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Xandros Wiki Resource Page

Page history last edited by Ben 16 years, 7 months ago

Intro/Background

Please add to this page as needed.

 

  • Feel free to create "How to" pages and link them under the How to's section heading.

     

  • Remember to remove the item from the ideas list when you take on that particular project.

     

  • Please note that anyone can edit articles on this wiki.  If you spot any errors or have additional information to make an article more complete please feel free to edit the article. If you have found a solution (or even a work-around) to a Xandros problem and you do not find an existing article on this wiki detailing the fix, click on the New Page button at the top of this page, and create a how-to. Please note:  When composing an article, please avoid using punctuation marks, brackets, quotes, parentheses, or other special characters, in the page name, because the existance of special characters in a link prevents it from being pasted properly in the Xandros Forums.  If every Xandros user contributes their little bit of Xandros wisdom we can collectively create a very large, very useful knowledge base in no time at all.  ~Papabearak

     

    You can edit this, or any other page by clicking on Edit Page button on the top of each page. If you are prompted for a password, use: "xandrosia" (Small caps, without "quotes")

     

 

 

How to's

 

Using the Wiki

 

  

Installing Xandros

 

 

Customizing Xandros

 

 

Tweaking Xandros

 

 

Installing, Uninstalling, and Configuring Software

 

 

Multimedia

 

 

Networking 

 

  • text

  • text

  • text

 

Running Windows Software

 

 

Peripherals and Hardware Solutions

 

 

Backup and Restore

 

 

Miscellaneous

 

  • Add wiki page link here.

     

     

     

     

Ideas for additional pages

 

  • Apt How To's

  • How to configure APT Sources

  • How to Pin Your System

  • Change Mouse Cursor

  • Change Window Styles

  • Change Window Decorations

  • Change Desktop Themes

  •  Change Fonts & Font Settings 

  • Adjust Taskbar Settings (Size/Color/Transparency)

  • Adjust Menu Settings (Size/Color/Transparency)

  • Change The Launch Button

  • Change Shortcut & Menu Icons

  • Install & Enable Kxdocker 

  • Recomended firewall settings 

  • Why defragmenting and disk repair utilities are not needed in Xandros

  • How to create a wiki article, add photos etc. 

  • How to install/use k3b

  • How to change file permissions in XFM

  • Explain groups-Which groups your user account should be a member of, which should be avoided

  • Explain "Mount a Network Share"  What does it do?  Why would I want to.  What is the comparable function on Windows called?

    How to install Wine in Xandros

    How to install Cedega in Xandros

    Windows software known to run under Crossover/Wine (similar to hardware compatibility list.  Users can add software they use to the list)

     

 

Pages that are under construction

 

  • Text
  • Text 

 

Comments (91)

Anonymous said

at 9:37 pm on May 5, 2007

Whomever did it, nice job of organizing the information!

Anonymous said

at 2:14 pm on May 8, 2007

That would be me, and thanks. I figured that if anyone feels we need more sub-headings they can be added later, but this arrangement should cover the basics. Ben

Anonymous said

at 5:12 pm on May 9, 2007

Just playing with the headings, sub-headings, normal text, and bullet indents (Ok, I'm a layout geek, too).
The wysiwyg'ish editor is quirky, and is prone to errors at times (I am finding).

Anonymous said

at 5:21 pm on May 9, 2007

Ok, I'm not certain if this is browser-specific, but bullet manipulation is not always handled consistently. I'll figure it out and document it. justwally@mousemeadows.com

Anonymous said

at 5:37 pm on May 9, 2007

I found myself being somewhat confused by headings that I thought were links due to their underlinings, so I de-underlined them and changed their blueness slightly (keeping Xandros colors in mind). Just a thought made visual, so feel free to ______. :-)

Anonymous said

at 11:00 pm on May 9, 2007

Hi Wally, yes I was having trouble with the editor, too. I fought with those headers for an hour or more and could not get them to indent evenly, and I found the bulleting to be inconsistent too. A week ago, it was working fine, then all of a sudden, "Kerblooooie" The wysywyg editor is a work-in-progress, and I suspect they fixed some existing problem, and created three new ones. Anyway, you managed to improve on my layout a bit, and added some tutorials as well. Good job! Thanks for your contribution. Ben

Anonymous said

at 5:15 pm on May 10, 2007

I added a backup/restore MBR entry at the bottom, and will get it finished and moved into "Miscellaneous" as soon as I am able...right now, statistics class is interfering with everything in my world. ::blech:: Additionally, in an attempt to get people interested in this wiki and get them motivated to contribute, I added a "Xandros User's Systems" page and included my own entry for the guinea pig entry. I didn't know where to link it from, so I added it to the sidebar for now. Take a look and let me know what you think (as in, is this a good idea?). :-)

