How Many Puppies Are There ?

Booting, installing, newbie
Message
Author
I-Dont-Know
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat 21 Aug 2010, 08:22
Location: Boston

How Many Puppies Are There ?

#1 Post by I-Dont-Know »

How many Puppy versions are there ?
I'm confused by all the different names to Puppies there are.
How do I choose which one to use ?

I started out in 2009 using Puppy 4.31.
Upgraded to Puppy 5.25 and have stayed here for several years.
I'd like to upgrade again to Puppy 5.28.
I see that there are different versions of 5.28.
For example:
Super Lupo has Libre Office bundled with it ?
Also it has NVidia drivers bundled too ?

I have an NVidia card in my machine but Puppy 5.25 can't use it.
To use it, I have to dual boot to another Linux version to use it.
(Ubuntu 12.10)

From what I can gather from the posts here, I am using Lucid Puppy and have been all along.

What are these other Puppies for ?
Slacko ?
FatDog ?
Precise ? etc...
and all the other variants....

Do I need these if all I want is a main stream reliable Linux O/S to give me email and web and some office apps ?

I've been using 5.25 as my every day go to O/S alternative to Windows.

starhawk
Posts: 4906
Joined: Mon 22 Nov 2010, 06:04
Location: Everybody knows this is nowhere...

#2 Post by starhawk »

No offense, but that's quite enough bold text for one day ;) :P

Currently there are ~460 Puppies that one can actually download. (There /are/ some that are currently unobtainable...) That's quite a litter! Forum member ally has contacted archive.org and set up a repository for them all... you can peruse it here --> https://archive.org/search.php?query=co ... publicdate

Puppy 4xx and earlier was Puppy that was really just Puppy. At the beginning of the 5xx series, the paradigm shifted to Puppy being a derivative distro -- that is, a distro based somewhat on other distros, and therefore compatible with said other distros.

Lucid Puppy is compatible with Ubuntu Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04). It's an older version of our flagship Puppy... Super Lupu 5286 in all its various variations is a continuation-by-update of Lucid Puppy 528.

Our current flagship Puppies are as follows --
> Wary Puppy, for true relics that should far more reasonably be relegated to the attic or kerbside (curbside if you're in the US), but for whatever reason need to be pressed into [continued?] service. Very late Pentium II and most Pentium /// systems.
> Racy Puppy, for slightly newer systems that are not quite too old and dusty as to be practically useless, but are quite outdated nonetheless. Late Pentium /// through Celeron M.
> Precise Puppy, our current Ubuntu-compatible Puppy (compatible with Ubuntu Precise Pangolin, aka Ubuntu 12.04). Fairly modern systems -- Pentium M or higher.
> Slacko Puppy, our current Flagship Puppy, compatible with Slackware of various flavors (the older Slackos go through Slackware 13.37, newest brings you up to Slackware 14.0 or 14.1, not sure). Super modern systems. I'm rocking a Slacko 5.7 derivative on a Core2Duo T7200 (which is a laptop Core2Duo, lol... but it works great!) desktop.

Derivatives are called Puplets (at least when I'm typing :P ) and that's the extreme majority of the collection on Archive.org, as linked above. There are Puplets created for a number of different reasons:
> X-Slacko (which is what I use) uses a different desktop setup -- whereas Puppy usually uses JWM and ROX-Filer, X-Slacko substitutes XFCE and Thunar. If you want XFCE but need (or want) Ubuntu compatibility, there's X-Precise as well ;)
> In a similar vein to X-Slacko, LXPup uses LXDE and its stuff. I'm not a fan of that desktop environment, so I can't really speak to it beyond that... I believe that there's also a couple KDE Puplets floating around.
> Foreign language Pups are available, too -- the French Puppy is called Toutou Linux, IIRC...
> TurboPup XTreme 1.0 is a 4xx derivative that works great on Pentium II systems (etc) that are just too anemic for anything else. It's designed to take up as few resources on its own as possible. Works great, if you can stand its limitations -- modifying it significantly (eg, to update it) just results in one badly broken Puplet. I've tried! Also, TurboPup's dev left Puppy life a couple years ago, so it is most definitely unsupported...
> AnitaOS is in a similar vein to TurboPup, but it's still supported and it's more up-to-date. You can run modern browsers (for example) in AnitaOS, whereas TurboPup can't do that. Grab the "Non-SMP" version, though, so that you can get drivers more easily if you need them.
> Puppy Arcade is made by member sc0ttman, and is really awesome if you like retro console gaming, because that's what it's for.
> Fatdog, LightHouse64 (aka LH64) and the (currently prototypical) Slacko64 are our 64bit offerings. If you have a system that's 64bit capable, you can take full advantage of it by using one of those three. If all you need is RAM support, pick a "PAE" version of a different Pup if possible.

