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Fix Chromium warning message at startup

June 17, 2026 — BarryK

Forum member Miminou has reported the warning message when start chromium in a terminal, missing 'upower' package, now fixed:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=172410#p172410  

Tags: easy

Getting rid of gimp and mpv warning messages

June 17, 2026 — BarryK

Forum member Miminou has been testing starting apps from a terminal.

Starting Gimp, there is a warning about missing images. Now fixed:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=172401#p172401

Starting MPV, there is a warning about missing 'client.conf'. Have a fix for that also:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=172407#p172407

OK, they are hack fixes, but they work.   

Tags: easy

Set Chromium colour theme to match system

June 17, 2026 — BarryK

The current system theme is kind of orange, but Chromium starts up as a blue theme inside the window. In a new tab, at bottom-right of the window, there is a "Customize Chromium" button, where you can choose a colour theme.

However, I would like to set it automatically appropriately as the default. In /root/.packages/default-theme, there is a new variable:

#choose chromium theme (default is blue). allowed values: "orange", "yellow"
DEFAULT_THEME_CHROMIUM='orange'

In woofQ2, script woofq2/rootfs/4post-process-rootfs reads this and appends the appropriate text:

#chromium theme (default is blue)...
case "$DEFAULT_THEME_CHROMIUM" in
 orange) echo -n ',"theme":{"color_variant2":1,"user_color2":-32768}' >> rootfs/root/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences ;;
 yellow) echo -n ',"theme":{"color_variant2":1,"user_color2":-336013}' >> rootfs/root/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences ;;
esac

However, as Chromium defaults to run as user "chromium", the script /usr/bin/chromium will copy these default settings into /home/chromium:

  if [ ! -d /home/chromium/.config/chromium/Default ];then
   mkdir -p /home/chromium/.config/chromium
   cp -a /root/.config/chromium/Default /home/chromium/.config/chromium/
   cp -a -f "/root/.config/chromium/Local State" /home/chromium/.config/chromium/
   chown -R ${UGID}:${UGID} /home/chromium

However, this will only work in a new installation, when Chromium has not yet been run. If you are updating an existing installation, you will have to manually choose the colour theme, as described in the first paragraph above.

I was thinking, if a later version of Easy reverted to a blue theme, perhaps a version update could delete that /home/chromium/.config/chromium/Preferences file, but that would wipe out other preferences.    

Tags: easy

New easy-to-see mouse cursors

June 16, 2026 — BarryK

One thing I realised when creating the first video for a proposed series on EasyOS in YouTube, is that it is difficult for the viewer to see where the mouse is pointing. Specifically for the videos, want a big and very easy-to-see mouse pointer; well, this is going to interest many users also.

Easy has an xcursor creation tool, in the menu "Utility -> SXC Simple Xcursor Creator"; however, got some ready-made ones from here:

https://futurehorizondesign.net.au/portfolio/hackneyedhighcontraststaticcursors.html

These are very nice. For the next video, intend to use the magenta 48 pixel xcursors; here is the pointer:

img1

Like these so much decided to add some builtin. So in the next release of Easy, the menu "Desktop -> SXS Simple Xcursor Selector" will have these:

img2

Note, I wrote about SXS and SXC before:

"Simple Xcursor Creator and Selector is back"
https://bkhome.org/news/202511/simple-xcursor-creator-and-selector-is-back.html

"Easy-to-see mouse pointer"
https://bkhome.org/news/202307/easy-to-see-mouse-pointer.html

I think, for my own daily use, the magenta 36 pixel xcursor set is great.  

Tags: easy

Gajim jabber-client must run non-root

June 16, 2026 — BarryK

Forum member libertas reported a problem with running Gajim:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=172326#p172326

Some apps must be run non-root. I have modified script /usr/local/petget/installpreview.sh, inserted this at line 800:

        gajim) ASKflg=0; RETASK='nonroot'; ;; #20260615

...so when install, it won't ask if you want to run the app as root or non-root, it will install to run as user "gajim".

