(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

I am announcing the initial Pre-Alpha release of the 4.4 CE for testing and comments. Many programs have been updated and recompiled so report any unusable or otherwise annoying changes that you come across.

The iso is available here:
http://puppy-development.googlecode.com ... -431-2.iso

The bug tracker is here:
http://code.google.com/p/puppy-development/issues/list

This is currently an extensive manual remaster of 4.3.1 (by hand - no remasterpup) with bugfixes and new pets, pieces, parts from several puplets for initial testing prior to building with woof.

Special thanks to Zigbert for the Stardust suite of applications as well as many appropriate package selections

New Drivers
+ ATI graphic drivers
+ Broadcom wifi drivers
+ splix - Samsung, Xerox, Dell printer drivers

New Programs
+ acpid
+ default-wizard
+ fileedit (set to defaulttextviewer)
+ floppy-formater (- floppy-format.sh)
+ Galculator (- all other calculators)
+ lameNFSxplorer
+ lameSMBxplorer (- pnethood)
+ Pmusic (- aqualung)
+ printoxx
+ Pupradio (- pstreamvid)
+ Pscreenshot
+ pstartupsound
+ Pwireless2 (- Pwireless)
+ RetroVol (- absvol and - zmixer)
+ seahaven card game
+ Stardust desktop environment - including pcc (Puppy control center), desktop configuration tools and Pwidgets
+ startmount
+ woo-ff
+ xgamma


Updated
* abiword (known issue - missing spell check)
* ayttm
* bash
* cpu-scaling tool
* drive_all
* enchant
* fixmenus
* gnumeric
* gparted
* icon_switcher
* isomaster
* JwmThemeMaker
* lzma
* mtpaint
* notecase
* osmo
* Pburn
* Pfilesearch
* Pfind
* poppler
* sfsconverter
* tar
* theme_switcher
* you2pup
* xorgwizard
* xz

Removed
- absvolume
- aqualung
- background_reshape
- burniso2cd
- calcoo
- cdp
- cgtkcalc
- desktop drive icons (only commented out)
- didiwiki
- e3
- EmbeddedBookmarks
- floppy-format.sh
- gcolor2 (color chooser)
- gdmap
- gexec
- gfnrename - maybe better than PRename, but this is bash and easy updated.
- glightoff
- gtkdialog markup editor - devx ???
- gtklogfileviewer - Does any script use anymore ???
- gtksourceview
- gview
- libmad
- libsnd (mhwaveedit (not updated) and aqualung used libsnd)
- madplay
- mtpaintsnaphot.sh
- Net-setup (old version)
- nicoedit
- pcdripper
- Pdisk - could maybe be in use by some wizard
- picpuz
- pictureviewer
- pmirror/mirdir
- pmwget (PMirrorget)
- pnetnood
- pplog
- pstreamvid
- ptooltips - tool to show tooltips in gtkdialog - not longer in use
- PuppyBrowser
- PuppyPdf - Abiword does exactly the same
- Pwireless
- pwsget
- quisp
- rsync / gadmin-rsync - crashes on first run
- securetelnetshell
- tile
- waveplay - linked to aplay
- xAutoconnect - Pwireless2 should do the job
- xcalc
- xclipboard
- Xconsole
- xfontsel
- ycalc
- zfind
- zmixer

TODO
update Homebank
recompile abiword for spellcheck
add boot option for lowram (jwm only and minimal daemons)
add at least 2.5 MB of USEFUL drivers/programs (with preference toward internet relate drivers)
optipng on all png files
use rdfind to find some redundancies for elimination (examples bzip2 and timezone files)
fix pet dependencies, redundancies
rebuild the DEVX
produce the DOCX and NLSX sfs files
build it with woof (maybe patch it to build the NLS and DOC sfs)
update Rox without the running as root message


Maybe TODO
gparted scans ~10x faster without Puppy's startup script (running gpartedbin) - why?
automatically start to GUI with default selections (mouse, kb, etc...) and bring up PCC to change them from within the gui if necessary
Split packages into managable pieces (enchant and libenchant vs simply enchant)
additional programs: dia, xpad...??????
zdrv build with experimental zdrv cutter utility
update pets to .pxt format for smaller size and equivalent speed
alternate browser builds (seamonkey-2 firefox-3.X and maybe midori)

I see in your to do: update homebank.
Could you please include support for ofx import?

Suggestions for additional driver/programs:

Flsynclient - or some synclient frontend for configuring Synaptics touchpads.
Zarfy - or a nice xrandr frontend for changing monitor resolution and dealing with multiple monitors. Zarfy needs glade though, perhaps there's a better option.
Vattery - or an improved battery monitor to replace asapm

Another thing, which looks as an inconsistent to me.
A 4.4 CE is announced but the iso is 431-2.

Congrats!!!!

A note: Viewnior doesn't open file with non-english chars in name (at least not norwegian chars). There should be plenty of alternatives to choose.

Also, dingo has packed ink-0.5.1 for us. Works, and will be supported by pcc for next release.


Stay tuned. You will get a lot of different opinions. There will always be someone who don't like your solutions and choices.
Sigmund

technosaurus
I mentioned it in the Stardust-0.11 thread where you announced this but for a structured approach I'll repeat it here.
I see you say PetBeGone does not work "yet" in Woof builds.
I really think it is a great loss not to have it so that folk can uninstall what they don't want. If it can be added to 44CE so much the better.
Thanks

Also I wanted to add a bug so went to http://code.google.com/p/puppy-development/issues/list and say 60 odd bugs which didn't seem to be for this alpha. And I seem to have to create a google account to register one. If this is the way you want to work so be it but I predict you won't get so much feedback that way.

