Porteus Settings Centre

New features which should be implemented in Porteus; suggestions are welcome. All questions or problems with testing releases (alpha, beta, or rc) should go in their relevant thread here, rather than the Bug Reports section.
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fanthom
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#46 by fanthom » 12 Jun 2011, 00:00

@agreimann
will 'beta' be ready tomorrow (Sunday 12th) before 1pm Greenwich time? i would like to have all stuff gathered in one place before starting uploading rc3 on the server.

Cheers
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#47 by agreimann » 14 Jun 2011, 05:29

My estimate for the release right now is Monday morning--noon at the latest--at my time. I apologize for this, but since the project is entering beta, I'm trying to implement and finalize ALL features to release beta quality software. Again, my apologies, but I won't be able to upload comfortably tomorrow. I will do the best I can.

Thanks for understanding;

Regards,

-- Andrew

Posted after 1 day 13 hours 35 minutes 50 seconds:
I want to keep totally honest--and also apologize for the lateness. The project should be completed hopefully by sometime later today. I have been trying to focus on the project and work on things I need to do at the same time, and I appreciate you guys' patience with the beta. :) I'll be finished with this soon....

Posted after 7 hours 36 minutes 6 seconds:
I'm getting there. What will happen is a little different than I envisioned. This time tomorrow (this is the final deadline I'm setting on the project), Porteus Settings Assistant Beta will be released. It will not include an installer in the classic version--Porteus Settings Assistant will now ship in two Porteus module editions bundled in one .tar.gz archive. The classic edition will be purely CLI, while the official edition will be patches and improvements (though not much visible by the end user). The documentation and everything will be updated accordingly. I would have loved to release everything by today as scheduled--but the full edition is implementing a control center/control panel that Porteus Settings Assistant, when running the LXDE environment, can use. Porteus Settings Assistant will also be able to be used in 32-bit, 64-bit, and what control panel it should launch. Once again, thank you all for your patience.

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#48 by fanthom » 14 Jun 2011, 06:14

sounds good :)
let me know whet ready....
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#49 by agreimann » 14 Jun 2011, 23:33

UPDATE to everyone--the Porteus Settings Assistant is now COMPLETE, and has now reached beta stage. It has been tested, and I believe the Official Edition to be bug-free, other than with password changing, which sometimes does not work. The Classic Edition still has a few bugs I will need to iron out. Note, however, that the Classic release will use the pre-release method of operation (hence Classic).

The beta release has just been uploaded to Google Code minutes ago at http://code.google.com/p/porteus-settings-assistant.

What is new in this release:

- Compatibility with 32-bit when possible (e.g. support for KControl in the finish dialog.)
- Self-included control panel for Porteus LXDE when KDE System Settings is not detected.
- Porteus module installation method used throughout release.
- Icons are now in a separate module, and a separate folder called shared_icons for all Porteus scripts that want to use them is revealed in porteus-scripts.
- Bug fixes.
- Ability to run as guest (root password will be asked for when needed.)
- New Classic mode which runs for shell users.

Again, thank you ALL for your support and patience! This has been a pleasure to write--I hope you all like it. I'm *totally* open to feedback, as this is reaching the final release stage--the big 1.0. :D

Posted after 2 hours 58 minutes 8 seconds:
Another update: I already have additional features planned (one hint I'll give is it's time to implement firewall support), but there are other surprises I won't mention, after reading the program's wiki, that will be in the second beta version. If there are any major bugs anyone finds, it would be nice for me to find out and fix them. After Beta 2 comes 1.0.

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#50 by fanthom » 15 Jun 2011, 12:30

freaking good job!
i'm really impressed with "Porteus Settings Assistant" - this is the last new feature which will be added to 1.0 :)
i'm going to dump annoying 'password check' function from rc.M.
@Ahau - docs must be updated, sorry about so late changes - i promise this is the last one :)

