Quirky Linux now officially retired

I have sent an email to jesse Smith at distrowatch.com, informing him that Quirky Linux is now a discontinued project.

The Quirky Linux homepage now has an announcement:

http://bkhome.org/quirky/

Which states this:

ANNOUNCEMENT
From December 16, 2018, Quirky Linux is a discontinued project.
Documentation and downloads may still be available, but not guaranteed indefinitely.

The ibiblio.org download host will remain up indefinitely, but I cannot guarantee how long. It does host some Puppy-stuff as well, such as Wary Puppy and Racy Puppy, and there is still some interest in those.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/

Quirky started, um, about 2013, so has lasted almost 6 years. It was an experimental distro, un-Puppy-like in that it was originally designed for full-install only. Though, live-CD and frugal install came later. 

Tags: quirky

The end of Quirky Linux

I have been thinking about closing down Quirky Linux for sometime. The fundamental problem is that my efforts get spread too thin. To do a "good job", I need to be focused, and something has to go. My baby now is EasyOS, which is where most of the development goes, and although I released new versions of Quirky recently, they had minimal testing.

There is a review of Quirky 8.6 on Distrowatch:

https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20181001#quirky

...to which I responded, see comment 101.

I know that there are many people who like Quirky, and will be unhappy that I am retiring it.

In future, I intend to develop EasyOS only, and with some restrictions:

Quirky and EasyOS are built with woofQ, which can use the binary packages of any distro -- for example Quirky 8.6 is built from Ubuntu DEBs. However, I am intending to stop all of that, and only build EasyOS from packages that I have compiled from source -- that is, the entire distro is compiled by me from source. Currently, this is the "Pyro" series of EasyOS.

So, Easy Beaver, EasyOS built with Ubuntu DEBs, will also be retired.

There will only be a x86_64 and aarch64 builds of EasyOS, no 32-bit.

Someone who wants a highly polished distro, with a huge repository, will have to go elsewhere. An offical Puppy Linux release may suit such a person.

Which brings me to another issue...

I may stop using the Puppy Linux Forum for discussion of Quirky and Easy. I will probably start another forum just for EasyOS, or someone might volunteer to undertake that responsibility.

The reason is, I am concerned about the confusion on the Puppy Forum. It is no longer clear what "Puppy Linux" is. I have been increasingly moving to the viewpoint that if a distribution is built with woof-CE (the Community Edition Puppy Linux builder), or a remaster of one, then it is OK to be on the Puppy Forum. All of the other offshoots should get off.

Or the forum be redesigned so that the offshoots are clearly distinct and cannot be mis-identified as a "Puppy Linux".

Of course, this is a decision for the administrators of the Puppy Forum. I have my doubts that there is enough motivation to make any significant changes, or any changes.

Finally, repeating what I posted a couple of days ago:

I retired from leading the Puppy Linux project in 2013, now just dabbling in some experimental distros, Quirky and EasyOS.

Furthermore, Quirky and EasyOS are very much just hobbies. I'm not really interested whether they become mainline or widely-adopted distributions. So, I am not trying to develop them toward suitability for a wide user-base. On the otherhand, if a wider user-base find them useful, that's OK also.

My interest is in the technology, just to play around with ideas, and have something usable for myself, and usable also for those involved in providing feedback and testing.

If you want to discuss this, I suggest start a thread on the Puppy Forum.

Tags: quirky

Quirky Beaver x86_64 version 8.7.1 released

NOTICE:
Quirky Linux is a discontinued project. This is the last release.
Retirement announcement is here: http://bkhome.org/news/tag_quirky.html 

Quirky Xerus x86_64 version 8.6 was released only a few weeks ago:

http://bkhome.org/news/201808/quirky-xerus-86-released.html

The transition has been made to building with Ubuntu Bionic Beaver 18.04.1 DEBs, and now codenamed "Quirky Beaver", first release is version 8.7.1, for x86_64 PCs. Some announcement blurb:

Quirky Linux 8.7.1 is the first in the "Beaver" series, binary-compatible with x86_64 Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, though built with woofQ and architecturally very different from Ubuntu.
Quirky is an experimental distribution, that forked from Puppy Linux a few years ago, and has followed a different path, exploring some new ideas. Continuing the Puppy tradition, Quirky has a "complete" suite of applications, drivers and utilities, in a very small size.
Version 8.7.1 is very similar to 8.6, but with a complete upgrade of package versions. The kernel is now 4.18.9.

