SlimJet 64-bit SFS packages

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, Old Acer.

Okay. Well, Chrome 26 will run with Lucid, because it was built to work with Lucid's glibc....which is 2.11, I believe. The following release, 27, was compiled with 2.13....which is why it won't run on Lucid.

Give me a few minutes, and I'll send you a link by PM.

Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

*** NEW Version 12.0.9.0 now available***

Morning, all.

The current release, 12.0.9.0, is now available for download. These can be found at the location in post #2. This includes the current version of Pepper, 23.0.0.207.

The 32-bit 'generic' SFS of SlimJet is also available from the same location as the 64-bit releases:-

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/3so7h6 ... S_packages

Don't forget, from version 12, SlimJet will only run under 32-bit totally without sandboxing, i.e. with the '--no-sandbox' switch; Pup's 'root' model doesn't allow for any other mode of operation with these recent versions, I'm afraid.

Enjoy. Any problems, I'm never very far away...


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

*** NEW Version 12.0.12.0 now available***

Morning, all.

The current release, 12.0.12.0, is now available for download. These can be found at the location in post #2. This includes the brand-new version of Pepper, 24.0.0.186 (released today).

The 32-bit 'generic' SFS of SlimJet is also available from the same location as the 64-bit releases:-

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/3so7h6 ... S_packages

As usual, version 12 of SlimJet will only run under 32-bit totally without sandboxing, i.e. with the '--no-sandbox' switch; Pup's 'root' model doesn't allow for any other mode of operation with these recent versions.

Have fun. Any probs, you know where to find me...


Mike.

[kerl]

Hi! First off thanks for your work
A newbie question: how should I replace my previous installation? I guess I can unload the old .sfs, delete it, download the new one and load it from the sfs manager.. but what about cache folders and everything else? erasing them by hand? is there some sort of (un)installer?

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, kerl.

Easiest way is to just unload the old version with the 'on-the-fly' loader/unloader (in the right-click menu), then having moved the new version to the same location (/mnt/home), load it the same way. You can then delete the old one, or do whatever else you want with it.

/root/.cache/ & /root/.config should be left as they are. Your settings will carry over to the new version.

Hope that helps!


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

Apologies are due to anyone who's been trying to get the 64-bit version of 12.0.12.0 to run.

My fault, entirely; I mixed-up the 32-bit & 64-bit scripts (they run with different exec-line 'switches.) I've corrected the problem, and re-uploaded them again to the normal location.

Sorry about that. If you re-download again, you should find it now works properly.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

*** NEW Version 12.0.14.0 now available***

Morning, all.

The current release, 12.0.14.0, is now available for download. These can be found at the location in post #2. This includes the current version of Pepper, 24.0.0.186.

The 32-bit 'generic' SFS of SlimJet is also available from the same location as the 64-bit releases:-

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/3so7h6 ... S_packages

As usual, version 12 of SlimJet will only run under 32-bit totally without sandboxing, i.e. with the '--no-sandbox' switch; Pup's 'root' model doesn't allow for any other mode of operation with these recent versions.

I'm expecting to find version 13 on release any day now, so.....if you're a 'Slimmie' fan, watch this space.

Have fun. As usual, any probs, you know where to find me.


Mike.

[comcoco]

I am very grateful for the work you do and for this Forum. I often read it, and occasionally reply. I am a very unskilled old man who does not know what I am doing at all. I am not at all good on the command line, and rarely use it. One reason I like Puppy Linux is the large number of useful GUIs it contains. I operate or am responsible for several computers which all run Puppy Linux exclusively, and have for several years. The version to which I am currently converting these computers is Tahr64.6.0.5. All the computers are barebones computers without hard drives, most recently Gigabyte GB-BXBT-2907 from Amazon for ~$120. The Puppy is installed on a USB memory stick and they run from there.

My computers only use gmail for email and use chrome/chromium the for the browser. I would even like to remove the email and browser programs from Puppy. I have not been able to change the default browser to chrome/chromium, but I would like to and get rid of PaleMoon and the provided email programs.

