Great OS, minor critiques

TouchOdeath · 2019-01-22 03:15:13

lsb_release -a

Distributor ID: Devuan
Description: Devuan GNU/Linux 2.0 (ascii)
Release: 2.0
Codename: ascii

I love this OS, and maybe some of these critiques are out of the scope of this project. With that said what I'm saying may not be relevant. I thought I would leave feedback anyway. My linux experience is still in the noob phase, but I do have some experience.

I use wireless on my laptop, on boot, it hangs for 1 to 3 mins on "Configuring network interfaces...ifup: waiting for lock on /run/network/ifstate.eth0". I don't know if this is a debian problem or what... and I also know a quick google search would fix the problem (https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=9276#p9276). EDIT: Yup that fixed it.

I know that Synaptic Package Manager is installed which is great, but an average user couldn't find new software using it. So if an 'app store' of some sort was present that would be great. I tried 'sudo apt-get install gnome-software', but for some unknown reason, it will only show me whats already installed and nothing online. I may have messed that up, because at first I tried to install it using a debian package. I have since tried to reinstall via command line, no success.

No GUI third party/proprietery drivers program like 'software-properties-gtk'. I know that doing a google search would also yield the correct drivers. But it would be nice to have a program that would search the hardware of your computer and offer additional drivers.

I guess PPAs aren't supported, or maybe I don't know how its done in devuan.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/deepin-sc
aptsources.distro.NoDistroTemplateException: Error: could not find a distribution template for Devuan/ascii
I would question using this OS as my main because I may run across a scenario where I desperately need something installed and it has to be done by PPA.

No GUI user management.

This is extremely minor and also very picky but no calculator. In my opinion 'gnome-calculator' should be used for its nice looking/simplistic interface. I do admit that I haven't really tried a whole lot of calculators.

Another minor thing, I thought I needed the 'desktop-live' distro because thats what I've learned to do.. So I downloaded that first, tried it and successfully installed it. But it was kinda hell to do so. Extremely complicated install. Once installed not everything was right. I have since figured out that I needed the 'netinst' instead. I would really like to try and get the 'Refracta' stuff to work and customize/make my own ISO that would be hardware independent. I have yet to give that a shot.

Other than that.. this OS is SUPER SOLID. I am super impressed. Easy on resources, RAM usage is very little, CPU idle is extremely low, doesn't trigger my laptop fan because the idle is so low which is awesome! The OS is super snappy all around. No additional bloat to remove, no tweaking necessary to speed things up. No systemd bloat. Super easy installer, it basically wipes your butt. You have a great community behind this OS which is also important. I'm as happy as pig in slop, this OS makes me excited! Thank you very much for providing us this OS, keep up the good work!

Last edited by TouchOdeath (2019-01-22 04:13:55)

golinux · 2019-01-22 04:49:07

Feedback is always appreciated especially when it's so enthusiastic!

TouchOdeath wrote:

I know that Synaptic Package Manager is installed which is great, but an average user couldn't find new software using it. So if an 'app store' of some sort was present that would be great. I tried 'sudo apt-get install gnome-software', but for some unknown reason, it will only show me whats already installed and nothing online. I may have messed that up, because at first I tried to install it using a debian package. I have since tried to reinstall via command line, no success.

Then new users need to do some reading. Also it's a _very bad idea_ to install directly from the debian repos. The Debian repos are provided by devuan via a filtered redirect so you won't install something dependent on systemd and bork your system. The list of banned pkgs is here. You will find in my sig a link to search devuan packages.

No GUI third party/proprietary drivers program like 'software-properties-gtk'. I know that doing a google search would also yield the correct drivers. But it would be nice to have a program that would search the hardware of your computer and offer additional drivers.

Have you enabled non-free and contib in your sources.list?

