Giving Puppy another go, ran into a problem installing Skype

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theVenerable · #1 Post by **theVenerable** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 06:40

I thought I'd give Puppy another go due to it's portability.
Unfortunately it's very complicated in installing software.
First thing I tried was to install Skype.
There is no simple click to install feature (why not? This is 2019 and we aren't all computer nerds).
I tried to follow the Skype install tutorial, but after saving the Skype files to root, and typing in the terminal command: tar xjvf skype_static-*.tar.bz2 it says it cant open as there is no such file,
Maybe I typed the command wrong? I don't think so, but since the terminal doesn't even have a copy and paste feature, it's hard to know.

Question is, can I just click to install app?, or shall I just go back to Ubuntu which works surprisingly well on USB and has a lot of GUI these days? - pretty much the only Linux I can bother using.

Thanks

cthisbear · #2 Post by **cthisbear** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 07:11

" This is 2019 and we aren't all computer nerds). "

"""""""

So you should know better.

Supply the specs...

which exact Puppy version and what hardware?

Laptop, desktop, Acer, Asus or generic etc.

::::::::

" or shall I just go back to Ubuntu which works surprisingly well on USB "

In your opinion.

Chris.

6502coder · #3 Post by **6502coder** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 07:22

This is 2019 and we aren't all computer nerds

This is the Puppy Linux Forum and we ARE all nerds.

Puppy is a hobbyist's distro. It's for people to whom getting your hands dirty tinkering with OS is half the fun. So, yes, your intuition is right. Stick with Ubuntu or some other mainstream distro; you'll be much happier.

theVenerable · #4 Post by **theVenerable** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 15:48

Thanks for the honest feedback.
Most guys says linix distros are 'easy' and 'even my grandmother can use it'

I'll stick with Ubuntu as I REALLY am not a tinkerer and just want something I can use.

6502coder · #5 Post by **6502coder** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 20:19

Ubuntu is fine for a lot people, although there are even better options like Linux Mint for people who basically want an alternative to Windows. I myself run several different Puppies for fun, but I use LXLE (a Lubuntu spin-off) when I just want to get stuff done.

Mike Walsh · #6 Post by **Mike Walsh** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 21:01

@ theVenerable:-

As 6502coder says (and I agree), Puppy is very definitely a 'hobbyist' distro. Sure, it gets a lot of publicity, and plenty of people get interested as a result of that.....but many of us here do spend more time fiddling around with the OS itself, as opposed to worrying about running software on it. For some, that's very much of secondary importance.

Pup's a great little distro, but you mustn't be afraid to dive-in & get your hands a bit mucky. And for some, even that's off-putting. A lot of Windows users simply want (as you say) an alternate OS that they can just boot into & use. Period.

If you're happier running Windows, stick with that. There's no shame in doing so. Ditto goes for more 'mainstream' Linux distros, many of which have put an awful lot of time & effort in over the last decade, specifically to make their releases as polished, easy-to-use & attractive as possible for new users.

At the end of the day, as one of my 'colleagues' on here is wont to say, an OS is merely a platform on which to run apps/programs. Use whatever works best for you. After all, you're the one who has to use it.....so you may as well be happy & confident with it.

All depends on your levels of curiosity & determination, when it boils down to it..!

Mike.

666philb · #7 Post by **666philb** » Tue 12 Mar 2019, 23:10

hi theVenerable ,

what puppy version is this ?

Mike Walsh · #8 Post by **Mike Walsh** » Wed 13 Mar 2019, 02:32

I think he's already scarpered, Phil. I doubt we'll see him again.....

Mike.

theVenerable · #9 Post by **theVenerable** » Thu 14 Mar 2019, 06:16

Well, I haven't abandoned ship just yet.
I still feel there is a use for Puppy.
My work involves Skype, a bit of browsing and opening of PDF files.

Having a ridiculously small portable OS would/could be useful when travelling.

IF I can install Skype
IF it recognises my headset/mic and camera
IF I can use Chrome or Chromium browser
IF I can open PDF's and word/text files

I'm using the most recent Puppy, I just downloaded it deom the website.
My computer is a Thinkpad X230 -8 GB ram, but I guess the ram doesn't matter.

Thanks if any of you are still about.

666philb · #10 Post by **666philb** » Thu 14 Mar 2019, 09:44

theVenerable wrote:Well, I haven't abandoned ship just yet.
I still feel there is a use for Puppy.
My work involves Skype, a bit of browsing and opening of PDF files.

Having a ridiculously small portable OS would/could be useful when travelling.

