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newsEasyOS Scarthgap-series version 6.0.4 released
Versions 6.0 and 6.0.2 were released recently:
- EasyOS Scarthgap-series version 6.0.2 released — June 24, 2024
- EasyOS Scarthgap-series version 6.0 released — June 18, 2024
There has been a feverish pace of development, finding and fixing bugs, improvements, new packages. Read the release notes:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.0.4/release-notes.htm
Claws Mail email client (also bogofilter) and StreamTuner2 streaming audio browser are now builtin. However, not sure if will keep StreamTuner2 builtin, as there are other, simpler and smaller, contenders -- let me know what you think. Even if not builtin, it will still be available and installable via PKGget.
Download:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/6.0.4/
Fast mirror in Europe, courtesy of NLUUG:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/easyos/amd64/releases/scarthgap/2024/
If you are new to EasyOS, please read the 6.0 announcement as it has more details.
Feedback is welcome at the forum:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=125239#p125239
Tags: easy
Global IP TV Panel fixed
The Multimedia menu has an entry "TV Panel", which plays live streaming videos off the Internet. In Easy 6.0 and 6.0.2, the videos pause momentarily every few seconds, which makes them virtually unwatchable.
TV Panel uses the 'mpv' utility to perform the download, and mpv uses 'youtube-dl' as the download backend to get them from YouTube. Live streaming videos from YouTube are downloaded in segments. mpv downloads a segment, but doesn't read ahead, so the next segment isn't immediately ready, hence the pause. That's my understanding anyway.
I did a lot of online searching. At one stage suspected ffmpeg. I made one discovery early-on; VAAPI is broken. The 'intel-vaapi-driver' package is required; it was missing. Fixed that and continued the saga.
It took a couple of days, but eventually found that the version of mpv in EasyOS, 0.35.1, is the culprit. I have compiled 0.60.0 and TV Panel now plays videos smoothly. The caching shows that it reads ahead and smoothly transitions from one segment to the next.
Global TV Panel is created by forum member ETP. He reported the problem to me a few days ago. His forum thread:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=689
Tags: easy
Fix pupdialog fail for non-English text
Forum member Caramel reported the problem, with a fix:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=10710
I forgot about it, just remembered today, and have applied the
fix to usr/bin/pupdialog
Tags: easy
Predetermined uid and gid
Running each app as its own user brings challenges. There is one problem that has "flown under the radar", until recently; I hit it with Firefox.
What can happen is that you create an app, say Firefox, to run as its own user, which will be "firefox". There are two scripts that handle this creation; /usr/local/clients/setup-client and /usr/local/clients/create-client-environment. The busybox 'addgroup' and 'adduser' utilites are run, and the utilities are allowed to assign user-id and group-id numbers. This is the problem.
These uid and gid numbers are assigned so as not to clash with any numbers already existing in /etc/passwd and /etc/group
The potential situation is that /home/firefox may have been previously created, with all folders and files in it assigned particular uid and gid. However, those entries may not exist in /etc/passwd and /etc/group. It is then possible that addgroup and adduser utilities will run again, to create entries in those files, but the uid and gid will most likely be different from what is assigned to the folders and files in /home/firefox
The scripts do check this, and will correct all folders and files
in /home/firefox, but that is an extra step and I would rather it
didn't require that fix.
I hit this problem with Firefox because I do a lot of messing
around; the abovementioned fix didn't happen due to the messing
around. It is probably not an issue that most users will
encounter. But the fact that is can potentially happen is cause
for concern. So I have come up with a solution; predetermined uid
and gid.
