@deeplow my bad.
What I meant is there is a tendency for duplication right now where the objectives could hide the implementation details
- minimal templates could be the default deployed ones
- packages needed to turn them into xfce/gnome clones could be externalized to be picked up at installation for sys-* (xfce) or standard qubes (gnome)
- the normal end user wants to have better UX as far as I understood per referred results.
- end user would want gnome based sys-usb, xfce based sys-firewall/sys-net
- devel implemented differently because size constraints which defaulted to xfce default install and quick fix needed afaik.
- all the doc needs refresh consequently (downstream as well).
What I’m trying to deal with here is mix of bottom up and top down approach cause I feel we are not that far of an understanding of what could be done to meet both size limitation requirements of iso, minima ram usage of sys-qubes without compromising UX experience.
Advanced users/constrained perf systems owners will tick “advanced options” and be willing to choose between more options.
Unfortunately, if we don’t want to go that path, an app store is needed again. And the dream of having qubes having one whonix template not two, and removing duplicated packages across all those templates present in the ISO, nor clean deployments easy to recreate will I think never really be attained.
Customizable deployments is needed by OEM/organizarions/end users. The story repeats itself everywhere in different forms. Qusal and shaker are just strategies, while hard to implement in an OS installer if not network connection. That’s what I wanted to tackle into investing time, maybe dodging the need to redo all those documentation and videos that would otherwise be still valid. Would be nice if we stopped changing UX and work behind the scene to meet back end requirements and fit those requirements thinking out of the box without the need to redo everything all the time. That is my opinion.
By saving that space (whonix workststion is more then 60% duplicated space from whonix gateway), having packages related to xfce and gnome as packages, I think it’s possible to imagine minimal and whonix templates being generalized so that packages dependencies to differenciate them into their gnome/xfce/whonix workstation counterparts not having to be deduplicated and the installer running the required salt calls to use packages and customize to match expected better gnome UX without having to impact service qubes which don’t need it, unless the user tick “advanced installation” options and enjoy the additional options, with that screenshot alone having to evolve in the docs, not all qubesos/securedrop workstation user guides screenshots, nitrokey/purism/novacustom etc docs screenshots and videos out there.