Interesting Mentions: Member Argolance, on the French subforum, has a very nice Art Deco looking Puppy (I *think* it's still available), called ToOpY.
Member goingnuts has his pUPnGO series -- intended as a super minimal Puppy, it's good if you need a limited-feature Puppy on some really antique hardware. There are versions of pUPnGO that will run on an AMD K6-2 CPU (that's a Pentium 1 with a little extra speed...). That said, I haven't seen goingnuts around in a while, I hope he's OK.
Member jejy69 (also French) takes delight in making all sorts of desktop environments and window managers available for Puppy users to enjoy. I've had mixed success with those; definitely a YMMV sort of thing...

...and that's just a very small sample. The best way to adopt a Puppy that's right for you is always the same. Call it the "pound method" -- go and download any and all that interest you, and try them out. You're sure to find at least one that's likable ;)

Good luck -- and do let us know if we can help further ;)

User avatar
Fossil
Posts: 1157
Joined: Tue 13 Dec 2005, 21:36
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.

#3 Post by Fossil »

starhawk. Well said!

darry1966

#4 Post by darry1966 »

Excellent post Starhawk.

@I-Don't-Know try the video upgrade wizard. Lucid has that.

starhawk
Posts: 4906
Joined: Mon 22 Nov 2010, 06:04
Location: Everybody knows this is nowhere...

#5 Post by starhawk »

Thanks, Fossil and darry1966! I certainly try...

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#6 Post by mikeb »

I believe the names came in for the main pups when barry started to reuse the lupu/lucid release numbers rather than starting a fresh set for some reason or other so names where subsequently needed to distinguish quite different pups using the same numbers.

mike

I-Dont-Know
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat 21 Aug 2010, 08:22
Location: Boston

How Many Puppies Are There ?

#7 Post by I-Dont-Know »

Thankyou StarHawk for your reply to my query; you cleared up my confusion.

For my main everyday desktop, I'd like to remain with the main upgrade path from 5.25 to 5.286 and keep the desktop I currently enjoy.

I do have one more question before I dive into 5.28.

My current 5.25 Lupu save file.

I am hoping when I upgrade to 5.286, will 5.286 read my Lupu file that I built with 5.25 ?

I have carefully managed this file over the years and would like to be able to keep all the work I put into it and use it with 5.286.
(If I am correct in my upgrade assumptions)


I'll try out several of the other PUPs on a newer test PC.
All my current test pc's are showing their age.... P-II's and III's

darry1966

Re: How Many Puppies Are There ?

#8 Post by darry1966 »

[quote="I

All my current test pc's are showing their age.... P-II's and III's[/quote]

There is nout wrong with those. They still have a use.

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#9 Post by mikeb »

2 PIII here in daily use.

Save file 'should' update ok.... but make a copy of it before trying.

It actually would not need an update script at all but unfortunately there is one.

Mike

User avatar
Fossil
Posts: 1157
Joined: Tue 13 Dec 2005, 21:36
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.

#10 Post by Fossil »

@I-Dont-Know. Assuming you have a Frugal Install of Puppy 5.25 - why don't you keep it and install whatever other Puppy you fancy alongside - using Grub4DOS as the boot menu? Just back up the Save File first. That way, you can still have your cake - and eat it. Or is that biscuits and gravy? :lol:
Still running a 700 MHz with 368 Megs of RAM.

starhawk
Posts: 4906
Joined: Mon 22 Nov 2010, 06:04
Location: Everybody knows this is nowhere...

#11 Post by starhawk »

@Fossil -- biscuits and gravy is a Southeastern US thing. Boston's a little high up for that ;) I do hear they're famous for baked beans, though...

User avatar
Fossil
Posts: 1157
Joined: Tue 13 Dec 2005, 21:36
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.

