(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Barburo wrote:TazOC,
I forgot to thank you for the log-out script on wbar for KDE3.
Now changing the window manager, or exiting is much faster.
I've found that the puppy implementation of KDE3 has been pretty solid as a window manager. I like KDE3 over KDE4 (it's faster and seems to use less resources) and I'm glad you're continuing support in your next version.
I've also found LXDE to be efficient and it supports C-F too, but doesn't have the menu flexibility that KDE has.

Don't work too hard on that next release - we all need some downtime!
B.

Hi Barburo,
You're welcome, I use the Logout button on Wbar often, and I took some time off yesterday. I used to favor KDE3 but I would like to phase it out in favor of Xfce 4, which I've been tweaking for the next release of Mariner ISO. I think it is faster than KDE3, has nearly every setting you can think of, including C-F-like compositing with shadows and translucency built in (Menu | Setup | Xfce Settings | Window Manager Tweaks | Compositor). Today I updated the Xfce4 Settings Manager and the Weather Update Panel Plugin from Lucid packages, (see attached screen shot.) With the KDE 4 add-on you'll still be able to run KDE apps from other desktops.

I also updated Lighthouse to Xorg-xserver 1.7.7 and Mesa 7.8.1 with OpenGL 2.1 support and DRI (direct rendering interface) hardware acceleration from Slackware 13.1 Beta 1 repos. Xserver 1.7.7 was released on May 4th and it's looking very good here. So far the 3D performance with my setup is right on par with the ATI proprietary drivers in prior releases and hopefully will work as well with nVidia, Intel and other display cards.
Take care,
TazOC

tazoc wrote:I also updated Lighthouse to Xorg-xserver 1.7.7 and Mesa 7.8.1 with OpenGL 2.1 support and DRI (direct rendering interface) hardware acceleration from Slackware 13.1 Beta 1 repos. Xserver 1.7.7 was released on May 4th and it's looking very good here. So far the 3D performance with my setup is right on par with the ATI proprietary drivers in prior releases and hopefully will work as well with nVidia, Intel and other display cards.
Take care,
TazOC

Im going to throw out a crazy wild question out here... any chance it'll work better with multi monitors than the previous versions? And I dont mean cloning but extending the desktop onto both screens?

Where does the Weather app pull its data from?

Have you integrated an app that handles a personal weather station?

There are a couple of free apps out there for Linux that have nice displays of your measurements and even a weather cam -- and at least one will interface with a huge network of weather stations.

dpup looked very promising, but hey, I got some new hardware recently and decided it was time to try a fat puppy on my machine...

My requirements were:
- can recognize my hardware
- can do multimedia
- has some sort of video editor
- can support compiz, preferably on xfce 4

Well... Tazoc basically answered all of that, and more Is it humanly possible to handle all those different configurations and still have some rock solid OS? Congratulations, you made it! .

Now, because of my requirements, I needed to put pretty much all of the sfs I could find on lhpup.org download page which created somewhat of a bloat (admittedly restricted to ~ 1GB, which is not bad actually!).

I have few questions to help me further personalize my installation (frugal):
- I have the choice between so many desktop managers. Is there any way to remove some of them without affecting stability? For example, I need Kdenlive software, does it mean I am stuck with kde3 or 4 or both?
- I have two users: root and spot, each with its startup folder. Is spot startup folder looked into when booting? (I suppose I am root by default?). There are many apps in each startup folder and I am not sure what they do... yet.


Anyway, everything looks very solid so far, all my hardware was properly configured out of the box, and very minimum setup was required to get going. Thank you so much for such hard work and dedication.

PS: maybe someone who's trying to figure what hardware to buy to run a linux distribution without headache, here is my setup:
CPU: phenom II X3 720, unlocked fourth core through BIOS
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P, integrated audio (realtek 889a), integrated network
Graphic card: nvidia Geforce 7900GS
Memory: 2GB G-Skill DDR2 (6400)
Wireless: TrendNet TEW-623PI (Version v3.0R)

Just installed LHP 4.43 Gu2 Frugal on a laptop.

Looks good, except ...

1. Like other Puppy versions it only offers 1400 x 1050 as a resolution so I have to manually edit the config file down to 1280 x 1048 (this is only on one specific laptop).

2. Even at 1280 x 1048 I have to change the default font to 96

3. The wifi has to try 4x to make a connection, this has happened with other Puppy versions, but once made and saved it is fine.

4. It renders http://myfoxhurricane.com *almost* correctly, but not quite, and the Gu3 update caused the Chatango window to no longer display the text.

5. http://honolulu.gov/multimed/waikiki.aps does not display correctly - gxine error. (There is no error in 4.31 and SM 1.18, but it also doesn't show the cam.)

6. When I have a couple of sites open in http://www.webcamplaza.net/ and try to back out it no longer crashes - as it has in some Puppy versions.

7. I still wish SM would offer a window to search the HDD (multiple partitions) for other installs and ask if one wants to import Address Book, Bookmarks, E-mail folders, and other settings from a list. [Note: I have them stored outside the personal storage file.)

