favorite puppy features?

[learnhow2code]

theres probably a thread about this already, feel free to point me to it (or reply to this one.)

id like to know everyones favorite puppy features. i do mean "features" like "things that puppy does" or "the way puppy does something." "its fast, and small" is a feature, but really not what im asking about.

this can be something that is included, or it can be a package manager, a wrapper, a special puppy filetype, a widget, boot option, package, etc.

prefer to have this about puppy-- if you mention a feature of puppy you really like, feel free to mention a feature you like in another distro too. feel free to list more than one feature, leaning towards your favorites. ANY puppy distro/flavor/remaster counts, active or not.

my favorite puppy features are: it was the first distro i loaded with the "toram" option, i like .pup packages (.pet packages are basically the same, they were .pups when i used puppy) and puppy is also the distro that introduced me to gdmap and isomaster.

[Sailor Enceladus]

- frugal / all in ram
- slacko and tahr (creators are cool!)
- jwm/menu
- forum
- puppies
- light and fast
- woof-ce
- open source / easy to edit things / compile with devx
- has all essential apps
-- firefox
-- leafpad
-- gnome-mplayer
-- chat
-- pup-advert blocker
-- etc.
- grub4dos / gparted / quick goodbye to winblows!
- I'm sure there's a ton of things I'm missing...

[learnhow2code]

- frugal / all in ram
- slacko and tahr (creators are cool!)
- jwm/menu
- forum

(lol, fine) - light and fast
- woof-ce
- open source / easy to edit things
- has all essential apps
-- leafpad

(theres an ad blocker? whats it called?) -- pup-advert blocker
- grub4dos / gparted / quick goodbye to winblows!
- I'm sure there's a ton of things I'm missing...

fine examples, i quoted the ones i like too.

i would add: people are always inventing things here. or reinventing them (which is underrated imo.) thats one of the things that draws me here.

i first found puppy while looking for monkey linux, which used grub4dos or similar, and puppy was the closest thing to is still being maintained.

[Pete]

Uhmm, let's see:

Runs as root
Really like the sfs and pet features
Can run completely in RAM
Loads of media it can boot off
Friendly forum/users
Easy to customize
Plus the obvious ones like speed and size

Once the devx sfs is loaded, it has C, Bacon, Python plus a whole other bunch of languages one can pgm in.

it was also the first distro that i tried that I really liked and just felt comfortable with.
Started with 4.3 then moved to 5.28 now using Slacko 6.3.0 32 bit

[nic007]

Frugal installs

[rufwoof]

Frugal is the #1 feature for me also.

Install, change, tweak, add things, remove things .... until you get the system as you like, and provided you save all docs etc. outside on a separate partition/directory you can set/fix the system to be unchanging across reboots, but with the option to reboot, make changes (such as security updates) and reset/store the 'cast in stone' version again.

Knowing you're running with a system that can simply be reset back to how you liked it with a simple reboot is way better than a dynamic installation, where a single change, corruption, virus, whatever ... could have you having to start all over again from square one ... more often that never gets you back to exactly how you had it before (and often can be a very time consuming process).

Being able to boot, try things, mess the system up and just reboot to have you back to before is the #1 appeal for me. Yes you can do the same by using backups of a full install at a point when the system was 'good', but that's a much more lengthy and often overlooked approach. System how you like it, make a backup. System trashes, you have to remove that, then restore from backup ... compared to frugal - that just required a reboot.

[solo]

Frugal, savefile and squashfs.

They're gonna have to pry that Precise Puppy CD from my cold, dead hands.

[learnhow2code]

Frugal is the #1 feature for me also.

the refracta dev asked me for a tree of /mnt/mkrefpup/newiso in refractahrpup:

Code: Select all

/mnt/mkrefpup/newiso
├── boot.cat
├── boot.msg
├── fig31_1.0.deb
├── help2.msg
├── help.msg
├── initrd.gz
├── isolinux.bin
├── isolinux.cfg
├── live
│   ├── filesystem.squashfs
│   ├── initrd.img
│   └── vmlinuz
├── logo.16
├── puppy_tahr_6.0.5.sfs
├── README.HTM
├── vmlinuz
└── zdrv_tahr_6.0.5.sfs

1 directory, 16 files

theres got to be a way to do a frugal install of this, given the similarity in the livecd setup with this and puppy. (it is actually puppys isolinux config, with a little of refractas added in.)

the frugal installer for the puppy half should work, though it would be neat to modify it to frugal install both parts. (if the installer wouldnt do that out of the box.)