HTH
Dave

Béèm wrote:Another thing, which looks as an inconsistent to me.
A 4.4 CE is announced but the iso is 431-2.

I downloaded the iso and with the usual frugal principle with Lin'N'Win I tried to run it.

But I already have a pup-431.sfs on my system. As well as a pup-432.sfs and a pup-460.sfs

Appreciating the initiatives of people trying to bring out their versions, there is anarchy now in the version numbering.

It is always better, in my opinion, to differentiate all those version numberings to a unique one as not to confuse the installations there already.

If I would have developed, I would have named the sfs pup-CE431.sfs f.e.
No confusion possible then.

I'll see how I can test further without disrupting my way of frugal Lin'N'Win installs.

davesurrey wrote:technosaurus
I mentioned it in the Stardust-0.11 thread where you announced this but for a structured approach I'll repeat it here.
I see you say PetBeGone does not work "yet" in Woof builds.
I really think it is a great loss not to have it so that folk can uninstall what they don't want. If it can be added to 44CE so much the better.
Thanks

Also I wanted to add a bug so went to http://code.google.com/p/puppy-development/issues/list and say 60 odd bugs which didn't seem to be for this alpha. And I seem to have to create a google account to register one. If this is the way you want to work so be it but I predict you won't get so much feedback that way.

HTH
Dave

The way feed back is done for the moment, it produces sometimes 60 pages or more as feedback. When being away a while it's quite impossible to see what is going on.
Also amongst all these pages, bugs are reported, but they just fall between other sometimes interesting sometimes uninteresting posts and it's difficult to follow the sequence of things which lead to a solution.

Therefor I think a bugzilla approach, like it is done here, will give better follow-up on bugs. But only if everybody starts to realize this is the way to go.

I am happy that some developers go already that route.

It is also much easier to refer to such a bug system when someone reports a problem.

Re: the iso and sfs naming - the woof built alpha release will start with 433 and end at 440+. I needed a functional reference point to rebuild the packages to be more functional for woof (appropriate symlinks for missing libraries and duplicate files, optimized images, .desktop files, dependencies, etc...)

The forum is appropriate for simple bugs that are fairly easy to solve, but we need a place where the bigger bugs don't get lost in the mass of a 200+ page thread. The bugs in the tracker are still valid (or need updated) and need to be solved or they will be inherited.

I think you misunderstand what I said. I don't doubt for one minute that in theory this is a much better, logical and structured way of proceeding. However I just doubt how effective it will be with Puppy and especially when one has to register a Google account to contribute. But let's hope it will be a success.
Dave

ps I see Ziggy and Beem chose the old way.

technosaurus wrote:Re: the iso and sfs naming - the woof built alpha release will start with 433 and end at 440+. I needed a functional reference point to rebuild the packages to be more functional for woof (appropriate symlinks for missing libraries and duplicate files, optimized images, .desktop files, dependencies, etc...)

I found out that the other pup-431.sfs I have is from a puppy 431 dated nov 2009. But I don't understand your statement. If builds start with 433, why is yours 431? Is it temporary? Why not pup-4312.sfs if you needed a reference point?

technosaurus wrote:The forum is appropriate for simple bugs that are fairly easy to solve, but we need a place where the bigger bugs don't get lost in the mass of a 200+ page thread. The bugs in the tracker are still valid (or need updated) and need to be solved or they will be inherited.

I agree with this.

davesurrey wrote:ps I see Ziggy and Beem chose the old way.

What do you mean by old way?
I am not yet in the stage to report bugs for this.

Béèm wrote: If builds start with 433, why is yours 431? Is it temporary? Why not pup-4312.sfs if you needed a reference point?

In short, yes it is temporary... thus "Pre" Alpha. I have recompiled almost all of the core software and many of the core libraries that will be needed to update others and needed to confirm non-breakage and hopefully non-regression.

Jemimah has informed me of a fix for abiword browser issue for builds with gtk-2.14+ ... need to make a firefox symlink to defaultbrowser I had tried setting the BROWSER environment variable as documented and required in 2.6 to no avail.... this is great news, since it takes me a whole day to build in 4.2 and I borked up the spell check last time due to the outdated enchant.

I hope this is a bug.

I answer Sweden two times but it still use American keyboard.
I have rebooted several times but it doesn't take.

I ahve to go to terminal and do setxkbmap se to get it to change keyboard

Overall I am impress with this alpha.

Notecase not working. See attachment for details.

Thank you.

I tried it out and I have a pertinent question not having to do with any bug.
How do I set up things to get rid of a lot of gray in the menus and program windows.
I just am not used to a black entry window in geany for instance.

Running 4.4 pre-alpha live with a usb save file.

Installed Firefox 3.6 and Dillo, both are working fine out of the box. I normally don't use sfs files but I experimented with the sfs linker and it appears to work well.

One small bug......no free memory/space applet in the toolbar.

More testing.......

431:pup-431-2.delta?
actually 430:pup-431-2.delta because 431 was a pet upgrade

Adding libmad back makes it easier to install alsa-streamtuner. I believe not everybody knows it has been deleted compared to Puppy 431 official.
Yes it was mentioned at the release announcement. Pmusic just doesnt work as well as for example ttuuuxxx compiled alsa-streamtuner.pet

Not big problem when you know but annoying to hunt libmad before you have it saved to hdd.

on rebooting after frugal install, desktop icons reverted to MIME types. Same issue as with Stardust and 'invisible' icons in top tray when blue theme is activated. Freemem app missing, no way to change font for gtk theme. Network connection is cool.