I guess PPAs aren't supported, or maybe I don't know how its done in devuan.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/deepin-sc
aptsources.distro.NoDistroTemplateException: Error: could not find a distribution template for Devuan/ascii
I would question using this OS as my main because I may run across a scenario where I desperately need something installed and it has to be done by PPA.

We do not have ppas in Devuan though there are some unofficial projects in our gitlab. The Debian wiki is quite clear about not mixing repositories. The same goes for Devuan: Don't make a FrankenDebian

Repositories that can create a FrankenDebian if used with Debian Stable:
- Debian testing release (currently buster)
- Debian unstable release (also known as sid)
- Ubuntu, Mint or other derivative repositories are not compatible with Debian!
- Ubuntu PPAs

No GUI user management.

Mate has a pkg for user management but can't think of the name atm.

Another minor thing, I thought I needed the 'desktop-live' distro because thats what I've learned to do.. So I downloaded that first, tried it and successfully installed it. But it was kinda hell to do so. Extremely complicated install. Once installed not everything was right. I have since figured out that I needed the 'netinst' instead. I would really like to try and get the 'Refracta' stuff to work and customize/make my own ISO that would be hardware independent. I have yet to give that a shot.

We have a walk-through of the desktop-live installer here that might be helpful.

Welcome aboard the Devuan train to freedom!

fsmithred · 2019-01-22 11:44:44

Try xcalc. It's part of the x11-apps package and may already be installed.

apt-cache search software lists the following package among others.

$ apt-cache policy software-properties-gtk
software-properties-gtk:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 0.96.20.2-1
  Version table:
     0.96.20.2-1 500
        500 http://deb.devuan.org/merged ascii/main amd64 Packages

No GUI user management.

That's an xfce thing. Other desktops have their own management tools.

golinux · 2019-01-22 16:34:31

fsmithred wrote:

No GUI user management.
That's an xfce thing. Other desktops have their own management tools.

There are user GUI management tools in xfce? That's news to me. In fact, I'm using mate's version of "Users and Groups" (at your suggestion years ago) which I think is in mate-system-tools. I set things up so long ago, I can't remember exactly.

xinomilo · 2019-01-22 18:45:55

golinux wrote:

In fact, I'm using mate's version of "Users and Groups" (at your suggestion years ago) which I think is in mate-system-tools. I set things up so long ago, I can't remember exactly.

mate-system-tools has been removed some time ago (last release : jessie).
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo … bug=812730
gnome-system-tools should provide same functionalities.

golinux · 2019-01-22 18:57:09

xinomilo wrote:

golinux wrote:
In fact, I'm using mate's version of "Users and Groups" (at your suggestion years ago) which I think is in mate-system-tools. I set things up so long ago, I can't remember exactly.
mate-system-tools has been removed some time ago (last release : jessie).
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo … bug=812730
gnome-system-tools should provide same functionalities.

Right. I couldn't remember the name of that pkg. Thanks. Yeah, that's what I have in my ASCII VM.

ChuangTzu · 2019-01-22 20:38:37

Devuan is not *buntu or Mint, some things are not going to be as point clicky and GUI friendly. Synaptic is great, apt is better, read-learn-grow. Regarding tips for users and groups: https://www.howtogeek.com/50787/add-a-u … -on-linux/

Last edited by ChuangTzu (2019-01-22 20:39:14)

TouchOdeath · 2019-01-25 23:26:33

Then new users need to do some reading. wink Also it's a _very bad idea_ to install directly from the debian repos. The Debian repos are provided by devuan via a filtered redirect so you won't install something dependent on systemd and bork your system. The list of banned pkgs is here. You will find in my sig a link to search devuan packages.

Users read? Ya right. Some users I'm surprised they can tie their shoe. Even if they aren't complete fools, I've seen even some of the most intelligent people skip some reading. My goal is to get as much work done as possible but yet still maintain high quality work/best practices. Unless you have lots of time on your hands, I doubt you are going to be reading every piece of information. When I do come across a problem, I will take the time to read every bit of information until I get the problem solved.