Anonymous said

at 7:23 pm on May 10, 2007

Hi Wally, interesting profile! Personally, I have no interest in putting up a profile of my own, but I know a lot of Xandros users might. I think I would move it into the main section, above the How-to's, and rename it something like Xandros user's Profiles. When I saw the current name, it made me scratch my head and ask, "What the heck is that,where did it come from", but I wasn't curious enough to open it and see. The title needs to be a bit more self-explanatory. Also, I think your back/up restore MBR should be posted under Installing Xandros. That seems a better fit to me. Of course any article can be linked under two or more categories when appropriate. I'm trying to stir people up, and get 'em interested in the wiki too. If you know someone omn the forums who is especially knowledgable in a particular area, light a fire under them top write a tutorial or two, and post them on the wiki. In the forums, when someone askes a question which has been asked and answered dozens of times, I have begun referring them to the appropriate article on the wiki, rather than type my fingers to the bone one more time. That way, they get a look at the wiki, and start thinking of it as a resource, as will future perusers who happen uppon that post. Again, thanks for your contributions. I was gettin' kinda lonely here. Ben

Anonymous said

at 9:02 pm on May 10, 2007

** I'll re-work both the title and the write-up to reflect something along the lines of "Xandros User Profiles," and then mention that it could be a profile of just your computer/computer usage, or a full-blown profile (whatever each person is comfortable sharing). Since I've been online for such a long time (and a Citadel/Fnordadel BBS operator before that) I tend to keep just certain things public and ubiquitous all the time. ** I was wondering if there should be another heading in the How-to's about something like "Safeguarding/Backing Up Your Data" for things like different backup programs, rsync use, mbr backups, etc. ** I like your idea about directing people to the wiki for answers...especially since the search function in that phpbbs forums software stinks so roundly. ** It ain't easy getting stuff like this started up and going...takes a while for any momentum-like-occurrences to happen. ** Also, I have always been an editor-type, so layout and other things always catch my attention...I'm always tweaking things to refine this-or-that look, and I'm always going back and changing spelling or grammar or some other word-geek kind of thing. Just so you know, I never intend to step on anyone's toes, but it does happen, so feel free to dog me if I get too frisky (which is my nature...in general). :-) ** Oh, and is the "How-to's" section going to be considered the "main" section? Just so I know.

Anonymous said

at 1:54 am on May 11, 2007

Wally, for now, yes, I would consider the How-to's to be the main section. We may have to rethink it if it outgrows the current page. What I am mainly shooting for is a professional, organized, competent looking site, which will inspire confidence that the information offered is good. A shoddy, poorly organized page, with a bunch of misspelled words, and bad grammar, will reflect poorly on the quality of the site, and the quality of the information offered. I'd like to have you and several other Xandros-wise types review all the articles routinely, and edit to correct any spelling and gramatical errors, as well as any factual errors. I want the advice offered to be solid and dependable. If you see any instances where that is not the case, please correct it. This is not about stepping on toes, or personal glory and self-agrandizement. It's about providing a service to the community as a whole, and especially to the new Windows refugees, who come here, lost, bewildered, and afraid to touch anything, lest they break it. As far as adding headings on the How-to section, please do. I created the hedings I did, simply to cover the tutorials we had on hand at the time, as the number of tutorials grows, so will the number of categories. I did not try to anticipate every possible classification. If you see where a heading is lacking, create one. Don't worry about hurting my ego, let's just work together to make this the best site we can concieve. Thanks, Ben

Anonymous said

at 11:33 am on May 12, 2007

** Thanks, Ben. ** I created a new page "Xandros User Profiles" and removed the content from the other page ("Xandros Users' Systems"). For the life of me, I do not know how to delete a page on this wiki. I tagged it with <nowiki>{Delete}</nowiki>, but got no response that the page was marked for deletion upon saving it. Anyhoo, the page that can now be removed is: http://geekconnection.pbwiki.com/Xandros-Users%27-Systems

Anonymous said

at 11:34 am on May 12, 2007

Apparently <nowiki> isn't a tag here. :-)

Anonymous said

at 11:57 am on May 12, 2007

** I made some punctuation/grammar/wording/style edits to the Intro section. ** I propose that whenever we refer to a button on the wiki we bold-and-italicize it, and when we refer to buttons within the operating system or its applications we use [square brackets]. ** I can bang out a preliminary style guidelines sheet for these things and give it its own page on the wiki. Then everyone can discuss it in its comments section and fine-tune it on the fly.

Anonymous said

at 12:03 pm on May 12, 2007

Anonymous said

at 11:23 pm on May 12, 2007

Good job so far...

