Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

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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Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#1 by snake » 31 Jul 2015, 07:28

Hi,

As this topic: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3801 is about current version of Porteus, I thought it would be nice to have new topic about next version suggestions

My list:
* add jack audio in core Porteus modules, as it is used by many Linux audio programs, and not that easy to install by hand later
* add GIT to devel,xzm
* add subversion (=SVN) to devel.xzm
* stop excluding emacs in USM
* remove avahi as default running daemon, I really don't know if anybody is using it and I don't want to keep any unused ports open.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#2 by Seva » 31 Jul 2015, 18:24

1. make dl.porteus.org the official porteus repository and allow xzm module creators to publish their modules there
2. make single perfect official porteus iso (technically two - 32bit and 64bit), advanced users should still be able to make custom iso
3. focus on strong sides of porteus: no hdd required, runs from RAM (therefore fast), boots from flash cards and flash drives and CDs
posted from Porteus

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#3 by francois » 31 Jul 2015, 22:02

Packages:
The issue of diversity of packages has been addressed since the begining of this distro (and even before that when the fork started with the name slax-remix). This is a slackware distro by choice. You will not get as much diversity of packages of ubuntu or archlinux, unless you become good at building from source or good at using the tools proposed by neko, bogomips and others.

We have a package manager: usm and in command line the usm sbo -b package option will open a lot of additional packages. On pkgs.org all the .txz (slackware packages are good to go if you are good with finding the appropriate dependencies. usm draws into other slackware distributions like salix to provide a wider array of packages.

Other options have been examined in the past for the production and installation of packages. The problem with community packages is the quality check. This is why we opted for a few sections devoted to 32 and 64 bit architecture porteus modules.
Prendre son temps, profiter de celui qui passe.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#4 by Jack » 31 Jul 2015, 23:24

Overall I hope Porteus stay the same, but just update the packages. But if they do anything is remove the desktop programs in 000 001 and 002 then put them in 003 in to there desktop.

Here is a few I have never used or don't work.

avahi
Break reminder (don't work)
ISOmaster
Pburn
Pidgin
QT V4L2 test utility
TigerVNC
uGet

My 0.02 cents
I just like Slackware because I think it teach you about Linux to build packages where Ubuntu is like Windows you just install programs you want.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#5 by Seva » 01 Aug 2015, 11:25

nice info, fransua, i always appreciate your positive effort
posted from Porteus

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#6 by sedstar » 01 Aug 2015, 11:49

i HESITATE to post anything here? Being a Porteus newbie and a LINux newbie both? Still....

my idea is... that Porteus should alter the CFG text file? itself in some case(s)....

mainly? the thing where YUMI users in windows found Porteus and added it to their multi-boot USB drive? So far, *ALL* the other live distros run fine in ntfs/fat... porteus RUNS like that? but, i had to go back and re-format a small USB with ext file system, then burn "just Porteus" onto it... THEN the "save" function worked fine out of the box.

doing the save dat-wrapper? going into the GUI to set a file-save location and name? still didnt accomplish it, without going into the CFG text file manually. Once THERE, it wasnt clear whether i was going to use a "relative" path-file name (which is what is going on wlsewhere in that CFG file...) or whether i had to specify the FULL PATH from "mnt" to "save.dat" completely.

(I copy and pasted the FULL path from thunar, and pasted it that way... then it worked)

===================================================================================

my idea? set a VARIABLE in the standard CFG file... on a certain line number... THAT way, the GUI that sets the save path and name? would have an explicit location in the text file (CFG file...) to easily modify that variable...

in this manner? ext file format users, have thing already workng like they already do... and new users that go to the "save GUI"? can just locate/name the save file... and the GUI can automatically know exactly where in the CFG file to update it.

in such a manner? having other variables, each on their own line in the CFG file somewhere up front? will allow easy creation of a GUI that lets people set many cheat codes by GUI...

if "delay=10" was replaced everywhere by a "delay=DelayVar" set up front on line 17 ?? it could be set by the same cheat code GUI easily... and experienced cheat code users could still do what THEY wanted.

