Porteus-1.2 feedback

[Rava]

Ahau, how do you create such a keyboard shortcut?

And I found this:
In Settings / Settings Editor / keyboard layout the Default is empty, and I presume the fallback settings for "empty" is US...
But how can I tell the Settings Editor / keyboard layout / Default it should have UK and DE/noreadkeys as default?

Verfasst after 7 hours 42 minutes 52 seconds:
I found more info here
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/944468
but all I read is that there is still no solution...

The problem is caused by the "official" xfce4 keyboard layout settings manager storing the preferences in the xfconf registry (you can find them using the Settings Editor under "keyboard-layouts")
while the xkb-panel-plugin stores its preferences in xkb using libxklavier.
The two settings managers are unaware of each other and so they keep destroying each others work.

I think the best solution would be to add the missing options to the official xfce4 keyboard layout settings dialog (the missing options are layout switching key and layout indicator) and make the xkb-panel-plugin use the same xfconf registry entry and open the official settings manager as its preferences.

[Thor]

Nice job !

Got my new pc, discovered no IDE on board. Forgot about it when I purchased it. Discovered Sata disk was dead. Hm..Linux Live then..Slax is a bit old for my new setup. I can't find my old fixes... OMG I don't feel for downloading, adding shortcuts, scripts and modifying cheat codes.Maybe time to check out what is out there... Then I ran into Porteus, which saved me from getting stuck installing and modifying the OS instead of using it ( still linux though, so I didn't expect less than 2 days digging around but almost only with packages and progs this time. Only a little issue with sound in regards to OS)..

With your additions, which I always felt lacking in Slax and Tomas never seemed to interested in adding new stuff, I'd reckon I'll stick with Porteus as my linux of choice. (On my journey to Porteus I even tried Kubuntu. Hating to say so, but that shit just worked. And I had found a "toram" there, I'd probably never gotten this far)

(Nice integration of flash player ! Just a shame it is mixed with firefox . Got rid of the latter so now a stand alone. Easy to upgrade. Rather see yours as a module then all these "checkinstall" style packages one has to edit and do links )

[brokenman]

Welcome Thor. Thanks for the feedback. We are always open to new ideas.

Easy to upgrade. Rather see yours as a module

In fact firefox is a module ... it is located in the porteus/base folder.

[Thor]

Very fine and well working distro. But I'll post some minor issues as I run into them. After 2 metal plates installed into my body, I figured it was time for a life style change. So less desktop sitting, more activity and Windows as OS to read the newspapers and to not get too engaged to the PC . Hell knows, first time I've used linux in maybe 4 years or so, and with Porteus and my new hardware it is back to be my primary. Thanks guys. As I've mentioned before, a good job with fun, helpful and practical additions.

2 minor issues.
a) Your installer does not seem to check for the cheatcode "norootcopy". All you get installed is a backup of MBR.

b) I had a little sound issue due to devices jumping around as I (un)plug usb devices and as my sound card being represented as several devices. I would guess it is pretty common today. Maybe just to Windowized, but that minor issue took me several hours to get fixed. I only remebered it was supposively easy to fix.. For cases like myself, it would have been nice to have a troubleshooting guide on the desktop. Maybe some links to the forum here...
As always the fix was easy when known.. Using device name instead of number for sound cards, works as UUID for disks. In addition asound.conf had to be added. I was looking for that file in /etc before the internet search.. But I had forgotten it's name, so no bells were ringing..

All in all.. Excellent distro and job done

Edit: About that installer issue. Tried replicating it, but not sure what cheat codes I used when it happened since I've played around with them. Got plenty cheat codes on this boot, among other norootcopy and copy2ram...Installing worked fine though, so... Anyhow, the last case happened when no mounting had taken place in "mnt-live-mnt-sourcedrive". If I remember correctly, that used to be the case earlier when copying2ram was used.. and no bind(ing).. Forget about it, I'll get back to it if it happens again and I can pinpoint at least when it occurs

Okay.....When: Copy2Ram + booting and loading modules from default folder tree (I used 'Always Fresh' + Toram) with Default Sgnfile so not revealing the source via cheat codes.
Why? : ?? No parameters in proc/cmdline that reveals the source of the OS maybe. There are no bindings to the source tree..
Could pretty much assume that the source are in the default live cd structure and just do a search for sgnfile to be sure. At least check that there actually is something in the folders to be copied

[Rava]

Ahau,

is there any news on my failed resume with an NVidia driver for x86-64 Porteus 1.2 (with newest kernel), cause I still not managed tro get it running.