IF I can install Skype
IF it recognises my headset/mic and camera
IF I can use Chrome or Chromium browser
IF I can open PDF's and word/text files

I'm using the most recent Puppy, I just downloaded it deom the website.
My computer is a Thinkpad X230 -8 GB ram, but I guess the ram doesn't matter.

Thanks if any of you are still about.

hi theVenerable,
some pups are set up to run skype & some are not ... what version of puppy are you using? click the help icon on the desktop to show the puppy version

Mike Walsh · #11 Post by **Mike Walsh** » Thu 14 Mar 2019, 10:18

@ theVenerable:-

theVenerable wrote:Well, I haven't abandoned ship just yet.
I still feel there is a use for Puppy.

A-ha..! (Spoke too soon, it seems.) Good man.

If you do as Phil has requested, we'll know what Pup you're running. I'm guessing Xenialpup 7.5, but whether 32- or 64-bit, only you can tell us.

Phil (or possibly peebee) can help with the Skype issue better than I can, but I will tell you this; you need to be running 64-bit to use Skype, because that's what it now is on Linux.....64-bit only.

If you're running the 64-bit version, you can install my Chrome packages. These are built to work with Pup's rather unique way of doing things, and have all the permissions, etc., already set correctly.

If the 32-bit version, then you can't run current Chrome (again, it's 64-bit only on Linux. Google quit building the 32-bit version for Linux nearly 4 years ago). However, you can run a fairly recent Chromium-based 'clone' - SRWare 'Iron', the newest Puppy package of which is currently at 69 - built by OscarTalks.

(Even Chrome itself is simply a Chromium 'clone', with Google-specific bits added to it.)

Iron is a mirror image of Chrome, and you can do everything with Iron that Chrome does. After a while, you'll even forget it's a different name....

Chromium itself is also available, but it's an awkward one. peebee builds these, but Google (who sponsor the Chromium Project anyway) always insist on compiling the parent browser against the very newest of everything. Consequently, poor old Peter's been having to jump through hoops simply to get Puppy builds of this to work at all. (The stupid thing is that Google take the Chromium code, and then re-compile it against older libs & stuff to produce Chrome. Doesn't make sense, does it?)

As for PDF stuff, well; we've got PDF readers/editors coming out of our ears... Seriously!

Let us know what you want to do, please. We'll do what we can to help.

Mike.

bigpup · #12 Post by **bigpup** » Thu 14 Mar 2019, 13:51

I'm using the most recent Puppy

That could be about 6 or 8 different Puppies.
Need the exact name and version.
Example:
Xenialpup 7.5 (32bit)
Xenialpup64 7.5 (64bit)
Slacko 6.3.2
Slacko64 6.3.2
etc.......

oui · #13 Post by **oui** » Fri 15 Mar 2019, 00:10

please read it here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 31#1021831

Gordie · #14 Post by **Gordie** » Fri 15 Mar 2019, 04:39

Maybe you can use skype on the web instead of installing it?

https://web.skype.com/

oui · #15 Post by **oui** » Fri 15 Mar 2019, 07:27

but (s)he needs Google Chrome to do that and it is rarely the in Puppy pre installed browser!

pls see: Google Chrome 64-bit PET & SFS packages

linuxcbon · #16 Post by **linuxcbon** » Fri 15 Mar 2019, 22:58

I use bionicpup64 and install the deb from skype website https://www.skype.com/en/get-skype/ and it works with no problem.

Gordie · #17 Post by **Gordie** » Sat 16 Mar 2019, 01:38

Hmm. Skype for Linux needs linux with systemd as far as I can recall. Does Puppy have systemd?

Mike Walsh · #18 Post by **Mike Walsh** » Sat 16 Mar 2019, 12:05

@ Gordie:-

I think you'll find the newest Pups do contain the systemd stuff. Certainly Bionicpup64 does...

Mike.

oui · #19 Post by **oui** » Sat 16 Mar 2019, 14:47

Mike Walsh wrote:@ Gordie:-
I think you'll find the newest Pups do contain the systemd stuff. Certainly Bionicpup64 does...
Mike.

it goes (excepted my built in camera, but it is not the more important!)...

linuxcbon · #20 Post by **linuxcbon** » Sat 16 Mar 2019, 16:14

Gordie wrote:Hmm. Skype for Linux needs linux with systemd as far as I can recall. Does Puppy have systemd?

No. Skype doesnt need the complete systemd, it only needs logind, which is already included in bionicpup64. It works for me there, my usb cam is reckognized and all works fine. Why don't you try it ?

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Giving Puppy another go, ran into a problem installing Skype

Giving Puppy another go, ran into a problem installing Skype

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