I’m currently putting the Gentoo x86 minimal build onto the following flash drive. I asked Gnome how much space I had on it, because I forget, and look what happened…
Disk properties graph of which resembles PacMan
Frequent visitors to the website may notice these little Debian images everywhere: 
I have recently learned that the following <a href="apt:package" title="get Package for DistroName">Package</a> in a HTML document will allow users to install the packages you are speaking about with a couple of clicks.
When clicking on one of these apt links, synaptic (providing it is registered with the apt protocol) will trigger and ask the user whether they wish to install the package. It will also of course tell you whether the package is not available or is already installed on the system.
This of course means that it is only useful for persons running distributions such as Debian GNU/Linux.
So I ask, is this something useful in which readers would like to see around websites? or is it rather irritating and I should think about linking to package release websites instead?
Edit: There is a good page at the Ubuntu community wiki regarding this, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AptFirefoxFileHandler
You can track the progress of this project here
I have recently written up a post regarding installing a very thin and fast Debian setup on the Eee. A part of that setup is Fluxbox. Most of the themes designed for it in which I use are designed for large screen resolutions. Say 1680×1050 for example.
I have recently enjoyed using a theme called Noir. Available at box-look.org.
The theme is beautiful, simple and lovely looking. The only issue I had with it however (and most themes for Fluxbox) is that the text sizes used and the heights of the toolbars etc were far too large for the Eee PC (800×480).
Thanks to “endel” (the creator of the theme) licensing his work with a Creative Commons license I am able to tweak his theme to my liking and share it with the world.
So here it is, “mininoir”. Running on my EeePC with a stock Fluxbox installation. Click it for a better real-view.
If you like what I have done with it, you can download it here.
Thoughts?
Something happened to me recently. A “click”. You know… the kind of feeling you experience when you learn something new for yourself or simply find that something you previously thought was hugely complicated/impossible, is actually really rather simple.
Well, I am nothing much of a programmer. But I have been writing little pieces here and there for a couple of years to satisfy my needs as and when I needed the skills. I have been successful in writing these small pieces. But only recently have I achieved this understanding I am going to try and explain.
For some three to four years I have been in the presence of people who know what they are doing and talking about when it comes to computing and programming, some of those persons are best friends of mine. I had always taken in what they said in group discussions, trying to piece together these knowledgeable items into something I can use for myself.
For quite some time I never understood the subjects too well. I often immediately forget what I had learned from them because another aspect of programming or language altogether made the whole subject confusing again.
So basically, all of these fundamental understandings that one requires in order to understand why object oriented programs are written the way they are, why the operating system I use often requires a mass of libraries for each application I pick up through its PMS suddenly made sense.
I now understand terms like inheritance, functions, modules and classes. Why they are used, where they are used etc.
The result of all this is that I can pretty much look at a well written piece of OOP source and read it. More importantly I can now understand what the methods are doing.
I feel I can now pick up a book and really enjoy what it is teaching me.
That is all
I have recently re-built the Eee’s OS and am back to running Debian (Lenny) on it. Only this time I intend to take my space requirements back even further. As I wish to use as much of the internal 4GB as I can. Possibly for the installation of other non-Linux OS’s.
This is the first post of many where I will list alternative ways of doing things in which will reduce the amount of packages needed for installation. The following posts will of course also benefit users of similar devices.
Having successfully re-installed Debian on the Eee with just a command line interface to play around with, the first thing I needed was a graphical desktop. My desktop of choice these days is Fluxbox. Its super lightweight, clean, fast and offers all of the functionality I need to be productive on a desktop. Forcing me to learn terminal commands here and there also which is always of benefit to me.
Using Fluxbox in itself is saving enough space already. It requires only a few extra packages (dependencies) to get it running.
The login managers GDM/KDM, come at a bulky 60-100mb ish. I found that a graphical login manager is actually pretty useless. I only ever run one desktop environment per machine. So I needed to be able to run a Fluxbox session without it.
I have typed up my findings in the wiki Due to huge huge amounts of fail at the wiki, im having to post this tutorial here. Ill get the wiki back up soon.
AutoStart X Window Manager and Desktop Without *DM
The following was tested on an 4GB EeePC running Debian GNU/Linux
The following covers how to allow a user “steve” to start a fluxbox session without the need to have gdm/kdm installed beforehand. Potentially saving 60-100mb.
I have put this brief how-to together for users of the 4GB or even 2GB Eee PC’s (or similar small devices). Where the need to space wherever you can is essential.
I am writing this as if I had just installed a flat Debian build on the Eee. So, I am currently without a graphical interface (such as Gnome) and am at the line.
Firstly we need the following packages “xserver-xorg-video-intel x-window-system fluxbox” on our system. Login as a root user and issue the following.
apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel x-window-system fluxbox
The following statement then needs to be added to the ”~/.profile” of the user you are setting this up for. So for my example. I will put the statement at the bottom of the ”/home/steve/.profile” config file.