One thing I'd like to see is for all fonts to go down one size. I always feel like the author of a page is shouting at me. :( Please take a look at Articles I've posted, such as the one for Mplayer and let me know if that size and style works. Most importantly, I want consistency though. ;)

Anonymous said

at 11:47 pm on May 12, 2007

Gene, I have opted for the "small size font, because it is easier for my old eyes to read. I figure I'm not the only half-blind Xandros user out here, and since the space is free, I figured I'd make it big enough to be legible to most everyone. I understand your point, I just don't want to exclude anyone, and it's a lot easier for me to spot my typos and such if I can actually read what I've written. Ben

Anonymous said

at 11:50 pm on May 12, 2007

Wally, I'm not sure how to delete pages here either. I'll poke around and see if I can figure it out, or maybe Gene already knows how. Btw, I am the one experimenting with putting a capsule description in front of the How to links. What do you two think of the idea? Ben

Anonymous said

at 11:40 am on May 13, 2007

** I also had been changing things from x-small to small for the purposes of accessibility. It is a long-standing habit of mine -- sorry. I'll take a look at your articles. ** Ben, I found the page-deletion information at:

http://forums.pbwiki.com/viewtopic.php?t=3305&highlight=delete

** The short descriptions before the links look like a good idea to me...especially since they are infinitely easier to read (higher contrast) than the linked text.

Anonymous said

at 2:52 pm on May 13, 2007

Yep, that's what I thought, in the links, you can kinda look right at them and not see what you are looking for. With the short description as lead-in it seems much easier to spot the one you are looking for.. I was perusing some of my articles, and realized that they are all done in x-small font, and are legible, to me anyway, but I like the Resources page done in all small fonts,because, it makes information easier to find. It doesn't do much good to have the info available if people can't find it. So my vote is for composing the articles in the default(x-small font, but keep the resource page in the larger font. Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:28 pm on May 14, 2007

Sound like a good plan to me...

Thanks for your hard work, everyone!

Anonymous said

at 12:33 pm on May 14, 2007

My personal vote concerning the short descriptions is that they are overkill. If we have stuff in the correct sections, then we shouldn't need the extra leading descriptives. I find them a bit redundant & disorienting, but I like the democratic process for decision making, so I'll abide with the majority on this one. :)

Anonymous said

at 2:59 pm on May 15, 2007

** I'm still thinking about the encapsulated lead-ins. I'm wondering if it is necessary that they be *bold*. ** The MBR backup/restore How-to is ready for public review/revision. I added a backup/restore section to the main page and moved the "Miscellaneous" category down a spot.

Anonymous said

at 4:18 pm on May 15, 2007

Do you know of anyone who would be willing to copy the kwiki's from Arhchlug and add them to ours? I'd love to see another volunteer to help out. :)

Anonymous said

at 4:24 pm on May 15, 2007

If all goes well, I will be bringing an apt repository with the debs from geekconnection.org, plus everything I can get from Archlug & extra dependencies for Deb package building, online very soon! Stay tuned....

Anonymous said

at 12:05 am on May 16, 2007

I'd be willing to copy the kwikis, but Mike from archlug seems kinda sensitive, and seems to view the very existence of this wiki and the Geek Connection, as an afront, as if we are discounting the value of archlug to the community. that was never my intent, and I am sure it was never yours as well, but I sure don't want to ruffle ol' Mikes feathers, or inflict any further injury to his pride.
As to the bold type in the capsule lead-ins, it's probably just my flair for melodrama. They would probably serve the purpose just as well in plain type face, so feel free to change it if you feel it will improve the wiki. I've taken a few days hiatus, but am now ready to type up a few more how to's, so will get them entered over the next few days. Our list is getting pretty impressive. I am hoping that at some point, we will acheive critical mass, meaning we will have enough useful material here, that the wiki will become the natural first-stop when looking for help with a Xandros problem. We are clearly not there yet, but are getting closer I think. Ben
Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:26 pm on May 16, 2007

On thought that just occurred to me is to move the Xandros user websites to the profile page, or to their own separate page. That way, people can add or edit their own information as they see fit. Should we put it on the profile page, or keep it separate?

Anonymous said

at 12:35 pm on May 16, 2007

I know what you mean.. I didn't mean to ruffle his feathers either. Archlug disappeared, and Mike was unreachable. The only solution was to salvage what we could and build another resource. I will try to help Mike feel better about it by including more references to his site and contributions. I still believe that a centralized location for everything our fellow Xandrosians need is a good idea. I just want to incorporate ALL contributions into an easy place to find what one is looking for. Mike has made many valuable contributions, and I don't want to discount that. :)

Anonymous said

at 3:27 pm on May 16, 2007

It seems like a good idea both administratively and in general to allow people to update/change/add their own Xandros sites... And it does make sense to to put the user sites with user-systems/info. I think I'd keep the Xandros sites at the top of the page, though.

