Boner (noX, amd64) Release News

[machinebacon]

I am extremely proud and happy to announce the immediate availability of the coolest no-X release in Debian country, that’s the 64-bit version of LinuxBBQ “Boner”, sporting a pure tmux session with all productivity CLI applications an average boner-lover needs:

alsa
bc calculator
abook address book
tina personal manager
wordgrinder text processor (yes, .doc stuff)
sc spreadsheet (yes, .xls stuff)
bbqradio radio player (“bbqradio”)
shell.fm last.fm frontend
streamripper
moc music player
mpg123 command line mp3 player
sox swiss army knife for audio
mc twopane file manager
ranger file manager
wikipedia2text wikipedia lookup
unp unpacker (incl. unzip)
lynx web browser
elinks web browser
newsbeuter RSS fetcher
mutt mail client
dvtm tiling window manager
ceni network configurator
bbqstart application launcher (“start”)
bbqsnapshot image creator
zsh shell (bash disabled, “ins bash” then “chsh” to change)
sudo enabled

All BBQ apps are reworked and slightly polished. The kernel in question is still coming from siduction in version 3.7-1. systemd is now slightly optimized: no more RAID (mdadm) as service, no DHCP (at first run please use ‘ceni’ to configure the network). There are a couple of upstream annoyances:

systemd and kernel debug spams into the login message (bug is reported, fix is promised for 3.8)
on certain screen resolutions ‘Ceni’ complains that the terminal window is too small. Reason: seemingly curses needs fixed positions. Workaround: sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup -> UTF -> VGA -> choose font size 8×8 -> run ceni again -> configure network -> change fonts back if wished. Annoying, yes. Predicatble? No. Another option is to pick one of the other boot menu entries and edit the dimensions there (see nomode, i915 etc).

Now the end-user info that you should please scribble down:

login: bbq, password: bbq (remember, the login is probably buried under systemd’s puke)

After logging in, you find yourself in a tmux session. Run ‘bbq’ for a quick overview of starter tools. Run ‘bbqfix’ to get networking and to adjust alsamixer. Run ‘start’ for the application launcher. The BBQ tools link to each other, so you won’t get lost (hopefully). You want to look into ‘tmuxhelp’ to find out how to navigate in tmux. Give yourself a few minutes, it is definitely worth it. A nice (side) effect is that the mouse works, so you can use copy-paste (with middle-mouse click) like in graphical terminal sessions. The display of images or videos is not enabled, but doing so is easy and a nice way to dive into the beauty of framebuffer imaging.

What it is:

a bare-bones system without X
~920MB in installed size
the BBQ base in perfection
the base system for future 64-bit BBQ releases with version >1.0.5
offering more comfort and functionality than a Debian netinstall
a fully-functional desktop
very 1980s hacker style

What it is not:

a competitor of Ubuntu, Linux Mint, the Other Distro or anything that comes with an X session
a one-click solution for lazy users
beginner-friendly

If you think you can handle the boner, feel free to dd it to a stick or burn a CD (<4x) and have a ride. The system is installable (“bbqinstaller”) and a produced bbqsnapshot will contain the traditional live-installer (GUI) as well as the CLI installer. But you don’t want GUI anymore, I promise.

(Edit: do not use cli-installer! The tested installer is bbqinstaller)

Direct download: http://linuxbbq.org/releases/noX/linuxbbq-boner.iso

md5: f1c13c4c4262b7111609008b07e96558
size: 281,018,368

The 32-bit non-PAE version is being worked on and will be online in the next 24-48 hours. A 486-spin is not planned, because i686 should work on most computers.

[rhowaldt]

this sounds awesome. downloading now, testing tomorrow probably.

tmu as a wm: http://linuxbbq.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tmux_%28wm%29

recommended method of download:

Code: Select all

wget -c http://linuxbbq.org/releases/noX/linuxbbq-boner.iso

added the ceni workaround to the Wiki page :)

[dura]

Downloading, will be on tomorrow too. Put some space aside.

