• Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Topic: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

I guess my first thing, is that my shift-3 gives me a British pound symbol, and my backslash gives me a hash... I chose us keyboard map.... the only way I have found to correct this is to setxkbmap us and I have to do this every time my computer resets.  This is annoying, as my wifi wpa2 pw includes a #... Not only that, but if i use the \ key for my # and leave it, then I have no @ key!  I have no idea where it would be!  maybe I need to add a line in the init.d (or whatever the init script is for squeeze.)

Second, and more importantly, I am wondering if I installed Squeeze, Openbox, and Conky with a customized (is it?) right click main menu, would I have #!? or is the kicker for #! the hotkeys such as super-T, super-X, super-L, etc?  I already have #! installed, and I'm very familiar with aptitude (for updates, upgrades, installations, etc) so I'm fine with #! if I can get the kb issue fixed, I was just wondering:    _____is #! bringing anything new to the table???_______

Last edited by jclark5093 (2010-08-24 06:19:20)

  • Registered: 2010-03-26
  • Posts: 548

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

First question:

Known issues with the CrunchBang Alpha 2 builds:

1. Keyboard layout/language selection not honoured
Problem: The keyboard layout and language selections which are chosen during the installation are not being carried through to the installed system.
Fix: Run the following command, select your desired keyboard layout and restart for the selection to take:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

SEE http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic … wn-issues/

BTW welcometo the forums.  big_smile

  • From: Nagoya, Japan
  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 1,724

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Hi jclark5093 (welcome btw!)
to set your system keyboard map try running 

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

It should have happened during install but it sometimes seems not to stick.

Re your second point, this is personal opinion and other people will have different takes on it, but I'd say yes surely you can install Squeeze, Openbox etc etc and put together something that looks just like Crunchbang quite easily. If you continue and add the custom menu, keybindings, configurations, scripts, wallpapers, themes, a couple of apps not in the repositories... you'll have something exactly like Crunchbang. (Maybe you'll have something better than Crunchbang. If so, please share it!) Meanwhile, what appealed to me is that many hours of setting up, trying out alternative apps and configs, making artwork... has already been done for me, and the end result is so close to what I want that the final tweaking I need to do myself is quite little.

If that appeals, then Crunchbang is for you. If you'd rather do it all yourself, then that's cool too!

These forums are a bonus, but you're not obliged to run Crunchbang to join in. smile

edit: ah Winotree, you covered the keyboard issue while I was typing. ( I hate typing. )

Last edited by johnraff (2010-08-24 04:16:26)

John
------------------------
( a boring Japan blog , and idle twitterings )
“There is more Unix-nature in one line of shell script than there is in ten thousand lines of C.” - Master Foo

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  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Thanks for the command for the keyboard, I haven't done it yet, but since both of you posted it, I'll take it that it's a known fix and edit my OP to [Resolved].

And as for squeeze+openbox+conky+etc+etc, you're absolutely right - I hate typing too, and #! requires less typing than customizing Debian like that :-)

Although, I'm not a fan of Thunar...  I wonder if I could replace XFCE with Gnome and still use Openbox and have everything look the same......... That might take alot of typing :-/  I'll look into it, and maybe work up a hack - If I do, I'll post it, and thanks for the welcoming!  Pretty fast responses!  (I used Ubuntu since 8.04 for the massive forums and response time, but found that there are mostly idiots on there that don't what they're doing.   A smaller and more apt userbase is definitely more my style.  People use Ubuntu and think that they know GNU/Linux.... they know Gnome haha.  Used to be "Learn RH and you'll know RH, learn Slackware, and you'll know Linux."  I think we can safely replace "RH" with "Ubuntu" in that phrase now :-D oh, me....)

BTW, are most #!ers brits?

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

jclark5093 wrote:

I wonder if I could replace XFCE with Gnome and still use Openbox and have everything look the same.........

You can install Gnome but it won't look the same. And who knows if Gnome will interfere with Openbox.

Note: ** Please read before posting **

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  • Registered: 2008-11-24
  • Posts: 1,858

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

You can use Nautilus (Gnome's file manager) in #! if you prefer it to Thunar. There are a couple of little tweaks you need to do to keep it from taking over your desktop. If you poke around the forums a bit, I bet you can find a thread on the topic. smile Good luck and welcome to the forums!

I agree with a couple of the comments above; I am perfectly capable of building a minimal install with any distro, but #! saves me a lot of time because it's almost exactly what I would have built myself!