Q5sys wrote:Im going to throw out a crazy wild question out here... any chance it'll work better with multi monitors than the previous versions? And I dont mean cloning but extending the desktop onto both screens?

That's a good question but I don't have a clue. I'll look through the documentation when I have a chance. Refresh my memory please, is yours an Intel card?

edoc wrote:Where does the Weather app pull its data from?

The Xfce plugin queries xoap.weather.com according to http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/panel- ... her-plugin.

edoc wrote:Have you integrated an app that handles a personal weather station?There are a couple of free apps out there for Linux that have nice displays of your measurements and even a weather cam -- and at least one will interface with a huge network of weather stations.

I don't have anything currently in LHP that will do that.

gulk wrote:I have few questions to help me further personalize my installation (frugal):
- I have the choice between so many desktop managers. Is there any way to remove some of them without affecting stability? For example, I need Kdenlive software, does it mean I am stuck with kde3 or 4 or both?

KDE 4 is by far the largest desktop but Kdenlive requires it. KDE and Xfce are the only ones I have set up to easily remove. Unload the respective SFS in BootManager and reboot if that's what you were to decide. KDE also has an uninstaller in the Settings Menu, though it's not a necessity. I tried to keep the software that requires KDE 3/4 all in the same SFS but Battleshooter's compilation of Kdenlive came on the scene later.

gulk wrote:I have two users: root and spot, each with its startup folder. Is spot startup folder looked into when booting? (I suppose I am root by default?). There are many apps in each startup folder and I am not sure what they do... yet.

No, only when you log on as spot and yes, root is the default user in LHP. Keep in mind with KDE the startup folder is different from the other desktops. KDE's startup is at $HOME/.kde/Autostart while the other WMs use $HOME/startup, where $HOME is current user's home folder: for root it's /root, for spot it's /home/spot. Too see what code is executed, right-click on each item and choose Open as Text. (Choose Show Target first for a symlink.)
-TazOC

tazoc wrote:KDE 4 is by far the largest desktop but Kdenlive requires it. KDE and Xfce are the only ones I have set up to easily remove. Unload the respective SFS in BootManager and reboot if that's what you were to decide. KDE also has an uninstaller in the Settings Menu, though it's not a necessity. I tried to keep the software that requires KDE 3/4 all in the same SFS but Battleshooter's compilation of Kdenlive came on the scene later.

Thanks for the quick response!
Basically, you mean that if I want to use Kdenlive, but don't need any other of the KDE apps (I'm not going to use KDE as a desktop manager), I can just remove the apps from the KDE uninstaller and they will be gone from the sfs (or at least somehow hidden)?
Will the apps be removed from the lxpanel or will I need to configure that by hand?

Hi gulk,
The KDE Uninstaller just backs out the changes that the KDE-Setup made, e.g., restores the logout panels so that KDE is not listed. If you want to keep Kdenlive you'll need to keep the KDE SFS installed. If you want to remove some of the KDE apps from the menu system, open '/usr/share/applications/kde4' in a file manager and delete items as desired, (not Kdenlive!) And the same for 'usr/share/applications/kde' (that's the KDE3 apps), then choose 'Refresh Menus' in Settings or run 'fixmenus' in a terminal. That should update the menu system and the items you deleted will be hidden from the menus.
-TazOC

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks a lot, I can't wait to try that home tonight This is simply awesome.

Now for the harder part: with compiz enabled (by the way did I mention it worked right away using your sfs??? ), wbar has some kind of a translucent box around it and I can't seem to be able to remove it. Any idea?
If not, I can definitely live with it and I now have a jaw dropping super cool environment that I am still in the process of discovering.

tazoc wrote:If you want to remove some of the KDE apps from the menu system, open '/usr/share/applications/kde4' in a file manager and delete items as desired, (not Kdenlive!) And the same for 'usr/share/applications/kde' (that's the KDE3 apps), then choose 'Refresh Menus' in Settings or run 'fixmenus' in a terminal. That should update the menu system and the items you deleted will be hidden from the menus.
-TazOC

May the removed KDE apps be selectively restored or are they gone and restoring them becomes a complex process?

tazoc wrote:

Q5sys wrote:Im going to throw out a crazy wild question out here... any chance it'll work better with multi monitors than the previous versions? And I dont mean cloning but extending the desktop onto both screens?

That's a good question but I don't have a clue. I'll look through the documentation when I have a chance. Refresh my memory please, is yours an Intel card?
-TazOC

yes, sadly im cursed with an intel video card. it can clone fine... just cant for some reason extend the desktop

Hello, again it has been awhile since I have looked in to see whats changed. Like the new xfce sfs, it is working just fine. Still using LHP on my usb and take it everywhere and still working great. I have a new background, following my usual abstract theme, hope you like it.

Cheers

Jason


http://i40.tinypic.com/14j2ptl.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/14j2ptl.jpg Thank you Jason.

gulk wrote:Now for the harder part: with compiz enabled (by the way did I mention it worked right away using your sfs??? ), wbar has some kind of a translucent box around it and I can't seem to be able to remove it. Any idea?
If not, I can definitely live with it and I now have a jaw dropping super cool environment that I am still in the process of discovering.