Interesting, the package does not have a .desktop file, so nothing appears in the menu. But during install there is offer to create a desktop icon, which I did.

Here is the Gajim homepage:

https://gajim.org/

During installation, there is a report that package 'python3-importlib-metadata' is missing. Hmmm, yes, 'apt' failed to install it, but PKGget does checking after installation and discovered the missing dependency. The absence of that package didn't stop Gajim from running. But anyway, I went into PKGget and installed it.   

Tags: easy

EasyOS Excalibur-series version 7.4 released

June 15, 2026 — BarryK

Firstly, an announcement blurb; split into a generic statement and a version-7.4-specific statement.

Generic statement, extracted from the 7.0 release announcement:

Compared with prior releases of EasyOS, the Excalibur-series is a "whole new ball game". All prior EasyOSs were built with woofQ; Easy Excalibur is built with woofQ2, that is a redesign of woofQ based on Debian's APT underpinning all package management. Easy has PKGget, a package manager GUI, that is able to install all kinds of packages, such as .deb, .txz, .rpm and .pet; that chameleon-like ability is retained, but now PKGget is a wrapper on top of APT. So now PKGget and APT talk to each other, and even if utilities such as 'apt' and 'apt-get' are used in a terminal, it will automatically sync in PKGget.

Easy Excalibur is built with Devuan Excalibur packages, equivalent to Debian 13 Trixie, but without systemd. Instead, EasyOS uses the simple busybox init, enhanced with pup_event service management.

EasyOS has inbuilt containers support, known as "Easy Containers" and this is taken to the next level. In particular, there is now a pre-created container named "devx" that has everything for a compiler/development environment. Like all Easy Containers, "devx" runs just by clicking a desktop icon, and the user can flip between any of them with single clicks.

Easy Excalibur is big, the download is around 1GB; and it takes EasyOS's habit of "including the kitchen sink" to the next level. Not just the Chromium browser, also the SeaMonkey browser suite is included, builtin. And of course all the usual guys, such as SMPlayer, Inkscape, Gimp, SolveSpace, LibreOffice, HomeBank, YRadio, Osmo, NoteCase and Audacious. As well, lots of utility and support apps, such as GParted, Blueman, NetworkManager, gFTP, YouTubeDL, and dozens that are found only in the Puppy-family or exclusively in EasyOS.

Announcement specific to 7.4 and releases leading up to 7.4:

Version 7.4 is a "milestone" release, consolidating EasyOS as supporting "legacy" software architectures, including Xlibre xorg server and gtk2-ng.

We are committing to ongoing support, updating and enhancing, of gtk2-based applications; including ROX-Filer, that has undergone many fixes and improvements, such as memory-leak fix, back-forward history buttons, and video thumbnails.

We adhere to the Unix philosophy of "do one thing and do it well", which is why we do not use systemd; instead EasyOS uses busybox init, with pup_event service management. We also look to simplify wherever possible, which is why EasyOS does not have policykit, pam or avahi. Version 7.4 continues refining the underlying "plumbing", with numerous behind-the-scenes fixes and enhancements.

We continue to refine and improve the inbuilt package collection, as usual including the "kitchen sink". For example, we have replaced the Celluloid media player, which has been troublesome, with SMPlayer and VIDplay (a chromium-based video player). Other refinements include replacing StreamTuner2 Internet radio player with YRadio.

Having the "kitchen sink" builtin means that we want to have applications builtin to satisfy 99% of users. One niche area is a simple database application; this gap is now filled by Symphytum.

Lots of utility applications have been fixed and improved, including EasyCast screen recorder, DropboxGUI dropbox.com file manager, improved optical drive handling and fixes for pBurn CD/DVD burner app. The list goes on.

The Linux kernel is now at 6.12.92, and finally, Sound Open Firmware (SOF) is enabled. We had so much trouble with it in the past, and stayed with the legacy sound drivers. However, very modern computers may require SOF and we are pleased to get it working.

