[gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Hi,

I'm installing fluxbox, got it emerged so far, and am trying to figure 
out a couple things.  Here it is in a nutshell.  I use KDE but want a 
back up in case a upgrade goes bad.  I'm wanting to set it up so that I 
can select fluxbox in kdm when I login but I also want to know how to 
start fluxbox even if kdm doesn't work.  I'm thinking kdm will just 
magically see fluxbox and offer the option but haven't' logged out to 
test the theory yet.  Is starting fluxbox without kdm as easy as typing 
"startfluxbox" in a console as a user?  Surely it can't be that easy.

Somebody help me clear up the mud a bit.

Thanks.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Philip Webb]

101026 Dale wrote:
> I'm installing fluxbox, got it emerged.
> I use KDE but want a back up in case a upgrade goes bad.
> I want to select fluxbox in kdm when I login
> but also know how to start fluxbox even if kdm doesn't work.

Why not eschew Kdm altogether ? -- just use 'startx' + ~/.xinitrc :

  # PP 091002 : for Fluxbox-1.1.1 + KDE 4
  xscreensaver &
  kdeinit4 &
  startfluxbox

Fluxbox mb the most under-rated piece of software in the Linux universe.

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Vincent Launchbury]

On 2010/10/26 07:29PM, Dale wrote:
> Is starting fluxbox without kdm as easy as typing "startfluxbox" in a
> console as a user?  Surely it can't be that easy.

No, since X has to be started first. X creates windows, but just puts
them all on top of each other, with no way to move them, and no way to
switch between them except by clicking. Fluxbox just runs ontop of X,
and manages it's windows, adding decorations and a sane way to control
them. For example, try doing:
   xinit "xterm -e /bin/bash" -- /usr/bin/X -nolisten tcp
and run fluxbox from the xterm. It's just a layer ontop of an already
running X.

You should be able to start fluxbox from a console with just:
   startx /usr/bin/startfluxbox
which overrides the default /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc script. That should
basically create an xauthority file and run xinit, which in turn starts
X, then fluxbox, and waits for fluxbox to exit so it can shutdown X
nicely.

Regards,
Vincent.

> Thanks.
> 
> Dale
> 
> :-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Vincent Launchbury wrote:
> On 2010/10/26 07:29PM, Dale wrote:
>    
>> Is starting fluxbox without kdm as easy as typing "startfluxbox" in a
>> console as a user?  Surely it can't be that easy.
>>      
> No, since X has to be started first. X creates windows, but just puts
> them all on top of each other, with no way to move them, and no way to
> switch between them except by clicking. Fluxbox just runs ontop of X,
> and manages it's windows, adding decorations and a sane way to control
> them. For example, try doing:
>     xinit "xterm -e /bin/bash" -- /usr/bin/X -nolisten tcp
> and run fluxbox from the xterm. It's just a layer ontop of an already
> running X.
>
> You should be able to start fluxbox from a console with just:
>     startx /usr/bin/startfluxbox
> which overrides the default /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc script. That should
> basically create an xauthority file and run xinit, which in turn starts
> X, then fluxbox, and waits for fluxbox to exit so it can shutdown X
> nicely.
>
> Regards,
> Vincent.
>
>    
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Dale
>>
>> :-)  :-)
>>      

I'll give that a try.  That is what I am looking for.  I once had kdm to 
fail on me during a KDE upgrade.  I think it was a version mismatch of 
some kind because later on as it emerged more packages, ir worked fine.  
So, I'm looking to make sure it works with kdm, which it does, and 
without kdm, which I am about to find out.