What those scripts now do is determine uid and gid in advance, using this formula:
# A=chrome
# echo 2$((64#$A)) | head -c 5 | xargs -I XXX printf %-5s XXX | tr ' ' 0
21317
# A=ungoogled
# echo 2$((64#$A)) | head -c 5 | xargs -I XXX printf %-5s XXX | tr ' ' 0
28546
# A=claws
# echo 2$((64#$A)) | head -c 5 | xargs -I XXX printf %-5s XXX | tr ' ' 0
22068
# A=firefox
# echo 2$((64#$A)) | head -c 5 | xargs -I XXX printf %-5s XXX | tr ' ' 0
21050
# A=chromium
# echo 2$((64#$A)) | head -c 5 | xargs -I XXX printf %-5s XXX | tr ' ' 0
25397
In the scripts, it is assigned as variable $UGID:
busybox addgroup -g ${UGID} ${APPname}
busybox adduser -u ${UGID} -h /home/${APPname} -G ${APPname} -D -H ${APPname}
Theoretically of course, there could be a clash, two different
names generating the same number, but very
unlikely.
Tags: easy
Streamripper helper in StreamTuner2
I posted about StreamTuner2 yesterday:
- Gnome Radio and StreamTuner2 — July 02, 2024
Recording was a problem. When I clicked on the "Record" button, a terminal window would briefly pop up, immediately disappear. I found out later that most of the radio stations fail to record, that is, streamripper fails.
The window flashing momentarily is not very helpful. Fortunately, Axel Hahn has come to the rescue:
https://github.com/axelhahn/st2_record_helper
I have integrated this into the StreamTuner2 PET. Note, the PET is also customized for EasyOS. Now, if there is a fail to record, the terminal window stays up, with diagnostic information. This one works, and records the songs:
I just now checked -- can record and play at the same time.
Have decided StreamTuner2 will be in the next release of EasyOS.
Will keep the old pupRadio, as it is very small and some people
like it.
Tags: easy
Gnome Radio and StreamTuner2
The guys have been discussing Internet radio players in the forum:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=12013
Easy has the venerable pupRadio, created by 01micko. Have this for years, but it is extremely basic. Time to update.
Gnome Radio looks nice, with a map of the world, showing where the audio streamers are transmitting from:
I compiled it in OpenEmbedded, as well as dependencies. Created a
new recipe:
Ran it from a terminal, it kind of works but spits out so many errors, and can't get it to actually play anything.
Next up, checked out StreamTuner2
https://freshcode.club/projects/streamtuner2
Applied a python3 patch from Debian. Works OK. Uses Audacious to play the streams, and streamripper to record. Have created a PET.
Looks like it can stream video as well, but I haven't checked
that out.
Have not yet decided which one will be builtin to the next
release of Easy. More to checkout.
Tags: easy
SpaceFM file manager compiled in OE
Continuing the run of compiling file managers, here are recent posts:
- Thunar filemanager compiled in OE — June 29, 2024
- PCmanFM, MC, NetSurf packages — June 29, 2024
We are discussing file managers in this forum thread:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=11993
SpaceFM was requested, so I have compiled it in OpenEmbedded, see github:
https://github.com/bkauler/oe-qky-scarthgap/tree/main/quirky/meta-quirky/recipes-quirky/spacefm
...the patches were got from Debian.
In PKGget, update the "oe-scarthgap" database and it can be installed. Note, it reports missing dependency 'eject'; however, there is already an 'eject' utility in EasyOS so no need to install it.
When I ran it, the window colours were odd. You have to go into the "Preferences..." and untick the special colours signifying root user -- very odd I reckon.
SpaceFM homepage:
https://ignorantguru.github.io/spacefm/
Tags: easy
Thunar filemanager compiled in OE
I posted earlier today about PCmanFM and Midnight Commander:
https://bkhome.org/news/202406/pcmanfm-mc-netsurf-packages.html
On a run with file managers, and have now added Thunar. This is part of the XFCE package suite.
In PKGget, you will need to click on the Configure button and update the package databses. Then in PKGget, in the "oe-scarthgap" repository, in "Filesystem" category, you will find Thunar. Also two plugins, 'thunar-archive-plugin' and 'thunar-media-tags-plugin'.
I have briefly tested Thunar, seems OK. Haven't tried the plugins.
We are discussing file managers in the forum here:
https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=11993
Thunar homepage here:
https://docs.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/start
Try it out, let me know in the forum.
Note, there is an optional dependency 'gvfs' that when installed
will add some extra functionality.
Tags: easy