________________________________

What do you folks think of creating a 32 and 64 bit version of the newest Firefox with the newest Flashplayer included, best with no other Add-On or Dictoonary, cause I use either a German FFx or an English-UK one, and bothe English-UK and German Oldspell dictionaries, among other mostly security driven add ons that sure are not for everyone (like NoScript, AdblockPlus, Ghostery and such)

I could volunteer and create a doc that gives the info how a iuiser can put the rest of his/her add-ons / dictionaries in an extra module, or merge it with the FFx module.

Your thoughts?

[brokenman]

Thor
After 2 metal plates installed into my body, I figured it was time for a life style change.
Hmmm ... i got two of those. Herniated disk?

The installer (from memory) checks for /mnt/live/porteus/modules which is a symlink to the source drive of porteus. If you're using copy2ram then obvisouly this symlink won't be useful. I'll look at the editing the installer to accommodate for this situation. Appreciate your feedback,thanks.

Rava feel free to make the tutorial. We can always use tutorials. Fanthom has already created ff 15.0.1 which he can perhaps upload.

[Ahau]

@brokenman,

I implemented something similar for the update module, maybe you can borrow some of it (much of it was borrowed from linuxrc already):

Code: Select all

# establish device for porteus data:
sgndev=`grep -A 1 "boot device" /mnt/live/var/log/livedbg |tail -n1`

devpath=`grep -w "/mnt/$sgndev" /proc/mounts|tail -n1| cut -d " " -f2`
# if using copy2ram and device is not mounted but still plugged in, mount it:
if [ "$devpath" = "" ]; then

  copy2ram=`egrep -o " copy2ram( |\$)" /proc/cmdline`
  if [ "$copy2ram" ]; then
    value() { egrep -o " $1=[^ ]+" /proc/cmdline | cut -d= -f2; }
    MOPT=`value mopt`; [ $MOPT ] || MOPT="noatime,nodiratime,suid,dev,exec"
    chk_params() { opt=$MOPT
    [ $1 = vfat ] && opt="$MOPT,quiet,umask=0,check=s,shortname=mixed$CHARSET"
    [ $1 = iso9660 ] && opt="$MOPT,ro$CHARSET"
    [ $1 = ntfs ] && { LANG=`value lang`; [ $LANG ] || LANG=utf8; opt="$MOPT,locale=$LANG"; }; }
    mount_device() {
    if grep -qw /dev/$1 /etc/fstab; then
      mkdir /mnt/$1; mount -n /mnt/$1
    else
      fs=`blkid /dev/$1 | egrep -o ' TYPE=[^ ]+' | cut -d'"' -f2`
      if [ "$fs" ]; then
        chk_params $fs; mkdir /mnt/$1
    	  [ $fs != ntfs ] && mount -n /dev/$1 /mnt/$1 -o $opt ||  mount -n /dev/$1 /mnt/$1 -o $opt -t ntfs
      fi
    fi }
    
    mount_device $sgndev
    sleep 1
    devpath=`grep -w "/mnt/$sgndev" /proc/mounts|tail -n1| cut -d " " -f2`
    if [ ! "$devpath" ]; then
      if [ "$DISPLAY" ]; then
        gtk_message "Your porteus boot device could not be found or mounted.  Are you using the copy2ram cheatcode with the drive removed?  If so, please insert the drive now and click OK." 500 gtk-yes 
      else
        echo "Your porteus boot device could not be found or mounted."
        echo "Are you using the copy2ram cheatcode with the drive removed?"
        echo "if so, please insert the drive and press enter to mount it"
        echo ""
        read
        sleep 2
      fi
      mount_device $sgndev
      sleep 1
      devpath=`grep -w "/mnt/$sgndev" /proc/mounts|tail -n1| cut -d " " -f2`
      if [ ! "$devpath" ]; then
        if [ "$DISPLAY" ]; then
          gtk_message "Your boot device was not properly recognized or mounted. Please reboot with the device in place and try to update again, or apply this update manually.  Press OK to exit." 500 gtk-yes && exit
        else
          echo "Your boot device was not properly recognized or mounted."
          echo "Please reboot with the device in place and try to update"
          echo "again, or apply this update manually.  Press Enter to exit."
          echo ""
          read
          exit
        fi
      fi
    fi  
  else
    echo "Your porteus boot device could not be found.  Please specify the"
    echo "correct path to your /porteus and /boot directories when prompted below."
    echo "press Enter to continue"
    read
  fi
fi

@Rava, no, I never experienced that issue (no resume after suspend on nVidia) so I'm not sure what the deal was. I have a new laptop now (old one broke) and so it's a little harder for me to test nVidia hardware (integrated graphics on the new one). If it was isolated to the kernel and driver combo, I'd compile a newer kernel and newer driver if they are available and give it a shot.