#12 Post by Fossil »

starhawk
@Fossil -- biscuits and gravy is a Southeastern US thing. Boston's a little high up for that Wink I do hear they're famous for baked beans, though...
I stand corrected. :lol: Although I'd have associated baked beans more with Chicago - the so-called "Windy City"! :wink:
Around here the once popular and readily available local delicacy was pan-fried 'Elvers' - baby eels caught straight from the river Severn - fried with a fresh egg or two, and washed down with a tall glass of 'scrumpy' - apple cider. Nowadays, at the beginning of the spring season, a live kilo can fetch £200.00. With the currency exchange rate at the moment - October, 2014 - being: £1 = US $ 1.5969. That's an expensive lot of slippery little eels. What do they taste like? Think, fishy spaghetti! An acquired taste, or not!

I-Dont-Know
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat 21 Aug 2010, 08:22
Location: Boston

Upgrading to Puppy 5.25

#13 Post by I-Dont-Know »

Fossil wrote:@I-Dont-Know. Assuming you have a Frugal Install of Puppy 5.25 - why don't you keep it and install whatever other Puppy you fancy alongside - using Grub4DOS as the boot menu? Just back up the Save File first. That way, you can still have your cake - and eat it. Or is that biscuits and gravy? :lol:
Still running a 700 MHz with 368 Megs of RAM.
___________________
Thank you Fossil for the suggestion:

I dual boot my pc with Ubuntu 12.10

If I did use Grub for Dos, I have an un-realized fear that by using Grub-for-Dos, I might muck up my ability to dual boot to Ubuntu.
Grub-for-Dos might overwrite my boot sector and cause Ubuntu unable to boot.

Some recent backgound:
Before Ubuntu 12.10, I dual booted with OpenSuse v 12.?
I wanted both, so I repartitioned and put Ubuntu on the new partition.
Immediately, I lost ability to boot Open Suse.
Online research taught me that Ubuntu 12.10 used Grub version 2.
Whereas OpenSuse used version 1 or somesuch.
Ubuntu overwrote my boot sector.
So now I have a dead inaccessible partition can't boot to it and can't access it.

I've read online that I can use something called Chainloading.
But I am unable to learn how to or where to edit the Menu1st file.
Not wanting to muck it up, I chose to let that dog lay.

I can still boot Puppy using my frugal installation booting off the usb stick.

I want all that disk space back... so...
My grander scheme with this whole thread is to gather enough knowledge to reformat my HD and live with a pc dual booting Puppy 5.286 and Ubuntu ver 13.xx

I like my Puppy 5.25 desktop and would like to keep my LupSave file and use it in 5.286; thus why I started this whole thread....

Off topic:

Yeah... up here in Boston it's baked beans......

But for some more interesting stuff about Boston...
Here is something for you folks around the country to read:

Some years ago there was a debate about what should be the Official Massachusetts cookie. The debate got so heated the state legislature intervened and established the official state cookie.....

In the little town of Whitman, Mass, there was a restaurant called the Toll House. (since burned down by an arsonist), but the restaurant was famous for it's chocolate chip cookie called the Toll House Cookie.

The Fig Newton, was not to be out done so it campaigned vigorously to be the offical state cookie....

After much debate and legislative posturing the Toll House Cookie won the day.

Read all about it here....

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Ma ... kie+debate


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_chip_cookie

Thank you for all your helpful posts....

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#14 Post by Burn_IT »

There are quite a few similar things in the UK that have protected name status.

Melton Mowbray Pork Pies can only be made in Melton Mowbray.
Stilton Cheese must come from Stilton.
Bakewell Tart must come from Bakewell

to mention just some food items.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#15 Post by mikeb »

Chedder cheese can be any old crap that's from anywhere BUT Chedder Gorge...unless you actually go to the Gorge itself...

now about the lack of cream in 'ice cream' and yoghurt in 'yoghurts' :D

mike

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#16 Post by Burn_IT »

That depends on where you buy them.

I get my ice cream and my yoghurt from the local dairy that supply such goods to all the farm shops in the area.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#17 Post by mikeb »

you mean real food from real sources.

rossi is the ice cream creamy king round here plus there's a goat farm that makes its own from the goats milk...heavenly.

