(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

mtpaint v viewer question on Blog
I too need to edit rather than view (viewing I use rox increase the size)
Is there a way in Rox to add and launch an external viewer with a right click?

Ah yes forgot to comment on the Citrus theme. I like it (surprised to be saying that)
For long term usage I am presently using Black-vg.
A simple psychological ploy is to employ the 'brash and bright' citrus theme - I find it energising.
When people find how easy it is to change to a more sedate theme people feel confident they can master and use Puppy . . .

Hi Barry,

The citrus theme hurts my eyes and it's the first thing I change. Agree with Viking Sailor ... Something light blue or in blue tones seems to be the most restful on the eyes. But then again I'm an old fossil and bright lights are scary and dark tones are depressing.

Re Lobster’s blog. To my mind it is more logical to view first (read find) and then edit, rather than the other way round. I’m also pretty sure that if you have a scroll mouse in mtpaint you can use this to enlarge or reduce the image. Can’t check at the moment as I’m back in win again!!!

Cheers,
RC

won't work in dingo (no qiv, try a different viewer)

repeat as necessary for different mime types and multiple applications for the same type.

this gets you a view entry at the top of the right click file menu for jpegs
it also places a mime-type specific entry at the top of the Open With.. menu

in practice you would probably want to replace this with a script that does something like You can open the right directory to place the script in by right clicking on a jpeg and choosing file - customise

Citrus gives the wrong image - gaudy, cheap and most unpleasant to look at for more than a few seconds. Ironically, the most suave offering yet is the plain grey we saw recently. Has real class.

Whatever happened to Hardinfo? Better than XProc, but is it bigger? smaller? And SystemStats (DSL) beats them both as long as benchmarks aren't needed.

1 - I do like Citrus; however, in order to really raise Puppy's popularity, a thorough lift-up to its looks would probably be needed -- not a simple task! We all react psychologically to graphical/colour impressions far beyond our normal awareness.

2 - Another key point to make Puppy really tops is localization: practically all my friends are bewildered at Puppy's performance and ease-of-use, but they complain it's in English and they're Italians.
An appropriate language-switch "kit" would make Puppy's popularity jump up: presently, to translate everything in every new release a team of three or four translators would be needed.

3 - Printing... One of Linux's worst problems. Of course it's not Puppy's fault: Bill allows the claim "Compatible with Win XY" to appear with his logo on printer boxes (as well as other peripheral's) in change of total unavailability of official drivers for other op. systems, generating the mess we all know.

I discovered only recently that CUPS lets me print a document if it's all on one page: it hangs on the second -- this probably also happened on previous Puppies with CUPS, but I usually have single-page things.

*** How can the developers of Turboprint (a German commercial printing program for Linux) develop perfect, up-to-date printer drivers while the Open Source community, through CUPS, PDQ or what-have-you, never can? Is money really sooo powerful?
A few years ago I tried a demo of Turboprint with Mandrake on my Canon i560 and was amazed: it printed even better than under Win, with the original driver!
But using commercial software in Linux seems fully contradictory to me, so I rejected it (often to my regret).

4 - Too many apps for the same task: this again is typical of Linux, it's the Open Source biodiversity. Not easy to solve, since every program has its pro's and con's. IMHO, Puppy should have a minimum of really good applications and offer more as PETs, DotPups or other distro's compatible packages.

BTW Barry, did you see the thread about rootz?

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26218

Seems real cool.

i like it on fishing lures.
if i understand lobster correctly, i have to admit that it is one of the first things i do. change it. but having said that, it has made me learn how to change it, apply any one of thousands of digital pictures that i have taken and use them for a personal background. (like changing wallpaper in windows)
just as puppy has changed my life from just using a computer to learning to interact with one, and sometimes winning, i like it!

Sage wrote:Whatever happened to Hardinfo? Better than XProc, but is it bigger? smaller? And SystemStats (DSL) beats them both as long as benchmarks aren't needed.

What do you mean? Hardinfo is in alpha7.

capoverde wrote:BTW Barry, did you see the thread about rootz?

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26218

Seems real cool.

I just looked at it, very interesting. I posted a comment to the thread.

I'm one of the few that don't mind the look of the Citrus theme.

To me it does seem to unify the icons and desktop as a "complete" theme,
It does give Puppy a lift in the right direction.
Perhaps if there were an option to select a base colour, it might be better accepted?
Previous releases have been a bit mixed up and clunky looking, which has been a common complaint.

Regards, Sooty2

I vote for a non-citrus theme.

Barry, I have the highest regard for your expertise and judgment, but - -

The citrus theme is an offense to the eyes. It immediately suggests,"What can he be thinking?" It's an invitation to look elsewhere.