@agreimann

few things:
a) what's the purpose of the CLI version? can we stick to the GUI one only?
b) wish to have 'go back button' in case user changes his mind about some settings.
c) if you want "PSA" as a separate package then pls make txz from it and put license/documentation in /usr/doc/Porteus-Settings-Assistant-1.0
d) permissions must be fixed on all files (currently even icons and docs has +x)
e) any chance to get psswd.xzm module from /etc/shadow if user changes his passwords? this would be useful for users who doesn't use 'changes=' cheatcode

please prepare PSA-final before Saturday.
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#51 by Blaze » 15 Jun 2011, 13:58

agreimann, great job! :good:
Linux 6.6.11-porteus #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun Jan 14 12:07:37 MSK 2024 x86_64 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1270 v6 @ 3.80GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#52 by Ahau » 15 Jun 2011, 14:55

@fanthom and brokenman:

I've started updating docs on the web. So far, the features doc and the install guide have been updated. Please replace the third paragaph in Appendix B of the Install Guide with this:

Code: Select all

While starting up, Porteus will run a check to see if you are asking it to save changes directly to a device with a Windows filesystem.  If you are, then Porteus will boot into "Always Fresh" mode.  To create a '.dat' container file and start saving your changes, boot Porteus into KDE or LXDE.  Then open up the menu and navigate to "System -> Porteus .dat manager" (NOTE:  You can also access this program through the new "Porteus Settings Assistant" program which is included with V1.0 Final).  Click on this application to open it.  It will ask you for the location where you want to save it (e.g. /mnt/sdb1/changes, if sdb1 is your desired storage device).  It will then ask you for a name to call the container.  You can choose any name you like, for example 0, save, mychanges, etc. (upon creation, the .dat suffix will be added).  You must then select the size of the container in megabytes and it will be created placed on your storage device.  In order to start saving your changes, you will need to make a simple modification to the file that configures your bootup procedure. Here are the necessary steps:
For the Install Guide in the Final ISO. If more updates are needed to the ISO docs, I'll let you know...maybe I'll even get off my lazy ass and package them up for you again :)

Posted after 19 minutes 59 seconds:
I've drafted a new FAQ to replace No. 25, "How can I avoid being asked for a username and password every time I log in?"

Here are the two replacements:

Code: Select all

How can I log in to KDE or LXDE as the root user?

As of Version 1.0, Porteus will log you in as a non-root user called 'guest' by default.  This is done to increase the security of your system.  If you would like to boot into KDE or LXDE as the root user, just use the 'toroot' cheatcode. 

How can I change the default passwords for the root and guest users?

If you would like to change the default passwords ('toor' for root and 'guest' for guest), this can be done through the "Porteus-Settings-Assistant" tool, available in the KDE or LXDE menu under "System" ((OR, will it be under 'settings'?)) Navigate through the script (decline any changes you don't wish to make) until it asks about setting up passwords.  Then follow the instructions to assign new passwords.  A module, psswd.xzm will be created and placed on your storage media at /porteus/modules. Once this module is in place, your new passwords will be enforced. If you are booting off a CD or other read-only media, the module will be created as /home/guest/Desktop/psswd.xzm, and you'll need to remaster your ISO to add this module, placed in /porteus/modules. For more on remastering an ISO, see question #22, above.
Fanthom, please confirm that the default action for Porteus will be to log users in as guest, with no need to enter a password for LXDM/KDM? If that is the case, then I don't see a need to keep the old FAQ #25 around.
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#53 by agreimann » 15 Jun 2011, 18:58

@Ahau, right now the beta only saves password changes to memory. I read the documentation you were planning on writing--I have a set of new features planned for the last beta, and apparently, it sounds like I will need to write the passwords to a module, and then have the Porteus Settings Assistant ask the user whether they would like the changes saved to their desktop or for the next boot. Let me know what you think. A few of the other features I'm giving away for those a little anxious can be found here: http://code.google.com/p/porteus-settin ... ngFeatures

@fanthom: Glad you liked this release. To get to the questions so far:
- Yes, permissions are part of the bugs I need to fix, and I will get to taking down executable flags on files where it is not needed. :)
- The Classic (CLI) edition is meant for advanced users who do not wish to use the Official (GUI) edition. It is a completely separate module. It was in planning after I saw brokenman uses the shell, and I thought implementing it would be a good idea. I will note, however, that the Classic version will only get updated as a part of official releases (e.g. 1.0, 2.0...) after 1.0. If you wish, I can remove this feature, but I think there are users who will appreciate it, say, when they run Porteus in Text-Only.
- Porteus Settings Assistant will include a way for users to change settings on the fly.
- Since things are now "moduled", I was planning on putting the entire Official and Classic edition contents in their own archives, except for a new file, install-instructions. Should the icons remain separate?
- Better password management is something I'm wondering about right now...
- Not sure if I can cram all the features everyone wants by Saturday, but I will certainly keep people posted on that, and try my best to.

