> > (In reply to Alois Wohlschlager from comment #12)
> > > [...] Some concrete examples
> > > TW/MicroOS experience:
> > > * enhanced_base -> plymouth: This is a Recommends, so it's not installed on
> > > MicroOS today. The system works without a boot splash, but it looks nicer
> > > with one.
> > 
> > Plymouth needs to be made a requirement for graphical desktops
> > unfortunately. If someone desperately doesn't want it installed, the pattern
> > dragging plymouth in would have to be uninstalled.
> 
> It's also worth considering on most systems plymouth starts slower than
> GDM/SDDM, so the only real-world effect of installing plymouth is often the
> addition of a flicker between grub and the login prompt, a flicker which is
> noticibly absent on MicroOS.
> 
> Personally I'd rather have no flicker rather than an ugly flicker that
> doesn't have time for the human brain to register the fact there could have
> been an image there.

Absolutely. The point is that if the OS needs plymouth because we fail to make
it boot fast and need to paper over the ugly messages then plymouth must be
required. Or we fix the broken boot time and render plymouth obsolete. Then it
doesn't need to be listed at all. IOW if plymouth is "recommended" there's
something worth fixing.

> > > * microos_desktop_common -> hplip-hpijs, OpenPrintingPPDs: This is in fact a
> > > Requires today. A desktop system can work without printing if so desired,
> > > but a significant part of the userbase appreciates their printer working.
> > 
> > That should neither be required nor recommended. If one plugs a USB printer,
> > hardware supplements are supposed to pull in required packages. I wouldn't
> > be surprised if that's broken (again) on openSUSE though. Also any
> > assumptions about whether or not users with local printers constitute a
> > significant part of the user base are based on pure guessing related to
> > personal bias :-)
> 
> It is a clear design requirement of the MicroOS Desktop that it must be "
> small, but not at the expense of functionality. Printing, Gaming, Media
> Production and much more should all work."
> 
> And such things should work "out of the box"

Again I agree. That cannot mean installing cups with all drivers and ppds for
all printers ever manufactured on this planet by default though. Think out of
the box to find a proper solution :-)