  • Registered: 2010-03-26
  • Posts: 548

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

....I am perfectly capable of building a minimal install with any distro, but #! saves me a lot of time because it's almost exactly what I would have built myself!

Even down to the colors.  big_smile

jclark5093, in the past I'd done what you intend to do only with Xfce instead of Openbox and it was as anonymous mentioned -- it worked but it looked different. 

The underlying secret may be the config files corenominal wote.  wink

  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Yes, I meant to use nautilus instead of thunar, not gnome in general.  I don't want all that bloat on my laptop - that's what openbox is for in the first place!

And as for the colors, I love the default.  My screens are usually all black (to be better on battery life) but the conky and taskbar at the bottom are worth it (might get rid of the two desktop shower, but I'm not sure yet)

And if there's "secret code" then it sounds like *borderline* foss lol - like Darwin or OpenSolaris... (jk jk haha)

What is this secret recipe?  (I'm assuming it has something to do with the keybindings at least?)

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

jclark5093 wrote:

What is this secret recipe?

I think winotree was just talking about how Statler Xfce has the icons disabled, the applications menu as right-click, it uses tint2, the shortcuts, etc.

Its very different than the Xfce config of any other distro. You can always copy the config from Statler and use it elsewhere though.

Note: ** Please read before posting **

BTW if you wish to contact me, send me an e-mail instead of a PM.
  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Wait, #! uses GDM, GTK and XFCE with an Openbox WM, right?  Is nautilus even compatible with xfce? or can Thunar be edited to work like nautilus (e.g. double click to open, show all selected items transparently when dragging/dropping multiple files, etc)?

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

jclark5093 wrote:

Wait, #! uses GDM, GTK and XFCE with an Openbox WM, right?

There are separate editions of Statler for Xfce and Openbox but otherwise you are correct. Also CrunchBang is not entirely GTK, it does have VLC (QT4 app).

jclark5093 wrote:

Is nautilus even compatible with xfce?

It should work. I don't know about putting Nautilus in the menu though.

jclark5093 wrote:

can Thunar be edited to work like nautilus (e.g. double click to open, show all selected items transparently when dragging/dropping multiple files, etc)?

Thunar can be configured to use double-click. And I think it does show items transparently when drag 'n' dropping but I cannot confirm that atm.

Note: ** Please read before posting **

BTW if you wish to contact me, send me an e-mail instead of a PM.
  • benj1
  • Wiki Wizard
  • Offline
  • From: Yorkshire, England
  • Registered: 2009-09-05
  • Posts: 1,084

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

jclark5093 wrote:

And as for the colors, I love the default.  My screens are usually all black (to be better on battery life)

this doesn't save any power you know, not on lcds anyway, im guessing your laptop doesn't use a crt.

- - - - - - - - Wiki Pages - - - - - - -
#! install guide           *autostart programs, modify the menu & keybindings
configuring Conky       *installing scripts
  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

even with LED LCDs? (my laptop is less than a year old, and when i'm on wifi I only get like 90 minutes on the battery :-( maybe I just need a new one...

  • pvsage
  • Internal Affairs
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  • From: Section Six
  • Registered: 2009-10-18
  • Posts: 4,912

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

There may be some merit to the argument that a BLACK (as opposed to a dark gray) background means that the pixels that are off aren't drawing any current, but the LCDs draw so little current that it is really inconsequential.  Turning down the backlight (usually gas discharge or LED) will have a greater impact on battery life, but it still doesn't do much compared to keeping the CPU at lower voltages/MHz.

There are several threads here about CPU power scaling; search the forum for cpufrequtil.  I remember my netbook ran really hot without cpufrequtils and sucked down a fully-charged batttery in about 90 minutes.

What kind of battery does your laptop have, and how old is it?  NiMH batteries tend to lose capacity after a certain number of charges, and LiIon batteries are only good for a few years regardless of how frequently they're charged/discharged.

while ( ! ( succeed = try() ) );
  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Any clue where those config file(s) might live to rid the desktop of icons, etc, etc?  I'd really love to get my eyes on that code...

  • From: California, USA
  • Registered: 2008-11-29
  • Posts: 8,647

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

Openbox doesn't have desktop icons. If you mean Xfce, I would just copy the ~/.config/xfce4 folder

Note: ** Please read before posting **

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  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 10

Re: [RESOLVED] Is #! dif than Squeeze/Openbox (And US keyboard)

actually pretty easy to emulate the #! look - I'm thinking of packaging BackTrack like this :-)  Port that from Ubuntu to Debian (probably Squeeze).

Any takers?  I'd need at least a couple chaps.