@Blaze: Thanks! I thought your project was good work, also! :D

Regards,

-- Andrew

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#54 by Ahau » 15 Jun 2011, 19:11

@agreimann,

Sorry -- the problem is I haven't run the latest version of your tool (been too busy with doc stuff), so wasn't sure if it would make modules for passwords or not. Being a frequent user of "Always Fresh" mode, I do think it would be useful to have them saved to a module (but if it's not possible to have this done by Saturday, then I'll change the docs to have folks make the module manually).

If it helps, here's the section of script that fanthom wrote (in /etc/rc.d/rc.M) that changes the password and saves them to an xzm file (i swiped this directly from rc.M):

Code: Select all

# change password
NEWROOTPASS="`cmdline_value passwd`"
[ "$NEWROOTPASS" = "ask" ] && { echo -ne "\nEnter new password for root: "; read -s NEWROOTPASS; }
[ "$NEWROOTPASS" = "" ] || echo "root:$NEWROOTPASS" | /usr/sbin/chpasswd

# switch to root account or ask for changing default passwords
if grep -wq toroot /proc/cmdline; then
    sed -i /usr/share/config/kdm/kdmrc -e s/AutoLoginUser=guest/AutoLoginUser=root/g 2>/dev/null
    sed -i /etc/lxdm/lxdm.conf -e s/autologin=guest/autologin=root/g 2>/dev/null
else
    root=`grep root /etc/shadow | cut -d: -f-2`
    guest=`grep guest /etc/shadow | cut -d: -f-2`

    if [ "$root" = 'root:$1$MKy0eqPM$auerQwMpGYcqgBqVddkfO/' ]; then
	clear
	echo "Warning! the user root is still using the default [1;33mtoor[0m password. Please provide new password or press enter to continue using the default:" | fmt -w 80
	read psswd
	[ "$psswd" = "" ] || { echo "root:$psswd" | /usr/sbin/chpasswd; new=y; }
    fi

    if [ "$guest" = 'guest:$1$A0zCA/md$Z8FzMvCgnClVRbs8QyPVr.' ]; then
	echo "Warning! the user guest is still using the default [1;33mguest[0m password. Please provide new password or press enter to continue using the default:" | fmt -w 80
	read psswd
	[ "$psswd" = "" ] || { echo "guest:$psswd" | /usr/sbin/chpasswd; new=y; }
    fi

    if [ "$new" = "y" ]; then
	mkdir /tmp/psswd$$ && cp -P --parents /etc/shadow /tmp/psswd$$
	moddir=`awk 'c-->0;/Porteus data found in/{c=1}' /mnt/live/var/log/livedbg`
	touch $moddir/_test 2>/dev/null && rm $moddir/_test
	if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
	    dir2xzm /tmp/psswd$$ $moddir/modules/psswd.xzm >/dev/null 2>&1
	    echo "[1;33mYour passwords are stored in the $moddir/modules/psswd.xzm module and are vaid as of now. To restore the default passwords, delete psswd.xzm from the /porteus/modules folder.[0m" | fmt -w 80
	    echo "press enter to continue"
	else
	    echo "($moddir/modules is on a read-only filesystem - psswd.xzm cannot be created in this location)" | fmt -w 80
	    dir2xzm /tmp/psswd$$ /home/guest/Desktop/psswd.xzm >/dev/null 2>&1
	    echo "[1;33mYour passwords are stored in the /home/guest/Desktop/psswd.xzm module, please move this module to your /porteus/modules folder and you wont be prompted for changing the default passwords anymore.[0m" | fmt -w 80
	    echo "press enter to continue"
	fi
	read
    fi
fi
NOTE: I copied that through windows and it messed up some of the characters (it is displaying empty boxes for some characters) -- best to pull this directly from /etc/rc.d/rc.M in RC3 -- it's almost at the end of the script.
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#55 by agreimann » 16 Jun 2011, 02:40

