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Thursday, July 16th, 2009
I should maybe start out by stating that I am always more than a little hesitant to post on any Ubuntu planets about CrunchBang Linux, however, in this case I was persuaded to do so by Dave Walker. I guess I feel somewhat hesitant because there is a conflict of interest and I really do not want to distract from any of the excellent work going on around Ubuntu. Are these feelings rational?
Anyhow, the reason I am writing this post is because the CrunchBang project could really do with some help. For anyone not aware, I released a new version of CrunchBang last week. The new the release went well, a little too well in fact and the shared host which I was using to distribute the ISO files went into meltdown within hours of publicising the release. The meltdown was caused purely by a lack of planning on my behalf, I really had not expected so much interest.
Luckily, the CrunchBang community pulled together to save the day. Users on the forums managed to provide some BitTorrent downloads and others provided ad hoc mirrors. We eventually managed to get the files out, albeit rather slowly. Meanwhile, within the #crunchbang IRC channel, Ciemon Dunville suggested I speak to Dave Walker about the mirroring/load balancing scripts which he uses to help distribute the Ubuntu UK Podcast. A short while later, after letting me bug him with questions over the phone, Daviey very kindly offered to help out.
The following day I took out a lease on new dedicated server and Daviey set about working his black magic. As a result of Daviey's know-how and generosity, the CrunchBang project now has much more reliable means of distributing itself. The only things lacking now are volunteers willing to help by creating mirrors. If this is something you think you can help out with, please see the mirror set-up guide.
A HUGE THANK YOU is due to everyone who is helping out and providing mirrors, including; Andrew Williams, Marty Cannon, Alan Pope, Dave Walker, Ciemon Dunville and Stas Sushkov. You are all stars! Hopefully, we can get some more stars involved to help lessen the load! :)
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
Last night I uploaded and released the final CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 build. I am really quite pleased with this release and it seems to be working well on my own systems. I will keep this post short as I have already written about the release on the new CrunchBang Linux blog. All I wanted to say here is, I have really enjoyed working on this release; all the feedback, help and support has been quite overwhelming. It has also been fun to meet and chat with lots of like-minded Linux enthusiasts and geeks :)
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Over the last few days I have been busy beavering away creating a new project site for CrunchBang Linux. I had been thinking about creating a separate site for the project for a while, mainly because my personal site was never built with the intention of hosting any such project. Also, I figure that now the project has its own page on DistroWatch, I should really start taking the whole thing a little more seriously.
On the subject of developing websites, I have created a fair few in my time, some commercial, some not. Nearly all the sites I have developed have been custom coded to some extent, but this new project site is not. Apart from the front page, the rest of site has been constructed using entirely free and open source web applications.
Forums
The new forums are powered by PunBB, which is described as being a lightweight PHP discussion board. This is the first time I have had any experience of working with this software, and I have to say, I have been thoroughly impressed; the installation was a painless affair and customising the look 'n' feel was also fairly easy. In fact, I only had one real issue; for some reason, the RSS and Atom feed generator did not parse any BBCode, which meant the resulting output was not overly attractive or easy to read. Having said that, I did manage to implement a quick fix without too much hassle. I will post the fix at some point in the future. Anyhow, PunBB, very impressive.
Wiki
The new wiki is powered by the fabulous DokuWiki. Again, I had not had any experience of using the software previous to the installation, although I had read good things about it and I have been subscribed to authors feed for a while, so I was somewhat familiar with it.
For anyone who has not tried it, DokuWiki is an easy to use, standard compliant wiki. It is also fairly unusual in the fact that it does not use an SQL database backend, using flat files instead. I have not been using it long enough to give an opinion on whether or not this provides any advantages, but I think it makes for a refreshing change at the least.
Regarding usage, it is a breeze. Creating new pages, uploading media and modifying access control lists could not be easier, it really is a pleasure to use, that is to say, as pleasurable as using a web application can be :p
Weblog
The new weblog is powered by WordPress. I am sure I do not have to say much about WordPress, only I have not actually used it since about the time of version 1.5.x. Wow! WordPress is definitely one of the most polished web applications I have used in a while. It might be somewhat bloated compared to what I am used to, but I think I can endure a little bloat if it means I get ease of use and rapid development. Nothing more to say about WordPress, other than it is good stuff.