# Start X server on login
if [ -z "$DISPLAY" ] && [ $(tty) == /dev/tty1 ]; then
startx
fi
Finally we will need to tell “startx” what to launch. In my case I am going to be using fluxbox. So adding the following to ”~/.xinitrc” (/home/steve/.xinitrc) will do the trick.
exec /usr/bin/startfluxbox
Hopefully someone finds this useful. I will cover more workarounds as I get round to working them into the Eee.
I wish to briefly speak of something that hit me hard both when trying a recent KDE4 build and Ubuntu’s Netbook Remix project. Is the desktop as most users recognize it a dying model?
What I mean to say is, for the most part, we expect our desktops to have icons in which we can pick up, move around, click (or double click) to launch etc. I have noticed that a stock KDE4 build does not give you the option to do this. It isn’t a bad development at all.
I feel the desktop is changing. And for the better.
So what are seeing instead? Well in KDE4’s case, there is a huge focus on desktop widgets and plugins. Items such as power management, drive management and audio playback tools can be blended directly into the desktop. The EeePC gives us a desktop with click-able icons but in a very different (and better) method of viewing them.
Ubuntu’s new Netbook Remix offering is very similar also. In that they remove the ability to keep icons on the desktop and instead icons are embedded into a nice program launching application. Much like Gnome’s panel only smarter and better looking.
I now run the continuing development of Ubuntu’s Netbook interface. Because I find it allows me to access what I want much quicker, it squeezes in very nicely on the Eee’s small screen and it also allows for EVERY application you launch to full screen itself. Allowing me to get the most out of 800×480.
That is all, thoughts?
See http://stevepearce.info/?page_id=12
I have finally begun to make use of that empty development area. Currently I have just given it a simple php hyperlink roller script. Easy stuff. But I know people will find it handy. Some of my friends are using it also.
Expect more in that area as I write it.
Well ok, the following is not that extreme. But this is a worrying bug at the back of my mind and I wish to share it with the world.
I am about to reach the end of a two year Foundation Degree in Business Computing (Hoping to progress to a BSc Honors Degree). For the most part it has been a successful ride all the way through. I have refereed in a couple of subjects but have still managed to get passes ok so that I could progress onwards.
All was well until it came to semester four. I am not sure what happened in the last few months, but I was getting less interested in what I was learning and I was rather wanting to get home and spend more time learning whatever I could regarding Linux and free software technologies.
The time for submissions has arrived and I am now extremely worried. I have just experienced a full week to get four units complete and I mostly ignored it. I have A LOT of work to get through and for one of these units I will be needing to create a Java snakes and ladders game. I will need to go over all the notes and possibly a book again before I even think about trying to write it.
I have handed in one of these units. Rushed. So rushed in fact that when I got home and re-read it I noticed that I managed to write “ass” in it.
Java and another subject is due on Friday. That leaves roughly 30 hours to get both done. It is going to kill me. The subject for Monday however is quite light and simple and I know for sure that I will be able to comfortably get that done and pass it well.
So, onto the reason why I am typing this up. I feel I may fail the course completely. Which could potentially be pretty awful considering I now owe £6000 in fees.
I feel relieved however that what I have learned outside college may get me through the beginning of my working career. That is, PHP5 fundamentals, python fundamentals, MySQL and w3 standards compliant XHTML/CSS web development skills and everything I have achieved regarding running Debian GNU/Linux desktop systems/servers.
I worry that should I fail, employers may not take me on. Will the skills and contacts I have established outside of college aid me in getting my career kick started? etc.
On a happier note. My weight loss program is proving to work. I already fit nicely into the Amarok tshirt I purchased. I will not stop yet though of course. I am also hugely looking forward to my solo trip to Wolverhampton mid July for LugRadio Live.
EDIT (4/6/08): The LugRadio guys have announced a mass of speakers/exhibitors on the LRL blog. Awesomeness is just 45 days away 
Maybe there I will find some information regarding what I can do beyond this course.
Whatever happens the next two months will surely result in a defining moment of my life.
Quick post just to mention that I have the wiki in a functional/readable state.
It contains just one page at the moment. I’ve made a good start on it and am now sourcing some information I have wanted to write up for quite some time.
I am currently having troubles with subdomains. So for now the brain will be available here,
http://stevepearce.info/brain/
Enjoy!
Just a quick post regarding something cool I wish to roll out on here soon.
Due to my incredibly poor ability to remember things I will be starting a wiki or “knowledge dump”. I wish to log various things I discover on a day to day basis so that I have a permanent backup in which I can access at any time in any location.
It should be said that the idea for this originated at Adam Sweet’s marvelous wiki.
Subjects for example will include terminal commands, scripts, user and package management and all that good stuff. This information will likely be sourced from experience, man pages, other wiki’s, forums, IRC etc.
I will be using Dokuwiki for this task as I like the idea of it writing out to simple plain text files. This means I can backup the wiki once a week or so and carry my knowledge with me. On a variety of devices possibly also.
I am currently in the process of building it up to my needs. Once I have correctly set it up the permissions I will make it available at http://brain.stevepearce.info.
That is all 
![[LRL UK 2008]](images/banner_-_lugradio.jpg "See me @ LugRadio Live UK 2008")
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