One of the reasons prompting me to convert to PuppyTahr64 were some problems with the chrome/chromium browser. For a long time I got the following message printed across my google page:

“This version of Chrome is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

[Mike Walsh]

Hallo, Peter.

Mm. Well, now; SlimJet is based on Chromium (just like Chrome itself is.) Chromium is where all the development work is carried out.....but because it doesn't come with Google's 'nosiness', this is why many people like it.

Quite a number of browsers are based on it. Iron is, too. Chrome is now at version 55. Iron is based on Chromium 55; SlimJet is based on Chromium 53.

FlashPeak always base their browsers on a slightly older version of Chromium, because they like to test, test & test again (and again..!)

You'll find that Chromium 53 is the very last version of it that will work with Tahr64. Reason for this is that the Chromium Project always writes the browser to use the very newest version of the 'C' library, which is what all Linux distros are based around. Google themselves always re-compile backwards against an older version of the 'C' library (the glibc, it's called.) This makes it available to a much larger user base. Iron and SlimJet appear to do this too.

Newer versions of Chromium now won't work with Tahr64. You can't upgrade the glibc easily, without the risk of 'breaking' Puppy. But there's still plenty of options...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you understand what SFS packages are? And do you know how to use them? They're an alternative packaging system which Puppy uses, rather than needing to use the PPM (or, in the case of Tahrpup, Quickpet.) They're entirely self-contained.....and, more importantly, for a 'bare-bones' approach, you can load/unload them as and when needed. That way, they're not occupying space n RAM; only when you want to use them.

They use the 'on-the-fly' loading system developed quite a few years ago by Shinobar, of the Japanese Puppy community.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try this; download the newest version of SlimJet from this thread. When you've done that, copy it across to /mnt/home (your Pup's partition, where the save-file/folder and all the Puppy system stuff lives.)

Left-click on it. You'll get a window come up asking if you want to view the contents, or install. Click on install. You'll get another small window come up shortly, asking you to confirm if you want to install. Click on 'OK'.

You'll then see another couple of small windows appear, as the SFS is being 'loaded'. When it's done, if successful, it will tell you so. Go to Menu->Internet, and all things being equal, you should see an entry for SlimJet Web Browser (ot just 'SlimJet'.) Now you can launch it.

Try that, and let me know how you get on. When it's time to upgrade to another, newer version, click on the SlimJet SFS in /mnt/home, and it'll ask if you want to unload it. Click on 'OK', and it'll tell you when it's finished. Now delete the SFS.

Download the new one, place it in /mnt/home again, and repeat the above install procedure. You'll find that all your settings have been retained in /root/.config (it's a 'hidden file', which you can access by clicking on the 'eye' icon on ROX's taskbar.)

It's a piece of cake when you've done it a couple of times.....and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, Peter; you're not doing anything wrong! The versions of software in the PPM and Quickpet don't tend to get updated as often as software in the Forums. And Tahrpup isn't getting quite as much attention as it used to, since 666philb, its creator, is devoting most of his time to getting the much newer XenialPup running properly.

My browser packages (and indeed those of OscarTalks'), tend to get upgraded very much more regularly, since we use these browsers ourselves.....and therefore like to have them as up-to-date as we can get them. That's all.

Both of us get the latest tar.gz packages from the developer's websites, and then re-package them for Puppy.....including correcting permissions. The .deb packages will install into the Tahrs.....but they have a nasty habit of breaking CUPS (for printing). And then you have all sorts of fun putting that right...!

Oscar and I both like to make certain that our packages just 'work'.....and don't interfere with anything else in the process.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

FYI, there's also the Ibiblio 'Tahr64 Packages' page. As I understand it, QuickPet draws most of its source material from here:-

http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/pe ... es-tahr64/

Hope all that helps!


Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

I do not know how to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you took to help me. Thank you!

I learned a lot from your reply. I have not been able to get the newer version of Slimjet to replace the older one on my computer, but I have made a lot of progress in that direction.

