Latest Puppy Linux Distro

[qldit]

In another thread PeteF remarked:

qldit, I'm back into Puppy linux again and just setup two of my customers
with Puppy as a dual system with Windows. Now they have the option
to use both and I'll see if they take to Linux as a means to keep their
old computer systems alive and kicking as oppsoed to buying a new system.

That's what made me think of you.:)
And.. yes I have the new 2.17 version. I like it.


I moved the subsequent discussion to the Linux forum for better visibility.

Terry


G'day Rich, yes the Bravo Uniform Mike title was given to me by my wife, you would probably get on well with her!! LOL.
She was taking the "pill" when we got married, I didn't realise at the time they were actually "dragon pills"!
I can assure you they really worked on her!! LOL!!

G'day Pete, yes I have done the same thing for a number of oldies that just want email and browsing ability and it is surprising how little problems thay actually have, most really love using Puppy on their older machines and there are rarely problems and there is no expense, yet they have all the programs they could wish for, including streaming radio, without worries about malware.

I don't know what the difference is between Puppy 2.17 and 2.17.1, I suspect it is a bug fix of some kind but haven't had time to check.

The PCI wireless card detection is now really good as far as I can see, but some USB detections are still lacking.

The CD and DVD burning program now operates pretty well, but I would like to see the (CDRDAO) CD copy (Disk At Once) operation functioning rather than two stage copying.

I am really impressed at some of these Linux distros that have advanced so much, the latest PC Linux boots live and the internet is already set, I have no idea how they managed to do this, certainly interesting stuff, but it is a full size distro and has spawned a lot of take-offs.

Yes, I do a bit of woodwork also, I actually originally began doing an apprenticeship as a wood machist, but luckily I quickly dropped that and got into electronics!!
My new thicknesser was a little out of adjustment and took hours to set up properly, but what a toy to use, I should have bought one twenty years ago!!
It is so nice to be able to thickness rough wood as desired! (and much cheaper!)

Thankyou for your kind thoughts, I hope your clients enjoy their Puppy as much as mine.

Cheers, Lawrence.

[qldit]

Good Afternoon All, an afterthought Pete, as you are aware the Grub boot menu is pretty dull and need not neccessarily be descriptive of Windows systems.

If you install Puppy to a drive and use the Grub menu with dual boot etc, you can easily edit the Grub menu screen to make it more descriptive and also remove unused items from it.

To do this open the edit program on the desktop, double click "file system" that should open the other directory string, scroll down to the "boot" folder and highlight it, hit the open button and then you should see the contents of that folder, highlight the "menu1st" folder and hit the open button.

You will now see the text of the Grub boot menu, carefully read the display and you will easily see that it is divided into sections, for instance the first 3 or 4 lines below the # Start Grub Global Section refers to the menu screen colour etc.
After that the boot command order is listed, you will see the terms "begins and ends" this divides those boot commands so that what is between them is relevant.

Now if you check you will see "title" in those sections and this is the actual text that shows in the start-up menu.
So you can easily alter this to read more appropriately and use capitals.
For instance you might type "PETE'S PUPPY LINUX Ver. 2.17" or something like that.

With the Windows section, that does need to be more descriptive so "CRUMMY WINDOWS ME" or that kind of thing is the way to go.

If you wish you can cut and paste the complete sections in different order and that will show altered order on the menu screen.

I usually delete all the floppy stuff.

Ensure you "save" before closing the editor.

Now when you reboot you will have a much better menu appear in the order as you wish, worded as you wish.

If you make a triple or quadruple boot machine this knowledge is extremely useful to know.

Certainly helps remove any uncertainty with people that tend to click on anything in a menu!! LOL!!

By the way you now are a programmer, collect your certificate at the door as you leave!

Cheers, Lawrence.

[PeteF]

I am really impressed at some of these Linux distros that have advanced so much, the latest PC Linux boots live and the internet is already set, I have no idea how they managed to do this, certainly interesting stuff, but it is a full size distro and has spawned a lot of take-offs.


What impressed me most are the setup wizards that I ended up using
to setup drivers for the onboard sound and ethernet connection.

My biggest problem with Puppy was getting a Brother Printer MFC-420CN
to work. Puppy has plenty of drivers for many HP, Epson, or Cannon models
but not many for Brother and this might be the deal breaker for my one
customer. If you have an answer on this issue, it's probably best to
address it at the link below and I can always summarize and post the
solution here at KH in our Linux forum.
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=20786

---pete---

[PeteF]

Good Afternoon All, an afterthought Pete, as you are aware the Grub boot menu is pretty dull and need not neccessarily be descriptive of Windows systems.


Yes, last year I experimented with GRUB and customizing that menu.
Thanks for the tips! I'll save that for sometime in the future.

Right now I'm trying to sell the Linux concept by being as unintrusive
to their Windows system as possible. I create a 1 GB partition for Linux
use and don't even mess with GRUB or any dual boot menus. I tell
them, your Windows system is totally the same and untouched, but
if you ever want to run Puppy Linux just insert this CD and restart the
PC. Puppy Linux will then startup automatically in about the same
amount of time or quicker than Windows. It's that simple.

When Pupy starts up, all they see is a clean desktop with a few
Icons... Browse the Web, Email, Media Player, Write and My Documents.
Just keeping it simple.

---pete---

[qldit]

What impressed me most are the setup wizards that I ended up using
to setup drivers for the onboard sound and ethernet connection.

My biggest problem with Puppy was getting a Brother Printer MFC-420CN
to work. Puppy has plenty of drivers for many HP, Epson, or Cannon models
but not many for Brother and this might be the deal breaker for my one
customer. If you have an answer on this issue, it's probably best to
address it at the link below and I can always summarize and post the
solution here at KH in our Linux forum.
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=20786

---pete---

Good Afternoon Pete, I found with some printers that using different (already contained drivers) actually worked pretty well, bit I haven't tried a Brother printer.
Did you try the contained Brother drivers already in Puppy?
I notice there is quite a bit of mention about that printer and linux drivers on the net, I am assuming it is probably a USB connected machine.

I found on one occasion that a printer module out of Kanotix was appropriate.

Sometimes if you use the lsmod command it will show what modules are loaded in some of these systems if the module is an extra and not included in the kernel. If this works you may be able to pinch that module and put it into Puppy but I am not sure how this affects Cups.

I noticed your post on the Puppy forum, I will be interested to see what any reply might be.
There are some awfully clever people on that site.

All the best,

Cheers, Lawrence.