Thanks much.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Philip Webb wrote:
> 101026 Dale wrote:
>    
>> I'm installing fluxbox, got it emerged.
>> I use KDE but want a back up in case a upgrade goes bad.
>> I want to select fluxbox in kdm when I login
>> but also know how to start fluxbox even if kdm doesn't work.
>>      
> Why not eschew Kdm altogether ? -- just use 'startx' + ~/.xinitrc :
>
>    # PP 091002 : for Fluxbox-1.1.1 + KDE 4
>    xscreensaver&
>    kdeinit4&
>    startfluxbox
>
> Fluxbox mb the most under-rated piece of software in the Linux universe.
>
>    

I'm only going to use fluxbox on occasion.  I'm a KDE user for the most 
part, all I have had for several years actually.  Someone did post a way 
to start fluxbox even if kdm won't start tho.  I guess as long as X 
works, I can start fluxbox to at least be able to use google, forums and 
the mailing list for help.

That said, I do like some things about fluxbox.  It is seriously fast.  
I have a AMD 2500+ CPU with 2Gbs of ram so you can imagine how fast it 
is.  It's fast on a 400MHz machine with a small amount of ram much less 
this rig.  lol  I may work on getting my slideshow to work on the 
desktop background and who knows, may have a convert.  ;-)

Thanks.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Dale wrote:
> Vincent Launchbury wrote:
>> On 2010/10/26 07:29PM, Dale wrote:
>>> Is starting fluxbox without kdm as easy as typing "startfluxbox" in a
>>> console as a user?  Surely it can't be that easy.
>> No, since X has to be started first. X creates windows, but just puts
>> them all on top of each other, with no way to move them, and no way to
>> switch between them except by clicking. Fluxbox just runs ontop of X,
>> and manages it's windows, adding decorations and a sane way to control
>> them. For example, try doing:
>>     xinit "xterm -e /bin/bash" -- /usr/bin/X -nolisten tcp
>> and run fluxbox from the xterm. It's just a layer ontop of an already
>> running X.
>>
>> You should be able to start fluxbox from a console with just:
>>     startx /usr/bin/startfluxbox
>> which overrides the default /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc script. That should
>> basically create an xauthority file and run xinit, which in turn starts
>> X, then fluxbox, and waits for fluxbox to exit so it can shutdown X
>> nicely.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Vincent.
>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Dale
>>>
>>> :-)  :-)
>
> I'll give that a try.  That is what I am looking for.  I once had kdm 
> to fail on me during a KDE upgrade.  I think it was a version mismatch 
> of some kind because later on as it emerged more packages, ir worked 
> fine.  So, I'm looking to make sure it works with kdm, which it does, 
> and without kdm, which I am about to find out.
>
> Thanks much.
>
> Dale
>
> :-)  :-)
>

Just to confirm the results.  The command startx /usr/bin/startfluxbox 
worked fine here.  I forgot to do this at first so I will add this.  You 
have to stop xdm/kdm first.  I guess xdm/kdm locks the process.

Other than forgetting to stop xdm, it worked fine.  Thanks much.  I now 
have a backup GUI.  So now a KDE upgrade can bork on me and I can still 
have something.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Peter Humphrey]

On Wednesday 27 October 2010 06:52:10 Dale wrote:

> I once had kdm to fail on me during a KDE upgrade.  I think it was a
> version mismatch of some kind because later on as it emerged more
> packages, it worked fine.

Whenever I have a wholesale upgrade of KDE to do, I restart with no X* 
(just the six VTs) and do the upgrade from there. Much safer.

* I keep a no-X startup profile in grub.conf. It omits the extra things 
that KDE needs, like HAL and consolekit, and includes gpm. Occasionally 
handy, and well worth the effort of maintaining grub.conf.

-- 
Rgds
Peter.          Linux Counter 5290, 1994-04-23.