Ok, put it on. Had a little look around. Very nice, though of course I lack the ability to use it beyond novelty at the moment. I would love to use it more for everyday stuff, but would just be wanting to stick x on it straight away. My ignorance; I would use it for a server until I am unlazy enough to accept its challenge to my needs for bloat. Immediately though I get the annoying complaint from ceni that screen is too small for it to show, even though boner is at full screen. Doesn't get eth0 either. Poo.

Edit: I should read the release notes. Boner is super, and I was just a bit disappointed I couldn't get it going straight away- I would have if I read the release notes.....

[machinebacon]

Poo, dear Daniel, is in the eye of the beholder. People complained about DHCP (*cough cough*), so it is turned off, and thus ceni has to come to the rescue or manual work is required. Reconfigure the console-setup as described above, and it will work. Note that this seems to be a common problem for laptops with a 16:10 (or similar) screen dimension. It's possible to manipulate the console/vga size in the boot menu, second entry is an example for i915 Intel on-board cards.

FWIW, of course this works as server solution too (or maybe even best if we ignore the fact that it's Sid). As a quick start I recommend to get known of the basic keybindings for tmux:

Ctrl-b switches to the modifier (^b in the following)

Code: Select all

^b %      split window [ | ]
^b "      split window [---]
^b c      create new workspace
^b cursor select active window 
^b 1      switch to workspace 1
^b ?      help

[wuxmedia]

nice 8)
i'll be writing data with magnetic pins and coding interface buffers with this total boner.

[machinebacon]

^hardcore boner wux

[Anaconda]

Wow, Bacon just gave me a......
Wait.. What?

Ok, will have to check this one out as soon as I have some time to.....
.... play with it. :)

[pidsley]

FWIW, of course this works as server solution too (or maybe even best if we ignore the fact that it's Sid). As a quick start I recommend to get known of the basic keybindings for tmux:

For lazy and easily confused people like me, it may be helpful to tweak the tmux bindings a little. I remapped the default ctrl-b to ctrl-a (easier to type with one hand) and added some more intuitive (at least to me) split and resize window commands. Edit ~/.tmux.conf and add these:

Code: Select all

set-option -g prefix C-a

bind - split-window -v
bind | split-window -h
bind ^ resize-pane -U 5
bind v resize-pane -D 5
bind < resize-pane -L 5
bind > resize-pane -R 5

bind -n F12 split-window -v
bind -n F9 split-window -h

Of course, if you simply learn and use the default key bindings, you will be able to use tmux anywhere without modifying it.

[machinebacon]

Of course they keybindings of tmux are the defaults, to avoid confusion - the GNU Screen uses Ctrl-A, and I was tempted to change it in tmux too, had a discussion about it with a few people, and got told I should not override defaults. :)

So, you are definitely right about the recommendation to switch the keybindings (it was me who was too lazy to rewrite the help files with custom keybinds that people would probably not like)

[wuxmedia]

will the i686 version be posted/linked here?
I got all excited then realised its 64 bit... for the moment... duh
looking forward to it.
or would that be Virgin?

[rhowaldt]

@Wux: that is Virgin :)

i installed the Boner today. tried to get my crazy Broadcom to work but no go here either. still not sure what the problem with that card is. however, i bought a USB Wifi adapter so i didn't have to work with that silly Broadcom anymore. plugged it in, let it do its dhcp thing, and it all worked (it is a Realtek, hooray).

something i noticed while using the system: the tmux 'statusbar' sometimes shifts when (i think) certain commands get certain output to the terminal. wasn't sure what commands or what output exactly, it just shifted sometimes. give it an [Enter] and you're back on track, but i was wondering if this is normal behavior for tmux, so figured i'd mention it.

gotta get used to zsh as well, at least that is what i think it is, when i type 'ifconfig' without sudo, it asks me some question about wanting to expand to _iconfig or something? it seems to be basically the same thing as where bash says 'command not found'... i suppose this is zsh by design? simply curious, and i am fully aware i can switch to familiar bash at any time i want to.

another question: i noticed during the installation process that the icon themes and such are still in place. i reckon this was done on purpose so that when people install X it will have proper icons?

tmux is very nice to use, especially when you reconfigure it a bit like pidsley's example above. this is definitely a no-X environment i could get used to. and the bbqmenu is a great help to have, and bbq-installer worked flawlessly.