=========================================================================

i mean, its just a text file... a little bit of logical thought into the setup of a few variables, each on their own defined line #? would allow EASY manipulation by GUI of the variable contents...

your user base would grow dramatically, i think... allowing rank newbs to migrate to porteus from windows... this is the only "live distro" i have yet found that has a problem of any kind running from fat or ntfs on the USB drive... and GUI updating of the CFG file would make it easier for non-techies to USE porteus, even if all they did was use it for browsing to keep their windows from puking from being on the internet. :unknown:

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#7 by Bogomips » 01 Aug 2015, 14:52

sedstar wrote:your user base would grow dramatically, i think... allowing rank newbs to migrate to porteus from windows...
Sorry to pour cold water on this, :( but in the words of a reviewer user:
phhpro wrote:JAs for user friendliness on one side, and a system's ease of use on the other: These are two completely different issues, which you'll never manage to stuff under the same hood. If such system would exist, there'd be no need for any other. ... Any new system needs new users to grow, and new users typically don't like to start from scratch. I completely agree up to here. However, nix-based systems have a long-standing tradition to target the more technically minded intermediate or advanced user, rather then the icon clicking joe average. Providing some basic tools to get started may be a nice gesture, but IMHO it ought to be equally save to assume, anyone with the faintest interest in nix is well-willing to try, and invest some work of his, her own.
And once again:
phhpro wrote:As for the point and click thingie and all that candy crap: either fetch bloated chaosware like Ubuntu or eat a rotten apple. Slackware is certainly the wrong place to start looking for any such. This is meant for real users, preferably intermediate or advanced, rather than icon dummies. The way I see it, Porteus is putting in at least some efforts to soften the edges to bring a professional distro, flavour to the common Joe. For what it's worth :Bravo:
A more realistic migration path to Porteus, I would envisage like so: Windo$e > Mint (all those XP refugees) > Porteus (attracting more demanding or adventurous) :Yahoo!:
Linux porteus 4.4.0-porteus #3 SMP PREEMPT Sat Jan 23 07:01:55 UTC 2016 i686 AMD Sempron(tm) 140 Processor AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux
NVIDIA Corporation C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] (rev a2) MemTotal: 901760 kB MemFree: 66752 kB

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#8 by Ed_P » 01 Aug 2015, 15:41

^ True enough but in sedstar's defense the automating of the save.dat creation and cfg file changes would be helpful.

Having the save.dat creation GUI pop up automatically if Porteus is booted from a FAT/exFAT system would be really neat and resolve sedstar's situation nicely.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#9 by sedstar » 01 Aug 2015, 16:56

since i have to defend my idea? and i use "defend" in the sense of "argument = discussion;debate" not "argument=fight"...

in my defense....

1) you can still be as "advanced" and "moderate/advanced user level" as before implementing this or a similar idea.

2) is what i am proposing such a "bloated" image? its just a small GUI... a (perhaps) simple arrangement of a few variables in the header part of the CFG for booting paramaters.

3) i'm not proposing turning proteus into the "all singing, all dancing" Ubuntu style of bloated slow-ness...

==============================================================================================

i had Ubuntu on my 2ghz single core, 2 GB ram old laptop... it was too slow and bloat-y... i went to x-ubuntu, still kinda slow. I dont use it hardly, its gonna get that partition wiped i think and a different LIN installed in that partition soon.

is what i am proposing too much overhead? is it another 100 MB onto the distro just to have a little GUI modify a text file?

just because some famous reviewer SAID that something being easy to use, out of the box for the average "click icon" user., KEEPS it FROM being advanced.... doesnt necessarily make it so. I am a linux newbie, with little LIN time under my belt.... and i felt PROTEUS was pretty easy to use out of the box... with the exception of modifying the CFG file constantly. I GET theidea, personally... i just wonder how many people were just like me...

proteus is in the "yumi list" included with the software to make multi-distro-boot-USBs... i wonder how many OTHER people installed proteus just cos it was on the list, just curious... and once they found they couldnt "save" their screen resolution boot to boot? simply went somewhere else (which might be how you want it, i dont know)

i didnt think it was a high-overhead "bloat" idea to throw out there? but if it is, no biggie... unless there is a community ideal to KEEP proteus from being used by the average joe-icon-clicker...

i figured what i was proposing was a small, useful idea... that wouldnt introduce big overead, and pay dividends in ease of use. Something that didnt require major kernel and dependency overhauls...

