Live GIS Disc

About

The aim of this project is to build bootable ISO-Images and Virtual Machines which allow users to try out fully-operational versions of popular Free Geospatial Software without the need to install a thing. Everything is set up for you ready to go: just reboot into it, glance at the help pages on the desktop, and go. The existing hard drive and operating system will not be modified in any way, everything happens in temporary system memory. As such it will run a bit slower than the "real thing" and you may want to grab a USB flash drive to save or transfer files with. You can load and boot a live-image completely from a USB stick too if you prefer.

For the 2008 and 2009 FOSS4G conference a snapshot of Free Geospatial software has been collected onto the Arramagong Live DVD and VM.

The Arramagong Live DVD & GISVM contains a collection of the best Geospatial Open Source software, pre-configured with sample data. The DVD and Virtual Machine are available for download at http://download.osgeo.org/livedvd. Refer to Live GIS Disc Quick Start to get started.

Key Links

Contact Us

Mailing List: http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/live-demo

The mailing list is archived at Gmane and Nabble

IRC: irc://freenode.net#foss4g (until we get too busy and need a new channel)

Subversion

Subversion: For config files and build scripts. You should always update from the server before editing a file, and always check the diff is as you intended before committing.
- Repository: https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/livedvd and web view
- On Linux systems: access Subversion using:

svn checkout https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/livedvd

The first think you can do to test your svn install is update the users list:

# to edit a file
cd gisvm/trunk/
svn update contributors.csv
# edit contributors.csv

# optionally check to see what has changed.
svn diff contributors.csv

# check the file back into subversion
svn commit contributors.csv

# to add a file
cd <dir>
# create a file
svn add <file>
svn propset svn:mime-type <mime.type> <file>
svn commit <file>

# to move or rename a file
svn move <file>
svn commit <file>

On windows, it is even easier, using Tortoise SVN which plugs directly into Windows Explorer.

To get commit access, you need to create yourself a user id, as explained below, then ask cameronDOTshorter.AT.lisasoftDOTcom to add you to the "osgeo" user group.

Downloads

ISO hosting: See the SAC:ISO Mirroring page.

Downloads at: http://download.osgeo.org/livedvd

Members in good standing who require it may apply for ssh access to the download box. To do so create a user id, as described below, and then ask cameronDOTshorter.AT.lisasoftDOTcom to add you to the "Telescience" group.

Issue Tracker

Our bug and wish tracker is hosted at OSGeo's Trac system.

Please set the ticket's Component field to `LiveDVD` as we share the tracker with other OSGeo projects.

OSGeo User Id

Create an OSGeo id: http://www.osgeo.org/osgeo_userid , which is required to edit the wiki, commit to svn and create an issue in the issue tracker.

Passwords

The disk username=user, password=user

Right now https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/livedvd/gisvm/trunk/doc/passwords.txt is copied to the Desktop when main.sh is run to build the live image. If you want users to have access to an applications user/password please place it there.

Wiki pages

Live GIS Disc Quick Start
GISVM Build - the Arramagong LiveDVD is based on and shares most of the build process with the GISVM project.
Live_GIS_Disc_Packages
Live GIS Disc Testing
Schedule leading up to FOSS4G 2009.
Live GIS Disc FAQ

Links to related projects

Arramagong Live DVD home page
GISVM home page (GIS Virtual Machine)

DebianGIS Live Image

Build scripts in DebianGIS's SVN

Omniverdi LiveCD project
List of live CDs from the GRASS download site
Gfoss.it live DVD
Portable GIS - Zero-install GIS for MS Windows on a USB stick
Poseidon Linux

Links to Build tool options

The live-helper package - DebianLive home page
- How-to for Ubuntu/Hardy

Use Cases

There are multiple use cases for this product:

Demo DVD that can be handed out at conferences.
This will contain a wide variety of applications, preconfigured with some sample data and containing introductory tutorials. It should be able to function completely offline, at least within the scope of the tutorials, and should provide an introduction to many products. This is very much a Live DVD, and as such should be conservative with regards to size (it will be run from RAM).
Education DVD
This seems to be a more involved version than the Demo DVD, including more involved material, including train-the-trainer style material. This is targeted at those who will be teaching others, be it in workshops or university classes/labs. My expectation (mleslie: feel free to correct me) is that this is more likely to be installed on machines and used as a teaching resource, as opposed to a toy to play with, as with the Demo DVD. This will require material developed through the.
Workstation Install DVD
This need was seen in Cape Town, where the bandwidth seems to be a very limiting factor. Using the DVD to install either a complete OS, a set of packages to an existing Linux, or Windows installers completely offline is of great value in the developing world. Would it be of greater value to lose the Edu or demo material and put in complete application documentation?