Impressive work

[missinglink]

Thanks to machinebacon and crew for the LinuxBBQ.
I stumbled into your distro while reading Distrowatch weekly (#487).
Sid with some handholding add-in is just what I'm alert for.
I'm also alert to end sentences with prepositions in case any grammar police want to waste a forum post. Grade 4 student and all that.
Anywho, checked the #! forums, noted some helpful folk involved in the BBQ, decided to dl.
Though it's not a big burden for me to run a live CD, the fact that BBQ cooperated with UNetbootin did not hurt. Tried Argentina 78, and Kielbasa, settled on Trollinger for now. Dual boot with Win7.
As I posted over at the #! Off Topic / General Chat forum, I'm running an Asus 1025C netbook with the Linux-challenged Cedar Trail integrated graphics system.
I'm too stupid to make #! work at 1024X600. That chased me to Knoppix and Fedora to find a distro that'd display at something other than 800X600. Fedora was working, but felt kinda heavy on my netbook.
I have a way to go to tweak and learn. But having a great time so far.
Machinebacon, I hope you get the Distrowatch database listing. There's always the "watch out what you ask for," but this distro deserves to be seen by many.
One last BBQ note - I was demonstrating my Raspberry Pi Motorola Atrix lapdock to a Win8 Surface owner. He related some issues with the wife's WinXP install. I showed him my Win7/Fedora install, then fired up my Trollinger USB key. He seemed captivated with how it just worked on everything he tried. Whatever else I suggested, he kept talking about the "BBQ." He took a Trollinger CD home. I'll be interested in what someone even noobier than myself manages to do with a sweetly crafted Debian Unstable.
Cheers!

[swftech]

Welcome to the BBQ missinglink, very nice words you've posted and I'm sure Machinebacon will be happy to read them.
Good choice with Trollinger, it's an awesome implementation of LXDE on sid :)
Hope to see you around!

[wuxmedia]

welcome to the barbieQ.
happy trollinger'ing

[machinebacon]

Now everything is good again because we found the link :) Welcome to the Barbie!
And thank you for sharing your story, I'm really happy to hear such success stories ;)
Do I understand right that you haven't yet managed to set the display resolution to the native 1024x600? In this case I recommend to open a new thread and post your xrandr output, along with the ouput of lspci -nnk|grep VGA and we can have a look!

Cheers and a happy new year with a happy new grill!

[wuxmedia]

^ i think he was very happy to find that Trollinger works well at 1064x600 !

[dkeg]

welcome missinglink. glad you found and joined the bbq. Enjoy the feast.

[rhowaldt]

hey missinglink, glad you were able to register here finally and speak those kind words, and all with punctuation and stuff :D

it might be good to know, re your friend, that the BBQ was not set up to be user-friendly. that said, user-friendly is quite a relative term, and what i mean here is that it isn't 'i dont know how to use Google or RTFM'-friendly :)
so i hope your friend is at least up for doing a little bit of work for his system, a bit of light reading and such. but as you have seen for yourself, the reward is a great release that runs everywhere without too many hiccups.

welcome to the community!

[dura]

Good day, missinglink. Good to see you at the bbq. You espouse good vibes. We be feeling that.

Don't worry about grammar, etc. Just examine the above posts and you will get an idea of the leeway the barbeque has in terms of dialect, accent, syntax, or whatnot.

I'm one of those annoying RTFM bafoons who asks too many questions. I also use google a lot and don't mind getting my hands greasy. It can be pretty weird to begin with, especially if like your friend you're coming from Windows where the general experience is to be quite fearful of the command line. Trollinger is just a base- the BBQ is all about roasting your own. Become Linux. Make your own. That sort of stuff. Or you can leave it once its running nicely. We definitely encourage delving into the shell though. It is truly an enlightening experience.

See you round.

[machinebacon]

The really filthy Grillmeisters here wash their hands *after* roasting, and not before :D But those burgers are usually the best ones :)

:/me pukes into the corner:

[missinglink]

Thanks everyone for the warm greetings. Just like #! - I expected no less from the usual suspects. I thought the grammar cop reference might be appreciated. Trolls can waste so much effort from the admins. I settled on #! a few years ago since it worked and because Philip's demeanor infuses the forum.

Do I understand right that you haven't yet managed to set the display resolution to the native 1024x600? In this case I recommend to open a new thread and post your xrandr output, along with the ouput of lspci -nnk|grep VGA and we can have a look!

