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bunsenlabs helium released


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  • 1 month later...
Cluttermagnet

I like to audition OS's but could not find any mention of whether it allows a Live DVD

session or forces you to install. Lack of Live DVD is always a deal breaker with me...

 

Thanks, Clutter

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I like to audition OS's but could not find any mention of whether it allows a Live DVD

session or forces you to install. Lack of Live DVD is always a deal breaker with me...

 

Thanks, Clutter

 

Architectures

 

We offer combined live-CD and installation media for the Debian i386 (i686) and amd64 (x86-64) architectures.

 

 

https://www.bunsenlabs.org/

 

:breakfast:

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Good review: https://www.distrowa...0625#bunsenlabs

 

And, the author clearly appreciates Openbox!

 

I've checked out the live session of BL "Helium" but haven't gotten around to installing it. Mainly because it took so long for them to get this Stretch-based release out -- like, a full year after I installed Stretch with Openbox, and several months after I installed the Stretch-based SalentOS 2.0, which also ships with Openbox. I don't think I'd say that SalentOS is better than BunsenLabs, but it's nice, and I've had it set up the way I like it for some time now so I haven't felt motivated to install Helium.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed seeing this review at DistroWatch!

 

My only concern would be the project's long term future.

 

Yep, I've been thinking along the same lines. We've seen lots of Stable-based distros come and go...

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The thing is, my netinstall of Stretch with Openbox, in my opinion, beats BunsenLabs and SalentOS, hands down. Except, not "out of the box," of course.

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My experience has been that if you are an expert tweaker and customizer (I am not) or if you want more insight into how Linux works under the hood, you might as well go ahead and install Arch or Debian. If you just want something that works and looks good, try Mint, Ubuntu or MX-17.

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And, for a lot more control over what goes in, go with Debian or Arch or Slackware. More and more, I don't really care how things look out of the box. It's about what I can do with it. I think the "easy" distros are great but it seems like over time I run into fewer problems with a distro that takes more work to install and set up in the beginning.

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BunsenLabs has one of the most civilised and helpful forums around.

 

I'm on a Stretch netinstall now, tossing up whether to stay here. I would probably miss some of the nice features of siduction though.

It's really refreshing to set up a really basic minimal install and then just add only the bits you want. ;) B)

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Debian netinstall, for me that's the way to go. Also, I used the "Minimal Installation" option for Kubuntu 18.04 and that went well. I agree about the BunsenLabs forums, very good. Also, they have a nice "Help & Resources" section in the Helium menu.

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I run both Arch and Debian and I agree that you get lots of control over what goes in. Debian stable is also very... well... stable. But I've never had a problem with Linux Mint or MX-17 either. Arch is a bit trickier to install but is rock solid after that.

The rolling releases have given me update issues at times but they usually sort themselves out and help is readily available to diagnose the problem. My bottom line is to install at least one "easy" distro and support that if one of my neighborhood friends wants to try out Linux.

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My bottom line is to install at least one "easy" distro and support that if one of my neighborhood friends wants to try out Linux.

 

Very cool! I do installations only for myself; I have a lot of admiration for folks like you who do things like this!

 

The so-called "easy" distros are quite important to the Linux world, and also very nice to have around. I sure am glad that Mepis was around back when I was new to Linux. I love that community over there, and I keep MX on a flash drive for the occasional live session, although I don't currently have MX installed here.

 

I spent a lot of time with Linux Mint as well, back in the day, but ultimately there were some things that turned me off of that distro; I think my last actual installation of it was Mint 9 ("Isadora"), which, if I remember correctly, was an LTS release. And I think that was the last release before they started to go with Cinnamon instead of GNOME 2. But I still have the Mint 2.2 ("Bianca") CD that I got from OSDisc years ago!

 

Anyway, the "easy" distros installed on my computers right now are BunsenLabs Deuterium (still haven't gotten around to installing Helium), SalentOS 2.0, and Kubuntu 18.04.

 

Debian might not be considered one of the "easy" distros, but it sure is a lot easier to install Debian these days than it used to be.

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Debian might not be considered one of the "easy" distros, but it sure is a lot easier to install Debian these days than it used to be.

