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indexEasyOS Scarthgap-series version 6.5 released
EasyOS Scarthgap is the current flagship; however, the Daedalus-series is introduced as a companion, also announce today:
"EasyOS Daedalus-series version 6.5 released"
https://bkhome.org/news/202412/easyos-daedalus-series-version-65-released.html
They are both version 6.5, reflecting the same underlying infrastructure; however, built with different binary packages, and in that latter respect the Daedalus-series may have more issues. If you are new to EasyOS, it is recommended to choose Easy Scarthgap.
As it is intended that easy Scarthgap will be announced on Distrowatch, here is a brief announcement blurb:
EasyOS Scarthgap-series is an experimental Linux distribution. Heritage includes concepts from Puppy Linux, unique features include a custom container technology, and lockdown techniques. Version 6.0 was announced on Distrowatch in June 2024 and there has been a lot of "water under the bridge" since then. Easy Scarthgap is built with binary packages compiled in a fork of OpenEmbedded, and there have been many package version bumps. The infrastructure has continued to improve, especially support for containers; a lot of attention has been given to running Easy Daedalus distribution in a container. More details are in the release notes, here, and highlights showing how EasyOS differs from other Linux distributions here.
Read on about Easy Scarthgap, a snapshot...
...the wallpaper is a snapshot of a tiny train station in rural
Western Australia. it was chosen as symbolic of EasyOS; a wild
rural landscape, a tiny train station rarely frequented. This has
a charm of its own, in contrast to a huge busy city train station
and cultivated gardens -- the latter representing the mainstream
Linux distributions.
The Scarthgap-series is built with packages compiled in a fork of OpenEmbedded, and optimised for EasyOS, but a small package repository; only about 1800 packages. However, more packages can be installed via Appi, the appimage manager, and Flapi, the flatpak manager. There is yet another avenue for adding packages to Scarthgap; another Linux distribution can be run in a container and within that container there is access to the entire package repository of that distribution.
Easy Scarthgap can run Easy Daedalus in a container, which means
that you don't really need to run Easy Daedalus as a separate
distribution. There is a downside to that though; running in a
container has security restrictions, and some applications will
not work; most will though. Some points:
- Read more about how to run Easy Daedalus in a container within
Easy Scarthgap here
- Read how to quickly flip in and flip out of the container here
- Read about /files shared folder between containers here
- Sharing is also via the clipboard, copied in and out when flip
- Introduction to Easy Containers here
The big advantage of building from packages of another mainstream distribution is binary compatibility and access to the entire package repository of that distribution. This is what Easy Daedalus brings to the table. However, the Scarthgap packages are smaller and optimised to work in EasyOS.
Here are the release notes for Easy Scarthgap 6.5:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.5/release-notes.htm
Download and install
Easy is shipped as a drive-image file, there is no ISO. Download from here:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.5/
There is also a mirror in Europe, courtesy of the Netherlands Linux/Unix User Group (NLUUG):
https://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.5/
Also a mirror in Australia, courtesy of AARNET:
https://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.5/
If all that you know about are ISOs, and unfamiliar with how to install a drive-image file, it is pretty simple. You can write it to a USB-stick and boot that, or open up the img-file and install direct to internal drive. The easyos.org site has tutorials, including these:
"How to write EasyOS to a flash drive"
https://easyos.org/install/how-to-write-easyos-to-a-flash-drive.html
"How to install EasyOS on your hard drive"
https://easyos.org/install/how-to-install-easyos-on-your-hard-drive.html
There is an important conceptual difference between a drive-image and an ISO; when the drive-image file is written to a drive, for example a USB-stick, it is already installed. It is fully installed to the USB-stick, nothing more to do. You don't have to think about persistence; sessions are saved to the USB-stick.
Information and feedback
If you are new to EasyOS and wondering what it is all about, first up, it has to be clarified that Easy is not a mainsteam distribution; it is unique and experimental. Very different from any other Linux distribution. This page highlights the differences:
"How and why EasyOS is different"
https://easyos.org/about/how-and-why-easyos-is-different.html
Many ideas implemented in Easy are still a work-in-progress, so
do bare that in mind; you might not get the maturity that you
would expect in a mainstream distro.
We welcome feedback. Success stories, problems, let us know in this thread in the Puppy Forum:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=137024#p137024
Technical
If you are interested in how Easy works, read this:
"How Easy works"
https://easyos.org/tech/how-easy-works.html
The github projects:
https://github.com/bkauler/oe-qky-scarthgap
https://github.com/bkauler/woofq
Have fun!
Tags: easy
EasyOS Daedalus-series version 6.5 released
The EasyOS Scarthgap-series is the current flagship; however, the
Daedalus-series is introduced as a companion. They are essentially
the same, or to put it another way have the same underlying
infrastructure; however, built with different packages.