Machinebacon, all is good with my 1024X600 res under LinuxBBQ. It was automagically set correctly as it was with Knoppix and Fedora. #! and all other distros I've tried are 800X600.
A few links if you're intrigued by the difficulty Linux folk are having with the PowerVR SGX545 aka Intel GMA 3600/50 aka Cedar Trail integrated graphics system...
http://communities.intel.com/message/158158
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... =cedarview
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=78157
Some advised/scolded to not buy such hardware next time. I wasn't in disagreement - ineffective as that may be - but I did want to use something in addition to Win7 on my netbook!
When I'm running into problems I always try Knoppix first, and it worked at 1024X600. Ok, if Klaus provided something that detected my bastard hardware, I was going to try more. On a hunch from things posted in the above links, I stuck with newer kernels. Fedora 17 (I installed XFCE) worked fine. Neither Knoppix nor Fedora allowed me to use my Fn+F2 to toggle my wireless on/off. That sent me back to my Win7 partition if I wanted that. Doh!
I'm happy to report that my wireless Fn key functions as designed with Trollinger. Curious about that, but thought you'd like to know. Fwiw, the other Fn keys I've tried aren't functioning with Trollinger. Wireless on/off is the one that I really missed with Fedora and Knoppix. So ... I'm even more pleased now. As I say in the subject line, Impressive work. I'm guessing machinebacon didn't set out to give relief to Cedarview and recent Asus EeePC ailments, but he's done it.

As to the noob friend using something edgy like LinuxBBQ ... I also burned him a Mint 14 XFCE key. WinXP is just wearing them down. I did emphasize not mucking about with files in the XP partition unless he's backed up everything of value. My experience on a variety of hardware indicates that stable vs. bleeding edge could mean safe for production machine vs. might cause breakage. It can also mean "won't even load" vs. near complete functionality! When I was using #! (previous MSI and Toshiba notebooks) and Mint and Knoppix and Mepis and Fedora ... things would occasionally bung up. Just like the normally well behaved Win7 and much patched Vista before that.

Sorry for the long-winded. I'm trying to give a feel for what a curious semi-beginner goes through trying to find a decent Linux fit, including when manufacturers throw a spanner into the works.
As I say bye for now, here's some output from my install:

Thu Jan 3 07:06:39 EST 2013
missing@rottenapple:~$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 1024 x 600, current 1024 x 600, maximum 1024 x 600
default connected 1024x600+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1024x600 0.0*
missing@rottenapple:~$ lspci -nnk|grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Atom Processor D2xxx/N2xxx Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0be1] (rev 09)
missing@rottenapple:~$ inxi -F
System: Host: rottenapple Kernel: 3.7-1.towo-siduction-686 i686 (32 bit)
Desktop: LXDE (Openbox 3.5.0) Distro: LinuxBBQ LXDE
Machine: System: ASUSTeK product: 1025C version: x.x
Mobo: ASUSTeK model: 1025C version: x.xx Bios: American Megatrends version: 1025C.1105 date: 07/12/2012
CPU: Dual core Intel Atom CPU N2600 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 512 KB flags: (nx sse sse2 sse3 ssse3)
Clock Speeds: 1: 600.00 MHz 2: 1400.00 MHz 3: 600.00 MHz 4: 600.00 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel Atom Processor D2xxx/N2xxx Integrated Graphics Controller
X.Org: 1.12.4 drivers: fbdev,vesa (unloaded: intel) Resolution: [email protected]
GLX Renderer: N/A GLX Version: N/A
Audio: Card: Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.7-1.towo-siduction-686
Network: Card-1: Atheros AR8152 v2.0 Fast Ethernet driver: atl1c
IF: eth0 state: down mac: 10:bf:48:97:eb:e3
Card-2: Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath9k
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: 74:e5:43:11:8b:4d
Drives: HDD Total Size: 199.9GB (28.1% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: SAMSUNG_SSD_830 size: 128.0GB
2: USB id: /dev/sdb model: Card_Reader size: 63.9GB 3: USB id: /dev/sdc model: USB_Flash_Drive size: 8.0GB
Partition: ID: / size: 25G used: 1.8G (8%) fs: ext4
RAID: No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors: None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?
Info: Processes: 129 Uptime: 1:01 Memory: 511.0/2014.2MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 1.8.24

[rhowaldt]

thanks for the talk missinglink, it was a good read, so don't worry about it :)
i am, above all, very glad to hear you are enjoying the BBQ, and happily surprised it works such wonders for your penisfaced hardware :D

next job: trying to get those remaining Fn keys to work!

[dura]

I had ***real fun*** trying to get some fn keys working the other day (after they strangely stopped). Found a workaround, and then they started working again. :/

xev, modmap are the way with that... (so I hear anyway....)