I had a funny thought - after 16 years of using Linux, most of them Debian-based, I see Debian as being easy!

Not long ago I set up a new MX install which has all sorts of little helper utilities. Nearly all of them I prefer to skip and use the CLI equivalent. For example, they have ddm-mx to install proprietary drivers. Instead I said to myself "I don't need no steenking utility" and just did apt install nvidia-driver. I love MX but think they're getting to a stage where some things get added just because they can, not because they're essential. I realise they may help new users, but there's a time where a person should be taught how to fish rather than just be given a fish.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT8hE7_8BCY

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Not long ago I set up a new MX install which has all sorts of little helper utilities. Nearly all of them I prefer to skip and use the CLI equivalent. For example, they have ddm-mx to install proprietary drivers. Instead I said to myself "I don't need no steenking utility" and just did apt install nvidia-driver. I love MX but think they're getting to a stage where some things get added just because they can, not because they're essential. I realise they may help new users, but there's a time where a person should be taught how to fish rather than just be given a fish.

 

This is exactly how I'm seeing things.

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For my personal use, I have Arch and Debian. Linux Mint is installed on a desktop which the grandkids and my wife use. They are familiar with Windows and so they find the Cinnamon desktop pretty easy. I suppose I could support Debian for the seniors Windows users that want to get Linux on an old desktop but frankly, they will feel much better upgrading using the Update Manager in LM than learning the command line. I have enough aggravation with them as it is.

I also have MX-17 installed on an old laptop just for fun but I use the CLI to update and upgrade. MX-17 has a bit of utility overkill and I won't install that for my seniors "clients" either. They get LM Xfce if their hardware is too feeble for Cinnamon.

Edited by raymac46
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Debian might not be considered one of the "easy" distros, but it sure is a lot easier to install Debian these days than it used to be.

 

Well yeah, but if you are going to netinstall on a laptop you better have an Ethernet cable handy and plugged in. It's been my experience that your wifi never works with Debian until you get the nonfree repository added and install the appropriate firmware for your wifi adapter. Maybe if you have an older Atheros wifi solution you'll be OK but even Intel didn't work on my Thinkpad.

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Cluttermagnet

I like to audition OS's but could not find any mention of whether it allows a Live DVD

session or forces you to install. Lack of Live DVD is always a deal breaker with me...

 

Thanks, Clutter

 

Architectures

 

We offer combined live-CD and installation media for the Debian i386 (i686) and amd64 (x86-64) architectures.

 

 

https://www.bunsenlabs.org/

 

:breakfast:

 

OK, dumb question for the day: given that all my desktop towers have CPU's such as

Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Celeron D etc. can I assume that I would choose the i386

option and not the AMD option? Reason I ask that (not a single AMD processor on

premises, so far as I remember) is that all the various Debian (Linux Mint) updates

I accept and download invariably include some verbage relating to AMD whatever..

I mean, I am very used to seeing this AMD reference so at this point I am

feeling a little bit confused...

 

I will download and try a live session of this distro, and I'm thinking that likely the

i386 is the right choice...

 

Thanks, Clutter

Edited by Cluttermagnet
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amd64 is the generic name for all 64 bit architecture no matter if it is AMD or Intel. It's named that because it was first introduced by AMD and later adopted by Intel.

Your Core2Duo is almost certainly a 64 bit processor whereas your Celeron D is 32 bit.

i386 will work on a 64 bit system with some limitations, but amd64 will not work on a 32 bit system.

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I have given up on 32 bit entirely. I haven't had a "serious" PC since 2008 that would not support 64 bit. Many distros are dropping 32 bit versions, Chrome doesn't work with 32 bit Linux any longer.

The last two 32 bit machines I had were underpowered Atom netbooks. I recycled them. My worst junker now - a Toshiba netbook from 2010 - has a 2nd gen Atom CPU that will support 64 bit.

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Hedon James

While 32-bit has universal compatibility (in cases where i386 a/k/a 32-bit is available), you really want 64-bit (x86_64 or amd64, same thing) if your cpu supports it. And many "32-bit" cpus are actually 64-bit capable....it's just that they ran 32-bit OS at a time when 64-bit wasn't prevalent yet, so they became known as "32-bit" even though they had 64-bit capability. The easiest way to know for certain is to type "lscpu" in the terminal Clutter.