I never answered you about making a keyboard shortcut. You can do this through the Xfce menu: Menu -> Settings -> Keyboard --> Application Shortcuts tab, press "Add", type the command you want (e.g. setxkbmap de), then click OK, then press the key combo you want to use, and it will be set.

[fanthom]

@Rava
i use eng dic a lot and would not survive without flashblock.
please write tutorial and simple script which stripes firefox xzm from unwanted dict/addons.
repacking should take less than 2 mins.

btw: pushed latest firefox/flash to /testing/updates - please use PSC to download it.

Cheers

[Thor]

Thor
After 2 metal plates installed into my body, I figured it was time for a life style change.
Hmmm ... i got two of those. Herniated disk?

The installer (from memory) checks for /mnt/live/porteus/modules which is a symlink to the source drive of porteus. If you're using copy2ram then obvisouly this symlink won't be useful. I'll look at the editing the installer to accommodate for this situation. Appreciate your feedback,thanks.
.

6 yrs with no physical activites I had 2 complicated fractures in 2 years out of nothing. And I was never the one who broke any bones easily. I had become an old lady, so figured I'd had to start moving again . 2 surgeons spent 3 hours on my hand wrist. I've gotta give those guys some slack and start doing something myself :p
.. I'm giving away an old K8 sempron box to a neighbour who has never had a pc. KDE4 became a bit too heavy for that box, although lxde was working fine. (Almost) no problem with and HD flash tv station and a 15" inch monitor with just an integrated card.. So I figured I'd try i486 version when I noticed it had KDE3.. Btw very smart decision to use kde3 on the older i486. Credz!.. I'm kind of excited about how a person with no familiarity to Windows will react with a box with only an old USB and Porteus on it And I'd like to be there when his drinking buddies visits him, get a bit drunk and wants to help him with something or just show off how much they know about computers

[Thor]

[quote="brokenman"]

The installer (from memory) checks for /mnt/live/porteus/modules which is a symlink to the source drive of porteus. If you're using copy2ram then obvisouly this symlink won't be useful. I'll look at the editing the installer to accommodate for this situation. Appreciate your feedback,thanks./quote]


An example:

livedbglog=/var/log/porteus-livedbg
export from_dev=$(cat $livedbglog | egrep -1 "boot device" | sed -r "s/#.*://" | tail -n 1 )
export sgnfile=$(cat /proc/cmdline | egrep "sgnfile" | sed -r "s/.*sgnfile=//" | cut -d " " -f 1)
export from_dir=$(cat /proc/cmdline | egrep "from_dir" | sed -r "s/.*from_dir=//" | cut -d " " -f 1)

echo from_dev $from_dev
echo sgnfile $sgnfile
echo from_dir $from_dir



check=$(cat /proc/mounts | egrep $from_dev)
if [ "$check" = "" ];then echo /mnt/$from_dev ;mkdir -p /mnt/$from_dev; mount /dev/$from_dev /mnt/$from_dev || exit 1 ; fi

if [ "$from_dir" != "" ];then
modulefolder=/mnt/$from_dev/$from_dir
else
modulefolder=$(find /mnt/$from_dev | grep $sgnfile | sed -r s/"$sgnfile"//) || exit 1
fi
modulefolder=$modulefolder/modules
mkdir -p $modulefolder
test -w $modulefolder || (echo $modulefolder aint writable && exit 1)

echo "Bruker $modulefolder som målmappe.."


etc
This example is taken from a script I use to save settings before I reboot.... Some playing around showed me that it was just hopeless to use the old "changes=" cheat code on old USBs. They are just to good damn slow and changes=... writes to them on the fly..
But I did look for a cheat code for something like "save_settings_on_exit_without_using_changes=cheat_code", which I couldn't find... Magic folder came a bit closer though, but then again when surfing internet downloading tons of pron to tmp-folders, magicfolder=/root/.opera is hopeless to use as well . Another point about running changes= is that is shortens the lifespan of usb/ssd disks. The changes we want to save are always just those changes still in union when we reboot. Crashes happens very rarely.



