Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[Barburo]

Hi Taz, some feedback:

I set up two versions of LHP64 - one on an ext4 partition with an ext4 save file and one on an ext3 partition with ext3 save file.
Subjectively not much difference so I decided to do a browser comparison using Peacekeeper.
Firstly Chromium got the best rating in both tests followed by Opera with Firefox a little behind (see images). I used Firefox4 in the ext3 test but it shouldn't be too dissimilar to the performance for Firefox5.
Secondly all of the browsers seem to perform better in Ext3 than ext4. I would have thought it would be the other way around. Comments anybody?

X lock seems a bit flakey. The configuration module gets confused about which screensaver is being previewed and it's difficult to change the default. Also "solitare" should be "solitaire". (But I see someone else programmed it).

Any plans to include gview? (same as in LHP 503).

I cannot reduce the size of the text used in Firefox 5 for tabs etc. It is so big the default pop-up messages hide some of the options.

B.

[tazoc]

[Jim1911]

[mikeslr]

Hi Tazoc,

Thanks for building on the solid work of kirk and jamesbond. While I have just begun using Lighthouse 64, it doesn't seem very Alpha to me. So far everything has worked better than I could have hoped.
Initially, in an effort to avoid problems I followed the Grub instructions on page 1 which used vesa graphics. They worked, but only provided an 1154 x 8-hundred something pixel desktop. Frisbee had me on the web in a minute or 2. But clicking Xorg merely restarted X. So, I booted into Lupu 525, moved the SaveFile into a 2nd level folder called "protect", modified Grub to remove the specification of Vesa --I left nomodeset, not sure I need it-- and rebooted, obtaining a 1600x900 pixel desktop.
Note, my graphis is Ati Radeon 3100.
Although I can appreciate the benefits of running firefox as spot, there are times when that protection isn't needed and inconvenient. As I had firefox 5 for 64-bit already installed on mnt/home, I created a desktop link to it. It ran well, enabled me to import bookmarks, upgraded itself to version 6, and I was pleasantly surprised by its wealth of addons.
It goes without saying that the system flies.

Great work.

mikesLr

Edit: I've since removed Grub argument nomodeset as unnecessary.

[mikeslr]

Hi again,

Continuing to explore. I wanted to add mtpaintsnapshot to the tray. I think I read that Lighthouse 64 uses OpenBox by default, and know that I can switch to JWM. I found the link to configure JWM's tray. But I've gotten to like OpenBox. In the OpenBox submenu, there's a link to restart LX Panel. But I can't find the link to configure LX Panel. It's usually somewhere on or from the desktop menu. Did I miss it? My wife says my powers of observation leave much to be desired.
Please advise.

mikesLr

[Roy]

Just updated my live DVD of LH64 Mariner with all the available updates (except for Samba, which refused to DL) and tried to save everything back to disc via the on-screen desktop "save" icon; what looks like a terminal opens up -- and things start freezing with zero disc activity.

Wow! This is strange... hit enter to start a new line of this post and dropped out of X

-Roy

[mikeslr]

Hi Taz,

Still no app to configure LX panel, so I switched to JWM in order to add screencapture to the tray. Installed Pupsnap for that purpose. I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but mtpaintsnapshot.sh wouldn't register, i.e., I tried several times but it never showed up. This has happened in other puppies.

My primary concern at this point appears to be a limitation on zWine's functionality. I only run 3 XP apps. Had no problem with two portable apps running under zWine. The third app is a relational database, InfoCentral, on which I have about 25 years of notes. Although it would install, it wouldn't run. In FatDog64, it ran if I configured bootmanager to load fd64-32bit-libs-6.sfs and wine-1.3.8-i486.sfs at bootup. Trying that approach in LH64, I ran into two problems: (1) Removing zWine produces a notation at bootup that it's missing, tolerable but for the (2) fd64-32bit-libs-6.sfs is not recognized as a usable sfs. Without fd64-32, there's no reason to try to load wine-1.3.8 which does show up.

