Welcome to my first article in the ‘Greatest OS’ series, to be published every Friday here on the blog. So, the first thing I want to talk about is Slipstream, which is a new way of working with an Operating System installation disk or other install medium (such as a flash drive).
Right now, companies release disks of OS’s for a somewhat current stable build of an OS (for the purpose of this post, let’s say an OS is at version 1.1.0). This includes OS’s such as Windows, OS X, and Ubuntu Linux. But, let’s say a few months down the line, the user wishes to reinstall the operating system. Well, there are a few problems:
1. The user most likely does not have the most current version of the OS, which means they need to download an update, or a series of updates, to bring the newly installed system up to date.
2. OEM’s do not often ship full OS installation disks. If they do ship a reinstall disk, then it most likely contains the associated bloatware of the default OS installation from the company.
3. If an OEM does ship a regular installation disk, then the user who is going to be reinstalling the OS does not have the basic software and extra drivers required for the system (or included by the manufacturer), or if they did include it, it would be on separate disks.
While the system works in most cases, wouldn’t it be easier to just have the most current version of an operating system, as well as all associated software and drivers, to do a clean install if you decide to do so? That is where Slipstream comes in.
So, you load up the Slipstream application on your operating system (let’s call the OS Vector). Then, you insert your Vector install CD/DVD into the computer, and Slipstream gives you the option to create a new install disk that is stored on the hard drive (in a format such as .ISO). Once that is created, Slipstream gives you the option to add various packages, drivers, and software to the newly created OS install disk copy. Want to install Vector 1.2, but you only have a 1.1 disk? Simply download a Slipstream compatible file from the OS developer, and add it to the ‘OS Updates’ portion of the disk. Then, when you eventually create a new installation disk from this editable copy, you can select whether or not to install the 1.2 update during the OS install process!
But this is more than just an updated disk: OEM’s can create full installation disks that not only contain the OS, but all associated software and drivers that a new install may require. Then, if a user decides to do a clean install, they can select what packages (drivers, software) to install from the OEM supplied list. The OEM can make a list of recommended things to install, but the user who is installing the OS has complete control over what to include or not include.
But talking about a Slipstreamed disk isn’t anything unless the OS (and the OS installer) has a framework or API that updates and packages can use to truly support the idea of adding things to an installation medium. A simple XML-based library can be used to keep track of packages included on the disk. For example, if your physical install disk simply has 1.1 on it, when you make a copy to your hard disk and add the update package for 1.2, the hard drive copy of the XML library would be updated by the Slipstream application to say that the 1.2 update is in fact now located on the install disk. This provides an easy mechanism for selecting exactly what software and packages you want to install outside of the base OS system.
Granted, this system is very piracy prone, but hey, I have my own opinions on that. See you next week!