Yeah C-F is nice and reliable when it works. But Wbar has that clear box around it and the only way I know to remove it is to use a different WM and compositing method, such as that in Xfce 4 (Menu | Setup | Xfce Settings | Window Manager Tweaks | Compositor) or KDE 4 (System Settings | Desktop | Enable Desktop Effects).

edoc wrote:May the removed KDE apps be selectively restored or are they gone and restoring them becomes a complex process?

In a frugal install they can be easily restored by copying them from /initrd/pup_ro4/usr/share/applications/kde4 to /usr/share/applications/kde4 and then refreshing the menus, and in IceWM restarting the WM.

jasmac wrote:I have a new background, following my usual abstract theme, hope you like it.

Hi Jason I've missed you and thank you for the great new background! It will be in the upcoming LHP 5.00 A release.
Take care,
TazOC

tazoc wrote:I also updated Lighthouse to Xorg-xserver 1.7.7 and Mesa 7.8.1 with OpenGL 2.1 support and DRI (direct rendering interface) hardware acceleration from Slackware 13.1 Beta 1 repos. Xserver 1.7.7 was released on May 4th and it's looking very good here. So far the 3D performance with my setup is right on par with the ATI proprietary drivers in prior releases and hopefully will work as well with nVidia, Intel and other display cards.
Take care,
TazOC

I've been following Barry's blog, dont know if you have as well... but I'm hoping that the next version will not run into the same troubles that Barry has spoken about regarding the Intel hardware with quirky. No way to know though till we test it. Whenever you release it (again no rush!!) I'll put it through its paces on the two intel gfx platforms I have and report back.
So anyone out there with an intel card, dont worry yet. It will be tested... just give some time.

tazoc wrote:But Wbar has that clear box around it and the only way I know to remove it is to use a different WM and compositing method, such as that in Xfce 4 (Menu | Setup | Xfce Settings | Window Manager Tweaks | Compositor) or KDE 4 (System Settings | Desktop | Enable Desktop Effects)

Thanks Tazoc; I found a way to keep emerald as a WM and still remove the clear box around wbar. I just edited the emerald theme I am using, i.e. Truglass and set shadow opacity to 0.0. Of course that removed the shadow for all windows, but it doesn't change much the overall feel and wbar looks much better now.

Hi Jason Very Happy I've missed you and thank you for the great new background! It will be in the upcoming LHP 5.00 A release.
Take care,
TazOC

Wow! That's a hugh jump all the way to the 2.6.33.2 kernel in puppy 5.0.0. Sounds exciting!

Cheers,
Jim

HI Tazok,

My audio is not working on a Dell Dimension E510 desktop using your latest lighthouse. I tried Lighthouse 412 final and the audio works properly.

Both your latest and 421 installs "hda - intel 8086:27d8(rev01)" driver. Sound works on 421 and not on the latest. Volume is at max setting. Hardware info indicates Audio adapter is "HDA-intel - HDA intel".

Any ideas, just off the cuff? Don't spend any extra time on this problem. This sound problem is true of all pups of 431 and later vintage on this computer.

Thanks,
Jim

Q5sys wrote:I'll put it through its paces on the two intel gfx platforms I have and report back.

That's appreciated as I don't have any Intel display adapters for testing. The Xorg I'm using now is the latest from Slackware paired with the latest xorgwizard from Quirky, tweaked for Lighthouse. Although the kernel modules are Quirky, the video drivers--41 of them plus the Mesa GLX packages are all Slackware, including xf86-video-intel-2.11.0.

Jim1911 wrote:HI Tazok,

My audio is not working on a Dell Dimension E510 desktop using your latest lighthouse. I tried Lighthouse 412 final and the audio works properly.

Both your latest and 421 installs "hda - intel 8086:27d8(rev01)" driver. Sound works on 421 and not on the latest. Volume is at max setting. Hardware info indicates Audio adapter is "HDA-intel - HDA intel".

Any ideas, just off the cuff? Don't spend any extra time on this problem. This sound problem is true of all pups of 431 and later vintage on this computer.

Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim, let's see, open the mixer and toggle the PC speaker option, if it has one, and make sure all the sliders are up. Exit X and run alsaconf. If that doesn't help, try the Multiple Sound Card Wizard in Settings | Wizards.

For the KDE 4 sound system, copy all files and folders in /usr/share/sounds to /usr/share/audio except don't over-write any of the files. Then delete /usr/share/sounds and make it a symlink to /usr/share/audio. That workaround finally got all the KDE sounds working on my system.
Hope that helps,
TazOC

@tazoc.

This implementation is an excellent piece of work. (and I sent you a PM on this)

When using Seamonkey, I sometimes bump the right side of the screen with the mouse and get "shot" to the 2nd screen session on the desktop (to clarify, on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen there are 2 desktops. when working in one, i sometimes am "jump" to the 2nd desktop.). I think this may be some sort of a feature as it sometimes happens with Puppy as well.

Ideas....Thanks in advance...