Okay... not sure what I will do with the password issue, and I will see about getting to that if it is possible within the program. Thank you so much for the information. It is appreciated. :) Not sure if I will have everything ready by Saturday, guys, as I have work that I need to do as well. I will see about the earliest possible time I can get the final program pushed out to Google Code. I appreciate everyone's understanding. :)

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#56 by Ahau » 16 Jun 2011, 14:15

Thanks, Agreimann -- a couple of things:

When I change the passwords, I get prompted to change root's password, and then I get prompted to change root's password again. I'm never asked to change the guest password. Then, I saved the password file (/etc/shadow) to a module and rebooted. Now, I had a non-default password for root. When I ran PSA again, that time it asked me to change guest's password (but not root's).

And, if you can't implement the use of a module for passwords by Saturday, just let me know. I'll modify my instructions to say:

Once you're done changing your settings, you can save your passwords to a module if you would like to have them applied during "Always Fresh" mode. Use the following instructions, performed as root:

Code: Select all

mkdir -p /tmp/passwd/etc
cp /etc/shadow /tmp/passwd/etc
dir2xzm /tmp/passwd /tmp/passwd.xzm
cp /tmp/passwd.xzm /mnt/sdXN/porteus/modules
where sdXN is the location of the drive on which Porteus is installed.

Thanks again! This program looks great and has the potential to greatly enhance the first-time user experience!
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#57 by agreimann » 16 Jun 2011, 18:03

@Ahau: No, thank you; your feedback is appreciated. It will allow me to patch the program as necessary. I did want to point out I somewhat knew about the guest/root password bug you had described as shown here:
agreimann wrote:It has been tested, and I believe the Official Edition to be bug-free, other than with password changing, which sometimes does not work.
I will certainly see what I can do to patch that (it is what I would consider a critical bug), and chime in module functionality. Your experience confirmed my suspicions, and I'm very glad it did. I may not have it finished by Saturday, but should have it released either on Saturday night or at the latest, Monday morning (in all honesty, I do not like releasing things on Sundays). :) It will have a few more features as well, which is what is making this release hard to roll out by then. I've got work to do today, but tomorrow I should be free to finish this project as 1.0.

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#58 by Ahau » 16 Jun 2011, 18:16

Thanks! I had read your message earlier about password changing, but had forgotten it by the time I tested :oops:
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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#59 by agreimann » 19 Jun 2011, 07:25

Guys,

We're looking at a release time of tomorrow morning at the earliest to tomorrow night at the very latest (Mountain Standard Time). Thanks for your patience. Thought I'd keep people posted. :)

Posted after 15 hours 36 seconds:
OK--we're looking at a release time of this evening. Thank you all. :)

Posted after 10 hours 35 minutes 12 seconds:
Doing final feature implementation and will be testing--release should be up within the hour. Thanks, guys, and I hope to post again soon with news of the final release.

Posted after 2 hours 36 seconds:
After exhaustive testing, the program is now complete. There are a few caveats, however:

- Firewall support is still a little buggy--however, in the end, the program did save a rc.local file so people can make a module and apply it.
- Settings Assistant will not launch unless there is no changes folder on the Desktop or it has been deleted (will swiftly fix this one, guys!)

You will notice a heap of features that have been added and reworked in the Official Edition, including reworking items where they make the most sense. I hope everyone likes 1.0! Note that Classic is in a "frozen" development state at this time, and to be honest, I probably will transfer complete ownership of Classic to Hamza.

Any other bugs that may be there, please report them. Glad to have written this, and it is now uploaded on Google Code. Here is the link:
http://code.google.com/p/porteus-settin ... loads/list

Happy Father's Day and good night! (Actually, it is 12:25AM here!) :D

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Re: Welcome box being implemented

Post#60 by fanthom » 20 Jun 2011, 11:42

@agreimann

i'll give it a short testing tomorrow (i'm still at work today) and pull to the ISO before releasing 1.0
I hope you dont mind when i do some corrections (if necessary)

thanks a lot :)

Posted after 1 day 3 hours 12 minutes 52 seconds:
@agreimann
'Porteus Settings Assistant" doesn't work for me when run from guest.
Also a GUI script for Language-Selection-Tool sent by brokenman is broken in few places.
I'll need one day to fix all these.

Porteus 1.0 will be delayed till 21 st of June.

Sorry about that.
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