Anonymous said

at 3:35 pm on May 16, 2007

I should also say aloud that I tend to ("tend to" is kind of an understatement) speak my mind openly and not to beat around the bush, and that frequently leaves people feeling like I'm leaving a trail of burning bushes in my wake. It isn't my intent for folks to feel that way, but I cannot invalidate their personal feelings simply by saying that my intentions were good. That being said, it really is not my intention to ever hurt anyone (not even their feelings)...I'm simply very literal-minded, and I always speak my mind. Prolly not the best combination, but there it is. :-)

Anonymous said

at 10:31 pm on May 16, 2007

I had previously shared my views on the archlug thing, but on second thought I came back and deleted it...actually, it was on third thought (second thought is my seemingly out-of-the-bleu comments about my manner of saying things). Personally, I'm glad that "delete comment" exists right now. :-) I'll re-word it and say it later.

Anonymous said

at 12:39 pm on May 17, 2007

I believe strongly in the idea of inclusiveness & openness. That's why I've tried my best to keep this project community based and open to all. Even to the point of giving administrative privileges to all wiki posters. I want to remove the fear and intimidation factors that come with new users. Open communication & information, and ease of use are major keys to user adoption of anything (IMHO). :)

Anonymous said

at 4:34 pm on May 17, 2007

This thing with the archlug kwikis...and I'll try to keep it brief...

*** I stopped relying on archlug for _anything_ over 8 months ago (when their outages seemed to always occur whenever I was trying to get to them). *** It seems to me that the "kwikis" are part of Mike's "territory" and that can make the entire subject flammable/political. Mike is rightly proud of his contributions and efforts, BUT when archlug is down there are NO kwikis -- so his efforts to support the Linux/Xandros community simply vanish from the Internet at that point. *** Since I know of no way to "mirror" the kwikis and still have them available to be corrected/updated/amplified (with additional information), the only way to make certain they don't become a non-resource is to get permission to include them. I would say that fair use with credit given would be a good place to start. I guess the bottom line is how much control Mike wants to exert over his territory at the expense of the Linux/Xandros users he claims to support. *** So, that is my 2-cents, and I apologize in advance if giving it voice causes any hard feelings.

Anonymous said

at 5:16 pm on May 17, 2007

I added a scary hardware page and placed a link to it on this page.

Anonymous said

at 1:27 am on May 18, 2007

Wally, the hardware compatibility page was an excellent idea. I added the few pieces of hardware that I have personally tested, and know to work. I hope the list will expand exponentially. The list on Xandros is meager, and far from complete. I'd like to include the Kwikis here, if we can do so without making Mike feel like we are robbing him. They should, of course be properly accreditied. Both of you, please note that I have added a long-overdue article on getting encrypted DVDs to play on Xandros. This is still one of the most frequent questions Newbies ask. Now instead of retyping the answer time after time, we can just refer them to the How to.I think the Wiki is really shaping up nicely, and everyone concerned is doing a great job. I hope we can scare up a few more volunteer contributors, but as it is, we just about have all the most common issues covered. Ben

Anonymous said

at 10:36 am on May 18, 2007

Ben, the hardware page just kind of fell from the tips of my fingers, so some organization is likely necessary. Additionally, I need to find out how pbwiki has implemented the HTML-equivalent of anchors...that way I can make a simple list from which people can make their choices and go right to the spot without having to read through the entire page. *** Great job on the DVD playing instructions. I wish I had more time to devote, but my stats class is enough to choke a horse. *** Oh, and I envisioned that there would be Xandros wiki links in the hardware section for anything dealing with material covered in a How-to...which is one of the great strengths of wikis, in general.

Anonymous said

at 11:38 am on May 18, 2007

Sounds good Wally. I am a complete noob where wikis are concerned, and have no idea how to implement "power features", so I'll leave that to you. It would be great to implement a search feature on the hardware list, as you suggested, so they could just enter the name of their hardware item, and go straight to the listing, if it exists. On the DVD playing instructions, I'd appreciate it if you and geeky would both review it, and make sure it is all accurate, and I have not left anything out. It has been months since I set it up on my own machines, and my memory is not as good as it could be. Thanks, Ben

Anonymous said

at 4:38 pm on May 20, 2007

I've been very busy this weekend. I've downloaded and combined all of t he Xandros 4 repositories listed on Archlug, including what I have, and some additional stuff I've fount this week plus the 139 dependency files uploaded by BoyLinux. The repository should be ready for use in a couple of hours. I also plan on doing the same thing with a Xandros 3 repository. I've changed the addresses to make it easier to have two repositories and know which is which. Stay tuned!

Anonymous said

at 4:52 pm on May 20, 2007

You're a crezzy, crezzy dude! :-)

Anonymous said

at 8:29 pm on May 21, 2007

I added a "pages under construction" section at the bottom of the page. It's going to take me more than a few sittings to finish some of these.

Anonymous said

at 10:04 pm on May 21, 2007

Good idea. I've added a number of additional pages. I'd appreciate it if you guys good look a few of them over and tell me what you think. Are they good, over-simplified, something I could do better. Do the illustrations really make them better. If there is something I should be doing that I'm not, or vice-versa, I'd like to know. Thanks. Ben

Anonymous said

at 4:34 pm on May 22, 2007

Howdy Ben -- I'll get there (looking at some of your pages). I'm in the final few weeks of my stats class, so right now, time is something only other people have. Oh, by the way, when you installed VirtualBox, did you install the three, listed dependencies first, or did you just install the software and the dependencies got resolved by XN?

Anonymous said

at 7:34 pm on May 22, 2007

Hi Wally, I did not install the listed dependencies. I installed the kernel headers, and gcc only. As i recall , at least one of the list dependencies was java related and was already installed, or maybe the virtual box package called them at the time of installation. I'm not sure. Anyway, the kernel headers and gcc were the only things I deliberately installed, based on a couple threads I had read in th forums. VBox installed and compiled without a hitch. I have now installed it on 3 different machines, and it went the same on all three. Btw, I looked over your article on installing Win 98 in VBox, and the procedure you were outlining sounds really complicated. I have only installed win 2000 in VBox, but I figured installing 98 would be similar. Anyway, I think I may try installing 98 myself to see if it goes on as easily as 2000 did. Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:58 am on May 23, 2007

How was the Win2k install? I always copy the cab files over and install from the HDD. That way you never have to reinsert the CD-ROM when you make some system change...it's nice on a laptop. Either way, having a bootfloppy image and a utilities floppy image for VirtualBox seems like a good idea to me, but I am a geek, so...

Anonymous said

at 7:58 am on May 23, 2007

Hi Wally, ok, I see where you are coming from. Back when I was running win98 I used to copy over the win98 folder after installing, for that purpose. I never seemed to have much problem with Win2000 asking for the systems disk, when changing system settings, so did not bother with it on win2000 installs. Installing Win2000 on VBox was very straight-forward. The only problem I had is that Xandros seems to disable the eject button on my DVD-ROM when a process is running from there, so the eject button would not work when I tried to eject the Win2k install disk in order to insert the win98 disk in order to prove to MS that I was qualified to use the upgrade version of win2k. I had to open XFM and right click on the DVD drive to eject the disk. Otherwise the install was a piece of cake. You may be right about the need for the floppy images for 98, but it does seem to "geek up" the process more than a little. Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:00 pm on May 23, 2007

Ben, I should prolly break the How to into two parts, then... The "normal, Win98 full-product disk boots just fine" version, and the "geeky Win98 Upgrade disk copy to HDD Install so you can have your Win95 CD-ROM in the CD version." What do you think? I did forget to mention that my version of Win98 is the upgrade version, so I had to put in a Win95 CD to prove I was being a good boy.

Anonymous said

at 1:45 pm on May 23, 2007

Yeah Wally that sounds good or you could put a separate section at the end of the "normal install" tutorial, explaining the additional steps need to install from a Win98 Upgrade disk. As I mentioned earlier, I was able to install Win2000 from an upgrade disk, but I had to force Xandros to open the DVD drive so I could swap in the win98 disk. You may want to mention that as an option too. I plan to do a how-to on installing Win2000 in VBox, but need a break, as I'm getting kinda burned out, and have already promised to do one on installing the latest version of Open Office, so I may not get to the Win install for a week or two. Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:55 pm on May 24, 2007

I just want to reiterate you guys are doing a fantastic job!

Anonymous said

at 1:20 pm on May 24, 2007

Thanks Gene. It's really taking shape. Now if we can just get people to use it. I'm hoping we can get a sticky posted in each forum, containing links to all the articles that are relevant to that particular forum, (i.e. Installing software list posted in Other Software forum, etc.)

Anonymous said

at 3:57 pm on May 25, 2007

Hey Gene, do you know if it is possible to convert all the RPMs in the OpenOffice package to DEBs using Alien, then tar them, and add the converted package to Geek Connection? It would certainly speed up and simplify the install.I could leave the current tutorial intact, as it could be used to install future updated packages, but put a note at the top advising of the pre-converted DEB package on Geek Connection, with a download link. What do you think?

Anonymous said

at 12:05 pm on May 26, 2007

Ben, if you have "pdbv" installed, you can run it after you install all the OpenOffice RPMs to see their exact names. Then install "dpkg-repack" (if you don't already have it instaled) and you can simply repackage what you've installed into DEB files. I also recommend having "installwatch" installed (just for GP).

Anonymous said

at 3:15 pm on May 26, 2007

Wally, I installed pdbv and ran it from the console, but I don't know where the output went. I cannot find the output file. Any ideas? I also tried converting the RPM files directly, using sudo alien in the console. It failed. I got a bunch of error messages about "can't change ownership", and directory does not exist" even though the directory had been created in the same folder with the original RMPs. I am not a command line kind of guy. Once in a blue moon, I try something in the console, and it actually works, but most of the time, I get less than sterling results. Maybe one of you guys who know your way around the console could do the conversion.

Anonymous said

at 6:29 pm on May 26, 2007

Ben, create a folder in your home folder called something like "installed_sw" Then run "pdbv "--dir=/home/yourusername/installed_sw" and you can click on the index.html file from within the installed_sw folder. Personally, I don't care for converting RPM's directly with alien (I like to see if they work, first, then I repackage them). Say one of the package names is foobar, the command line (after you su) is "dpkg-repack foobar" The DEB will be placed in the cwd

Anonymous said

at 6:31 pm on May 26, 2007

If you already have all the OpenOffice RPM's installed, it will be a simple matter to dpkg-repack them. You'll gain new Spidey powers, trust me. :-)

Anonymous said

at 6:33 pm on May 26, 2007

Also, if you need some prompting or have some questions, feel free to call me (206) 850-1596

Anonymous said

at 11:20 pm on May 26, 2007

The only problem is that there are about 40 RPM files in the OpenOffice package, and they all have longish arcane names. The opportunities for me to make a serious typographical or syntax error are endless. I guess it's too much to hope for that there is a gui front-end for dpkg-repack or alien ? I figured these files would be good candidates for conversion, since they were already successfully converted by Xandros Networks, using alien, so I know they work after conversion. I Have added a couple of new categories to the How tos section. I thought it might be a good isea to set up a page similar to your hardware compatibility page, for users to list unsupported software which they have installed and run under Crossover. In time it could become a comprehensive, searchable list, which would be a very good reference. Efforts have been made several times to create such a list, but they always get bogged down in conversation and you wind up having to read dozens of unorganized pages trying to find out if a particular program will work. The wiki is a better platform for organizing and presenting that kind of data.

Anonymous said

at 1:35 pm on May 27, 2007

That is why pdbv is such a great tool, you can copy the longish OpenOffice names from their pdbv listing as viewed in a Web browser. Then you can type "dpkg-repack" and a space, and then press [Shift]+[Ins] to paste the longish name in your terminal window. Using alien _after_ they have already been converted to DEBs _and_ installed is a bunch of extra steps (_and_ you can convert _any_ RPM with alien, but that doesn't guarantee that the resulting DEB is even installable), and with dpkg-repack you at least know if the thing you are repackaging actually was working on your system "as installed." (where are the OO RPMs?) *** The CrossOver list sounds great. Should organizing it be left as simple as is possible (alphabetical by software title)?

Anonymous said

at 2:25 pm on May 27, 2007

As to the Crossover list, I was thinking of maybe a half-dozen categories, such as games. graphics, multi-media, productivity, utilities, and misc., with titles arranged alphabetically under the appropriate sub-heading. I may try dpkg-repack again, if I can figure out where the output fom pdbv is going. When I invoke it, it appears to run, but the output just vanishes into the ether. As for using alien on the installed files, that was not my intention. I still have the original RPMs saved to disk, I was trying to convert those. I figure if XN can convert them and they work fine, I should be able to convert them myself, using alien, and the resulting DEBs should work fine.

Anonymous said

at 5:50 pm on May 27, 2007

just use the --dir=/home/myusername/somefolder command to tell pdbv _where_ to put its stuff. Like: "pdbv --dir=/home/wallyw/installed_sw" Then there is no question.

Anonymous said

at 5:55 pm on May 27, 2007

There is never a guarantee that _any_ RPM file conversion with alien will work...even when it spits out a DEB file. That is why the full testing regime for installing an RPM file is to run it after the install. If it runs then alien worked and you can successfully repackage a usable DEB file. If it doesn't run (which happens all the time) then there is no sense is doing anything except removing the offending package.

Anonymous said

at 5:58 pm on May 27, 2007

To find your pdbv output search for "list_bydate.html" and open that folder...then open the index.html file that is in the same folder as list_bydate.html. It is likely somewhere in /var

Anonymous said

at 11:16 pm on May 27, 2007

No luck, I searched every file on this blessed machine, with nary a sign of it. Trying to think about doing anything from the command line makes my head hurt. I'll reconsider that option next time I am in a manic phase. I once actually got pretty good on the command line, on my old Amiga 1000, circa 1985, but that was a looooong time ago.

Anonymous said

at 12:38 am on May 28, 2007

Sorry it took so long to get back to you on this, as I've been very busy building rpositories, and have neglected the wiki for a while. The problem with using converted RPM's is: 1. Ofter stuff installs into different directory paths, therefore making some or all of whatever is installed non-functional ( not always, but certainly much of the time). 2. dependencies are not resolved, so it's very important to use an RPM that is LSB compliant. Mandrake packages are usually LSB compliant, for example.

