Salix Ratpoison 13.37RC1

[gapan]

So, here is Salix Ratpoison 13.37RC1. This time a 64bit image is included along with the 32bit image. I thought that since all the work was being done in both 32bit and 64bit repositories, it would be a waste not to have a 64bit iso. It's not much trouble creating one either since all the pieces are already in place.

There have been several changes since the beta release. This time both Gslapt and Sourcery are included, since both are fully usable with only the keyboard now. Included in this release is also GMountMan, a local mountpoint manager written from scratch for this release. It's built using GTK+2 and it has been designed from the beginning with keyboard navigation and usage in mind, although it can be also used just as easily with a mouse. Using GMountMan, you don't have to revert to the terminal and mount plugged devices manually any more. Another important change is that Apvlv replaced Zathura as the default PDF viewer. Apvlv also supports djvu documents and it has a few more features, while still using vim-like keybindings for almost everything.

So, anyone interested, please give these a try:

Salix Ratpoison 13.37RC1 (32-bit) (size: 426 MB, md5: eb910c1b8386bbd88a6133d1fa342b67)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/salix/f ... o/download

Salix64 Ratpoison 13.37RC1 (64-bit) (size: 406 MB, md5: 9ae03e8fa2fff5bb8191c853b98fc2cd)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/salix/f ... o/download

Have fun!

[mimosa]

I've installed it and used it over a beer or two with no problems, though I'm afraid I soon chickened out of pristine vanilla testing and copied my .ratpoisonrc into the RC installation. Good to see shutdown and reboot options in the menu - though I've actually scarcely used the menu since installing the beta, because everything I do at all often is a shortcut in my .ratpoisonrc, and almost everything else is easy to access with the shortcut for :exec.

I'll do some more systematic testing over the weekend. One issue for me remains the need to use C-z to enter form data on a lot of sites when using Vimprobable. Another question is the default email client. I'd actually like to try mutt out one day, but particularly for anyone who is also getting used to Ratpoison itself, (al)pine is surely a more comfortable place to start. Its keybinding for attaching files is C-t, which conflicts rather badly with the Ratpoison default; apart from that, it is surely the more attractive choice for users who may be new to the very idea of console-based email.

Apps I felt the need to install immediately, just for casual use:

par
alpine
mplayer
unclutter
pyroom # wasn't this included in the beta?
antiword

Vimprobable's search engine shortcuts such as

pen w [term] # search Wikipedia

seem to be the same as before. As I remember, these need to be defined on compiling the browser. A list would be useful for the Guide.

Great stuff!

[mimosa]

The first problem I have encountered is that apvlv reacts as follows when I try to open pdfs with it:

Code: Select all

(apvlv:10637): Gtk-CRITICAL **: IA__gtk_tree_store_append: assertion `VALID_ITER (parent, tree_store)' failed

However, it does display its own instructions, and these seem clear and sound good.

[gapan]

One issue for me remains the need to use C-z to enter form data on a lot of sites when using Vimprobable.

That's not an issue. It's just the way it works with some sites.

Another question is the default email client. I'd actually like to try mutt out one day, but particularly for anyone who is also getting used to Ratpoison itself, (al)pine is surely a more comfortable place to start. Its keybinding for attaching files is C-t, which conflicts rather badly with the Ratpoison default; apart from that, it is surely the more attractive choice for users who may be new to the very idea of console-based email.

Admittedly, alpine is friendlier that mutt, at least in the beginning. But the C-t issue can't be solved unless we change the default keybinding. And that won't happen. mutt is alright. It just needs a bit more time getting used to it.

pyroom # wasn't this included in the beta?

Nope.

Vimprobable's search engine shortcuts such as

pen w [term] # search Wikipedia

seem to be the same as before. As I remember, these need to be defined on compiling the browser. A list would be useful for the Guide.

"w" for wikipedia works here... This is the list in the config.h file:

Code: Select all

    { "d",          "http://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s&k1=-1" },
    { "g",          "http://www.google.com/search?q=%s" },
    { "y",          "http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s" },
    { "i",          "http://ixquick.com/do/metasearch.pl?query=%s" },
    { "s",          "https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbwssl.cgi?Gw=%s" },
    { "w",          "https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=Special%%3ASearch&search=%s&go=Go" },
    { "wd",         "https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/w/index.php?title=Special%%3ASearch&search=%s&go=Go" },


The first problem I have encountered is that apvlv reacts as follows when I try to open pdfs with it:

Code: Select all

(apvlv:10637): Gtk-CRITICAL **: IA__gtk_tree_store_append: assertion `VALID_ITER (parent, tree_store)' failed

However, it does display its own instructions, and these seem clear and sound good.