Cleaning up
Apparently, cool URIs do not change. So, with this is mind I have been attempting to migrate as much information as I can to the new site without causing too much disruption to existing project data. I have implemented as few server-side redirects as possible. The old forums will remain archived in a read-only state and the mailing list will stay put for the time being as I have yet to set-up Mailman on my VPS.
Future focus
Overall, I am really pleased with the new site and I am hoping it will provide for some positive discussions and improvements to the distribution. I am also hoping the new easy to use web applications will mean I can spend less time administering and more time developing. Which reminds me…
…CrunchBang Linux uses many packages which are not in the standard Ubuntu desktop. Due to this, some of these packages are possibly not as well maintained as they could be — just an observation, not really a criticism. Anyway, if CrunchBang Linux does nothing else, it would be good if the future focus of the distribution could be to improve these packages and feed any improvements back upstream.
Anyhow, I am sure I have rambled for far too long :S If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions for improvements to the new site, please feel free to post them, all are welcome and greatly appreciated!
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
I have no idea how it happened, but I am delighted to see that CrunchBang Linux now has its own page on DistroWatch. I have been a DistroWatch junky for years, it is a fantastic resource and provides a first class service to the community. I am not entirely sure that CrunchBang Linux deserves its own page, however, it is good to see and it has brought a smile to my face :)
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
I had some spare time on my hands last weekend, so I set about putting together a new release of CrunchBang Linux. As the numbering suggests, CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 is based on Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex sources.
As well as being based on the latest Ubuntu release, I have also made several other changes over the previous releases, including, but not limited to:
- A new darker theme.
- Tablaunch removed (finally).
- Some additional default shortcut keys added, including main menu.
- OpenOffice.org replaced by Abiword and Gnumeric.
- pypanal replaced by lxpanel.
- AcidRip removed.
- Twitux replaced by Gwibber.
- Mirage replaced by GPicView.
- VLC removed in favour of Totem — VLC is now a non GTK+ app :(
- etc.
The above changes are based on changes I have made to my own system since the previous CrunchBang release.
Anyhow, there is a new LiveCD available for testing. If anyone would like to give it a try, please do so. Feedback, suggestions and ideas for improvements are more than welcome and greatly appreciated. See the forum for download locations.
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Update: CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 is out now!
See: http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/release-notes/8.10.01
I have released a couple of new images for my CrunchBang Linux project. This new release brings CrunchBang Linux up-to-date with packages available from the 8.04.01 point release of Ubuntu. The new images have been completely rebuilt from scratch and feature a whole bunch of changes.
What's new?
As stated above, all packages from the Ubuntu repositories have been updated to bring them in-line with Ubuntu 8.04.01. Most notably, Firefox 3 is no-longer beta software and a couple of well-known security vulnerabilities have been patched.
Openbox has been updated to the latest version. See Openbox:Changelog for more information.
An alternative XFCE4 desktop environment is available from the GDM login screen. It has been set-up to behave identically [well, near enough] to the default Openbox session. e.g. right-click menus, shortcut keys etc. This new feature is currently being guinea pigged by Becky the Linux user.
Both the Openbox and XFCE4 sessions use the XFCE4 Settings Manager. This adds some overhead to the Openbox session, but also provides a solution to the problem of gnome-settings-daemon overriding users settings when invoked by accident — there are a surprising number of applications which invoke gnome-settings-daemon for no obvious reason.
ROX-Filer has been replaced by Thunar as the default file manager; the thunar-volman package now handles auto mounting of devices. This is a huge improvement over the previous release, which used Ivman.
A new "Lite" image has been made available. This image features the same Openbox and XFCE4 environments, but does not have the plethora of applications available in the full image. Hopefully, this new image will go a long way to satisfying requests to remove applications. The Lite image comes in at approximately 403M, making it significantly
smaller than the standard image at approximately 633M.
An alternative installation method. CrunchBang Linux can now be built from a minimal "CLI" installation of Ubuntu.
Numerous other tweaks and changes, including but not limited to:
- A new Usplash theme.
- New GDM theme.
- Xarchiver replaced by File Roller.
- GnomeBaker removed in favour of Brasero.
- Terminator now set as the default terminal emulator.
- RealPlayer plugins enabled by default.
- OSMO replaced by Orage.
- Et cetera.
Download locations
As always, CrunchBang Linux has been developed for my personal use; however, everyone is free to download and use as they see fit. If you do decide to download, please pay special attention to the disclaimer, which basically states, "if you brick your system, do not come running to me."
