[OS X TeX] Probably the last TeXGSInstaller and i-Installer v1 TeX distributions released

[Gerben Wierda]

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have released what will be (I hope) the last TeX distributions through 
the current distribution mechanisms. There are few changes, the most 
important being that both installation mechanisms have been tested on 
Mac OS X 10.2 (final beta) and both work. A second change is that the 
current release contains a changed settcshtexpath script that works on 
Mac OS X 10.2 (and on earlier releases, except for man path settings 
which I now only support on Mac OS X 10.2). The release timestamps are:

	i-Installer v1: 200208232324
	TeXGSInstaller: 200208232317

All can be found through http://www.rna.nl/tex.html. Please do *not* 
upgrade when there is no reason to do so at this time.

Now for the hopeful news.

I am well underway with developing the successor to i-Installer, called 
i-Installer v2. The following major changes can be expected:

1. i-Packages may be interactive (in a limited way). This opens the 
possibility for i-Packages with interactive configurations (in case of 
TeX: asking you to select from a list of possible paper sizes, 
languages, etc. What is even better, this configuration phase can be run 
separately, potentially turning every i-Package in a minimal 
configuration application (Want to add a language to TeX? Fire up 
i-installer, open the TeX i-Package and hit 'configure'). It is my goal 
to prevent as much as possible any use of the command line for a basic 
use of TeX.

2. The authentication model has changed. Currently, dedicated 
i-Installers will authenticate first, then for the most of operations 
run non-authenticated, but reassume authenticated mode automatically 
when necessary. The new version will work the other way around, run 
unauthenticated and authenticate when needed.

3. i-Packages have become more flexible in their contents and 
i-Installer more powerful in its inspection mechanism.

4. i-Installer v2 will use md5 checksums and optionally GPG signatures 
to check i-Package contents for validity. Note that this does not 
produce perfect security (there is no such thing). All my i-Packages 
will be GPG-signed. You do not need to have GPG installed to use this 
functionality, i-Installer will come with a GPG binary.

5. i-Installer v2 will have an i-Package directory, freeing you from 
most URL-typing.

6. i-Installer v2 will very likely be open source. I haven't decided 
upon a license yet.

Now for the downside: I will be on vacation for 3 weeks. I will not be 
entirely unavailable, but I will limit my support activities.

G


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