Right. I upgraded apvlv to 0.1.2 right before creating the iso and it didn't see much testing. This seems to be a problem only with pdf files that include indexes. I downgraded the package to 0.1.1 in the repositories. It should be fixed now. Thanks for catching this.

[mimosa]

Apvlv now works. It has a few rough edges, but so do the alternatives, and users are free to chop and change. One particular virtue is the documentation and the fact that it appears on first run. One particular lack is link following, either internal or external, as far as I can see. (I've been using the draft Guide for testing.)

Thanks for the list of search engines - I'd missed German Wikipedia!

Workgroups (I forget the proper name) work perfectly now, and I'm actually using them.

All in all, it's looking good! Thanks for all your work on this.

[mimosa]

Another minor niggle is that url completion with Tab isn't working. Here is my vimprobablerc, which is the same as in the beta install except for the line set proxy=true (for privoxy, I guess). As I remember, on first installing the RC, there was no vimprobablerc at all.

Is there something else one needs to do to switch url completion on, or is it a bug?

Code: Select all

vanilla[~]$ cat .config/vimprobable/vimprobablerc
set homepage=www.salixos.org/forum
set plugins=true
set scrollbars=false
set scripts=true

EDIT

No, wait, I think I remember now: you need to create some folders or files for this sort of thing. When I first started with ratpoison, I must have read the documentation - but then forgot. I'll have a look and post back if that wasn't it.

EDIT Yes, that fixed it. The needed files are indicated in the vimprobable2 manpage. In fact, some are created automatically (such as cookies, which no doubt permit automatic login to this forum) but not all. So one just needs to

Code: Select all

$touch ~/.config/vimprobable/history #etc

[mimosa]

By the way, I had to install flash from the repos; if I had to do so before, I've forgotten.

Is this intentional / the same for all editions? slapt-get installs it with a message that makes me think there may be good reasons flash can't come preinstalled, a bit like the multimedia codecs.

Of course flash doesn't work with vimprobable anyway, but I imagine many users will install Firefox at least as a backup browser.

[gapan]

By the way, I had to install flash from the repos; if I had to do so before, I've forgotten.

Is this intentional / the same for all editions?

Yes, it is intentional and it has been like that for the beta too.

slapt-get installs it with a message that makes me think there may be good reasons flash can't come preinstalled, a bit like the multimedia codecs.

No. Flash is closed source, but there are no distribution problems due to patent absurdity.

Of course flash doesn't work with vimprobable anyway

You've found one of the reasons it's not installed by default. The other one is that flash almost always require the use of a mouse.

[mimosa]

I've just come across what looks like a minor bug.

I had gslapt running in one window group with some browser windows, switched to another while it updated, then when I switched back - all I saw was the desktop. C-t e showed the open windows correctly, and selecting one brought everything back to normal.

I suspect what happened is Gslapt opened another window to report on its progress, and when it closed it automatically, the functionality in Ratpoison that would normally revert to the previously active window wasn't called - whether because the window closed automatically, or because it had previously been opened automatically, that is, not as the result of a Ratpoison command.

This is scarcely even an irritation, but I thought I'd report it anyway.

EDIT

Another little thing is that the 'd' and 'y' searchengine shortcuts don't work, though the others do. Maybe the correct urls to search those sites have changed? I tried typing out the youtube one from the list above, and it also defaulted to a google search for that url and the search item.

[gapan]

I've just come across what looks like a minor bug.

I had gslapt running in one window group with some browser windows, switched to another while it updated, then when I switched back - all I saw was the desktop. C-t e showed the open windows correctly, and selecting one brought everything back to normal.

I suspect what happened is Gslapt opened another window to report on its progress, and when it closed it automatically, the functionality in Ratpoison that would normally revert to the previously active window wasn't called - whether because the window closed automatically, or because it had previously been opened automatically, that is, not as the result of a Ratpoison command.

I think it's because the window wasn't in the active workspace. Not much of a problem anyway.

Another little thing is that the 'd' and 'y' searchengine shortcuts don't work, though the others do. Maybe the correct urls to search those sites have changed? I tried typing out the youtube one from the list above, and it also defaulted to a google search for that url and the search item.

Strange. I updated the package so that SSL is used for all search engines that support it. Also made ddg the default search engine. See if the new one works.