Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

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gapan
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Joined: 6. Jun 2009, 17:40

Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by gapan »

Hi all!

Even closer now! There have been some minor fixes to RC1, so here is RC2. List of changes include:
* updated translations for the installer and several tools
* added pulseaudio plugin to default configuration
* updates to the default icon theme
* minor fixes to the xfce panel configuration
* geany-themes is now installed by default
* fixes for default configuration of the root user

There's a really good chance this will become the final release in a couple of days.

Salix64 Xfce 15.0RC2 (64-bit, x86_64)
(md5: 71abd2dfdcfd76a90fc63a2d8fc3b7f6, size: 1.4GB)
https://downloads.sourceforge.net/proje ... 5.0RC2.iso

Salix Xfce 15.0RC2 (32-bit, i586/i686)
(md5: 16d87151cdf521d69ebddf6c9e5bad3f, size: 1.4GB)
https://downloads.sourceforge.net/proje ... 5.0RC2.iso

Thanks for testing!
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babam
Posts: 50
Joined: 28. Oct 2015, 14:11

Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by babam »

Can you please update the intel-media-driver to a newer version, 21.3.5 is a bit out of date.

Thanks.
Sorry, my English is bad.
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gaucho
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by gaucho »

I am testing this RC2 on some "improved" hardware: Dell Latitude E4300 laptop, Intel Core2 Duo P9400 CPU, 8 GB RAM, Samsung 250 GB SSD.

I did a fresh installation of the 15.0 RC2 .iso [64-bit, BIOS, US English] this evening. I've been using it most of tonight and can report my first
impressions. (They are almost identical to my report on the RC1).
  • The installation was straightforward, with no surprises.
  • This laptop has the somewhat problematic Broadcom BCM4322 Wi-Fi card -- chip ID [14e4:432b] -- so it required extra tweaking to get the Wi-Fi to work. (This is not Salix's fault). I was able to use the broadcom-sta SlackBuild from the 14.2 repo and successfully compile the driver. I will try to document that procedure in another post, in case it would be helpful to someone else.
  • The multimedia codecs installer worked perfectly. I have been listening to several FM radio streams (.mp3, .aac) with no problem.
  • I did the initial update of the system via Gslapt with no issues.
  • I enabled the root user account as per instructions on the Salix Wiki.
  • I used Gslapt to install several other packages (e.g., AbiWord, gFTP, HexChat, Audacious). They are working OK, based on my limited use of them.
  • I installed two Flatpaks via the System > Flathub tool: HomeBank (ver. 5.5.5) and GnuCash (ver. 4.11). Both are working fine thus far.
  • I installed sbopkg (as per instructions in the Salix Wiki) and experimented with it for the first time. I was able to successfully install Ted [the old .rtf text processor].
  • The Exaile problem I encountered in the beta1 release (bugginess when opening / adding URLs of radio stations) has been fixed. Exaile worked smoothly.
  • The previous fix you made to the rootuser-settings package has eliminated the problem with using nano as root.
gapan,
Thanks again for sweating over this release! :) It is polished, smooth and fast. :geek: It's nice to have this running on our trusty Dell laptop; it feels like hanging out with an old friend ...

I will continue testing and report any other issues I encounter.
Registered Linux User # 442201

Dell Latitude E4300 laptop: Intel Core2 Duo P9400 CPU, 8 GB RAM, Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD, Intel Wireless 7260
hugok
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by hugok »

gaucho wrote: 11. Aug 2022, 07:46
  • This laptop has the somewhat problematic Broadcom BCM4322 Wi-Fi card -- chip ID [14e4:432b] -- so it required extra tweaking to get the Wi-Fi to work. (This is not Salix's fault). I was able to use the broadcom-sta SlackBuild from the 14.2 repo and successfully compile the driver. I will try to document that procedure in another post, in case it would be helpful to someone else.
On the computer I am using/testing Salix 15.0 RC on I also have a wireless network card (Broadcom 4312) and what I do is install the b43-firmware package and its dependency b43-fwcutter and the problem is solved. The broadcom-sta package is currently in
a onphaned - no maintainer state, and is not even in slackbuilds 15.0 repository anymore.[/i]


Check this: https://slackalaxy.com/2020/01/26/broad ... 22-driver/
gaucho wrote: 11. Aug 2022, 07:46
  • I installed sbopkg (as per instructions in the Salix Wiki) and experimented with it for the first time. I was able to successfully install Ted [the old .rtf text processor.
sbopkg is an excellent tool for Slackware, a true Swiss army knife, but my question here is, slapt-src is installed on Salix and can also be used to install software from slackbuilds, right @gapan?
Hugo Carvalho
Portuguese translator

https://github.com/hugok79
hugok
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by hugok »

I will test it and give you the feedback

I've been making more corrections to the Portuguese(pt, pt_PT) translation in the salix-installer among others as I test other options during the instalattion... hope they will be included.(these are just improvements to make the translation more noticeable and sound better to the regular user)
There will be a RC3 release?
Hugo Carvalho
Portuguese translator

https://github.com/hugok79
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Papasot
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by Papasot »

Downloaded and testing. Everything seems fine, easy and fast installation, all my libraries work as expected. Still testing other things. I noticed the little tool slkbuild-postgen is missing (useful for packagers). I am not sure if that's intentional, and it's not a big deal anyway, but I see no reason why it's not in the repos.

Also, I have built another package which I consider worth including in the repos, namely the MGRX graphics and GUI library, which I find very easy to use. Salix 15.0 packages were sent for submission. Please include if it's not too late.
A pleasant detail in this forum: several people pick a picture of their pet as their avatar. Who am I to do otherwise? ;-)
hugok
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by hugok »

Just a quick review of Salix 15.0 RC2....