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Peter Humphrey wrote:
> On Wednesday 27 October 2010 06:52:10 Dale wrote:
>
>    
>> I once had kdm to fail on me during a KDE upgrade.  I think it was a
>> version mismatch of some kind because later on as it emerged more
>> packages, it worked fine.
>>      
> Whenever I have a wholesale upgrade of KDE to do, I restart with no X*
> (just the six VTs) and do the upgrade from there. Much safer.
>
> * I keep a no-X startup profile in grub.conf. It omits the extra things
> that KDE needs, like HAL and consolekit, and includes gpm. Occasionally
> handy, and well worth the effort of maintaining grub.conf.
>
>    

It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.  Seamonkey seems to 
need a GUI of some kind to work right.  ;-)  I usually start a upgrade 
just before I take a nap.  Now, if I need to I can use Fluxbox while KDE 
upgrades.

I might also add, if I hadn't logged out of KDE while the upgrade was in 
progress, it would have kept working since it was already loaded.  I 
think the problem was that kdelibs had upgraded but the other stuff was 
still the previous version and they just didn't like each other.

I'm hoping to build me another rig pretty soon.  Then I will have a back 
up.  May have to get me one of those keyboard/monitor switch thingys.

Are you also saying you reboot when you upgrade KDE?  Why?  This is 
Linux.  Rebooting after or before a GUI upgrade is not needed.  At worst 
a /etc/init.d/xdm restart would reload the GUI stuff.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Philip Webb]

101027 Dale wrote:
> It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.

Have you looked at Mutt ?

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Philip Webb wrote:
> 101027 Dale wrote:
>    
>> It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.
>>      
> Have you looked at Mutt ?
>
>    

I'm guessing it is a command line thing.  I like a GUI.  I could have 
used Lynx to access my email and not even have fluxbox.  ^_^  Gmail has 
web access so I could do it that way I guess.

Notice I said it was hard not impossible?  I think impossible for me 
would have been more accurate tho.  Lynx is not on my list of things I 
like and I suspect mutt would be second.  lol

I got KDE, I got Fluxbox.  As long as X itself is working, I'm good to 
go.   I hope anyway.

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Peter Humphrey]

On Thursday 28 October 2010 00:21:25 Dale wrote:

> It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.

I didn't suggest you should run without X all the time :-)

-- 
Rgds
Peter.          Linux Counter 5290, 1994-04-23.

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Alan McKinnon]

Apparently, though unproven, at 11:24 on Thursday 28 October 2010, Peter 
Humphrey did opine thusly:

> On Thursday 28 October 2010 00:21:25 Dale wrote:
> > It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.
> 
> I didn't suggest you should run without X all the time :-)

Why not? If he was using my mail stuff, the machine that sent him his mail 
would never run X at all. If it works on the start side, it should work just 
as well as the end side too, right?......


-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Willie Wong]

On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 10:43:34PM -0500, Dale wrote:
> I'm guessing it is a command line thing.  I like a GUI.  I could have 
> used Lynx to access my email and not even have fluxbox.  ^_^  Gmail has 
> web access so I could do it that way I guess.

You can, in fact, also read G-mail with Mutt through the imaps
interface. 

Cheers

W
-- 
Willie W. Wong                                     wwong@math.princeton.edu
Data aequatione quotcunque fluentes quantitae involvente fluxiones invenire 
         et vice versa   ~~~  I. Newton

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Dale]

Peter Humphrey wrote:
> On Thursday 28 October 2010 00:21:25 Dale wrote:
>
>    
>> It's sort of hard to check my email with no GUI tho.
>>      
> I didn't suggest you should run without X all the time :-)
>
>    

I know.  I could check it with Lynx but I would have to gargle my mouth 
first.  lol

Dale

:-)  :-)

Re: [gentoo-user] Fluxbox and using kdm

[Philip Webb]

101027 Dale wrote:
>> Have you looked at Mutt ?
> I'm guessing it is a command line thing.  I like a GUI.
> I could have used Lynx to access my email and not even have fluxbox.

Well, everyone's preferences are different.  However,
Mutt isn't "command-line", rather it's "text-based", ie non-GUI:
it has a much simpler appearance than Lynx, is highly configurable
& responds to simple keystrokes.  It's probably worth a look for you.

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatchassdotutorontodotca