New Puppy Startup - update 1

What features/apps/bugfixes needed in a future Puppy
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BobSongs
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Joined: Wed 06 Feb 2008, 19:21

New Puppy Startup - update 1

#1 Post by BobSongs »

SCROLL TO MESSAGE BOTTOM
for info on how to get this working.


I thought I'd share what I use as Puppy Linux start-up screens. Here's how it works.

Currently starting a Puppy CD gives us the option of pressing F2 for Help or F3 for advanced help. F1 returns us to the splash screen. This is good!

I suggest adding F4 to the list: "About Puppy". I mean, why not use that screen space to say something positive about Puppy in terms of Public Relations?

Here's how I've worded my F4 screen on CDs I burn and give away:

-----------------------------------------------
Press [F1] for Start screen, [F2] for basic help, [F3] for advanced help

About Puppy
Puppy Linux is a fast-loading computer system (like Microsoft's
Windows). It features programs you're already familiar with such as
a Web browser, e-mail and other useful software. When Puppy is
finished loading, remove the Puppy disk and store in a safe place.

Puppy to the Rescue
Need to recover your files from this computer? Just connect a USB
external drive to one of the PC's USB ports. Safely copy your documents
using the Puppy file manager. Puppy Linux comes equipped with many
handy tools for your needs.

Puppy can bring life to an older computer with its fast and responsive
software. Give Puppy a test run knowing your system is secure.

Questions? Tips? Drop us a line at the Puppy forum:
murga-linux.com/puppy

Visit us on the web at puppylinux.com
-----------------------------------------------

Feel free to reword this page to suit your style. My idea was to give it positive wording (especially when loading it up on someone's messed up PC in order to restore files) without making most of the message a sermon to replace icky Windows with yummy Puppy. :roll: After all: I figure it's the Puppy experience that's going to make it or break it, not some F4 message at the boot screen.

To help out I've included all the .MSG files for perusal should ISO creators wish to give this a whirl. Each file has been changed from the originals to include the F4 [About Puppy] option.

(My actual wording is a bit different because the CDs I hand out come fully loaded with Pidgin, the latest Firefox, Inkscape, GIMP, Audacity, VLC, and so on.)

Don't like my wording? I'd love to see some alternative options! Just remember: space is limited in the MSG file. Be concise, precise and positive!

:)

PLEASE NOTE: to activate an "F" key (F4, F5, etc) at start up time on a Puppy Live-CD/DVD, ensure you edit the isolinux.cfg file. It's found on the original Puppy Live-CD root area. Mine looks something like this:

Code: Select all

default puppy
display boot.msg
prompt 1
timeout 250

F1 boot.msg
F2 help.msg
F3 help2.msg
F4 help3.msg

label puppy
kernel vmlinuz
append initrd=initrd.gz pmedia=cd
* Here I've added F4 linked to the help3.msg file.
* Timeout is set to 250 (from 50) because I personally find 5 seconds to be a bit too short.
Attachments
StartUpMessages.tar.gz
(1.86 KiB) Downloaded 222 times

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