First of all thank you @gapan for:

Adding PulseAudio plugin sound/volume icon to the panel.
Fixing minor configurations in the panel.
Fixing the hostname name location(on the left now) :D in the login/display manager.
Updating the Portuguese translation in gtkkeyboardsetup, gtkclocksetup and salix-installer.
Adding VLC to the repo.

Now just a few observations to the RC2 release:

Thunar file manager having different "colors" icons:

https://ibb.co/WGcPGHz

If I install Vlsub extension(VLC), we get a duplicate entry in VLC:

https://ibb.co/3hr7nQz

Adding a new Launcher in the panel and then adding a new item to that launcher we get a duplicate e.g: gtksalixtools (e.g: Dotnew "/usr/share/applications/dotnew.desktop" and "/usr/share/applications/dotnew-kde.desktop":

https://ibb.co/hXc3BKD
https://ibb.co/qdwQtPP
https://ibb.co/Rct94vv

Development tools like GTK Demo, Icon Browser and Widget Factory don't have Window controls(Minimixze,Maximaze,Close buttons), is this normal ?:

https://ibb.co/BN5yLnK

Since Libreoffice is installed by default could locales manage to install libreoffice-l10n localization by default such as e.g: Firefox. ?

In conclusion, Salix 15.0 RC2 is extremely fast when booting up and performing all operations/tasks on the desktop! It is very nice and has a more modern look. Everything is responsive and all the software/applications opens quickly :D

I look forward to its release :D

Thanks @gapan and all contributors.

Cheers!
Hugo Carvalho
Portuguese translator

https://github.com/hugok79
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missTell
Posts: 131
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Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by missTell »

There are still a couple of issues which negatively affect appearance.


1. Pop-up information panels on the desktop:

https://ibb.co/Ny9WJcV

128-Pixel size is huge, but it doesn't give more or better information.
Only the icon is bigger, and it looks much worse. 48 / 64 is better.

https://ibb.co/hdDX4pH


2. Hostname icon:

Apart from suggesting the e-mail configuration, the proportions of @-symbol are wrong.
That's easily visible inside Whisker, but even more so when beside each other.

https://ibb.co/414Qf5D

Enlarged and side by side, one can can easily see that there are some 6-Px difference!

https://ibb.co/tbhWMTF
https://ibb.co/R2ZrCQt

That does not look good.


3. Taskbar / panel ...

https://ibb.co/CWqjgVd

There are a few separators too much or wrongly positioned.

However, there is also the issue that if you remove them, the icons will be to close, but if you leave them, you'll get (very) uneven spacing.

Fortunately, there is one small workaround.

3.1 Remove the spacer between the Salix Start Menu and the first application icon, and write the Salix with one empty space at the end.

Salix_ (where underline is empty space)

You'll get the proper / better spacing.

3.2 Remove the spacer between the clock and log-out button and do the same thing with the clock.

_%a ... whatever_ (where underline is empty space)

Again you get better spacing and better mouse-over effect.

3.3 Add one transparent spacer between the pager and the Show Desktop icon.


4. Finish beautifying with putting the right thing on the right place:

Before: https://ibb.co/3rH8Yz3

After: https://ibb.co/ckfsWR4

Best viewed in an image viewer, image forth and back, but tho open tabs in a browser will also do the job.

* I also reduced the number of pager pages to 2, as that's enough for the vast majority of people, gives more space for starters and / or open windows, and it also looks much better.


5. Xfce has a problem with handling open windows on the panel.

Maybe one should consider adding one more extension, for those who might need it.

If someone has many open windows, they won't fit on the taskbar.

If one groups them, it's hard to say what's what, as there is no window preview, like in all modern OS.

Gnome extension (copycat of Windows, of course, however, not as good though) as example:

https://ibb.co/M1bkKcd
https://ibb.co/Y45bwBP

It's pretty easy to find what one needs.

Now compare it to that Xfce mess.

https://ibb.co/tbhWMTF

Note that the number of opened windows is the same.

There is one extension, "Docklike Taskbar", which tries to overcome that productivity issue of Xfce.

https://ibb.co/VpyBm7J
https://ibb.co/k6HHLPT

https://github.com/hugok79/xfce4-docklike-plugin

It isn't really on-pair with Gnome / Windows, but also much better than nothing.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” (Mark Twain)
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SalixManiac
Posts: 113
Joined: 15. Apr 2022, 02:26

Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by SalixManiac »

by babam » 11. Aug 2022, 09:00
Can you please update the intel-media-driver to a newer version, 21.3.5 is a bit out of date.
babam are you really sure you want to switch from VAAPI to libmfx without waiting a little longer?
Personally I wasted a lot of time encoding for nothing before the VAAPI vbr was stable.

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Hardware/QuickSync
libmfx
The library has a large number of options to set, the possible valid values of are dependent on the version and hardware. libavcodec attempts to map common options sensibly to the libmfx options, but the mapping is crude and has holes, especially around rate control.
Colin Chapman “light is right” those last words "the middle pedal is for cowards"
babam
Posts: 50
Joined: 28. Oct 2015, 14:11

Re: Salix Xfce 15.0RC2

Post by babam »

SalixManiac wrote: 11. Aug 2022, 15:37
babam are you really sure you want to switch from VAAPI to libmfx without waiting a little longer?
Personally I wasted a lot of time encoding for nothing before the VAAPI vbr was stable.

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Hardware/QuickSync
libmfx
The library has a large number of options to set, the possible valid values of are dependent on the version and hardware. libavcodec attempts to map common options sensibly to the libmfx options, but the mapping is crude and has holes, especially around rate control.
I want my laptop with Iris Xe graphics (i5-1135G7) to be able to use hardware acceleration for video encoding/decoding.
Sorry, my English is bad.
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