The Scarthgap-series is built with packages compiled in a fork of OpenEmbedded, and optimised for EasyOS, but a much smaller package repository; only about 1800 packages. However, more packages can be installed via Appi, the appimage manager, and Flapi, the flatpak manager. There is yet another avenue for adding packages to Scarthgap; another Linux distribution can be run in a container and within that container there is access to the entire package repository of that distribution.
Easy Scarthgap can run Easy Daedalus in a container, which means
that you don't really need to run Easy Daedalus as a separate
distribution. There is a downside to that though; running in a
container has security restrictions, and some applications will
not work; most will though. Some points:
- Read more about how to run Easy Daedalus in a container within
Easy Scarthgap here
- Read how to quickly flip in and flip out of the container here
- Read about /files shared folder between containers here
- Sharing is also via the clipboard, copied in and out when flip
- Introduction to Easy Containers here
Easy Scarthgap 6.5 release is pending, will be announced on this blog very soon. But, for those who want the actual, standalone, EasyOS Daedalus, read on...
Devuan Daedalus is the equivalent of Debian Bookworm, except without systemd. Most of the Devuan packages are in fact the Debian packages, except for those that need modification to work without systemd.
EasyOS is created with "woofQ", the build system. In fact, "Woof" is a build system also for Puppy Linux, currently "Woof-CE" being the official build system for the mainstream Puppy Linux. WoofQ forked off Woof2 about 2013. That's a bit of history, but the point is, Woof* can build a Puppy or Puppy-derivative or similar distribution, and does so by using binary packages from some other Linux distribition. Or, packages that have been compiled somehow -- in the case of Scarthgap, compiled in OpenEmbedded.
The big advantage of building from packages of another mainstream distribution is binary compatibility and access to the entire package repository of that distribution. This is what Easy Daedalus brings to the table.
Here are the release notes for Easy Daedalus 6.5:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/daedalus/2024/6.5/release-notes.htm
A short history; Easy Daedalus started life in October 2024. However, as built from woofQ, it has all the infrastructure of Scarthgap, so is already very mature. The main details to be sorted were issues raised by using the Devuan DEB packages. Yes, lots of issues, as Debian/Devuan packages are bloated, configured in sometimes strange ways and with dependencies that may be difficult to accommodate. So the process since October has been to resolve these issues.
One thing; due to the proliferation of dependencies, there are less packages "built in" compared with Scarthgap. For example, Scarthgap has Flowblade video editor built-in, whereas Daedalus has no video editor. Of course, Flowblade and other video editors are there in the repository.
Download and install
Easy is shipped as a drive-image file, there is no ISO. Download from here:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/daedalus/2024/6.5/
There is also a mirror in Europe, courtesy of the Netherlands Linux/Unix User Group (NLUUG):
https://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/easyos/amd64/releases/daedalus/2024/6.5/
Also a mirror in Australia, courtesy of AARNET:
https://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/easyos/amd64/releases/daedalus/2024/6.5/
If all that you know about are ISOs, and unfamiliar with how to install a drive-image file, it is pretty simple. You can write it to a USB-stick and boot that, or open up the img-file and install direct to internal drive. The easyos.org site has tutorials, including these:
"How to write EasyOS to a flash drive"
https://easyos.org/install/how-to-write-easyos-to-a-flash-drive.html
"How to install EasyOS on your hard drive"
https://easyos.org/install/how-to-install-easyos-on-your-hard-drive.html
There is an important conceptual difference between a drive-image and an ISO; when the drive-image file is written to a drive, for example a USB-stick, it is already installed. It is fully installed to the USB-stick, nothing more to do. You don't have to think about persistence; sessions are saved to the USB-stick.
Information and feedback
If you are new to EasyOS and wondering what it is all about, first up, it has to be clarified that Easy is not a mainsteam distribution; it is unique and experimental. Very different from any other Linux distribution. This page highlights the differences:
"How and why EasyOS is different"
https://easyos.org/about/how-and-why-easyos-is-different.html
Many ideas implemented in Easy are still a work-in-progress, so
do bare that in mind; you might not get the maturity that you
would expect in a mainstream distro.
We welcome feedback. Success stories, problems, let us know in this thread in the Puppy Forum:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=137023#p137023
Have fun!
Tags: easy
Kodi flatpak does not work
Balasubramaniam sent me an email, reporting that the Kodi flatpak will not start. Yes, I have confirmed:
# kodi
bwrap: Can't make symlink at /run: File exists
There has been online discussion about this for years, for example:
https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/5255
I don't know if updating EasyOS to a later version of flatpak will help; however, there is a quick hack that fixes Kodi:
# mkdir -p /media
# mv -f /tmp/run /runNEW
# rm -f /run
# mv -f /runNEW /run
# kodi
Folder /run is a symlink to /tmp/run, which confuses flatpak, so the above changes /run to an actual folder. That could be made into a script.
However, I'm not sure what will happen after a reboot; perhaps it would be best to shutdown without saving the session.
This needs to be fixed properly, but will have to be postponed
for awhile.