Have you enabled non-free and contib in your sources.list?

I changed this:

deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii main

to:

deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii main contrib non-free

Didnt seem to work.

We do not have ppas in Devuan though there are some unofficial projects in our gitlab. The Debian wiki is quite clear about not mixing repositories. The same goes for Devuan: Don't make a FrankenDebian

Thanks for the education on Frankendebian, I guess I never thought about it. Now I use synaptic package manager, apt, and this website to install packages. I never did understand the main benefit of PPAs. What would be the main advantage of a PPA vs a download link on someones website? None as far as im concerned.

Welcome aboard the Devuan train to freedom!

Thank you for the warm welcome! Much appreciated! The linux community has been really good to me, I'm very thankful! I've heard that the linux community is mean, from my experience its been quite the opposite.

Try xcalc. It's part of the x11-apps package and may already be installed.

When I tried xcalc, it has an ugly UI. For myself, functionality > looks, but users like to have a pretty UI. Which is why I opted for gnome-calculator

That's an xfce thing. Other desktops have their own management tools.

Devuan ascii doesn't come with it by default. If it does then I failed to find it. 'gnome-system-tools' may be the one you are refering to. This is exactly what I was wanting in Devuan.

apt-cache search software lists the following package among others.

Thats pretty cool.. didn't know about that, thanks!

Devuan is not *buntu or Mint, some things are not going to be as point clicky and GUI friendly. Synaptic is great, apt is better, read-learn-grow. Regarding tips for users and groups: https://www.howtogeek.com/50787/add-a-u … -on-linux/

Thank you sir for the info, that is very useful for me... but for my users.. not really .

Last edited by TouchOdeath (2019-01-25 23:58:40)

ChuangTzu · 2019-01-26 01:28:02

instead of ppa's use backports: https://backports.debian.org/Instructions/
just change it to:

deb http://us.deb.devuan.org/merged/ ascii-backports main non-free contrib  #(or something similar to match your mirror)

remember to use the switch: apt -t ascii-backports install "package" (or search etc...)

Last edited by ChuangTzu (2019-01-26 01:29:45)

dxrobertson · 2019-01-26 02:04:09

Have you enabled non-free and contib in your sources.list?
I changed this:
deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii main
to:
deb http://pkgmaster.devuan.org/merged ascii main contrib non-free
Didnt seem to work.

Not sure what you mean by "Didnt seem to work", but either press the Reload button in Synaptic or in terminal:

apt update

This will make all the packages from contrib and non-free "available"
If you have already done so, then please disregard.

When I tried xcalc, it has an ugly UI. For myself, functionality > looks, but users like to have a pretty UI. Which is why I opted for gnome-calculator

galculator is another nice calculator.

No GUI user management.

Maybe try lxqt-admin, if you havent already found your solution.

A note on installing software outside of your chosen desktop (XFCE, LXQT, GNOME, KDE...); its best to first try the install from commandline with the --no-install-recommends option to limit the install to just the desired package (and its hard dependencies):

apt-get --no-install-recommends install <package-whatever>

And also- welcome to devuan!

Last edited by dxrobertson (2019-01-26 02:45:57)

PedroReina · 2019-01-26 10:36:59

dxrobertson wrote:

galculator is another nice calculator.

Agreed, I like it too. Please also consider speedcrunch; its GUI will be familiar to modern pocket calculator users.

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#1 2019-01-22 03:15:13

Great OS, minor critiques

#2 2019-01-22 04:49:07

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#3 2019-01-22 11:44:44

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#4 2019-01-22 16:34:31

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#5 2019-01-22 18:45:55

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#6 2019-01-22 18:57:09

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#7 2019-01-22 20:38:37

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#8 2019-01-25 23:26:33

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#9 2019-01-26 01:28:02

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#10 2019-01-26 02:04:09

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

#11 2019-01-26 10:36:59

Re: Great OS, minor critiques

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