Suggestions for Puppy 2.18

[jboettge]

This is a new suggestion, not related to the discussion before.

More and more of these nice new CPU's come out. And not everyone is able to compile a new kernel including working modules.

For that my request:
An alternate iso, precomplied with SMP und HT support for these having a new machine.

By myself I worked a few days on this topic. And fine, the kernel compiled and the processors where shown. But one time I didn't have usb, the next scsi was missing etc. For that I'm still not able to use puppy on a real productive machine, sorry. Real lack compared with modern (yes, I know, resource hungry) distros like ubuntu.

Maybe on of you specialists get's this running. Would be great!
Think these people having a laptop, still running XP etc. They could have puppy there, really using both cores and vmware server for the windows tasks left But nobody wants to loose one core because of the distro not having smp support

[jamesbond]

I second the SMP kernel idea - but only if the performance hit on single CPU systems is minor.

[willhunt]

me I just want theOpenMosixpatch applied then smp is available to even
the old equipment! and I really want to build a Boewulfpuppy after all
Beowulf already sounds like a puppy distro!

[jboettge]

There are always big discussions about performance on SMP systems. Without paralleled applications you don't see much, just background tasks may run smoother
And yes, a puppy cluster could be worth learning a lot about distributed computing

My experience on dual xeon 1,7 workstation with ubuntu and running vmware server:
- smoother switching between gui applications
- faster swaping if low on ram
- real boost if running vmware server with more than one VM
But I'm the person having at least 10 windows open and two+ doing FFT-analysis etc. About 80% cpu load for both processors is my optimum

Also hyperthreading seams to make a heavy loaded system running smoother (had 2 spare 1,8 Xeons with HT support), again good to see with vmware.

No experience with AMD, don't have time to check this within the next weeks.

But, sorry: With office aplications you won't see anything from the second cpu - so the nice advertisements of multi core cpu's are some like a joke for the normal user.

SMP enabled on a non smp machine costs you about 5%. So better to have two iso that everyone can choose.

[sunburnt]

jboettge is correct about the limited usefulness of multi. cpus & diaper threading.
Also we won't be seeing very much from 64bit either, except for XP games.
It would be good for Linux also but I dont know how well Linux handles XP games.
Like Halo 2 (XP only), Cedega may do them well, I don't know.

Games are pretty much the only thing left that Win. has exclusively in it's corner.
M$ can't be allowed to corner the market like this & monopolize (shutout) other OSs.
So a law to assure cross OS software, 1 year to port to any OS you care about,
and after that anyone can port to any OS left & it's their's to sell. etc.
It's the software makers that code only for Win., make it their responsibility to port
their software, they'll pick up Linux & any other common OSs to protect themselves.
Problem solved...

[willhunt]

Well I see a great many distro's every year and for the last 2 years I've been watching and playing with my puppy and boy how he has grown! Puppy IMHO is the hands down The Best migration distro out. It's ez of use and it's persistant storage and speed make it a big winner everytime I show him to ppl looking for a release from the M$ ball and chain. Puppy is very intutive for new linux users. The end user (is that a term in linux communitity : ) can only use the functions in the kernel to be honest outside of the fusermount additon I was happy with the 2.4 kernel and it is still my happiest puppy rambling again. A EZ_beowulf cluster! heck it even already sounds like puppy I can hear all 17 puppies bark'n at boot hey it there just away to add these patches without complete recompile of the kernel?

[sunburnt]

willhunt; I'm pretty sure that the kernel has to be recompiled for any of the load sharing setups.

[clarf]

I´m using Puppy 2.16 in some old machines (Xcel 2000 with PII and PC100 with pentium mmx), Puppy runs very well but it use a lot of RAM. I have 128 MB in each machine and the video card uses 4-8 MB. Then i ran Puppy but i can´t expulse the cd-rom i suppose that Puppy still reads some info from CD, and i can´t put another CD-rom to see videos or DVD. But memory monitor says that i have 40 MB for my??????. In the PartitionMap i can see free memory....

You could add some warning when Puppy Linux is not fully loaded in MEmory.