[machinebacon]

Thanks missinglink for the report,

I think we can get some of the other Fn keys to work.

Code: Select all

sudo leafpad /etc/default/grub

search for the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX line
there should be the entry saying "quiet init=/bin/systemd"

change it to

Code: Select all

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_osi=Linux quiet init=/bin/systemd"

and save/exit.

at least screen brightness should be adjustable then. Continue with a

Code: Select all

sudo update-grub

and then reboot.

[o.g.]

Hello


First : happy new year for 2013
Secondly : yes impressive work
And thanks for your 2013 resolutions which precise linuxbbq direction.

I continue linuxbbq experience. Since I have siduction installed on my desktop
computer i tried on my dell e6330 a usb-stick siduction (Riders
from the Storm). It is not true problems with Fn/+- Brightness and I write a post
http://siduction.org/index.php?name=PNp ... pic&t=3139
because it is very similar to mother.
The only difference (which is due to xfce4 or different configuration) is
that with kernel 3.7.1 on tty, lightdm or xfce4 I cannot adjust brightness
(with 3.6.9 it is ok). On siduction with xfce4 and kernel 3.7.1 it does not work
under tty or lightdm but it is ok under xfce4 session.


I tried also the trick grub_cmd_linux : acpi_blacklight and acpi_osi
but nothing different happens.


O.G.

Edit : with acpi_blacklight=vendor it is worst : it does not work with kernel 3.6.9 !

[machinebacon]

It's true that 3.7-1 is a problematic kernel (for me at least) and I hesitate working with it and remastering the next spins.

Thanks for the observation. The GRUB line is not a 100% solution, just an idea. Depends on the vendor-specific rules (/lib/udev/rules.d/95-keymap.rules), I would blame them on not functioning Fn keys, rather than the kernel.

[o.g.]

Thanks for the observation.

It takes only 20! boot/grub/reboot :)

O.G.

[missinglink]

Thanks missinglink for the report,

I think we can get some of the other Fn keys to work.

Code: Select all

sudo leafpad /etc/default/grub

search for the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX line
there should be the entry saying "quiet init=/bin/systemd"

change it to

Code: Select all

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_osi=Linux quiet init=/bin/systemd"

and save/exit.

at least screen brightness should be adjustable then. Continue with a

Code: Select all

sudo update-grub

and then reboot.

Thanks, machinebacon. I applied those changes including the sudo update-grub and then rebooted. No change to soft key functionality, though the Fn+F2 still works to toggle wifi. Please note I found the quiet init=/bin/systemd line after GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT rather than after GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX. Here's my pertinent (revised) output:

Code: Select all

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="acpi_backlight=vendor acpi_osi=Linux quiet init=/bin/systemd"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

I'm happy with the soft key functionality I have, specifically my Fn+F2 wifi toggle. But I'll go along with trying something else as long as you're willing.

On another note, I'm pleased to see the availability of the new XFCE "Proof" spin. I''ll try it live and may install in a spare SSD partition.

[machinebacon]

You're right, it was the line you mentioned with the default.

[note: next section is a general information which you probably already know, but I write it here nevertheless, as it will hopefully end up as a wiki article snippet]

For me usually backlight and volume keys/mute are those that should always work on a laptop, so we can manually adjust them via keybindings - provided the Fn-keys actually get registered. If this is not the case, there's the possibility of giving it a keybinding, like e.g. [Logo key] + [o] and [Logo key] + [p] for brightness down/up or volume up/down, or a single key for mute. This depends on the desktop environment, eg. XFCE has its own keyboard shortcut management, in Openbox one would assign these bindings in rc.xml, and so on.

The commands that change backlight:

Code: Select all

ins xbacklight #get it from the repos
xbacklight inc 20 #increase backlight value by 20%
xbacklight dec 20 #decrease it by 20%

A simple volume adjustment

Code: Select all

amixer set Master 50%   #set the volume of the Master channel to 50% 
amixer -c 1 set PCM 2dB+  #increase the volume of channel PCM in sound card #1 by 2db 
amixer toggle Master  #mute/unmute the Master channel

(To find out which channels there are, enter amixer in a terminal and scroll through it.)

These commands can be called by the keyboard shortcuts management of the desktop in question. To determine if certain keys are registered by the system and to find out their keycodes (for further use) there is Xev: http://linuxbbq.org/wiki/index.php?title=Xev

[rhowaldt]

http://linuxbbq.org/wiki/index.php?title=Special_keys
:)

[pidsley]

roald: Y U no add "wiki" link at top of page?