Since the start of the Bodhi project all news related to it has been posted on this blogger site. This is just a quick note that all official Bodhi announcements will be hosted on the Bodhi Linux blog page moving forward. This is a long overdue change as this blog here was always intended for my personal technology related things and Bodhi has become so much more than just a project of my own over the years.
Just wanted to let folks know in case they were subscribed to this page purely for Bodhi news. Moving forward it will be strictly postings about my smaller projects (like ePad) and random thoughts on other things related to technology.
Showing posts with label bodhi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bodhi. Show all posts
Friday, February 13, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Introducing BodhiBuilder
If you follow me on GitHub then you likely noticed I have added a few projects in the last few days. One of these projects has been on my TODO list for awhile - cleaning up the old remastersys script I have always used to create the Bodhi Linux ISO images for the last few years. Today I am pleased to announce you can find my fork of remastersys dubbed "BodhiBuider" on GitHub here.
The couple of notable changes I have made so far are:
~Jeff Hoogland
The couple of notable changes I have made so far are:
- XZ compression to decrease image size
- Starting support for UEFI booting
- Default Bodhi branding
If you take the time to peruse the code and have any suggestions for improvement please feel free to share.
~Jeff Hoogland
Monday, January 19, 2015
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 RC2 Reloaded
Just over four months ago I announced that I was stepping down from the active role I had maintained in the Bodhi Linux project since it started a little over four years ago. Today I am happy to share that I am returning in my full capacity as project manager/lead developer and I come bearing gifts!
Over the past couple of weeks I have re-familiarized myself with what has been going on in the land of Enlightenment and cleaning up the Bodhi build scripts (which you can find on my GitHub). Today I am pleased to share what I have been referring to as a "Reloaded" version of work on this third major release. To cut right to the chase I would like to share download links for the "Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 RC2 Reloaded" release.
Download Links
Technical Details
Over the past couple of weeks I have re-familiarized myself with what has been going on in the land of Enlightenment and cleaning up the Bodhi build scripts (which you can find on my GitHub). Today I am pleased to share what I have been referring to as a "Reloaded" version of work on this third major release. To cut right to the chase I would like to share download links for the "Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 RC2 Reloaded" release.
Download Links
Technical Details
- Enlightenment 19.2 Desktop
- EFL/Elementary 1.12.2
- Linux Kernel 3.16
- Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Core
- Midori Webrowser 0.5.9
- Terminology Terminal Emulator 0.7.0
- nm-applet connection manager 0.9.8
The "Legacy" ISO image is a special disc tailored for older hardware. It contains the same core software as the 32/64bit releases with the following exceptions:
- Non-PAE Linux Kernel 3.2 with i486 support
- Enlightenment 17.6 Desktop
Screenshots
Unlike previous Bodhi Linux releases, the 3.0.0 release will have a more uniform look, instead of requiring the user to choose what the system looks like when it first starts up. This makes setup easier for new users, while Enlightenment still allows power users the configuration options they crave.
Live Image Splash
Boot Splash
Login Screen
Default Desktop
Applications
Wrapping Up
While I am not calling this a stable release, there is a good chance these images strongly resemble what our stable release will look like when it comes out next month.
You can get support installing/using Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 RC2 Reloaded in the Bodhi Linux 3 section of our user forums. I would ask that you please do not post requests for support on this blog post as the comments section here is not designed for troubleshooting.
Thanks for giving Bodhi Linux and Enlightenment a try.
Thanks for giving Bodhi Linux and Enlightenment a try.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Friday, September 19, 2014
Bodhi Linux is NOT Dead - It is just Changing Hands
A week ago I posted that I was stepping down from my position as doing the primary development work for the Bodhi Linux project. I just wanted to clear the air that this change does not mean that the project is shutting down. In the previous post I ask for folks looking to help and since then I have talked to a number of different people and currently have a few different people working to take over my previous duties.
So let me make one thing clear for worried folks:
So let me make one thing clear for worried folks:
Bodhi is not dead and a 3.0 release will be happening still.
New timelines are still being figured out and when the new folks working on development have their footing fully underneath them they will be sharing more information I am sure. As for myself, I will still be sparing enough time to the project to field questions the new folks might have and provide insights wherever needed - I just won't directly be doing the heavy lifting any longer.
