Asl HN: What software do you dream about, but do not have time to code yourself?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42928485

by nbbaier • 1 year ago

2 2 1 year ago

news.ycombinator.com

Terr_• 1 year ago

This was asked just yesterday.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42915664

d3Xt3r• 1 year ago

A simple, idiot-proof app to install Linux from Windows, aimed at newbies. So when people complain that Linux is too hard to install, I can just point them to the .exe.

The app will be a simple installation wizard, maybe using the Nullsoft system as it's simple and lightweight. It'll ask them some basic questions, like what sort of UI/UX they prefer, whether they play games etc, and how much space they wish to allocate to Linux etc. It will then download the most appropriate distro, make the partitions, AND install the distro right from Windows (maybe using WinBtrfs and extracting the rootfs from the ISO onto the partiton), extract and set up the bootloader etc.

The main question mark for me is how to deal with Secure Boot. Maybe I can have a loop at the beginning which waits until it is disabled by the user (maybe detect the system's make/model/BIOS and display the appropriate instructions)? But I also wonder if asking users to disable Secure Boot is even a good thing, it might give them the false impression that Linux isn't secure, or my app is somehow compromising their PC's security. Probably not a good first impression. If anyone has any ideas on how to handle this bit in a sensible manner, I'm all ears.

Asl HN: What software do you dream about, but do not have time to code yourself?

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