I did get it downloaded from your Site on MediaFire. I had to register for MediaFire and many false starts doing that, but I finally got it downloaded onto my machine and certainly placed on my /mnt/home directory. I followed your instructions exactly. Everything seemed to work, but I have not apparently replaced the earlier version of Slimjet which I had installed from Quickpets. This did not appear in mnt/home so I could not delete or remove it. I am guessing that installing a program as a pet does not place it in mnt/home, but somewhere else. I have not been able to find it. I even downloaded it from site you mentioned so I would know its name, slimjet_amd64.pet. I am sure that this is still the program. It still works. The version has not changed.

Assuming I am right, how can I remove this older version of Slimjet which I installed with QuickPets? Then I would probably have to make another install of the newer version which is still in mnt.\/home.

Thanks!

Peter

[Mike Walsh]

Morning, Peter.

Mm. Right. I need to know one thing, now. How have you installed your Pups? Did you do them as a 'frugal' install.....or did you do them as a 'full' install?

I ask, because SFS packages won't work with a 'full' install. If you've done them that way, I'll have to make you a .pet version. Doesn't take long, but you need the right type of package for your installs.

If you installed SlimJet from QuickPet, it should show up in the Uninstall box in the PPM. You'll need to uninstall it first, before you install a new version.

---------------------------------------------------

I must confess, I've never heard of anybody needing to register for MediaFire before they can d/l my packages. It's a 'shared', public folder.....so anybody should have access to it!

Let me have the answer as to what type of install you've done.....then we'll go from there.


Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

Thanks for your reply and help. Sorry, I have not had internet connection for the last 3 days. I am now back and still trying to install a later version of Slimjet on my Tahr 64.

I think I installed the full version of Puppy Tahr, but I am not sure. Is there anyway to know? I know I used QuickPet to install Slimjet. Would I be better starting all over and installing frugal. I really do not know the difference. Remember I am running on machines with no hard drives.

I do not know how to remove the Slimjet I installed from QuickPet or how I would replace the older version If you prepared a Pet version for me.

One thing I do know is that the older Chrome version I am running on most of my machines is not working well. It often causes freeze ups and requires killing the program and restarting. I really would like to replace it with a Slimjet up to date version. Installing programs from Pets is clearly the easiest for me. I am, however very glad you taught me how to install an SFS file, but I do not know if I did it correctly.

Working with such someone with my low level of skill may be too much for you. Please do not let me overwhelm you. I would welcome a good primer documentation on Puppy Linux. I have tried everything I have been able to find without satisfaction. Either they do not provide the information I need or they assume too much knowledge from me.

Thank you, Mike!

Peter

[Mike Walsh]

Hallo again, Peter.

TBH, the easiest way to tell if you have a 'full' or 'frugal' install is to look in your /mnt/home partition. If it's a 'frugal', you should see a 'puppy_tahr64_6.05.sfs' file. You should also see a 'zdrv_tahr64_6.05.sfs' file, too. If you've got those, then you have a 'frugal' install.

If, however, you've got a load of directories like /etc, /root, /lib, /bin, /sbin, /tmp, and things like that, then you have a 'full' install. If that's the case, I'm not surprised you're having problems with it; the only things that will install on a 'full' are .pet files.

'Full' installs are, however, recommended for hardware with particularly low amounts of RAM; frugals work better with plenty of it, since they prefer to load fully into RAM at boot, then run from memory. This is why Pups are so fast, even on elderly machinery!

Let me know what you have, and then I'll make a suggestion.


Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

Thanks for your continued help.

I definitely have a frugal installation of Tahr64 based on the indicators you gave me.

I uninstalled Slimjet using PPM, downloaded the latest Slimjet, moved it to /mnt/home, and ran it as you instructed. It seemed to go well except the last 2 small windows did not appear, nor did I get a message saying it was successfully installed. I looked for it in Menu>Internet, but could not find it there or in the user/share/applications directory. I rebooted but still could not find it. Its sfs file is still in mnt/home. When I left click on it, a screen opens as before, except that it does not offer to install it, but to uninstall it instead.

So to my unskilled eye, it appears to be installed, but I do not know how to start the program.

Please make any suggestions as to how to proceed.

Thanks,

Peter

[Mike Walsh]

Mm. Ri-i-i-ght. Time for a spot of troubleshooting, methinks.