[rufwoof]

Frugal is the #1 feature for me also.

the refracta dev asked me for a tree of /mnt/mkrefpup/newiso in refractahrpup:

Code: Select all

/mnt/mkrefpup/newiso
├── boot.cat
├── boot.msg
├── fig31_1.0.deb
├── help2.msg
├── help.msg
├── initrd.gz
├── isolinux.bin
├── isolinux.cfg
├── live
│   ├── filesystem.squashfs
│   ├── initrd.img
│   └── vmlinuz
├── logo.16
├── puppy_tahr_6.0.5.sfs
├── README.HTM
├── vmlinuz
└── zdrv_tahr_6.0.5.sfs

1 directory, 16 files

theres got to be a way to do a frugal install of this, given the similarity in the livecd setup with this and puppy. (it is actually puppys isolinux config, with a little of refractas added in.)

dd works too, at least once you run isohybrid on the iso file.

In this thread we've frugal installed Debian Jessie's live CD content. Fundamentally its a matter of copying the live folder over onto HDD, setup up grub4dos to point to that using the template of the one on the CD as a reference, and then setting up persistence/saves. In that Debian thread we now have choices of saves to either a partition, folder or directory. For directory that needs a change of the initrd, for partition or file you can continue to use the initrd that came with the ISO.

A sort of puppy frugal wrapper around a core system such as Debian Jessie. End up with the best of both worlds, stable and extensive set of apps and fast updates of security fixes, alongside puppy frugal type booting.

[learnhow2code]

In this thread we've frugal installed Debian Jessie's live CD content.

nice! thanks.

[B.K. Johnson]

• runs in ram
  cursor_themes
  - with pcur allows great selection of cursors - can't stand those rinky-dink default cursors
  The multiplicity of boot media - cd/dvd, usb-flash, external usb HD
  single-click operations
  single-click mounting/unmounting of ISOs
  manual install of puppy from ISO to USB device
  emelfm2 (not unique to puppy; with cursor_themes, it's my first installs after initial psave)
  easy "uninstall" of pets and SFSs, although needs better space management when pets are uninstalled.
  -yeah! I know about remastering.
  pfix=ram to create copy of boot version for experiments/tests
  event manager with 0 min interval and save/nosave at shut-down for psave management
  removal of cd/dvd after boot (but why not flash also, if definitely known that there won't be saves to flash?)
  seamonkey/composer
  gParted and Testdisk (not unique to puppy)

[gcmartin]

Touchscreen is an OOTB feature for several community PUPs

• Touch screen operations has an ever growing application. More of PUPs could consider the changes introduced by FATDOG, LightHouse, Just-Lighthouse, and Slacko for Touch screen operations..

This benefit is a welcome for Desktops, Laptops, Tablets of past few years.

When showing Windows/MAC Touchscreen PC owners Puppy Linux. They are miffed as they "thought" that it was exclusive to their installed OS. This surprise has made it simple for users to switch/consider switching to PUPPY, as PUPs do much of the same things they are accustomed to.

PUP Developers have been most considerate in making sure PUPs, today, are also PUPs that operate on newer hardware PC features.

[Flash]

Multisession DVD. For years, all Puppys could do this trick except for some derivatives. Barry seems to have gotten away from it, apparently preferring remastering. I prefer the multisession approach, as each saved session can be skipped if desired at boot, and is available for inspection.

[gcmartin]

+1. This generational aspect of Puppy Linux has provided benefit on several occasions.

@Ted Dog was another member who not only finds favor but also extended this generational abiltiy to Frugal users. But, sadly, as much benefit as it offers to selective remove or disengage a generational setting, it has not bubble to the top for developers to include. Much benefit, but lost in lack of knowledge or understanding.

I dont know if it will survive, but, it IS ONE OF PUPPY SHINING FEATURES even though it is only relegated to DVDs.

[learnhow2code]

Multisession DVD. For years, all Puppys could do this trick except for some derivatives. Barry seems to have gotten away from it, apparently preferring remastering.

my attitude towards this is

1. the fan is always right about their favorite feature-- unless theyre technically wrong ("puppy can turn pi into 6.28318..." no... it can multiply pi by 2 though.) however this is one of those (usual) times when the fan is right.

