Minor probs Alpha7

Please post any bugs you have found
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Henry
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Citrus - Awful

#31 Post by Henry »

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

Sage
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#32 Post by Sage »

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.

nap44
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#33 Post by nap44 »

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

KJ
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Themes

#34 Post by KJ »

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

kirk
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#35 Post by kirk »

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.

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tangoweb
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Citrus theme.-

#36 Post by tangoweb »

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.-
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prit1
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#37 Post by prit1 »

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.

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veronicathecow
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#38 Post by veronicathecow »

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

geneven
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#39 Post by geneven »

I absolutely love the orange theme.

flagman
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Puppy 4 theme

#40 Post by flagman »

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.

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rcrsn51
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#41 Post by rcrsn51 »

Stylish themes like Citrus are nice until you add desktop icons for other programs. Then it clashes.

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smokey01
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#42 Post by smokey01 »

I must admit I do like the Stardust theme too. It's sharp, easy on the eyes and looks professional.

As many have already said Puppy needs to be fully configured out of the box. In other words if I click on an attachment in the email client it should just work. I know this is easy to setup but many people are unable to deal with this and therefore discard puppy as an unfriendly system. Puppy is without a doubt (in my opinion) the best OS I have ever used when considering speed, size and functionality. I must admit though, Barry's graphical OS that fits on a FDD was pretty impressive.

Puppy is also very good at hardware detection. Why not make things like network configuration automagic? It may be more difficult that I imagine but it would certainly appeal to most new users of puppy. The wizard would need to stay for the odd time puppy got it wrong.

Another problem for many is the package manager. It doesn't seem to work, can't find the site. This is not an issue for me but it is for many I have introduced to puppy.

Although I have some favorite programs I always install, and I'm not suggesting they should be part of the standard package, they need to be easily available to install as a PET package. Two that come to mind are Skype (latest) and Picasa. Skype is one of the most popular VOIP programs about and needs to be available.

There are also many opinions about software for viewing and managing photos. In MY opinion picasa is hard to beat although quite large. I like the way picasa installs Wine. It always does it better than when I have done it as a stand alone package. I also like the idea of keeping puppy small and fast.

I would also like to see a utility than allows the removal of existing installed software. Currently if I install a new program I can usually uninstall it with package manager. I haven't found a way to simply remove the original programs, for example: I might want to use Firefox and Thunderbird. How do I get rid of Seamonkey without doing it manually? All too hard for most. In most cases you just leave it there and the save file become huge and eventually starts to slow down the system.

It has already been mentioned but video and scanning is a must. Too many people want it to leave out.

Maybe another idea is to have a software configuration wizard where on the first run you tick boxes to decide what programs you would like to include. There would obviously be default programs.

This would allow you to add or remove programs quite easily too.

Not all the software would need to be on the ISO, keeping it even smaller. As a box is ticked it could be downloaded then installed. In the past this was not an option but with ADSL not a problem.

I realise Squash File Systems already address this to some extent but this method would be simpler for many users. One needs to remember nearly everyone knows windows and anything similar will be welcomed. I'm not saying that is a good thing but it is a fact. It is easy to change people but small steps are required. I'm not advocating converting people from windows just suggesting we give them a choice, I better one I believe.

I have many other ideas but this will do for now.

Grant

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floborg
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#43 Post by floborg »

A consistent look throughout makes Puppy feel like something serious. The themeing in the recent 2.14 remaster has this quality.

The orange is fairly consistent, but there are some pieces that don't seem to fit in well. Some of the ROX icons are unchanged and don't match up well with the new icons. There's also some weird gray sprinkled about (like on the JWM config tool) that adds to that "slapped-together" feel.

nap44
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#44 Post by nap44 »

Agree with Smokey01 comments which parallel mine to some extent.

In addition, why can't the drives be auto mounted on startup as default and an option in setup to turn this off if required. And auto internet connect.

Also would encourage members to have a look at the http://www.linpus.com/ linpus site and download ver 9.4. It's a bit big at ~400mb so dial up is out. Some components don't work as I believe it's a pay prog aimed at the Chinese market. But the interface is fantastic, it is quick and just begs to be used. Gets away from the desktop type arrangement and clearly and simply organises tasks. If only Puppy could head in this direction! :cry:

Cheers,
RC

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WN2A
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Citrus Theme

#45 Post by WN2A »

Barry,
Dingo's Citrus theme didn't bother me because I just changed it. But if it turns off a potential new Puppy user who would otherwise use it , then that would bother me.
It's what is under the hood that matters. I liked 3.01's theme just fine!
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flagman
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Let's not loose sight of Puppy's prime directive.

#46 Post by flagman »

Barry,

Most all of these suggestions are good ones, but we must remain mindful of just what distinguishes Puppy from the rest of the pack. At less than 100MB, Puppy cannot offer ALL the plumbing included in your typical 680+MB distro. What it can, and in my opinion should, do is to offer the best, most efficient collection of solid and reliable applications available, in a package that's easy to use and just works.

I say, let's stay on track in helping you to fulfill Puppy's mission as the most amazing small distro on the planet. Out house sinks should not be thrown at Puppies. It's small yummy treats like those found on your menus that keeps Puppies and their owners healthy and happy.

Do what you're best at Barry, and let's let Puppy derivatives handle the heavy lifting.

The Major
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Theme

#47 Post by The Major »

I vote for the Stardust theme which works well with any blue / grey background (my current favourite is the blue raindrops on). Also very pleased that Barry is thinking about HotPup as this makes Puppy even easier to use.

Ian

JustGreg
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#48 Post by JustGreg »

My vote is for Stardust. But, then, I do like the color blue.
Enjoy life, Just Greg
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

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Flash
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#49 Post by Flash »

Barry, as to your request in the developer blog, I have no problem with mtPaint as Puppy's default image viewer. I often have in mind to edit the image anyway. On the other hand I have to admit I haven't used any of the alternatives you mention in the blog. Maybe in a beta version of Puppy the default image viewer could be a simpler program than mtPaint, just to get people like me to try it.

nap44
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#50 Post by nap44 »

Fotox is just that IMO. Simple and self explanatory. Maybe include both in the menus. Picture Viewer and Picture Editor. The viewer as the default enabling the user to find and edit if necessary and the editor for heavier work. Not everyone wants the power of mtpaint. Just a small modification to a pic and Fotox is perfect for that.

Cheers
RC

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