[Xastir] New Xastir virtual machine with Xubuntu 8.04 available.

[Dick Repasky]

This is great.

I've been working on one as well with some modifications to be more of an
application appliance. If you are interested in the modifications, I'll gladly
pass them on to you.

The modifications are intended to reduce the knowledge of Linux that is needed
to make use of Xastir.

Simplest - intended for those with the least knowledge of Linux or interest in
dealing with Linux.

 - No login required
 - Xastir started automatically in full screen
 - No window manager, nothing to do but run Xastir
 - When Xastir exits, the VM shuts down automatically

 - X (and Xastir from .Xsession) run by init

Intermediate - for those who want automation, a window manager and the option of
running other applicatons
 - No login required
 - Xastir started automatically
 - Window manager provided
 - When either Xastir or the window manager exits the VM shuts down
   automatically

 - X (and window manager and Xastir from .Xsession) run by init


Least simplified
 - Login required (gdm)
 - Xastir started automatically
 - Window manager provided
 - Only Xastir exits when the user quits Xastir
 - User logs out by quitting window manager
 - User shuts down VM manually

 - Window manager and Xastir launched by .Xsession

Most rustic
 - No gdm, only text virtual console login provided
 - User runs startx to launch X
 - Xastir launched from .Xsession
 - Window manager provided
 - Only Xastir exits when user quits Xastir
 - User returned to virtual console prompt when window manager exits
 - User shuts down VM manually

 - Window manager and Xastir launched by .Xsession

The various modes above are offered by different run levels. Setting the default
run level determines how the VM behaves. The idea here was that if we were to
put together a VM for out county emergency communications center, we could set
the default runlevel to suite the emergency communications center.

The simplest form described above limits access to the file system, which might
be necessary to obtain logs or snapshots.  I'm working on a scheme that will
automatically detect a USB drive, find a partition on it that should contain a
vfat, msdos or ext[23] file system, mount the partition, copy logs from
~/.xastir, and unmount the drive.  So far, everything has been written but the
copy portion.

Dick Repasky

Tom Russo wrote:
> Thanks to the enthusiasm of Lee Bengston, there is a new pre-built Xastir
> virtual machine running the latest version of Xubuntu (Ubuntu with the 
> lightweight Xfce desktop) available.
> 
> Lee was motivated to create the machine and sent it to me for testing, and 
> I updated it with the very latest VMware tools available in VMware Workstation.
> This means that as of this new virtual machine, it is no longer necessary to 
> do strange things to get the desktop resized to match your window --- the 
> newest VMware tools "autofit" the desktop to whatever window you have as soon 
> as you log in to the VM.  Thereafter, it will autofit again if you resize the 
> window.  This takes at least a little hassle out of using it.
> 
> Thanks once again to Jason Winningham and John Ronan, this VM zipfile is
> available for download from a site on either side of the Atlantic.
> 
> Please visit <http://www.xastir.org/wiki/index.php/HowTo:VMware> for
> download locations and instructions on how to use the virtual machine.
>