Suggestions sought.

for example any other files that need to be added for easy configuration?
ie ~/.xinitrc , ~/Xdefaults, /etc/fstab?

As mentioned in another post I added gtk-lshw just to get hardware information graphically.

As far as files to edit, I usually use nano in the terminal or call leafpad with run, I never think of going through the cc.

Erie - that would be easy enough to do. I had planned on adding a button for"hal-device-manager", but just before the 7.5 release I decided against it. I could put it back.

BTW - is there a difference between the two methods of listing hardware?

john

lshw-gtk will give you physical information about your computer such as ram amount, battery types, and cpu information. I think hal-device-manager just tells you what hal does with it. both could be useful.

Is there a linux equivalent to win's sandra utilities?

john

anticapitalista wrote:Suggestions sought.

for example any other files that need to be added for easy configuration?
ie ~/.xinitrc , ~/Xdefaults, /etc/fstab?

If we have a nice utility to allow disk partitions and file systems to be added to /etc/fstab that would be a nice tool for beginners. I believe that SimplyMEPIS has a nice tool that allows you to mount any existing partition, but I am not sure if they have anything handy for adding or removing partitions from the table, so if we come up with something handy that would be nice. The SimplyMEPIS tool that I am thinking of is KDE-centric, so it will be too heavy for our use. Something similar, but lighter, would be most useful.

If we were to have some kind of resource file tool, what would you envision it to be capable of doing? Adding colors and geometry specs to favorite apps? It might be handy, but it would all depend on what it could do. Unless it adds value for beginners, veterans would likely go around it, so it might be challenging to offer something that is both lightweight and useful. I will keep my eyes out for tools that might be handy in this regard.

We already have a button for pymount in the control center. It can be used to mount external devices as well as internal partitions. It's not a gui app and it doesn't allow you to pick and choose which items to mount. So maybe it can be replaced from that perspective. Otherwise, I think it works really well.

We are thinking of adding a backup tool so users can back up their config files, etc. We are also thinking of adding partimage and grsync. What do you think?

john

OU812 wrote:We already have a button for pymount in the control center. It can be used to mount external devices as well as internal partitions. It's not a gui app and it doesn't allow you to pick and choose which items to mount. So maybe it can be replaced from that perspective. Otherwise, I think it works really well.

We are thinking of adding a backup tool so users can back up their config files, etc. We are also thinking of adding partimage and grsync. What do you think?

john

I like those ideas. So we are cleaning out space to make room for other stuff, huh? Do you think the end result will be about the same size, or are we going to be able to cut it down and still implement several of these great ideas?

The idea is to bring down the size a bit. Ultimately we'll go as high as 400. We're trying to weed out some apps that may not be as useful as we once thought. We're also trying to include a few apps that maybe we've overlooked before. We think an imaging app and a sync app would be cool. Of course, we hope that when we're done, we're well below the 400 mark, ideally around 350.

john

Cool. I am all for that. Anything at or under 400 MB is great as far as I am concerned. As long as core networking and wireless work, to be honest with you, I can grab anything else. However, if we can succeed at making this distro both small, yet relatively easy, it could be a HUGE winner! I already think it is terrific, and I think that you added a great deal to M7.5. I can hardly wait for antiX 8.0.

I am using SimplyMEPIS 8.0 tonight. I have an earlier beta that does not have good Broadcom support, and unfortunately, the system I am using it on has Broadcom wireless, so I am running it wired and grabbing the new Beta 4, which should have what I need. SimplyMEPIS 8, to me, makes the perfect full sized easy to use distro. AntiX is shaping up as the perfect small to mid sized lightweight fast distro.
Then, sidux continues to swallow more steroids and mood stabilizers and does a great job taming Debian Sid, thanks to the smxi tool that we now have in antiX as well. These three distros cover all the bases I need for all home computing except for testing. Love 'em all!