I for one am not skilled enough to recover packaging problems if they fail after alien conversions.:(

Anonymous said

at 12:41 am on May 28, 2007

Good news! I now have Xandros 3 & Xandros 4 repositories up and running with way more in them than is available by download link, including updated multimedia stuff like codecs & 139 specially built dependency packages contributed by BoyLinux!
For reading ease, I will post the new repository addresses in another post below...

Anonymous said

at 12:43 am on May 28, 2007

Xandros 3 repository:
deb http://www.geekconnection.org xandros3 main

Anonymous said

at 12:43 am on May 28, 2007

Xandros 4 repository:
deb http://www.geekconnection.org xandros4 main

Anonymous said

at 12:48 am on May 28, 2007

Once again, you guys have been doing a fantastic job!
I'm currently in the process of attempting to recruit lpbear to help build a gaming section for the wiki...I'll let you know how that goes when he responds... it would be kewl, if he helped us out! :)

Anonymous said

at 12:50 am on May 28, 2007

Ben, open a terminal window and type "mkdir installed_sw" then type "pdbv --dir=./installed_sw" That will put it in the new directory. It is that easy. Then you can open the ./installed_sw/index.html file

Anonymous said

at 12:51 am on May 28, 2007

That repository stuff sounds great.

Anonymous said

at 10:42 am on May 28, 2007

Ok Wally, that worked great! I now have a list of all the packages in OpenOffice which were converted by XN, so now I should be able to use the dpkg-repack command on each of them one at a time, to generate a DEB file, correct? If I succeed, I will test install the new OO package on a VM, and if it works, I'll tar it and upload it to Geek Connection. Ben

Anonymous said

at 12:01 pm on May 28, 2007

I look forward to your upload! :)

Anonymous said

at 1:28 pm on May 28, 2007

I just couldn't let it go...sorry Ben. :-) *** You can select each package (on the left) and then in the right panel you can highlight-and-copy the name at the top. Then, in a terminal window you can type "dpkg-repack" and press [Shift]+[Ins] to paste the package name, then press [Enter] to make it do your bidding. *** I should make a pdbv How to, eh? ;-)

Anonymous said

at 1:30 pm on May 28, 2007

Ben, I forgot to tell you that the DEB packages you create with dpkg-repack will be in the same directory as your terminal window's pwd (just type "pwd" to see the working directory if you aren't certain).

Anonymous said

at 2:42 pm on May 28, 2007

Wally, I'd love to see a nice step-by-step how-to of your instructions. :)

Anonymous said

at 2:45 pm on May 28, 2007

I've just added a couple of useful wiki pages on how to add repository sources, and a page of Xandros 3 & 4 repositories with a link to the previous page on how to add them. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Anonymous said

at 8:52 pm on May 28, 2007

LOL! I don't even remember what the heck I'm typing in my terminal window...I'd have to stop and think about it, and that would ruin everything. :-)

Anonymous said

at 10:18 pm on May 28, 2007

The repositorey stuff looks great Gene, but I think the links should be at the top of the software category, before the articles on installing DEBs and RPMs. That is a kind of "Read Me First" information.

Anonymous said

at 4:19 pm on May 29, 2007

Yeah... I was putting them together in a big hurry, and pondered the same question. I thought about under Misc., but changed my mind...I've been busy building a Launch button changer/installer that will work from a right-click on the Launch menu or can possibly be changed from a control center applet (Not sure about that one yet, but BoyLinux is getting some config and linking info for me). You're w3elcome to move them if you like. :)

Anonymous said

at 7:01 pm on May 29, 2007

Gene, I'm going to wipe my VirtualBox How to for now (it's saved on my own system though)...I need to better define it before I continue. *** I'll put together a "Command Line Utilities that Every Desktop Linux User Should Have," and include pdbv and others that I think could make other folks' lives a bit easier. *** Of course, I'm in the final weeks of my statistics class nightmare, so I'm slow.

Anonymous said

at 7:04 pm on May 29, 2007

Ben, I'll go over your installing Windows in VirtualBox How to whenever you give the word.

Anonymous said

at 10:19 pm on May 29, 2007

The article is finished Wally, take a look at it any time you want. I did not mention in the article that it was based on installing Win2000, and the procedure for other versions may vary a bit. If you find any confusing or unclear points, or factual errors let me know. I probably should put a disclaimer at the top, stating that the steps shown were for installing Win2k, and that other versions may vary, although it really doesn't delve into the process of installing Windows, since I figure that most windows refugees already know how to do that. I concentrated on getting the VM set up, and ready for the installation of the OS. What do you think?