Tags: easy
EasyOS Kirkstone-series maintenance release 5.8.5
Maintenance release 5.8.4 was on August 14, 2024:
- EasyOS Kirkstone-series version 5.8.4 — August 14, 2024
Version 5.8.5 is another maintenance release. Many fixes applied to EasyOS Scarthgap-series 6.4.5 are applied here also. Some "noarch" PET packages updated.
Download:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/kirkstone/2024/5.8.5/
NOTICE:
The latest EasyOS is the Scarthap-series, version numbers 6.x.
Minor fixes of the Kirkstone-series will be continued in 2024
and likely into 2025.
If you have Kirkstone-series installed, it can be transitioned to
the Scarthgap-series as explained here:
https://bkhome.org/news/202406/how-to-update-kirkstone-to-scarthgap-60.html
The latest version in Scarthgap-series is 6.4.5:
-
EasyOS Scarthgap-series version 6.4.5 released — November 27, 2024
...note that Easy Scarthgap version 6.5 is expected to be
released before the end of 2024.
Monitor Barry's blog for announcements of later 6.x releases.
Questions about 5.8.5 may be posted to the forum here; however, as this is a superceded series, there may or may not be any support:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=11398
Tags: easy
Keyboard layout fix in Xephyr server
Forum member Caramel proposed a fix here:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=136739#p136739
I have implemented that, see github commit:
https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commit/c066880c18335979bd4f393dcb7af1b01532a699
Caramel also reported a problem with a slow computer, switching into a container:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=136796#p136796
Github commit:
https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commit/b3c80896f997d7da7104be96945d3101f495ff35
Tags: easy
xrdb fixed in container
Alfons reported that pClock (in the Personal menu category) does not work in the daedalus container.
The reason is that /usr/bin/pclock script runs "xrdb -query", which returns nothing, and pclock aborts with a syntax error. This is what xrdb is supposed to return:
...pclock wants that "Xft.dpi" parameter.
When the daedalus container is running, if you look in /mnt/wkg/containers/daedalus/container, you will find these:
.control/ec-run
.control/daedalus
usr/bin/desk-delayedrun
When the container is first started, those three scripts are executed, in that order. The 'daedalus' script has this line:
if [ -f ${HOME}/.Xresources ];then xrdb -merge -nocpp ${HOME}/.Xresources; fi
...that is supposed to load /root/.Xresources, but it doesn't. The Xephyr server should be running at that point in time, so I don't know why xrdb isn't working. What I did as a quick fix is repeat running xrdb at the end of 'desk-delayedrun'; then xrdb works, and pclock works.
Bit of a hack fix, but anyway, it works. Github commit:
https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commit/0077417e01e33d61483ce3ff6f71232d22717bd1
Tags: easy
Easy Scarthgap print setup broken
EDIT: Fixed
This came as a surprise. My daily workhorse PC has a Brother HL2040 laser printer connected via USB. Printing works, but I have not for quite some time tested setting up a new printer. I have just updated the Easy Scarthgap installation on the PC, with an already-setup CUPS connection with the printer.
Until today. Running the CUPS web interface on a pristine EasyOS Scarthgap 6.4.5, choosing to add a printer, and it is listed:
So far OK. Click on "Continue" and this is what is supposed to be the next window:
However, this is what appears:
...that window should not be appearing, as a local printer was selected by radiobutton.
I booted Easy Daedalus 6.4.1, and printer setup works. Hmmm.
So, I tested older versions of Easy Scarthgap, pristine installs to USB-stick. Tried 6.3.1; fail. Then 6.2; fail.
Then Easy Scarthgap 6.0.4; success.
Right now, I have no idea what is causing the problem. It isn't kernel version, have eliminated that.
How does that saying go; "It never rains but it pours"
Oh well, will try and track down the cause. Maybe a hint: see the above photos, the window that works shows CUPS 2.4.7, the bad one is 2.4.10.
EDIT 2024-11-30:
Yes, the problem is cups 2.4.10. I tested 2.4.9, still fail.
Then 2.4.7, works.
Cups 2.4.7 is in Easy Scarthgap 6.0.4. Later on, cups got bumped to 2.4.9, then 2.4.10 (r2 and r3 builds in OE).
I don't know why, but right now just
want printing to work, so have rolled back to cups 2.4.7. A
wild stab in the dark is that cups is configured in my OE
recipe to not use libusb, which might be a deprecated choice
-- that goes a long way back, cannot recall the details.
Tags: easy
Linux kernel 6.6.61 compiled
The latest is 6.6.63; however, the aufs patch fails, as reported here:
https://github.com/sfjro/aufs-standalone/issues/48
I examined the kernel changelog, and it looks like 6.6.61 is ok, and yes, the "6.6.54" aufs patch works. So, have compiled the kernel 6.6.61.
Forum discussion about aufs is here:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=643
Unfortunate, also have a problem with compiling latest Chromium,
as reported yesterday, here.
Tags: easy
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