===================================================

i'm not being argumentative? i just figured the idea, on its face, was a defensible position... so i defend it.




IS IT a high overhead idea? that would BLOAT the size of the distro? difficult to "pull off" as a project?

or... is there a "community ideal" to keep things "techie" oriented?? you guys like "convenience" enough to have a desktop... why not click-click a few cheat codes automatically into the CFG file?

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#10 by Bogomips » 01 Aug 2015, 18:13

sedstar wrote:since i have to defend my idea? and i use "defend" in the sense of "argument = discussion;debate" not "argument=fight"...
Let's get things straight here. I was just as taken aback as yourself to see Ed_P use the word defense. which I feel was a rather unfortunate choice of word. Nor was what I was writing denigrating your suggestions. But felt one had to be realistic about your statement which I quoted:
your user base would grow dramatically, i think... allowing rank newbs to migrate to porteus from windows...
That was all. It seems you have read a lot more into the post than intended.
Linux porteus 4.4.0-porteus #3 SMP PREEMPT Sat Jan 23 07:01:55 UTC 2016 i686 AMD Sempron(tm) 140 Processor AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux
NVIDIA Corporation C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] (rev a2) MemTotal: 901760 kB MemFree: 66752 kB

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#11 by sedstar » 01 Aug 2015, 18:31

ha ha...

dont sweat the language, lol

I have really thick skin.

===================================

do other LINUX distributions make fun of you guys, if new users from WINdoze have no trouble installing the distro and surfing? Its kind of how you make it sound... "No... that would make it too easy to use... we need it to stay as complicated as we can", lol...

but, it seems like its a bad idea to automate anything with a little GUI... i wouldnt want to be responsible for you guys being made to sit in the back row at the next black hat conference or anything...lol

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#12 by Ed_P » 01 Aug 2015, 18:56

Guys, relax, take a breath.

Two things to take into account with your idea sedstar;
1. Porteus is maintained by two developers, and sometimes like this past summer so far, just one. As with any wish list things have to be prioritized and work involved to accomplish is one of the factors in the prioritization.
2. The porteus.cfg file is not read by porteus when it boots, it is read by a bootloader named vmlinuz and it is not an app maintained or developed by the two Porteus developers. Thus changes to it are outside the scope of these developers and this forum.

So, will adding a variable to the porteus.cfg file work, probably not.
Is enhancing the Porteus Savefile Manager to interface with the porteus.cfg file possible, probably.
Can Porteus check the file format it is booted from and see if a save.dat file is allocated when it boots, probably.
Are there other changes needed, wanted for Porteus, definitely.
Will all the changes needed, wanted for Porteus get implimented, no.

If you've been involved in projects before you know how the process works.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#13 by sedstar » 01 Aug 2015, 19:52

holy crap... i knew it was a SMALL distro, i didnt realize it was just one or two programmers working on it... on THAT note? i'm more amazed than EVER whats been accomplished already...

oh well... i'm having fun just learning how to do stuff in LINux anyways... carry on guys...

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#14 by Ed_P » 01 Aug 2015, 20:23

sedstar wrote:i'm having fun just learning how to do stuff in LINux anyways... carry on guys...
And that's exactly what makes Porteus a good distro. There are prople here who will help newbies learn how to do stuff.

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Re: Wishlist for next porteus (after P3.1)

Post#15 by fanthom » 04 Aug 2015, 07:38

@guys
Please keep posting your wishes but please be aware that new Porteus Desktop release wont happen until new Slackware version is out.
Until that time the development is pretty much frozen.

Would be great if mods created a list of bugs (could be simply a link to post/thread in which it was reported) to which the resolution was never found.
That would help us a lot with resolving them.

Thank you.
Please add [Solved] to your thread title if the solution was found.

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