Is hard to find SIMM or old DIMM modules for these machines, more over them can´t accept much memory. In the other hand is hard to find old hard disk drive for these machine (even more find HDD that works), you know hdd have a life range and it start to fail since it´s created (Multisession disc is a big idea used by Puppy).

I hope Puppy returns to old versions style, and run in less memory something like 92 MB (32 MB SIMM module and 64 MD DIMM module, minous 4 MB shared video) and not exactly 128 MB.... (I readed post and helps but it is not specified)

I would like to resize icons in desktop, even in 800x600 (for old machines) the look very big, i resized desktop fonts but it doesn´t work.

I would like to use some wallpapers like screensavers, like some Windows apps, that change images with some cool effects...

I hope you understand i´m new in linux world, but i´m excited with the Puppy+old machine idea. It´s a super Distro.

[Flash]

You could add some warning when Puppy Linux is not fully loaded in MEmory.

How to word it without confusing or alarming the inexperienced user?

(Multisession disc is a big idea used by Puppy).

But multisession necessarily needs a lot of RAM. On the other hand, considering its lack of reliability, perhaps the most appropriate use of a hard disk is as swap memory in a computer which runs Puppy from a multisession DVD.

I would like to resize icons in desktop, even in 800x600 (for old machines) the look very big, i resized desktop fonts but it doesn´t work.

I would like to use some wallpapers like screensavers, like some Windows apps, that change images with some cool effects...

You should ask these as separate questions in the Users forum. The forum works better when you don't mix topics.

[clarf]

You could add some warning when Puppy Linux is not fully loaded in MEmory.

How to word it without confusing or alarming the inexperienced user?

well, a small info like "xx% kernel (Puppy) loaded in memory" could advise the user, and the memory and swap maps wasn't clear about that. Anyway when i tried to expulse the Puppy Cd and the CD drive ddin't open, i was alarming by a cd drive fail (...pushing many times the open button), until i see the read led flashing whe i used some apps.... (I also used a new machine with 256 MB and it opened the cd drive).

You should ask these as separate questions in the Users forum. The forum works better when you don't mix topics.

Excuse me for that i thought Puppy didn't have that function... Thanks.

[Flash]

That's OK, and welcome to the Puppy Linux forum.

If you put a popup explaining that the reason the CD won't eject is that it is mounted by Puppy, you'd better include an explanation of what "mount" means.

[Béèm]

SeaMonkey yo be at least at 1.1.1 as there is spell check support while typing. Very handy.
Or maybe a separate SeaMonkey.sfs which can be loaded with the boot manager. (In this case no SeaMonkey in the ISO)

[cb88]

Make it look like meanpup from the 1.xx series with torsmo and that cool gnu/linux wallpaper (the floating gnu) that walpaper also helped to keep the user in the mindset that they are using linux and not some cut down version which to some extent puppy is cutdown but that makes it all that much more powerfull an O/S. I think the current walpaper scheme does not really make much of a statement and it should. who knows maybe someone could drum up a wallpaper of a dog driving a red ferrari or somthing that you can just say man that is just cool. any puppy users have a red ferrari and a beagle?

Use lzma on the zdrv.sfs only as it is only loaded at boot and when setting up drivers or loading video codecs. I wonder if puppy is currently compatable with the .7z format in pupzip if not that compatability would be much apreciated?

Make mut the defalt mounter or have both on the desktop with diferent icons ie.(mut could be a silver flash drive and pmount blue or somthing.

In my opinon the old icons were nice just needed cleaning up. although EZpup is really cool. since EZpup is here why not revert to a cleaned up version of the old style?

[Chouca]

My wishlist;

1. A working Suspend to Ram & Resume script

3. A working Suspend to Ram & Resume script

3. A working Suspend to Ram & Resume script

I am sure most of us use the same appllications every working day - so why on earth close down and always restart???

Debernardis modified script is very close to working on my 2.15CE disk install (it works ONCE for me), it is lean and I guess that it does not take that much work to modify it into a working suspend to ram script - if you understand whats going on inside the script - unfortunately I don't...