Open a terminal. Copy/paste (or just enter) this:-

Code: Select all

/usr/bin/flashpeak-slimjet

...hit 'Enter', and let me know what the output is, please.

(Tip. For pasting into urxvt (the terminal), use your scroll-wheel, and click on it. That's how you paste into Pup's terminal..!

For copying from urxvt, simply highlight what you wish to copy. Then you can paste into your next post in the usual way.)

Easy when you know how! It's 1 am here in the UK, and I'm going to get my head down.....I'll catch you tomorrow.


Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

I am sure that this is not what you expect. I did what you said as best I could follow. With your guidance it was so easy I did it a few more times.I always got this results:

root# /usr/bin/flashpeak-slimjet
bash: /usr/bin/flashpeak-slimjet: No such file or directory

Peter

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, Peter.

Mm. That's half what I did expect, TBH. I've had it happen to me before, even when downloading my own stuff from MediaFire!

Go to /mnt/home, right-click the SlimJet.sfs file, 'Properties', and tell me what you see.

What does 'Size' give you? It should be round the 59 MB mark.


Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

Properties gave a lot of information. I have made a screen shot of that window, but I do not know if it can be pasted to this post. It does not seem to let me copy it, so I can not paste it. Instead I am going to try to attach the screen shot file. I have no confidence it will transmit to you.

I see nothing note worthy to me, except that it is NOT marked to allow it to executed by the owner. This does not seem right, Is it? Can I change it, should I? Can I just go to Permissions and change it to execute? Its size is 59M.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Peter

[Mike Walsh]

Hi, Peter.

Hmm. Well, that's exactly as it should be. I was expecting it to be showing as '0B' (zero bytes), indicating a bad download. So, let's try this:-

I'm currently uploading the SlimJet SFS file for Tahr64 to a short-term file-hosting site that's often used by Forum members. I'll give you the download link when it's done.

Go to /mnt/home. Left-click the 'SlimJet-12.0.14.0-amd64-tahr.sfs' file, and uninstall it. Then, delete it.

Now, this next bit may take some doing. You'll need to go into various parts of the file-system and make sure certain files are deleted. What we're going to do is a manual 'purge'. Think you can manage that?

Open ROX. Click on the 'Up' arrow at the left-hand end of the status bar. This will take you into the file-system. You'll need to:-

1) Go into '/opt'. Make sure the 'slimjet' directory has gone. Delete if necessary.
2) Go into '/root'. (This is the main ROX window when you open using the 'File' shortcut on the desktop). Click on the 'eye' icon. This will expose 'hidden' files/folders, which are prefaced with a '.'
3) Go into '/.cache'. Make sure the 'slimjet' folder is gone. Again, delete if necessary.
4) Go into '/.config'. Again, make sure there's no 'slimjet' folder.
5) Back to the ROX main window, and into the file-system again. Go into '/usr/bin'. Delete 'flashpeak-slimjet' if necessary.
6) Go into '/usr/share/applications.' Delete the 'Slimjet' entry'.
70 Go into '/usr/share/pixmaps'. Delete the SlimJet icon.

SlimJet should now be totally removed from the system.

Do a power-off. Unplug your computer, and hold the power button down for 30 seconds. This is known as a 'power-cycle', and it ensures that RAM is completely purged (discharges all the capacitors). Plug back in, and boot back into Tahr64.

Download Slimmie again from here:-

https://www.datafilehost.com/d/e5e3f81a

Go through the SFS install procedure again, and let me know what happens, please. Gotta go down town for a bit, but I'll be back later.

Mike.

[comcoco]

Mike,

I am not sure I can do all that manual purge, but I will try. It will take me most of the day, because I am so slow and make so many mistakes. Also I have to be in town for much of my day.

The pressure to get Slimjet up and running is somewhat reduced because I have usse PPM to install a current version(Version 53.0.2785.143 Built on Ubuntu , running on (64-bit)) of Chromium, NOT Chrome. It is running much better and should take care of my immediate needs. My old version of Chrome was really hurting my ability to use the internet.

I still need and want Slimjet, especially on some of my 32 bit computers.

You are teaching me so much! Thank you!

Peter