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/198615/how-to-check-if-your-linux-system-is-32-bit-or-64-bit/

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  • 1 month later...
Cluttermagnet

Uh- I think you guys were a little hasty in labeling my Dell XPS-600 tower

a 32 bit machine. I was pretty sure it is 64 bit. So I did a little snooping

online and came up with this:

 

With its 64-bit, 3.8GHz Intel 670 processor and two SLI graphics cards (a first for a

Dell system), the XPS 600 can plow through any 3D game or consumer-level

content-creation task.

 

https://www.cnet.com...usiness-review/

 

Yes, It does have a Celeron D in it, no, it's not 32 bit. The thing's a dog, IMO, and I hate

the frickin' clamshell case, but the price was right: free in an estate from an old friend.

I'll double check later on exactly which Celeron D version is in there... that stupid

desktop is on the fritz lately, won't finish booting. Probably a card seating issue- that's

what it has always been in the past- but it does have a flaky hard drive as well, some

day the drive will die completely...

 

What I'm liking for hardware the past few years is the Dell Precision T3400 series

towers. Ten years old and plenty powerful enough for what I do. I have about six of

them now, including a couple that run quad processors. Very well thought out

mechanically, very good airflow engineering, just very easy to work on- love 'em!

Each one set me back only 50 to 100 dollars depending on how much improvement

I cared to put in. That's total, including Ebay initial acquisition price. I got most

of them from a local 'repurposing' firm in northern VA that I'm quite happy with...

I don't actively run 32 bit machines any more- at least not day to day- but I still have

a few of them and they do great with Mint on them...

 

Well, I'm reminded of MX-17 and I'm going to download and try that one again.

(It is a live DVD, right?) I still plan to download and try bunsenlabs. I do like to

experience new things...

 

So it sounds like all my 64 bit machines are AMD blah blah installs and not the

i386 option...

 

Clutter

 

 

P.S. I've been much more into the radio hobby thing the past year, guys. Have been

building electronics lately. Still have a daily presence on the net, and I let it waste a lot

of my time, but less computer fiddling going on the past year or two. By and large I

like to install something like Mint and just go with that, make sure it gets all the

updates that come along... so many projects, so little time...

Edited by Cluttermagnet
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Well, I'm reminded of MX-17 and I'm going to download and try that one again.

(It is a live DVD, right?) I still plan to download and try bunsenlabs. I do like to

experience new things...

 

... so many projects, so little time...

 

https://etcher.io/

 

You would probably get better results running Live Distros from a usb stick 4 or 8 GB. If you do not like the dd command then Etcher is easy peasy to use and checks the burn so that you know you have a working set up. :breakfast:

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Cluttermagnet

While 32-bit has universal compatibility (in cases where i386 a/k/a 32-bit is available), you really want 64-bit (x86_64 or amd64, same thing) if your cpu supports it. And many "32-bit" cpus are actually 64-bit capable....it's just that they ran 32-bit OS at a time when 64-bit wasn't prevalent yet, so they became known as "32-bit" even though they had 64-bit capability. The easiest way to know for certain is to type "lscpu" in the terminal Clutter.

 

https://www.howtogee...-bit-or-64-bit/

 

"lscpu' - thanks! Just tried on my Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz that I happen

to be using at the moment. Neato! I have desktops scattered over all three

floors of this house here at Casa Betty...

 

Now I need to write that down. "lscpu" Where's my black spiral notebook?....

Edited by Cluttermagnet
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Cluttermagnet

Well, I'm reminded of MX-17 and I'm going to download and try that one again.

(It is a live DVD, right?) I still plan to download and try bunsenlabs. I do like to

experience new things...

 

... so many projects, so little time...

 

https://etcher.io/

 

You would probably get better results running Live Distros from a usb stick 4 or 8 GB. If you do not like the dd command then Etcher is easy peasy to use and checks the burn so that you know you have a working set up. :breakfast:

 

Good idea. Thanks! I'll look into that. I think I have a couple spare USB sticks on my desk upstairs.

