Customize like linux mint

1. Change logo and icons of Ubuntu OS from all the possible places
- your choice.

2. Change the content of /etc/lsb-release file
- careful with that - you might run into unexpected trouble when packages try to find the lsb release in order to adapt to the version / release.

3. Change default language to French across screen/application/packages/softwares. Even for installation too, it should be in French.
- should be fairly trivial.

4. System default language should be French
- should be fairly trivial.

5. Openoffice ctl should be french
- should also be easy.

6. Set the default keyboard layout
- should be fairly trivial.

7. Set default homepage of firefox and chrome to google.com
- that might take some doing. Do you want this for the live system only or for the system when installed, too? (AFAIK the Ubuntu firefox customization package messes around with that and will possibly overwrite your changes)

8. Set default language
- should be fairly trivial.

9. Add new themes and backgrounds
- as long as they are not selected by default, this should be fairly easy. Themes and backgrounds are again something that is modified by standard Ubuntu packages, so you will need to find & adapt these.

As summary: Localizing Ubuntu is not so difficult - in fact that's one of the primary purposes for the use of UCK - but changing the branding and creating a different desktop look (&feel) will be more difficult.

Some hints for things to look at:
- You need to be familiar with the debian packaging system
- You need to be familiar with the preseeding mechanism, debconf & ubiquity (cf. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomization (somewhat outdated, but it hasn't changed that much))
- You need to be able to read/write/modify shell procedures
- You should have a (virtual) machine to test / install / run your generated images on. qemu is ok, VirtualBox is nice.

Good luck.

Hi Wolf Geldmacher,

I highly appreciate your quick response. A couple of points I would
like to clarify.

a. Yes, I want all these points to be implemented when my friend
installs the customized version of ubuntu iso file I would have
created.

b. Any advice on how to change the logo and icons of the system?

c. I have tried the UCK but couldn’t make out how to implement some of
the points. For example, changing /etc/lsb-release file or changing the
gub or the logo or the icons across the system.

Thank you again for your help and support.

- Kiran

On Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:22:17 +0530 wrote
>Your question #118341 on Ubuntu Customization Kit changed:

https://answers.launchpad.net/uck/+question/118341

Wolf Geldmacher posted a new comment:

1. Change logo and icons of Ubuntu OS from all the possible places

- your choice.

2. Change the content of /etc/lsb-release file

- careful with that - you might run into unexpected trouble when
packages try to find the lsb release in order to adapt to the version /
release.

3. Change default language to French across
screen/application/packages/softwares. Even for installation too, it
should be in French.

- should be fairly trivial.

4. System default language should be French

- should be fairly trivial.

5. Openoffice ctl should be french

- should also be easy.

6. Set the default keyboard layout

- should be fairly trivial.

7. Set default homepage of firefox and chrome to google.com

- that might take some doing. Do you want this for the live system only
or for the system when installed, too? (AFAIK the Ubuntu firefox
customization package messes around with that and will possibly
overwrite your changes)

8. Set default language

- should be fairly trivial.

9. Add new themes and backgrounds

- as long as they are not selected by default, this should be fairly
easy. Themes and backgrounds are again something that is modified by
standard Ubuntu packages, so you will need to find & adapt these.

As summary: Localizing Ubuntu is not so difficult - in fact that's one

of the primary purposes for the use of UCK - but changing the branding

and creating a different desktop look (&feel) will be more difficult.

Some hints for things to look at:

- You need to be familiar with the debian packaging system

- You need to be familiar with the preseeding mechanism, debconf &
ubiquity (cf. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallCDCustomization
(somewhat outdated, but it hasn't changed that much))

- You need to be able to read/write/modify shell procedures

- You should have a (virtual) machine to test / install / run your
generated images on. qemu is ok, VirtualBox is nice.

Good luck.

--

You received this question notification because you are a direct

subscriber of the question.

b. Any advice on how to change the logo and icons of the system?
Not really - keywords to search for would be plymouth/gfxboot (for the loader screen), and all the *-theme-* packages.

c. I have tried the UCK but couldn’t make out how to implement some of
the points. For example, changing /etc/lsb-release file or changing the
gub or the logo or the icons across the system.

In UCK you can start a terminal (shell) in the system being customized - it is one of the questions asked when you run the GUI ("Do you want to customize manually..." - answer that with yes). Within the terminal you can then modify the system to your hearts desire (this is where some shell programming comes in handy ;-). By default the root-file-system-to-be will be in ~/tmp/remaster-root - and (while the terminal is running) you can modify that directory at will, either within the terminal (which essentially *is* the system that you will be running) or from the outside (i.e. copy stuff into that directory).

You should also consider the alternative GUI (cf. http://sourceforge.net/projects/uck/files/uck-flow/0.4.4/python-uckflow_0.4.4-1_all.deb/download) which will allow you to modify the procedures used in customization directly (shell programming skills required) and will allow you to repeatedly perform the customizations on the same root tree,

Thanks a ton for your time and support.

Let me organize myself to learn all the stuff you have suggested. I will come back with any more questions/issues I may face during my little project.

- Kiran

Actually I'm new to launchpad.net and forgot to click on "Problem Solved" button while posting my previous comments. Sorry!