Package versions may be seen here: 1 2

More details, including an overview of the release history of Quirky, is here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7.1/release-beaver64-8.7.1.htm

The primary download site is courtesy of ibiblio.org:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7.1/

As usual, there is a choice of an image file to write to a USB-stick, or an ISO, instructions are here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7.1/howto-install.htm

Feedback is courtesy of the Puppy Forum:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=106460 

EasyOS

I would like to mention also EasyOS, the latest version released yesterday. EasyOS is also built by woofQ, and mostly the same packages as for Quirky, so they are very similar. The difference is that EasyOS is a fundamental rethink of the underlying architecture, so, another experimental distribution. EasyOS is also available as the "Pyro" and "Beaver" series. See announcement of the latest EasyOS, "Easy Beaver", version 0.9.3:

http://bkhome.org/news/201809/easy-beaver-093-released.html

And, for an overview of what EasyOS is all about, see here:

http://bkhome.org/easy/

Note that EasyOS gets most of my attention these days, and perhaps ultimately Quirky will be retired. Though, the future is completely open at this stage.

Have fun!

Note, there was a Quirky Beaver version 8.7, with a brief life of two days. There was a security advisory for the 4.18.8 kernel, requiring an upgrade to 4.18.9, and youtube-dl (Youtube downloader script) did not work, also requiring an upgrade. 

---

Quirky Beaver 8.7.1 Bug reports

20180923
So far, one bug found. 8.7.1 has the Busybox 'fdisk', not the full 'fdisk' from the 'util-linux' package. If running from live-CD, and run the Quirky Installer, the advice for configuring GRUB is wrong, due to the less-functional Busybox applet. The fix is easy, just install 'fdisk' from the Ubuntu repository. The bug and the fix is discussed in the forum: 1   

Tags: quirky

Quirky Beaver x86_64 version 8.7 released

NOTICE: Quirky Beaver 8.7 was only released for two days before being replaced by 8.7.1, with important bug fixes. Please go here:

http://bkhome.org/news/201809/quirky-beaver-x8664-version-871-released.html

---

Quirky Xerus x86_64 version 8.6 was released only a few weeks ago:

http://bkhome.org/news/201808/quirky-xerus-86-released.html

The transition has been made to building with Ubuntu Bionic Beaver 18.04.1 DEBs, and now codenamed "Quirky Beaver", first release is version 8.7, for x86_64 PCs. Some announcement blurb:

Quirky Linux 8.7 is the first in the "Beaver" series, binary-compatible with x86_64 Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, though built with woofQ and architecturally very different from Ubuntu.
Quirky is an experimental distribution, that forked from Puppy Linux a few years ago, and has followed a different path, exploring some new ideas. Continuing the Puppy tradition, Quirky has a "complete" suite of applications, drivers and utilities, in a very small size.
Version 8.7 is very similar to 8.6, but with a complete upgrade of package versions. The kernel is now 4.18.8.

Package versions may be seen here: 1 2

More details, including an overview of the release history of Quirky, is here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7/release-beaver64-8.7.htm

The primary download site is courtesy of ibiblio.org:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7/

As usual, there is a choice of an image file to write to a USB-stick, or an ISO, instructions are here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/beaver-8.7/howto-install.htm

Feedback is courtesy of the Puppy Forum:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=106460 

EasyOS

I would like to mention also EasyOS, the latest version released yesterday. EasyOS is also built by woofQ, and mostly the same packages as for Quirky, so they are very similar. The difference is that EasyOS is a fundamental rethink of the underlying architecture, so, another experimental distribution. EasyOS is also available as the "Pyro" and "Beaver" series. See announcement of the latest EasyOS, "Easy Beaver", version 0.9.3:

http://bkhome.org/news/201809/easy-beaver-093-released.html

And, for an overview of what EasyOS is all about, see here:

http://bkhome.org/easy/

Note that EasyOS gets most of my attention these days, and perhaps ultimately Quirky will be retired. Though, the future is completely open at this stage.

Have fun!

Tags: quirky

Quirky Xerus 8.6 released

Quirky Linux 8.6 is the latest in the "Xerus" series, binary-compatible with x86_64 Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS, though built with woofQ and architecturally very different from Ubuntu.
Quirky is an experimental distribution, that forked from Puppy Linux a few years ago, and has followed a different path, exploring some new ideas. Continuing the Puppy tradition, Quirky has a "complete" suite of applications, drivers and utilities, in a very small size.
Version 8.6 is an incremental upgrade from 8.5, with package upgrades and architectural improvements. The SeaMonkey web browser is now 2.49.4 and the Linux kernel 4.14.63. EasyShare, simple network file and printer sharing, continues to evolve, and now supports connection to an Android phone.