Martin

[willhunt]

using linux and not some cut down version which to some extent puppy is cutdown

I have several "full bloat" installs and whille I admit the livecd puppy has
some inherent restrictions I run 1.09CE & 216 as a full install and I have
yet to find those installs "cutdown" I of think of it as optomized.
Puppy is still a mini-distro. Sometimes I think because puppy grows with
the users experiance pepole tend to forget puppy is a "mini-distro"
and IMHO the fastest most flexiable and with one the most intutive
interfaces right out of the "box". The fact that your puppy can grow as
big as workhorse is just gravy

[BAD PENGUIN]

I got a few Ideas for 2.18

#1, a GUI tool or at least a script for checking md5 sums, yes I know there is a command line tool for this included but it is a pain comparing 20 or so characters by eye and mind, and it be so much simpler for newbies and faster for experienced users to check the checksums.

#2 transmission bittorrent frontend client comes with 2.15ce but the guts ( i cant remember the name) do not, it would make more sense to (a)not include the frontend at all or (b) include the guts, but personally i dont care, it was no trouble for me to instal and setup, just think it make easier for newuser

#3 A better clipboard function, perhaps borrow Klipper from KDE would be sweet even thought i dont use the advance functions of klipper very often and it serveds me no more than windows clipboard in duh. copy and paste even after file is closed would be kinda nice.

#4 This one might sound stupid and I am actually kind of glad the majority of window managers are this way.

The desktop as a trashcan/junkspace, just as in windows, i will never use it but to many people i have got to try puppy or other minimalist distro, this scares them away not bieing able to manipualte the desktop as in windows. (this would really be to make a point and considering i think it is all to do with ICEWM and JWM and a major code to wrie, i dont expect it done)

Perhaps add an icon, named enable desktop as junkpile, or, enable desktop as workspace/disable """".

#5 a script to start certain applications if they are not running, but block or prompt you to start another instance of a program if the same program is already running.

this would prevent alot of crashes, speaking of

#6 a magic wand to KILL programs, or a KILL function to rightclick menu , would be easier and faster than KP

#7 curse GRUB, there must be a way to make it automatically boot primary OS after certain time, i.e.10 seconds, or even a grubless install for systems where puppy is only OS(right now puppy is my only OS), it be so nice if this could be added to universal installer script

#8 A graphical menu editor for ICEWM and JWM, ffmv95 or whatever too, perhaps i will learn more of murga-lua and write one myself

#9 fix all the links embedded into the dotpup's in the "puppy software installer" repository so i can actually have a clue what a program does and what its dependencies are.

#10 adjust the default brightness and contrass in GXINE (make video brighter by default) so thouse new to Gxine and unaware it is adjustable are not turned off by dark video (windows media player last i checked does not have adjustment for video playback)

#11 file and system tracker, a program that when executed tracks all files created, and backs up files that are changed and deleted, and then can provide automatic restoration to where you were when you first executed the program or any time between. this would be useful for testing alien packages before they are made into dotpup or pet, or other such situations.

#12 a script to boot the host operating system while running puppy from liveCD with qemu, windows pwn3d!

Puppy was the first linux distro i ever used( i tried freeBSD some time earlier but gave up)
I have used puppy for various purposes since december of 05, first just as a cheezy replacment for partitionmajic and as a better way to use my friends trojan infested windows PCs when spyware on them was just too much to stand, here, try puppylinux. I know of one boy who is not very much inclined to things technical and mechanical who i would bet is still runs puppy as liveCD just to browse the net!

As puppy progressed it became more and more useful to me, untill i download 2.15ce, and despite warnings not to run with root privledges, i installed it to my harddrive, i am only behind a freesco router ( a nice project in itself), and have yet to have trouble, even as root linux is more secure than windows. sure i broke it a few times, but reinstal is too easy and generally leaves my programs and settings intact(unlike fedora and suse, the later of which i liked and will likely reinstall as second OS, with windows pwn3d in a vm for gaming or when i get lonely at night and feel the need for malware to entertain me with pop-ups.

i hope a distro of linux named after a small dog takes over the world, or at least some unix like os, because windows stinks of rotted meat under the pretty surface