A peaceful (non-distracting) theme is best. Greys and some blues are usually best, which is why they are used in all major apps. The medium should not get in the way of the message.

Another thing - You might say I am a minimalist, but I _use_ my computer. It's not a toy to show off a gaudy desktop with curves, animations, gimicks and wallpaper in the way. These tire eventually if not immediately. Nothing wrong with the original basic look of Puppy, except that the icons were toylike and garish. Zigbert's are much nicer.

Those who want to "personalize (we all do to some extent) will and should. But the default should not look like an awful mistake.

Respectfully, Henry

BK wrote "What do you mean? Hardinfo is in alpha7. "

Ah, yes, thanks. I see you've fixed the installed, so I can get back to it now.

Puppy has unlimited potential to be THE operating system of choice. It is really, really good and a credit to the efforts of BarryK and assisting developers. However, there are a lot of fractured opinions in the forums that are constructive, but in the end very confusing. Have tried to get many friends to convert, but there is always something that goes wrong, ending in tears and frustration and a hasty retreat back to the original OS.

Maybe, and after long thought, it is time to examine the strengths of Puppy and where it is going. If it is just seen as a development tool, then continuing as now, would be sensible, but it would always be just that, a hobby for linux enthusiasts. There is endless discussion of themes and colours and desktops and desktop managers etc. but what does that matter when you can’t easily get your basic equipment to work, if at all.

Puppy’s strength lies in the fact that the package is small, requires little resources, can be run from a liveCD and most importantly can be remastered to suit individual preferences. From what I’m reading, it seems the development goals have become somewhat hijacked to the detriment of the overall philosophy of the KISS principle. After all, the very best systems are those that are simple, look too simple to work, but underneath have rock solid foundations and clever design.

For Barry’s original Puppy, would it not be better to have a core with all the basics a new user would need, tested, sorted and as stable as possible. And initially just one of each program. And call them what they are…. Spreadsheet, Web Browser, Word Processor, File Search, Media Player, Burner, PhotoViewer, Image Editor etc…… not defined by the developers code with preceding “k’s

I vote for gray, blue, or black themes ... the darker the background is ... the better (but with readable text and icons). My eyes aren't that great and darker background tones work best for me. The GTK theme matching selector in 214R is an outstanding addition. JWM is looking better but without a double height (two icons high) taskbar I much prefer a basic version of IceWM without extra addons.

However, without a retro kernel to boot (like with 301Retro) it's a moot point as the ndiswrapper will not recognize my usb wireless drivers or I can't get a connection .... not even on my Acer Aspire 5570Z laptop that's less than a year old. Linux drivers in the setup menu don't work for me either on myZyXEL G202 andM202 usbs..

214R and 216EZ runs great on most of my old boxes (ndiswrappers work) but will not setup the built-in ath_pci wifi on my laptop. There, 396 comes close to working right .... but not as good as the Vista Basic OS that came preloaded. Haven't tried 397 .... will wait for at least Beta2 or final.

In general, I am pleased that Puppy developers (especially Barry) are constantly making improvements and turning out such a nice, well rounded, yet small OS ... but as a relative n00bie to linux ... I'm getting tired of bleeding on the cutting edge.

KJ

Do you hate the Citrus theme?

I usually don't care what the theme is, don't think I've ever bothered to change it from whatever the default is. But all that orange is really hard to look at. With Dingo it's the first thing I change.

I vote for Zigbert's Stardust Icons and theme. I think Stardust Icons are particularly sharp looking. For wall paper I like the old seagull in flight wall paper, a nice blue sky shot.

As far as the default image viewer, I usually want to edit an icon or somthing, so mtPaint is good for that. But users like me would no problem using mtPaint if it wasn't the default. Fotox is better for looking at photos, probably should be the default.

Citrus theme is innovator, at first it looks and feel strange, but then you like it, just like puppy. If you don't like it, is so easy by now, to change puppy look; but the first impression has to be different and personal. Citus theme go with this philosophy.
Best regards from the South.-

Even though the Citrus theme make puppy look a bit different, I still prefer the blue or grey themes. Stardust is a good one too.

Stardust theme please.

Hi, as a user with impaired vision I would really appreciate the inclusion of the Stardust or similar theme. For whatever reason giving the user an out of the box choice of a clean and easily readable theme has got to be a bonus.
Many thanks to all.
Tony

I absolutely love the orange theme.

I believe a relatively conventional (but inspired!) look is best as the default. More adventurous themes like Citrus can be offered as options, included or available. I generally tend to favor environments easy on the eye and brain and find Stardust appealing.