Anonymous said

at 10:58 pm on May 29, 2007

Wally, after reviewing my article on installing Windows, I'm thinking I should rename it "How to Create a New Virtual Machine In VBox", since it really does not delve into the actual Windows install, but only the virtual machine creation and preliminary setup, prior to installing the OS. Once your article on installing Win98 is complete, I can link to it from mine, as I expect you will be covering the actual install of Windows, as you discussed earlier. What do you think? Also, I completed the dpkg--repack procedure as you instructed, and I now have a folder full of DEB files for OpenOffice. I installed it once in X4 OCE running in VBox, but it was not a pristine install, since the current version of OO was already installed from the RPMs and apparently I did not get it all removed before trying to install, so I am not sure if the problems I experienced with some of the apps in OO were due to a faulty install, or faulty DEBs. Anyway I am going to do a clean install of X$ in VBox, and try the OO install again. If it all checks out, I'll upload the package to Geek Connection. It's likely to take 2 or 3 days though.

Anonymous said

at 3:49 pm on May 31, 2007

I just made an important observation...Links to wiki pages with parentheses () do not work correctly in the forums. I think it's a good idea to discontinue use of parentheses or any "special characters" in wiki page names. What do you think?

Anonymous said

at 11:12 pm on May 31, 2007

Is that the problem? I thought it was due to their length. If it's as simple as leaving out the special characters then Halleluja, I'm all for it!. It is a truly annoying problem.

Anonymous said

at 4:52 pm on Jun 4, 2007

Due to Kevin MacPherson's condescending hypocrisy and closing my Xandros Support account I see little reason to spend any more time trying to support something only to have my emotional state publicly questioned and my account closed. I am sorry, but the plans I had for participating in the Xandros world have been supplanted by the abuse of one of its employees.

Anonymous said

at 6:10 pm on Jun 4, 2007

Gene and Ben, if you want any of the files from my xandros.savagehamsters.com site, get them before the 15th, or let me know and I'll make arrangements to get them to you. If I find anything cool to compile, I'll send you a copy. Meanwhile, I'm going fishing...

Anonymous said

at 1:09 am on Jun 5, 2007

Wally, I understand how you feel. I thought Kevin over-reacted grotesquely, especially when all you did was to disagree with him, calmly, and rationally without hurling any expletives or slander. He was extremely unfair, and unreasonable, and he owes you an apology. I do hope you will reconsider leaving, though. If the community falls apart, it won't hurt Xandros Corporate. If anything, it'll save them a few bucks worth of bandwidth, thereby warming the cockles of the bean-counters. Unfortunately, it will crush and demolish all the little people who need help getting their Xandros machines working, who do not know Linux, and have nowhere to go, but back to M$. I can't do that to the community which has been so good to me. Not if I want to sleep at night. Ben

Anonymous said

at 11:00 am on Jun 5, 2007

Ben, truth-be-told, I'm still counting to 100. The thing with Kevin wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't doubly-compounded it with more nonsense via Email. Earlier in the thread I referred to the mooing naysayers as "drama queens," and that _really_ bothered Kevin, but he never let me know via Email...it would have been _so_ easy to fix. Still, I _am_ going to go fishing. :-) Xandros is a good distro, and PCLinuxOS is really quite rough (and Mandriva-based). I'm not a Mandrake fan by any stretch. So, Xandros has always done right by me (both support and in being able to constantly be productive), is Debian-based, and I _really_ like it (and I've tried every distro out there). So, like I said, I'm still counting to 100, _and_ I'm going fishing. :)

Anonymous said

at 1:34 pm on Jun 8, 2007

I'm quite torn right now...
I still plan on keeping the Geek Connection & Wiki up, but I'm likely going to find another distro.

Anonymous said

at 4:54 pm on Jun 11, 2007

SimplyMepis is very much like Xandros, but without the "management" issues...plus, it is Debian-based (always a plus). I switched my two home computers over to it last night. The BS from Kevin was entirely too much for me to stomach and I'm not inclined to continue helping out his paycheck in the face of that. I won't, however, drop this wiki from my list of places to help with.

Anonymous said

at 3:06 pm on Jun 13, 2007

Ben, I've done what I can, and Macpherson simply will not reactivate my forum account. Worse, he's just a tad two-faced. Not much I can do, so I'm washing my hands of it. Clearly, Kevin Macpherson has some _issues_

Anonymous said

at 12:30 pm on Jun 18, 2007

Wally, geekydude and I, along with a lot of Xandrosians have switched to PCLinux 2007. It is a very nice distro, runs noticably faster than Xandros, and has tons more up-to-date apps in the repository, including virtually all the packages that we had to beg the packaging gurus on Xandros to build for us. The file manager is not as intuitive and easy to use, and the System Configuration and Network setup panels are nightmarishly complex, fragmented and user-hostile, compared to Xandros, but in all other areas pclos seems to be equal to or better than Xandros. Installing pclos hosed my Xandros boot screen, so I am not able to boot into Xandros, and am using pclos exclusively. pclos is RPM based, and uses Sybaptic as its package manager. You may want to check it out, or at least come visit us on the pclos forums.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=58

Hope to see you there. Ben

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