the crunchbang philosophy (Page 1 of 2)

As an answer, simple try to install ubuntu-minimal and add openbox etc from ubuntu repo ... if you'll end up with something like #! you should call your self lucky

Thanks to developers like Philip (#!), you don't need to spend a half of year in net to find out that there is an app which is called (eg.) pcmanfm or terminator & you can have a running OS in about 20 minutes time on your HDD or SD-card (or in live session) which is better in your case, since your are not using a private computer (netbook).

Last edited by klanger (2010-02-07 13:43:48)

@klanger and snowpine: Thanks, I see your points...
But still: wouldn't it be easier to write a tutorial of how to get something like #! out from ubuntu in 10 minutes? This would be more attractive for many people already running ubuntu or Mint - they wouldn't have to install a new OS from scratch.
Or: just add somthing like crunchbang-desktop into the ubuntu repos (like e.g. lubuntu-desktop).
I guess I'm still missing a point somewhere...

Centaclaus, why do you think ubuntu and mint deserve iso files, as full distros, but not crunchbang?

Downloading and installing from the CrunchBang Live CD is always the recommended method. If for some reason that is unacceptable to you, it's nice to know there is an alternative method, isn't it? Or as you yourself mention, you could simply install Openbox in your existing Ubuntu install and customize it to your liking. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, apparently.

No worries, just hazing the new guy a little bit.

Openbox is not a desktop environment (like Gnome or LXDE) but rather a windows manager (like Fluxbox). That is one reason why it is so lightweight and easy to customize.

Personally I chose CrunchBang over Lubuntu because CrunchBang has a 2-year track record of excellent releases, while Lubuntu is a brand new project that is still alpha. I also agree that it is a great netbook distro!

ps there is a crunchbang-desktop package; the alternate script I linked to above installs it.

Last edited by snowpine (2010-02-07 14:56:31)

I think one thing most of us are thinking, is that we'd like to see you create crunchbang from ubuntu in 10minutes. The package downloads alone, would be over that.
Think of it this way.
If you want your linux distribution to use gnome, have some flashy effects, and you like the applications bundled with it, that is why you go with Ubuntu.
On the similar note, if you want the distribution to have more user-friendly touches, perhaps look more appealing, and want flash etc. automatically installed, you'd go for Linux Mint.
And, to get to the point, if you want a light-weight linux distribution that uses openbox and is heavily customizable, with a tight selection of applications, you go with #!.

It doesn't matter if its possible to create one distro from another. You could create a close replica of ubuntu if you liked, starting with debian.
Heres a good example, you've just bought a new netbook. You want something light, and fast for it. Possibly something you can customize and doesnt take up a lot of screen real estate.
Would you really want to spend the time installing a heavy ubuntu install (which also has a memory minimum to install, and takes up more hard drive space IIRC), and then have to take the time to install #! over top? No, no one would want that, it's much more convenient to have a single install cd like ubuntu.
Same thing goes for people using virtual machines.

I'm sure you can now think of more reasons on your own.

@centaclaus, I think you raise some valid questions, questions which I often ponder over. For what it is worth, CrunchBang started as a pet project and it was never really intended to turn into what it has become. It still amazes me to think that people actually download it, let alone use it. I guess it found a niche?

Anyhow, with regards as to why some people prefer to use it over Ubuntu, I guess it is mainly an exercise in saving time. As you pointed out, it could be possible to reproduce the CrunchBang experience yourself in a short while, but if you then had to reproduce the steps taken to do this on a thousand other machines, would you not then consider creating a custom install disk?

Also, please do not misunderstand what CrunchBang is about. It is not about taking Ubuntu and trying to re-brand it into something else and pretend it is not Ubuntu. I have always stated that CrunchBang is effectively Ubuntu, but with added customisations.

Anyhow, good luck if you decide to give it a go. I would love to get some feedback postinstall!

A faster way than using the installer script is to just add the CrunchBang repo to Ubuntu (jaunty):

http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/post/36337/#p36337

Then refresh your sources and install either "crunchbang-desktop" or "crunchbang-desktop-lite".

I wouldn't have done it on a Karmic system either

"But still: wouldn't it be easier to write a tutorial of how to get something like #! out from ubuntu in 10 minutes? This would be more attractive for many people already running ubuntu or Mint - they wouldn't have to install a new OS from scratch"...Centaclaus

As a member of distro-hoppers anonymous, my head still can't get around the concept that there is someone who finds doing a fresh install to be trouble. There must be people who don't get excited to see what's going to happen, to make the new system dance on the computer, to see what this distro's repository might have in it, or how that package might run in this environment...

Why, there must be people who don't actually have to talk themselves out of installing a different distro when they get bored with the Internet. How can this be?

good question.  though i never trust someone who talks of opinions anymore.  (a few unpleasant experiences).

"What is their right to exist?'

seriously though, really good question.   perfect opportunity to do a big song and dance about GNU, and the GPL, and the history of... blah blah blah.

really, the simple of it is, i could copy #!'s ISO, leave everything as it is, except take all the bits that say "CRUNCHBANG" and call them "JuniperPunch" instead, and release my own ISO, and call it SummerDrinksLinux9.32, and it'd b perfectly legal.
(i think, the proprietary bits are just codecs n all that which are given out for free too, so no problems there as far as i can tell.).

its free software, free to use, free to copy, free to share, free to poke your nose under the hood to see what it's actually doing, free to redistribute, even free to rebrand, and in some cases, that's not only prefered, it's the only legal recourse you'd have, otherwise, you'd be using someone else's name as your own, and they might not like that.  lol.   quite the different spin on proprietary software.  you try that with windows or mac...   "Hi, I, Digit, and my associate here, CentaClaus, are here to present to you the new opperating system, we've called it MagicDigitbox $entaCLOS, and it is 100% identical except the branding, to M$ windows 7!, and the CLOS stands for Complete Load Of.... Substandardness.  ... geddit, play on our names, the "dontknowwhatsinsideit"blackboxpuzzle, the santaclaus [money]sent a complete load of shit...  and that's how we're marketting it too"... ~ back in the real world though, that'd never happen because we'd have the sense to realise that M$ windoze's "license" is too restrictuve to ever allow something like that to happen, and if we were too stupid to realise what that meant, we'd either end up dead, killed off by M$ goons ((i dont actually know thats what they do, but they're certainly ruthless in other ways)), or we'd end up being squished like tiny bugs by giant herds of lawyers.

free software has lawyers give us the legal right to copy this software, through various liscences, mostly the GPL is featured, but also Apache, BSD, and loadsa others too.  (i recently was reminded of the WTFPL)

so with ubuntu, and #! they can exist, and so can all their progeny.    you can breed your own.   crunchbang is quite possibly the BEST place to start, and its worth checking out a few others to realise that.  ^_^

PS...  i totally need to get it all out in a blog.  lol
PPS, and yeah, crunchbang changed my life.   it's the little touches.  the keyboard shortcuts in conky?  ! Genius!
  /me leaves to make drunken fool of himself elsewhere on the net.

Last edited by Digit (2010-02-08 20:37:14)

I for one am here to stay!