My BusinessCard install : Debian testing/smxi enhanced

[DeepDayze]

:: GoinEasy9 wrote ::

KDE 4.2.2 has hit testing/squeeze tonight, so if your using the how-to, just be aware that some of the instructions may or may not have to be revised.
The how-to was written back in Sept/08 when the Debian we love (testing and/or unstable) was a lot more stable than it is today.

That means best option would then be lenny/stable rather than testing if you want to keep kde3 a bit longer

[GoinEasy9]

To stay in Debian, yes, Lenny. Or as I have done to my production sidux boxes, freeze (as of 4/4). Or just install Ouranos and freeze it.
I don't know if I can put up with the instability of testing and sid though. Especially when I'm asked to install Linux for someone else. Right now I'm looking outside debian to see if there's something better.
And as far as KDE? I like kde, did with 3.5 and so far like what I see in 4.2, but it's not for prime time. Gnome on the other hand, which I've always hated, is surprising me. I guess sometimes change is good.

[DeepDayze]

I took a look at the newest Gnome and it's pretty decent...a lot of improvements made. While I am not exactly a Gnome fan either, I might take a look at Gnome again if I want a full featured desktop

[dzz]

I recently tried Gnome for a few days. It's true the latest is an improvement. User-customisable options however are nowhere near as good as kde3, I suspect even if you understood the .gtkrc-2.0 configs inside out. I have read this is gnome policy anyway, it's a perfectly good desktop but really aimed at those who want good usable defaults, not tweakers like me.

I investigated other desktops too, xfce seemed the best. But it seems they all are for users who prefer lightweight to full-featured configurability.

Until when/if kde4 improves in the user-configurability department, bugs aside, many like myself feel a bit left out and are considering abandoning sid/testing for Lenny for that sole reason. For us, a few bug fixes and new "plasmoids" is not enough (see kde4.3 schedule - no fundamental change)

Testing/sid on my machines are now in the sandbox, the sole reason being no available fully-functional, customisable desktop. That for many of us is the main requirement of a production machine. I see nothing in current sid worth losing that for. Therefore my main OS, previously sidux, has been (95%) downgraded to Lenny. I don't like the idea of "stale" sidux.

I expect future installs, for me or by me for others, will be using using the methods described by GoinEasy9 and smxi with a Lenny bizcard, prepared kicklist and approx cache. I have already done a successful VM test; the only annoyance was I really like h2's grub splash and it would not install.

If selected parts of testing/sid are required there are some excellent howtos on apt-pinning on this forum and elsewhere. It's unsupported, but support for those who lost our functional desktops is also in short supply. A little past experience in handling Sid will help.

This is not meant as another anti-kde4 "rant", rather as exploring workarounds for problems which MANY current or recent sid/testing users have and do not expect early resolutions to.

[GoinEasy9]

dzz wrote:

:: Quote ::

This is not meant as another anti-kde4 "rant", rather as exploring workarounds for problems which MANY current or recent sid/testing users have and do not expect early resolutions to.

This is the way I'm seeing the discussions also. I am running a 32 bit and 64 bit sidux install which I'm updating occasionally to see how things progress. I'm also keeping a watch on zulu9's posts here, on his blog and on the sidux forums so I can keep track of what new things are available that might help kde4 get up to speed.

I will have to say though, I'm concerned more with the stability of the whole system, then I am with the stability of kde4. A sidux 2009-1 install is perfectly stable even when running a full compliment of 40 to 60 open windows, javascript apps etc. , but, fully upgraded, that same system, will lockup, sometimes returning to login screen, sometimes requiring reboot. In comparison, a Fedora 11 pre-release, running gnome 2.26 can handle the same situation.

sigh

[aus9]

hi

I am ex-kde4 login fan. I gravitated to login manager slim....which is excellent and does IMHO as good a job as gdm or kdm or xdm

2) I moved to LXDE sitting on Openbox but am still kept some kde apps as I still find knemo a better icon/monitor tool sitting in my panel. And yet to find a better replacement for my knetwalk game.

3) I then found Slitaz distro and apps on it that are super fast and functional to replace my kde4 stuff include: (but are in Debain repos already)

mtpaint....replaces some or most GIMP functions ....YMMV

mirage....replaces gwenview = image viewer + slideshow + can handle animated gifs as per image shows a slide in action.



xfce4 taskmanager...not sure what the kde4 edition was but very nice front end to command ....top or htop

[straykat]

Hi,

Just another Sidux (oops...sidux) refugee going back to Debian (or is that debian?)!

I am up for a reinstall of my machine after doing some "distro hopping"!

I was intending to use Sidux 2009.2 (released an hour or so ago) & go down the ext4 path (yes I know, but my back up is ext3 & will be for a while) but after the way h2 & smxi have been treated I'm goin' to make my way back home to Debian + smxi.

I normally do a Debian install via a business card, add the KDE bits I want & smxi.

So my question is, has anybody done a recent sid install & got ext4 cleanly via a business card.

Thanks,
straykat

[GoinEasy9]

If you try, you'll need a 2.6.30 kernel because /boot still requires ext3 on earlier kernels. I haven't tried myself, but I think damentz is running ext4. You could ask in his liquorix section or maybe find him on #smxi IRC channel on oftc.

Good Luck

[straykat]

Thanks for your reply GoinEasy9.

I'll catch up with damentz & ask him about his ext4 install.

Thanks again,

straykat

[jelloir]

:: straykat wrote ::

So my question is, has anybody done a recent sid install & got ext4 cleanly via a business card.

Thanks,
straykat

I'm running Sid on ext4 with / and /home partitions fine installed from business card.

Grub2 is pretty cool as well.