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Cluttermagnet

I downloaded Etcher for Linux 64bit. But I then realized I would need a little

hand-holding in order to do this for the first time ever. That's right, I have

never, so far, made a single USB drive OS successfully. A bit imtimidating...

In fact, I have never. so far, even made a single attempt. Just something a little

off putting about the whole task... It's sitting in my Downloads folder for now...

 

Most of my current desktops probably do support booting from USB drives.

I know some of my older hardware will not, but those machines are pretty

much in retirement now. I know how to change the BIOS to set that up...

 

The instructions for Etcher describe how you have to set up 'paths' but is

a little vague from my perspective as to how exactly, and in exquisite detail

one one goes about doing this. I have set this project aside for now. It gives

examples and what appear to be incomplete file names as to where this stuff gets

moved to. I'm 'waving off' for now; I have tabled this. Just don't have the patience.

I think I have downloaded an 'installable' as opposed to a CLI version, but not even

sure on that score. I'm very tired and headed to bed for a while...

 

BTW I'd be just a s happy to use an installed program as CLI. Open it, It asks you

a couple of questions, you answer, you hit Go, and it does it...

 

Along those lines, I have never:

 

* Installed a virtual OS

 

*Really learned Permissions at all well nor file navigation

too very well

 

*Learned to schedule tasks, etc.

 

*Done any VPN (don't really need to)

 

Simple tasks can at times seem very complicated to me. I'm only 'so

good' at Linux anyway, and I'm 'rusty' presently. OTOH I am fully

confident when it comes to obtaining distros off the net, burning images

to disks, partitioning and formatting drives, and doing installs, etc. No

problems there. Sometimes a simple install and file navigation can be my

downfall, however... I *much* prefer to let Synaptic do it...

 

Clutter

Edited by Cluttermagnet
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Linux Mint has two excellent utilities (both GUI) USB Stick Formatter and USB Image Writer. I just get my downloaded ISO, format the stick, write the image, done. It's way easier than using a DVD writer. Faster to write, boots faster when written.

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I downloaded Etcher for Linux 64bit. But I then realized I would need a little

hand-holding in order to do this for the first time ever. That's right, I have

never, so far, made a single USB drive OS successfully. A bit imtimidating...

In fact, I have never. so far, even made a single attempt. Just something a little

off putting about the whole task... It's sitting in my Downloads folder for now...

 

 

 

Clutter

 

If you can use Synaptic then raymac46's method may be a way to go.

 

Here are a couple of etcher step by step articles,

 

https://opensource.c...tarted-etcherio

 

https://www.ostechni...rds-usb-drives/

 

with pictures.

 

Notepads are neat but so too are tools for the pc. ZIM is a neat program, this is the sort of thing you can do with it,

 

gqJv6BP.jpg

 

Easy to set up , easy to use, and easy to keep backups. I find it very very useful as it is easy to forget stuff if you are unfamiliar with it and if you only use stuff once in a while.

 

:breakfast:

Edited by abarbarian
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Zim Desktop Wiki is excellent, I've been using it for years to keep notes.

 

I think I started to use Zim after reading one of your posts way back. I find it invaluable. :breakfast:

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  • 1 month later...

Wow- Some really excellent suggestions, guys! I downloaded the x64 version of

bl-Helium last night, and noticed I had already downloaded the i386 version in

early July this year.

 

I found the USB Image Writer and Stick Formatters easily in Linux mint when I

looked. I'll try them 'shortly'. So many things on my plate lately...

 

Etcher looks really good! I intend to try it. Not afraid of a little cli work. The install

description looks pretty straightforward.

 

BTW Bruno had shown me a couple of powerful dd commands a while back,

when I had an old hard drive that apparently was harboring something unsavory

in the boot directory. Anyway, I have those two commands carefully saved in

my notebook, and have used them from time to time to 'nuke' an old drive.

Very effective! By and large I'm too much of a rookie to be using dd commands,

but those two have been pure gold for me.

 

Clutter

 

 

P.S. Zim looks really interesting. I'll take a closer look at that as well!

Edited by Cluttermagnet
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