NB! Very important for me ... extramod= folder1;folder2;......folderN.... Please mod your script to allow for several extramods
Nice when running several distroes and/or version... An example

64 2 versions Kde + Xfce... Some modules are common and some not
32 2 versions Kde + Xfce... Some modules are common and some not

So common modules for 64 kde + xfce in one extramod. Same for the 32 bit version.
BUT then there are some addons and modules that is or can be common for both the 64 and 32 bit.

Let me know if there is a workaround this problem, coz I'm stuck with wasting space on some old small USBs with copies of same modules.. (I remember when those were expensive lol)

Oki doki. Just an extra addition thought for a great distro (and I wouldn't be surprised if something else comes to mind :p )..

2 more ideas... A "mount isofile" servicemenu shortcut..
"Extract xzm" looks a little amateurish when the OS is setup in another language then english. How about making a sticky thread for translations to other languages. A thread were people can just post their language versions in a way it can be easy to add them to your files.

[Hamza]

Uses CODE Tag please.

[Thor]

Uses CODE Tag please.

how

[fanthom]

@Thor

But I did look for a cheat code for something like "save_settings_on_exit_without_using_changes=cheat_code", which I couldn't find...

there is no such thing but you could save your session to a module before every reboot.
unfortunately it's a bit of manual work:
open PPM -> go to "Tools" -> choose "make modules from changes" (or something similar - can't remember, sorry)
probably easier would be to implement this function in /etc/rc.d/rc.6. something as simple as

Code: Select all

dir2xzm /mnt/live/memory/changes /destination/changes-$date.xzm

(this could take a long time depending on the size of your changes so maybe PPM is better as you can still browse internet while module is created)

Please mod your script to allow for several extramods

this would affect 2 other functions (copy2ram and unmounting unnecessary drives) and i would like to avoid making code too messy
as workaround i would propose you to put your modules in 3 folders:
a) kde
b) xfce
c) shared
and boot with 'extramod=/dev/sdXY/thor-modules' with addition of 'noload=kde' or 'noload=xfce' cheatcode.
this way you'll get only modules which you want

A "mount isofile" servicemenu shortcut..

that should be quite easy to implement (just tweak 'mount xzm' servicemenu). any volunteer for this task?
i would need servicemenus for all 3 desktops: kde, lxde and xfce.

How about making a sticky thread for translations to other languages.

the problem is that we wont be able to verify if translations are done correctly.
one can write "porteus fu*k off" in some unique language and we would have to accept that.
keeping the translations up to date may also be a problem...
(@Jay, @Ahau - what do you think about this problem?)

thanks for the feedback Thor.

[Hamza]

Place your code like this example:

Code: Select all

[code]My code

[/code]

@fanthom, I can help in translation of French Localization

[Ahau]

@Thor,

Xfce version uses the same kernel, intird, 000-kernel.xzm, 001-core.xzm (with one wording change), 002-core.xzm (with some different cache files), *-devel.xzm and *-firefox.xzm (with qt4 flash application stripped) as the standard edition. As such, it should be no problem to simply place 0090-xfce.xzm and 0091-xfce-apps.xzm into the /porteus/base folder of a standard edition install and just use the 'xfce' and 'lxde' cheatcodes to select between desktops. Only one caveat -- it might be best to have at least one module in /porteus/modules so the cache files are updated on start-up. I do this regularly and haven't had issues with it. If, however, you're looking to add modules other than the 'base' modules, for use in one desktop or another, then fanthom's solution as posted above would do the job.

@fanthom & Thor,

I'm certainly willing to help on translations. I'm not sure if Thunar's custom user menu supports multiple languages or not, but I'll look into it. What I don't want to wind up with is a half-assed job on this. IMO I would rather have no language support than poor language support on our porteus-specific menu items and apps. I think it would still reflect poorly if we had menu items (such as PPM and PSC) translated, but then the app opens up and is english only. Perhaps there is some middle ground, where menu apps that don't have other text components (like mount iso file or extract xzm) could be translated, whereas PPM, PSC, etc would have English only menus and dialogs. Does gtkdialog support mutli-language environments? Even if it does, this would be a monumental undertaking, for both the developers and the translators.

If we have the volunteer support to help with translations, I think we could establish some methodology to ensure the translations are good. For example, we could set up translator pairs (two translators for each language), where one person would translate and the other would verify/proofread. We could also verify (content, if not proper usage) via google translate in cases where only one person is volunteering for a given language. I'm not sure a sticky thread on the forum will be the best tool for this, as it will need to be a living document. This is another pitfall -- if we change the wording for anything, we would need updated translations for each language, and we'd have to drop any language that did not get us translations in time for the release.

Please forgive me for being overly analytical