The german christmas choccie is in at lidl at the mo.... makes all yer english biccies , choc and cakes totally undesirable once you have sampled the real thing.

free range eggs from 4 different birds just up the road ... stunning they are and cheaper than any of yer not so supermarkets.

mike

User avatar
rerwin
Posts: 2017
Joined: Wed 24 Aug 2005, 22:50
Location: Maine, USA

Re: Upgrading to Puppy 5.25

#18 Post by rerwin »

I-Dont-Know wrote:My grander scheme with this whole thread is to gather enough knowledge to reformat my HD and live with a pc dual booting Puppy 5.286 and Ubuntu ver 13.xx

I like my Puppy 5.25 desktop and would like to keep my LupSave file and use it in 5.286; thus why I started this whole thread....
Thanks for your continued interest in Lucid Pup and migrating to the latest incarnation of it. As the maintainer of 5.2.8.6, I should be able to help you with the upgrade, but it is not as straightforward as one would like.

Between 525 and the 528plus versions (the basis for 5.2.8.6), many internal improvements were made. No attempt was made to make a migration path from 525 because of the severe changes. The risk is that your pupsave file might contain versions of internal/architecture files that are incompatible with the upgraded versions, and would override them, thus corrupting the installation. So, we need to handle this on a case-by-case basis.

To pursue a migration, I recommend initially creating an installation consisting of 5.2.8.6 and your pupsave, then running a "difference" listing between those components. The simplest way to do that -- if you can boot to the new installation -- is to enter the command:

Code: Select all

diff -r /initrd/pup_rw /initrd/pup_ro2 > diff-525rw-5286ro2.txt
Then gzip it or put it into a archive (tar.gz) file (Utility > XArchive archiver). It may be a large file, but needs to be under 256K to be attached to a posting or PM to me -- if too large, we will need to compare some subsets of the entire puppy.

With that "difference" file, I should be able to find any files/scripts that conflict, so can recommend deleting the pupsave copies of such files. After that cleanup, we should be close to having something working for you. Are you open to that effort?
Richard

User avatar
mikeb
Posts: 11297
Joined: Thu 23 Nov 2006, 13:56

#19 Post by mikeb »

methinks since the 5.25/5.28 differences appear to be in the script domain rather than binaries/kernel would updating be worth is if its potentially not quite as simple as it first seems. I still use 5.25 and it does the job...even wrapped it in the slax scripts for a chuckle.

It is still effectively compatible with ubuntu lucid so that source of additional software is valid either way.

Mike

I-Dont-Know
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat 21 Aug 2010, 08:22
Location: Boston

Re: Upgrading to Puppy 5.25

#20 Post by I-Dont-Know »

rerwin wrote:
I-Dont-Know wrote:
With that "difference" file, I should be able to find any files/scripts that conflict, so can recommend deleting the pupsave copies of such files. After that cleanup, we should be close to having something working for you. Are you open to that effort?
Richard
Before I take up any of your time, I will do my due diligence and try it out on my own. I just now created a 5.286 Boot DVD, booted to it, it found my 5.25 Lupsave files and offered to select one. I had made a copy of one for 5.286 to boot and selected that one. The 5.286 Boot DVD found it, upgraded it and loaded it.

To my delight, my desktop loaded just as it looked in 5.25; NICE !!!
My email was there.
My two browsers were there with all my bookmarks.
My file system was there.
Even my DropBox app was there.
For this initial trial, it seemed 5.286 is working well.
While using the desktop there were several calls out to the DVD drive and a short wait for execution. I think this will go away once I install to usb stick or perform a frugal install.

For now, I will dual boot between my 5.25 and 5.286 until I get used to this.

Meanwhile, I did notice that 5.286 detected my Nvidia card, but it could not load its functions - dual screen; I have my 46 inch flat screen tv connected to this computer; I'd like to use dual screen; I tried to use the Setup menu to configure the dual screen, but I guess I have to go out to NVidia or somewhere to find a PET package for those drivers. I will search this out; meanwhile if you can speed me along to enable 5.286 to use my NVidia card that would help. Until I can get my Puppy 5286 configged to use dual screen, I dual boot to Ubuntu 12.10 to use Dual Screen with my TV. Not elegant, but it gets the job done. I like to dual boot to my TV for my entertainment purposes; but would also like to dual screen for productivity purposes too. This is where using Puppy Linux for email, web and office apps would enhance my productivity nicely.

So I am working this along baby steps. Trying, seeing and learning along the way.

Thank you for your support.
I-Dont-Know....
Oh... my real name is Mike....

The card is an N520GT
Model N520GT-MD1GD3
GeForce GT 520

Post Reply