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I asked this question over at the Ubuntu Forums, but I wanted to elaborate more on the subject here. In case you don’t know what Ubuntu is, it is one of the many distributions of Linux. Ubuntu, just like Linux, also has many flavors. There is Linux Mint (a distro aimed at noobs), Ubuntu Studio (a distro aimed at the arts), Mythbuntu, and more.

I have been thinking, and apparently, so have other people in the Ubuntu Idea Pool. There isn’t much of anything for developers and programmers in terms of out-of-the-box usage in Ubuntu, which has lead to the idea of Devbuntu. Devbuntu would be a new flavor of Ubuntu aimed at developers and programmers. The reason for creating a seperate distro is simple, including many programming applications would only bog down Ubuntu for the regular desktop users. Here’s a list of the features I hope would be included in such a distro:

• Specialized packages that are streamlined and optimized for specific use with Devbuntu.
• Supports all modern development languages, and include the option to add on old, outdated languages for the hobbyists out there.
• Includes all the best development libraries, and has the option of installing others.
• Includes testing frameworks such as junit and phpunit.
• Includes the best IDEs for each language, plus the ability to install others.
• Include the best GUIs for FTP, SFTP, SSH, etc.
• Ability to install virtual machines, they would bog down the machine if they come pre-installed.
• GUIs for SVN and CVS.
• Team collaborating tool, which would sync all the code together, including the revision number, who made it, live chat, and maybe more.
• Include the option for various syntax highlighting code writing apps, such as jedit.
• Create one repository that would allow Ubuntu users to easily upgrade to Devbuntu by adding the Devbuntu repository, similar to Ubuntu Studio.
• Cuts out all the fluff included in Ubuntu and creates a basic programming environment with no eye-candy or distractions, but allows the user to install the features if desired.
• Includes the best GTD and mind-mapping software.

That’s all I can think of for now. I might add some features to this later. Tell me what you think of it, and also tell me if you would like to help out with this project, because if there is enough demand for this distro, I will certainly go ahead with creating it.   Also, which windows manager should be installed by default, KDE, Gnome, etc…?