[Gta04-owner] GTA04A4 Group Tour - next steps

[Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller]

Am 04.04.2012 um 16:10 schrieb Radek Polak:

> On Wednesday, April 04, 2012 02:09:42 PM NeilBrown wrote:
> 
>> To make an app shop work you would really need to choose one platform.
>> Would that be qtmoko? or FSO? or KDE plama? Android?
> 
> I'd mix them all together ;-) Maybe adding some filter for distro specific.
> 
> It would be nice if distros could provide easy way how to install these apps 
> from shop - e.g. one click in browser.
> 
>> However having a 'store' where people could show-off their apps and others
>> could vote and comment might be of some value.
> 
> I like this idea. It would be nice we had central place where you can find 
> every possible application for GTA04. Something like opkg.org was.
> 
> I personally don't like paying for applications. Giving donations is IMO 
> better. E.g. Indie Huble Bundle's are successful example how it can work.
> 
> Or at least make it optional so that application developer can choose if he 
> wants pay and download, or download and later receive donations.

Sometimes a solution can be much closer than everyone thinks. And
I did trigger this discussion with a specific tool in mind :)

We have such a tool. Even in operation. It is a clone of the Sharp
Zaurus index "killefiz" (some of you may still remember):

	http://www.handheld-linux.com/swi/index.php

Another incarnation:

	http://www.gnustep.org/softwareindex/index.php

It is a database of applications, versions and screenshots but
does not store files (except for screen shots). Just links.

For users it is searchable for keywords and categories. And allows
to filter by distro and/or hardware.

There is an interface for authors ("New Entry", "Click here to fix it")
to request publication of updates.

And finally an interface for moderators who have to approve any change
request (to fight spam).

The tool itself is free and open source:

	http://projects.goldelico.com/p/swi/

The web page design is a little old fashioned and some functions are
missing (e.g. comments and voting are not mature; or public change
requests should be approved by registered developers). And there
is no payment processing involved - just an informative entry for cost.

So if there are volunteers who want to help to improve and adapt this
tool (PHP and CSS) to our needs, please contact me so that we can
organize work.

Best Regards,
Nikolaus