[pidsley]

Of course they keybindings of tmux are the defaults, to avoid confusion - the GNU Screen uses Ctrl-A, and I was tempted to change it in tmux too, had a discussion about it with a few people, and got told I should not override defaults. :)

So, you are definitely right about the recommendation to switch the keybindings (it was me who was too lazy to rewrite the help files with custom keybinds that people would probably not like)

All very good reasons to keep the installed configuration at the minimal defaults, for this and other apps as well. No matter what custom keybinds you added, some people would not like them. I was simply mentioning something that I found made tmux easier for me to use, not suggesting you should change the spin in any way. Users are free to adopt, modify, or ignore.

[machinebacon]

@wux: in around an hour I'll post everything for the 32bit

@rho:
- Broadcom: no comment :D
- the shift of the tmux status bar is "normal". Didn't happen often to me though, only one or twice in the last days (and of course I haven't written down what caused it - I *think* it was a curses application). Enter "reset" and everything is okay again. And yes, I have read some bug reports about this, or it is even mentioned in their manpage (?) Don't remember.
- zsh stores it's huuuuge defaults in two files. zsh and zsh.local (for user settings). The auto-completion and suggestions make sense when you got used to it -- remember that auto-completion is actually not a default in bash, but an addition, so the approach here is different.
- yes, the standard Clarity and youtube/google/wiki icons are there to ensure consistency in releases build on no-X. Also wallpapers and the gtk3-themes. All in all they make up less than 20MB (14 for the icons, 3-4 for the wallpapers and themes) on a 980MB installation.
- bbq-installer shouldn't have been the option to install, btw. It is cli-installer. The bbq-installer is meant to work on bbq-snapshots, so I can not take warranty for it (it should of course work 100%, but - RTF release notes :) )
Edit: epdfview /path/to/your/boner/Documents/refcard.pdf
there's the reference card for zsh

@pidsley
I understand of course ;) Pretty much the same question like 'which conky' and 'which keybind for dmenu' ;)

[rhowaldt]

@bacon: thanks! tmux statusbar getting messed up by curses is exactly what i was thinking, as it is quite 'normal' for curses applications to mess up your terminal.
and your other explanations mostly confirmed the inklings i had already. sure the 20Mb isn't much at all, and i figured it was a nice feature to have, that when you install X your icons are already in order.

oh wow i figured bbq-installer was the thing :D
at any rate, it worked perfectly fine, and i enjoyed using it very much! it was very clear, nicely annotated, stuff such as 'do you want to change the root password (i really shouldn't even be asking you this)' made me smile :)
i suppose that also explains why i had no option to give a username and password for my regular user! now all the pieces come together... RTFRelease Notes indeed ;)

[dura]

No, I love this. The little bit of poo on boner was not a criticism; I realise this is a stupid ceni problem, and only my own ineptitude with tmux. To my vast unknowledge this seems very forward thinking (even if retro). Fiddling with my boner today as well as Escargot. It disabuses me of my desire for bloat. The 'roast your own' approach makes more sense when placed against this. :)

[gurtid]

error installing from cli-installer

Parameter USERPASS_CRYPT is not defined

. . . ? . . . :(

[machinebacon]

Code: Select all

su -
cd /root
rm .sidconf
cli-installer

try again and provide a password >= 6 letters

if it still fails, run the

Code: Select all

bbqinstaller

as root.

Edit: I went through an installation with the 64bit version and didn't find any problems. At which step does this occur?

[gurtid]

I tried this multiple times.

All passwords were 6 characters or longer (as i'd remembered siduction did not like a sudo password less than 6 ;)).

This is installing on sda11 (/) and sda12 (/home) with swap set to be automatically detected.

It bails out with this error message very early on in the install process. There are two lines preceding the error printout.

The suggested temp file it suggested i look at for clues contained no data.

Will try bbqinstaller when time permits as have trashed the usb for something else.

[edit] typo

[machinebacon]

Okay thanks I will look into it. FWIW the bbqinstaller does work, it's just pure text and not curses.

[gurtid]

thanks MB. Will definitely try again when i can. Was probably me doing something . . . stooopid