Various printing enhancements, including drivers for all of the Phomemo thermal printers.

The online release notes document all changes since 7.0:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.3/release-notes.htm

For newcomers to EasyOS, recommend a quick read of this page, that itemizes how and why EasyOS is different from any other Linux operating system:

https://easyos.org/about/how-and-why-easyos-is-different.html

Also for newcomers, we have started a YouTube series on EasyOS. The first video is here:

"EasyOS Part1: Introduction"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEYtxwwv644

If you would like to browse though recent posts on the development blog, here are posts since version 7.3.9:

Posts since version 7.3.8:

Download

EasyOS ships as a drive-image file, not as an ISO. Download from here, courtesy of ibiblio.org:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.4/

A mirror in the USA, courtesy of Linux User Group at UMBC (thanks to amerrym1, see forum):

https://mirror.lug.umbc.edu/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.4/

Fast mirror in Europe courtesy of NLUUG:

https://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.4/

Australia, courtesy of aarnet:

https://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/easyos/amd64/releases/excalibur/2026/7.4/

Documentation

If you know about ISO files, not drive-image files, they are quite easy to install. Either write to a USB-stick (flash drive) and boot that, or open it up and copy the files into an internal drive. There are tutorials that explain these choices, such as this one to install to an internal drive:

https://easyos.org/install/easy-frugal-installation.html

Or, to a USB-stick (or any complete drive):

https://easyos.org/install/how-to-write-easyos-to-a-flash-drive.html

...recommend use a good quality USB-stick, such as Sandisk Ultra or Sandisk Extreme, at least 16GB. Even better, an external SSD.

Easy since 7.0 has had basically the same muted bluish theme, with nature-scenes wallpaper. Was getting a bit bored with it, so dreamed up something totally different for 7.3+. You might find this a bit less restful on the eyes than muted-blue:

img1

High-resolution, 1680x1050 pixels, is here.

The wallpaper was created by Australian Aboriginal artist Sarah Levett, see here.

Might end up going back to a more muted theme, especially as will be taking lots of photos soon in the Australian countryside, that will be likely wallpapers. But for now, this orange-brown-red theme is OK.

Feedback welcome at the forum. Any issues encountered, there are guys keen to help:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=172251#p172251

Have fun!    

Tags: easy

VIDplay Chromium MP4 and WEBM video player

June 14, 2026 — BarryK

After a lot of oscillating backwards and forwards, between Celluloid, EcoTube and SMPlayer media player builtin, have eventually settled on SMPlayer for the next release of EasyOS.

I had previously posted about using Chromium as a standalone PDF viewer:

https://bkhome.org/news/202605/pdfview-chromium-pdf-viewer.html

The same treatment has now been done for MP4 and WEBM videos. Chromium will only play those two video formats. Now, right-click on a .mp4 or .webm video:

img1

/usr/share/applications/vidplay.desktop and pdfview.desktop have "NoDisplay=true", so they won't appear in the main menu. They can only be launched via right-click menu on a .mp4 or .webm video file.   

Tags: easy

ROX-Filer image thumbnails size limit

June 14, 2026 — BarryK

We have been on a roll recently, enhancing ROX-Filer, especially due to forum member l0wt3ch. He has now implemented a size limit on image thumbnails, also removed some buttons to URLs that no longer exist.

If you right-click on a desktop icon, there is a menu, choose "ROX-Filer -> Options... -> Thumbnails" and this will appear:

img1

...there were previously two buttons to non-existent URLs. Now, there is a new checkbox, to enable thumbnails for image files over 64MB. The problem is, ROX consumes a huge amount of RAM, and time, trying to create a thumbnail for a very large image file.

Notice the "Show image thumbnails" checkbox. It defaults to off, but on the ROX window there is an "eye" icon; right-click on that to toggle thumbnails on or off, on a per-window basis.    

Tags: easy