2. speaking personally, i do not like to advertise features that are not time-tested and work well, but good cds are difficult to find these days, and i still havent figured out the capabilities of the average dvd.

given this, i would not be likely to promote or encourage such a feature for dvds. but the nice thing about this community is-- you can get lots of testimonials, ask questions, learn whats good from peers. at some point i may instead say "actually, this is great, its fine, everyone loves it." instead i recommend remastering (and trying the remaster out with qemu.) the good thing is, i also tell people to listen to someone that knows more about the subject.

[James C]

Multisession DVD. For years, all Puppys could do this trick except for some derivatives. Barry seems to have gotten away from it, apparently preferring remastering. I prefer the multisession approach, as each saved session can be skipped if desired at boot, and is available for inspection.

Agree with Flash. I use multi-session DVD's with my Windows boxes {presently Tahr and Slacko64) and had zero problems with them. I've filled up a pretty good stack of dvds

[Flash]

All I know is, I've run many different Puppys from multisession DVDs over the past ten years with no problems. Most of the people who have had problems running Puppy from multisession CDs or DVDs were using laptops. Apparently, laptop DVD drives aren't the same as real DVD drives. The beautiful thing about standards being that there are so many to choose from.

[rufwoof]

Multisession DVD. For years, all Puppys could do this trick except for some derivatives. Barry seems to have gotten away from it, apparently preferring remastering. I prefer the multisession approach, as each saved session can be skipped if desired at boot, and is available for inspection.

Frugal can do the same. Providing the root folder of you snapshots tree contains a copy of the main filesystem sfs that you booted at the time, sub directories can contain copies of the save folder/file/partition content at the time - perhaps one each month, week, day, whatever. The two combined enabling you to go back to any particular date/snapshot simply by copying the relevant/desired pair as the current boot choices/files.

If you don't remaster the filesystem sfs, then all snapshots (saves) are relative to that and you just boot whichever save folder/file/partition content you desire.

In puppy that selection can be more automated - potentially presented with the choice of savefolder to load at bootup. In other cases such as my own (Debian Jessie frugal) its more manual ... I use a partition based saves (persistence), so that needs to be populated with the snapshot of the partition copy I desire to 'go back to'.

[8Geee]

Live CD
frugal USB

I think these two rule.

[rufwoof]

You don't hear much about partition based saves - giving the impression that they're not too popular. But for some they might be a reasonable choice. You can use the e2label terminal command to change the label of a partition or change the label using something like gparted GUI.

Generally you can have only four primary partitions, but if one of those is a extended partition then you can create potentially unlimited (??) logical partitions within that extended partition. So a small primary partition and the rest as a extended partition enables as many save partitions to be created as you saw fit to create. (Or maybe one primary partition, three extended partitions, each with logical partitions contained within...etc).

With Debian Jessie partition based boot persistence (saves) it looks for (or assumes) a partition label of 'persistence' but that can be changed by adding a kernel boot parameter (such as in menu.lst for grub4dos) of something like persistence-label=xxx to change the name of save partition it looks for to 'xxx' (or whatever name you decide). So you might have multiple menu.lst entries for the same puppy/system, but with different persistence-label= entries so as to give you the choice of load/save (snapshots) to startup at each boot.

You could for instance have 12 partitions labelled the months of the year and set menu.lst (assuming grub4dos) to point to the current months partition label, then at the end of the month copy that partition content (save content) to the next month and then adjust menu.lst to use that .... etc. Such that to go back to any prior month image you just boot pointing to that months partition label. If that partition set were on a USB then you might store that after a year and replace it with another USB ... so you had yearly histories. Or perhaps just clear out the content of a months partition after having made a backup of that using mksquashfs or whatever.

The setup I'm using is that I have a small FAT partition for grub4dos where menu.lst is based. After that I have a primary partition for the main filesystem (in my case Debian Jessie filesystem squashfs i.e. live CD content copied over to HDD so that it boots quicker) that gets booted (being a sfs) read only; And another primary partition that I use for docs etc. Alongside that I have a external USB HDD that I've partitioned into two, one partition for saves (changes/save partition) and another for backups. By keeping copies of the content on both HDD's i.e. copies of menu.lst, the filesystem.squashfs and docs partition content on the USB HDD and a copy of the save partition content on the main internal HDD (I tend to just use mksquashfs to make such backups), then that's resilient to HDD failure.

Personally I boot mostly read only, so any changes during a session are lost at shutdown (as I keep all docs etc outside of puppy (or in my case Debian) space), but if I want to make a change persistent then I reboot into read/write mode (save session), make the changes - such as installing updates/security fixes, and reboot back into read only mode. Which is a bit like remastering, but tends to be much quicker (just reboots).