Our Reasons:
a - Creating it will be my group's senior project at our faculty "IT"
b - To enhance our linux functional skills as we happen to believe that linux is the OS of the future.

The reasons for you guys to help:
a - It would be good for the linux community as i will be able to have this distro adopted as the university OS for developing their new UMS (University Management System).
b - It would be nice :o)

Our needs:
a - a basic distro with a simple and fast interface (FluxBox or XFce4 ...)
b - a simple development environment (Sun's Java and/or Mono)
c - networking capabilities
d - an Encrypted Distributed File System (we will program that or actually port some code we already have developed in C# to Mono)
e - we will have to end to end up with a live CD that can be used as/with an installation CD for the system

Education is expensive but the cost of a lifetime of ignorance is incalculable

I believe these goals need flexibility that can be achieved by a source based distribution. Linux from scratch fits the bill but it will be hell to maintain.

I'd suggest using linux from scratch for making a quick prototype, then moving on to a more manageable solution like gentoo or debian from scratch.

Actually great deal of help, so if u guys are willing, then we can arrange a meeting to discuss things in person.
I know u made (are making) u'r own distro (Phaeronix) so u can at least tell us where to start learning.
There is a great deal of stuff that we dunno even where to find info on, like hardware detection modules, and means to create themes for a desktop environment, also how to make the distro ready for installation (how to make an installation CD).
We will go for LFS but only to know how linux tick, but then we will need something assembled from packages that we can update and/or get patches for.
The Encrypted DFS (Distributed File System) part will be the thing we realy code (not just add the package like the rest of the components), and we will do that using mono.
Also to make that happen we will code a CA (Certificate Authority) Module to supply and manage Assymetric Keys.
So please if you are willing to help, please state so here and direct us to some contact info and i will assemble my group and meet u wherever to talk and exchange ideas (btw DJ KING thinks about doing the same as a senior in his uni which is O6U so i think he might wanna join us)
Thanks for listening :)

"Now you see it, Now you don't!"

I'd be glad to help, but sadly I am too busy because of my medical studies. I can't spare any time before january 2006.

Anyway, as I said LFS is nice for learning and making a prototype. Then move to something maintainable.

Feel free to browse my website http://www.phaeronix.net and download the ISO and use any of the little modifications and scripts in it.

As for your filesystem you can use fuse to develop it easily. Thanks to OneOfOne you have an example : http://www.eglug.org/node/899 http://www.eglug.org/node/901

I'll try to offer help online as much as I can.

Thanx for the offer, and we will go on with LFS as a prototype in the first semester and then may be we can meet with u (it will be past jan 2006 by that time) and u might wanna comment on our work and direct us towards doing better.
Thank u for the forum links and i'm also interested in hardware detection scripts (my interest is that i know nothing about how linux handles hardware and i wanna know everything, hehe) so please if u can also direct me towards someplace to learn that i'd be very gratefull.
And as i thank phaeronix and Alaa and QT4Dance i urge the others to help us please if u can, i know u do have a busy agenda till the end of the month in sakia but we can wait.

Thanks for being here

"Now you see it, Now you don't!"