Configuration Tools

[stafio]

What would really set this distro apart from others is a good set of admin tools, similar to Adminmenu from the now dead Libranet distro.

These tools would allow you to:
- configure x
- configure startup services
- manage kernels
- enable/disable numlock in x with a simple click
- edit network configuration
- configure firewall
- manage users
- (more)

One of the nicest features was that if X failed to start, it would detect this and prompt you to reconfigure on the next boot rather than being stuck with no x running.

Screenshots from the last release of Libranet can be seen here. You'll have to scroll quite a ways down to see the Adminmenu shots.

[clem]

Hi Stafio,

Is that tool open-source ? If so do you know what language it's written in and where to find the source for it ?

Thanks,
Clem.

[stafio]

Hi Clem,

Unfortunately, Adminmenu was/is not open source. However, one of the developers who worked on the tool has started another tool with similar goals. There hasn't been much work on it lately though.

[techne]

Just curious...

How much different is this tool from Mandriva Control Center or SUSE's Yast?

[scorp123]

How much different is this tool from Mandriva Control Center or SUSE's Yast?

Libranet is now defunct and was discontinued a long time ago. Its "adminmenu" was nice back then when Libranet was still being actively developed (2002?), but it always lacked the polish of SuSE's yast and Mandriva's current "Control Center" tool. These two are far superior in functionality and polish, IMHO.

[stafio]

Libranet is now defunct, but it hasn't been that way for very long. The last release, Libranet 3, came out in March of 2005.

Although I haven't used yast or Mandriva's Control Center, I would imagine that they are far more polished than Adminmenu was. Part of the reason I mentioned Adminmenu is that Mint is a fairly new distro and it is more likely that they can achieve something like Adminmenu easier than something like the SuSE or Mandriva tools which have rather large company's backing them.

In any event, it sounds to me like Mint is heading in this direction with their mintWifi tool; which I haven't yet seen. I'm going to install Bea right after I finish catching up on the forum.