[GuestToo]

1) a SendTo/OpenWith script like this might work:

#!/bin/sh
cd `dirname "$@"`
if md5sum -c "$@" > /tmp/.md5sum-results$$
then
gxmessage -center "md5sums are ok"
else
gxmessage -center "md5sum ERROR"
gxmessage -center "`cat /tmp/.md5sum-results$$`"
fi
rm -f /tmp/.md5sum-results$$

2) as far as i know, transmission-gtk is complete and needs no other parts ... also, someone wrote a gui frontend for the cli version of transmission, which would require transmissioncli

3) glipper is reasonably functional, and does not require gnome or kde dependencies

"Clipboard Daemon is a program that keeps the content of your X clipboard in memory, so the clipboard won' get lost even after you close the application you copied from."
http://members.chello.nl/~h.lai/gnome-clipboard-daemon/
i have been running this program for a long time, at the same time as glipper, and it seems to work well and does not interfere with glipper

4) i never have used Windows desktop as a junk area for downloaded files

Icewm and JWM have nothing to do with the desktop ... Rox is the program that creates and controls the desktop ... there would be no easy way to use Rox's pinboard as junk area (it is not a folder or directory at all)

it is trivially easy to have a desktop shortcut pointing to a junk folder, for example, a desktop shortcut named "Downloads" pointing to /root/my-documents/downloads/ ... just click the icon to see everything in the junk folder

5) mozstart already does that, it is easy enough to prevent more than one instance of an application ... for some applications it can be useful to have more than one instance ... for example, leafpad, rxvt, mtpaint

7) timeout 10

10) that would depend on your monitor/video card/gamma settings ... what is dark on your monitor might be too bright on another monitor

[BAD PENGUIN]

first off i am sorry, transmission does work fine and is what i use, however when running as livecd, i go to start pupctorrent i get this message "you need to install CTorrent", but i apologize for poor memory.

3) glipper is reasonably functional, and does not require gnome or kde dependencies

thanks for telling me about glipper, 1 minute ago i download the binary for clipboard daemon and run it, now i have a real clipboard(or at least one like i am use to using)

as for lack of windows style desktop, i have adapted quite well to working in folders and linking folders to the pinboard, i hate a junky desktop btw

10) that would depend on your monitor/video card/gamma settings ... what is dark on your monitor might be too bright on another monitor

that is true, just seems like on majority of computers i ran gxine on, that videoplayback was dark, and it didnt really matter if it was on an lcd or crt, while under other media players(wmp, vlc, kaffine or whatever it was that came with fedora) they were much brighter generally speaking, with variances in media from visible to so shadows.

[garlane]

As one person said, Puppy is primarily designed as a memory-based distro - either by running in RAM, or by a frugal install and working from the CD/RAM. And although you can install it fully to the HD it is not designed for that purpose. Yet, due to Puppy's usefulness more people here are asking for better HD install functionality, so that Puppy can be adequately used as a desktop system.

For example, someone mentioned the installer. Although easy and quick it is poor in some areas - especially detection of other OS's. It just writes "vmlinuz" for each partition whether the kernel has that name or not. As a result a number of Linux OS's won't boot after installing Puppy. This then has to be fixed by hand. Another person also mentioned the fact that the sfs files do not work for the HD install.

So why not stop development of the memory-side functionality for one release. And concentrate on improving the HD install functionality to bring it up to the same level of usage as the memory-side functionality. Surely this would be an exciting new challenge for the developers and would add a new string to Puppy's bow.

[silverojo]

implement the windows key and some common shortcuts to help windoze deserters and mouse haters. eg
win key on its own brings up the 'start menu', with M minimises all apps etc...

Yes, yes, YES! With carpal tunnel and other problems, I hate having to use the mouse/trackball any more than necessary. Just having the Windoze key bring up the menu (older versions of Knoppix do this) would be SO convenient.

Also, I wish the new version of Puppy would support more hardware, as v2.0 did. I've tried to use 2.16, and it can't find my sound card, sometimes acts weird with my monitor...I had to give up and go back to v2.0.

Thanks for asking Puppy users for input on the next version!!