InfoCentral is an old app, from the first days of XP. Not having it immediately at hand would be inconvenient, but I can always boot into a 32-bit Puppy if I needed it. I think, however, that others who have and enjoy many xp 32-bit games may run into similar difficulty. The problem is with the different way various wine pets and wine sfses organize files. Not every wine pet has allowed its use, 'though most have. On the other hand, few sfses have permitted it to run, the above mentioned combo being more of an exception.

Suggestions welcomed.

Thanks,

mikesLr

[tazoc]

[Roy]

Thanks, tazoc.

Just to let you know, my live DVD did save to disc after the prompt at shutdown. It just won't save to disc during the session via the desktop 'save' icon. (I like the frugal installs, too -- but have a full HDD at the moment and prefer live CD/DVD for security reasons on some connections.)

On a separate note, thank you very much for working on this derivative! Your Lighthouse series is always great and performs every task I need a computer for.

-Roy

[mikeslr]

Hi Taz,

Thanks for the info regarding the questions I had before.
I was wondering if Firefox's limitation as to where it can download to can be easily turned off?
I generally use Opera as my primary browers. The latest Opera64 bit works very well with Lighthouse 64, including its installation of Flash. But Opera has some limitations: some webpages do not render correctly, and Opera lacks some Addons equivalent to those of Firefox. When using Firefox, I prefer the convenience of its normal installation to the security aspect as running as Spot. I have a work-around, which may be a better solution to turning off the Spot feature, but it takes some work that others may not care to put in. So, I was wondering if Firefox's limitation as to where it can download to can be easily turned off?

For those interested in my workaround, I usually run my browsers from /mnt/home.
Step 1: download and unpack Firefox 5 64-bit. It will create a folder named "firefox."
Step 2. Rename the folder "firefox564."
Step 3. If necessary, move firefox564 to /mnt/home. If you now click the firefox executable in firefox564, you'll note that it will do nothing.. That's because it expects to find the .mozilla --note the dot-- in /.
Step 4. As I generally run firefox from mnt/home, and moved .mozilla to a folder on /mnt/home, I symlinked that .mozilla folder to /. [The easy way, drag and drop into /, select "Link Relative." If you don't already have .mozilla on mnt/home, you can from another Puppy copy/move it to a folder (you pick the name) there.
Step 5. Select a unique Icon. I saved a Blue firefox to /usr/share/pixmaps. I've attached a copy for anyone who wants it. Right-click the firefox icon on the desktop, select icon and drag the unique icon. Now when you click that icon on the desktop, or select "Default Browser" from the Internet Submenu, Firefox running as spot will open.
Step 6: Symlink /mnt/home/firefox564/firefox to /my-applications/bin
Step 7: Copy a normal firefox icon to /my-applications/bin.
Step 8: Create a new firefox.desktop file in /usr/share/applications. [I don't recall, but if there already is a firefox.desktop entry there, you can copy it to a temporary file, rename it by changing the first letter from small case to a capital, or vice-versa, Then move it back to /usr/share/applications.
Step 9. Open the above desktop file in a text editor and change two arguments to read as follows:
Icon=/root/my-applications/bin/firefox.png
Exec=/root/my-applications/bin/firefox
Step 10: Save and restart X.
The Non-Spot Firefox should now appear on the menu. Both firefoxes will work, as indicated by the attached screenshot. Both will employ the installed Flash to view flash-videos.
Safety and convenience. User's choice. Sorry, this didn't work in the latest Fatdog64. I don't know why. Perhaps Kirk and jamesbond setup their firefox differently.


mikesLr

[tazoc]

[gcmartin]

There is an improvement of the Firstrun "Personalize Settings" utility by @Shinobar. Makes all startup simple in one screen.

Also note:

[Barburo]

In chromium browser I get this after implementing the latest flash as per your post:

[tazoc]

@gcmartin,
Thank you, do you have a link handy? If not I'll look for it.

@Barburo,
First try worked for me, but then I tried a couple of more times at http://video.nytimes.com and saw the same plugin error, though restarting Chromium seemed to be OK.

Maybe we need to stick with Flash 10.3 for now, though FF 5.0.1 seems to prefer the 64 bit Flash 11 Beta.
-TazOC

[gcmartin]

FirstRun - Personalize Settings

Hope this helps