For download locations, see: CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 Download Locations. For the alternative installation instructions, see: CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 Alternative Installation.
Screenshots
Some screenshots of CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 in action, click on the thumbnails for larger images.
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Yesterday I published Darkness Returns, a GTK+ and Openbox theme. Today, in an effort to move more CrunchBang Linux material onto my site and wiki, I am publishing Brightness, another GTK+ and Openbox theme. I no longer use this theme myself, but I know some users have stated they prefer the theme which was used in CrunchBang Linux 7.10.2 [I guess you cannot please all of the people all of the time.] Personally, I prefer the increased contrast between application and data provided by Darkness Returns, but there you go.
As with Darkness Returns, Brightness uses the Clearlooks GTK+ engine. I have made the theme available on my wiki. I have used the theme under Openbox with no known issues. I have not tested the theme under GNOME.
Regarding the origin of the theme, if I remember correctly, I used the Gilouche theme as basis to work from. Even though I prefer to use a darker theme, I still really like the openSUSE artwork, it is professional and consistently good.
Monday, May 12th, 2008
It occurred to me this morning that I have been using the same GTK+ theme for a couple months. I consider this fact to be a result; I have comfortably settled into using a theme and I had not fully realised it, that has to be a good sign! While I enjoy playing around with the look 'n' feel of my desktop, I cannot help but think it is a waste of time and I should be doing something more constructive; therefore, this morning's realisation comes as something of a relief.
The theme I have settled into using is called Darkness Returns. I named it so because CrunchBang Linux was originally distributed with a dark theme, then it changed to a light theme, before moving back to a dark theme for the last release; hence, Darkness Returns — pure genius :)
Darkness Returns is based on the Clearlooks GTK+ engine. It is not actually as dark as some dark themes, instead it is more of a halfway house between the lightness and the darkness; maybe I should have named it "Sitting On The Fence"? Anyhow, a couple of people have asked me for the theme and so I have made it available on my wiki. More screenshots of the theme can also be seen on my wiki: CrunchBang Linux 8.04.01 Screenshots. Feel free to use and abuse :)
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Xpad is a sticky notes application written in GTK+ 2.0. It is a simple little application which can be used to help you remember important stuff. I really like Xpad, mainly because it does exactly what I would expect it to do, without suffering from feature bloat; it is an ideal utility for my Openbox based systems.
The current version of Xpad available from the Ubuntu Hardy repositories [2.13] suffers from a rather drastic 100% CPU bug; therefore, I have updated the package to the latest 2.14 release and uploaded it to the CrunchBang Linux repositories. I have also filed a small bug report on Launchpad and I am looking for a mentor to help me update the package; I understand it is a busy/hectic time for Ubuntu developers at the moment, so I will not hold my breath while I wait for a reply :)
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
Update: CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 is out now!
See: http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/release-notes/8.10.01
This is the third release of CrunchBang Linux. This release is based on the current development version of Ubuntu, "Hardy Heron". As with the previous releases, I have developed CrunchBang Linux for personal use; however, I have released it as a download on the off chance that others may find it useful.
I have been running this release on my own systems for a number of weeks and it seems to be quite stable. Having said that, this release is based on a "development" release of Ubuntu and therefore is not recommended for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage.
What's new?
I am really quite happy with how CrunchBang Linux is developing. This release sees numerous improvements and when installed makes for a really usable, fast and attractive system. I would really like to thank the users on the forums for all their suggestions and feedback; I have implemented many improvements based solely on their input. See below for a list of changes.
Major updates:
- CrunchBang Linux is now based on Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron". This brings many new improvements and package updates; most notably an updated 2.6.24.15 Linux Kernel, and Xorg 7.3.
- Openbox 3.4.7-pre2, this release includes many improvements including the GDM control mentioned here.
- CrunchBang Linux repositories are now enabled by default. The repositories include CrunchBang Linux specific packages and fixes, plus Openbox related updates etc.
- A new default theme based on Clearlooks, "Darkness Returns". See the screenshots.
Other changes:
Download
The CrunchBang Linux ISO image is approximately 614MB. It can be downloaded from the following locations:
MD5: 90c83bac8ec4411fea422b439bfbcc65
Screenshots
Disclaimer
CrunchBang Linux is not recommended for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. CrunchBang Linux could possibly make your computer go CRUNCH! BANG! Therefore CrunchBang Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
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