Release notes:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.6/release-xerus64-8.6.htm

There is a choice to download either a ISO file for a CD, or an image for a USB flash drive:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.6/

Instructions to install:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.6/howto-install.htm

There are some alternative install scripts, for those experienced on the Linux commandline:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.6/alternatives/

The latest woofQ, as used to build Quirky 8.6, is here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/project/woof-project/woof-project-20180816.tar.gz

Forum feedback thread, discussion of 8.6 starts on page 53:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=106460

Have fun!

Tags: quirky

Quirky Xerus x86_64 version 8.5 released

Version 8.4 was released February 9, 2018, and the pace of development has continued rapidly, just 18 days later and we have 8.5.

release notes are here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.5/release-xerus64-8.5.htm

Install instructions:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.5/howto-install.htm

Download:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.5/

Forum feedback:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=984243#984243

Have fun!

Tags: quirky

Quirky Xerus x86_64 version 8.4 released

It has been awhile since the last release of Quirky. That was version 8.3, in July 2017:

http://bkhome.org/news/201707/quirky-xerus64-83-final.html

Now, a brand spanking new version. Announcement and release notes here;

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.4/release-xerus64-8.4.htm

A brief announcement:

Quirky Linux 8.4 x86_64 is codenamed "Xerus" and is built using the woofQ Quirky Linux build system, with the help of Ubuntu 16.04.3 binary packages. Thus, Xerus has compatibility with all of the Ubuntu repositories.
Quirky is a fork of Puppy Linux, and is mainly differentiated by being a "full installation" only, with special snapshot and recovery features, and Service Pack upgrades, though recently there is limited support for live-CD session-saving and "frugal" installation.
Version 8.4 has many architectural improvements and package upgrades, including new packages Sakura, Refind, EasyApps, PupControl, VTE and EasyShare. EasyShare is a simple "one top shop" for network file sharing and printing, using Samba and SSHFS. Upgraded applications include Pclock (0.8.2) and seaMonkey (2.49.1). The Linux kernel is now version 4.14.17.

Quirky is shipped as an ISO file or a Flash-drive image file. Instructions to install are here:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.4/howto-install.htm

Primary download site:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.4/

This is a third option, install scripts:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/amd64/releases/xerus-8.4/alternatives/

...for experts only.

To join in with discussion on Xerus 8.4, go to the Puppy Forum:

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=982545#982545

Have fun!

Tags: quirky

Toto Link wifi/ethernet router/repeater

In the Puppy Forum thread where we are testing Quirky Pyro64 0.6, it was reported that Samba is not working. I wasn't much help, as I had to admit that I have never used Samba. A bit embarrassing really, considering what I "do".

Yesterday, decided that the time has finally arrived when I would setup Samba. First though, I need a little local network. I access the Internet via my mobile phone, no land line. So, wifi tethering turned on in my Android phone, no problem connecting to the Internet for any of my PCs.

I did wonder whether the phone itself could be used as a local wifi network. That is, each of the PCs connected to the phone being able to share files between each other. I have read conflicting reports about whether that is possible.

Anyway, I have an old router, have put it back in service. This is a Toto Link N100R+ V2, picture here:

This is old technology, 150mb/s wifi, 100mb/s ethernet, but OK for now. My model is no longer sold, the latest is N100RE:

http://www.totolink.net/sub/product/detail.asp?product_num=100079

On my desk there are two PCs, my midi-tower and Mele mini-PC. The latter dual-boots Linux and Windows 10, so I plugged it into "LAN1" on the N100R and powered up, then went to the "http://192.168.0.1" in my browser. Default login is "admin", "admin".

I clicked "Operation Mode" then the "Wireless ISP" radiobutton. Then clicked "Wireless" from left side, then "Basic Settings" and the "ScanAP" button. It detected my phone SSID and chose "WPA2-PSK" and "CCMP", and entered the password. That's it, had Internet access!

On the Win10 mini-PC, was now connected to the Internet via ethernet. In the "Setup", looked around a bit, but basically just enabled "Turn on network discovery" and "Turn on file and printer sharing".

For the midi-tower, plugged an ethernet cable into "LAN2" on the N100R, and fired up Quirky Xerus64. Fiddled around a bit, but essentially just ran 01micko's Samba Simple Management.

Over on the Win10 machine, in the file manager, there is "Network" on the left side. Clicked that, then right-clicked on the right-side and chose "Refresh". Yay, got "PUPPYPC11067", which is my midi-tower. Clicking on that, it asked for username and password, which is "root" and "woofwoof".

Next step is to get it going on Quirky Pyro64...

Tags: tech, quirky