CrunchBang Linux

blamenixon

New Member

Registered: 2012-08-13

Posts: 8

The Netbook Resurrection

I'd love to give some back story about all the trauma I've experienced in the three years I've owned a netbook, but it would take too long, and you're here for pictures, so I'll give you the (semi-)abridged version:
1) The Compaq Mini came with Windows 7 Starter...I'm sure many of you have horror stories we could regal over for months on end, let's not. /OS
2) After several blue screens of death, even on a fresh and minimal install ("Aggh! All I did was go to the bathroom!"), I asked a friend for his Ubuntu thumb drive...I think he had 11.10, but I also tried many other versions, including UNR, the one advertised for netbooks...all very slow, and loaded with a bunch of crap I didn't need.  The software center was a sluggish nightmare, I'll stick to Synaptic, tyvm. /OS
3) JoliCloud!  I know this is for ranting and raving about #! but I have to give this OS some due credit.  The founder of Netvibes put together a team of French people to slap an HTML5 page into a frameless Chrome browser running ontop of the Gnome2 Shell...and they got paid somewhere around $4million to do it, too!!!  It was fast and lightweight on the netbook, with a final install size of about 14GB, and not a single app installed that I didn't need.
But then they forgot about us. Period. /OS
4) Bodhi, Mint, Fuduntu, Kuduntu, Xuduntu ('Paging Dr.Suess...'), KDE, EasyPeasy, Meego....seriously, anything on this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison … tributions
By the end of it all, I was looking to download an open-source gun and take myself out.

/OS nightmares
check out my screenshots of #! and let me know what you think.  If you have any questions, I'll try and help the best I can, but I've only been using it for about a week now...A big "Thank You" to the experienced users who have answered questions on these forums in the past, I'd be lost and looking at a gray screen if it weren't for you all.

The Desktop - ADeskBar on the left, Avant Window Navigator on the bottom, Conky Colors to the right, and a customized Tint2 bar with a few necessary apps up top

Iceweasel - This gets used for private browsing. The ability to customize the appearance means the program takes up minimal space and leaves room for the webpage. The skin used is FT Deep Dark.

Chrome - Google, the home base of all my online accounts and information.  Passwords are saved here and accounts are always logged in. Theme is "Slinky Elegant" and the new tab extension is "Bookmark Buttons Startpage" with a black gradient applied.

Nickel Browser - Looks pretty good, eh?  Remember all that praise I gave JoliOS?  Well, it turns out I couldn't leave it all together....yup, that's right!  I brought the Nickel Browser with me!  See all those web links in the Avant bar at the bottom?  Those are all custom made to launch in a Chrome window without the tab and address bars!  Check it out!

Thanks for sticking around and seeing the progress I've made, I'm really excited to be sharing it with everybody, and IDEAS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
(criticism can be left outside. if you don't like it, go to another thread.)

Last edited by blamenixon (2012-08-21 05:11:29)

elvaqueroloco

#! CrunchBanger

From: #! Rodeo bucking chute

Registered: 2012-03-25

Posts: 121

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

3) JoliCloud! ...  The founder of Netvibes put together a team of French people to slap an HTML5 page into a frameless Chrome browser running ontop of the Gnome2 Shell...and they got paid somewhere around $4million to do it, too!!!  .... By the end of it all, I was looking to download an open-source gun and take myself out.

I am glad I already swallowed my orange Gatorade otherwise it would have been all over my monitor and the #! forum theme would have been orange and white.

Bravo.  Both to your setup and the post.

Oh, and a belated welcome to the forums.  I think you will fit in just fine.

---

To say that any people are not fit for freedom, is to make poverty their choice, and to say they had rather be loaded with taxes than not. - Thomas Paine

blamenixon

New Member

Registered: 2012-08-13

Posts: 8

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

ty, elvaqueroloco.
I feel the only thing missing is the feature in JoliOs that would undecorate a maximized window and move it's title to the system tray, with only the active task showing a text label....does anybody know if this is possible in the Openbox/Tint2 environment?

[EDIT]: And backups!  I've read this thread: http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic … g-configs/ without really understanding much...Obviously, I don't want to go through setting this up again in the instance of breaking something, so how do I save my Avant launchers and other settings?

Last edited by blamenixon (2012-08-21 06:03:17)

mariannemarlow

#! Die Hard

From: My flat, London, England

Registered: 2012-06-03

Posts: 2,195

Website

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

Looking great

---

Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before ~ Mae West

sqlpython

#! Die Hard

Registered: 2011-11-28

Posts: 820

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

@blamenixon
Welcome and don't blame nixon ..

Good strory.. especially the Virtual Gun..
Nice job, I really like your Desktop.. Now I have Desktop Envy. 

---

OHCG #!, Wheezy,, Siduction-12, Bridge-Arch ,  Slackware & Sabayon X,

Morley

#! CrunchBanger

From: Albuquerque

Registered: 2010-02-17

Posts: 178

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

I actually just resurrected an old netbook yesterday!  It had been sitting around unused for ~2 years since the charger broke (otherwise, it is in almost-new condition).  I got a new charger, and booted up.  It felt great clicking around XP with EEE PC bloatware and an expired Office 2007 license, then axing it!  I installed Ubuntu 12.04 just to see how it was (the last Ubuntu I had used was 10.10).  That didn't last more than an hour; there was literally nothing about that OS I liked.  It was outrageously slow and not intuitive in the least.  Maybe on better hardware it has potential, but it isn't for me.  So I installed #!, and the computer works like a charm.  This is a great netbook distro out of the box: great hardware (read: wireless) support, ridiculously fast and low on resources, easy to use default keyboard shortcuts, the works.

Also:

By the end of it all, I was looking to download an open-source gun and take myself out.

Last edited by Morley (2012-08-22 20:56:22)

---

I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation!

Char_Lee81

New Member

Registered: 2012-08-23

Posts: 2

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

@blamenixon amazing work!!!

Can you tell us your config in details, conky, tint2 ???

Tnx

gutterslob

#! Resident Bum

Registered: 2009-11-03

Posts: 2,636

Re: The Netbook Resurrection

3) JoliCloud!  I know this is for ranting and raving about #! but I have to give this OS some due credit.  The founder of Netvibes put together a team of French people.....

You're English, aren't you?

---

Point & Squirt