~Jeff Hoogland
Friday, September 12, 2014
Stepping Down from Bodhi Linux Lead
I am sure anyone who has been following the Bodhi project has taken note that the 3.0.0 release timeline has not happened as expected. Due to a variety of reasons I would like to announce today that I will no longer be actively developing Bodhi Linux.
Bodhi has been a labor of love for me that was started nearly four years ago. In that time all of the other original team members fell away. In fact I have worked with dozens of different people over the course of the last few years. I have made friends and learned more than I could have ever imagined.
With that being said, even though I no longer have the bandwidth to actively develop Bodhi, I know many enjoy using the project. So if you are reading this and have an interest in picking up where I am leaving off, please contact me. All Bodhi related code can be found on my GitHub page and I am more than happy to help guide you in the right direction with how things work as you are getting started.
To our users out there, thanks to your amazing support earlier this year our existing servers are paid for through the end of April 2015. So even if no one chooses to pick up where I have left off, your existing systems will continue having repository access until this time. Edit: Bodhi isn't dead, just changing hands.
All in all, it has been fun. I started Bodhi during my senior year of undergrad and have continued to guide it through moving three times, graduate school, getting married, several different jobs, and even my first wonderful kid:
I'd like to close with saying thanks to the Bodhi and open source community as a whole. In general you have been very supportive of the small project I started to Enlighten the world.
~Jeff Hoogland
Bodhi has been a labor of love for me that was started nearly four years ago. In that time all of the other original team members fell away. In fact I have worked with dozens of different people over the course of the last few years. I have made friends and learned more than I could have ever imagined.
With that being said, even though I no longer have the bandwidth to actively develop Bodhi, I know many enjoy using the project. So if you are reading this and have an interest in picking up where I am leaving off, please contact me. All Bodhi related code can be found on my GitHub page and I am more than happy to help guide you in the right direction with how things work as you are getting started.
To our users out there, thanks to your amazing support earlier this year our existing servers are paid for through the end of April 2015. So even if no one chooses to pick up where I have left off, your existing systems will continue having repository access until this time. Edit: Bodhi isn't dead, just changing hands.
All in all, it has been fun. I started Bodhi during my senior year of undergrad and have continued to guide it through moving three times, graduate school, getting married, several different jobs, and even my first wonderful kid:
I'd like to close with saying thanks to the Bodhi and open source community as a whole. In general you have been very supportive of the small project I started to Enlighten the world.
~Jeff Hoogland
Monday, June 9, 2014
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 Release Candidate 1
At Bodhi we work firmly on a "its ready when its ready schedule" as opposed to sticking to our set release goals and churning out something we are not happy with. Better late than never as the saying goes! Just ten days after the targeted release date I am happy to share our first Release Candidate for Bodhi Linux's third major release:
As you can see from the image our default theme has matured some (it is nearly complete in fact). For a full change log you can see my running TODO list as we work towards our 3.0.0 stable release here.
Download Links
Legacy Hardware Support
The most important new thing in this release is the addition of an ISO image that supports legacy hardware. The legacy ISO image features a 3.2 kernel that will work on 486 machines (or newer), including non-PAE hardware. This ISO image currently features the same E19 desktop that the other three discs have, but if all goes as planned the legacy disc will feature the E17 desktop by default starting with our second release candidate.
Existing 3.0.0 Users Can Upgrade
As always existing 3.0.0 users can simply use eepDater to get the latest and greatest system from their current install. 64bit users will need to implement this workaround though for a troublesome package that found its way into the beta.
Known Issues
There are a couple of small issues we are aware of and working to remedy for our RC2 release later this month. They are:
- The quick start guide opens twice on the live CD/the first time you boot Bodhi
- There is an Enlightenment segfault the first time you access the menu on the live cd/on a new install (just press f1 and everything is fine)
- App Center does not work (we are still working on implementing a new installer tool for this)
Bug Reporting/Issues
As always please, please, please do not post issues in a comment on this post. Instead open a thread in the 3.0.0 testing section of our user forums. Also keep in mind this is a testing release not intended for production machines.
As always please, please, please do not post issues in a comment on this post. Instead open a thread in the 3.0.0 testing section of our user forums. Also keep in mind this is a testing release not intended for production machines.
~Jeff Hoogland
Monday, April 28, 2014
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 Beta Release
Its been two months since we had our alpha release and since then Ubuntu 14.04 has released as "stable". That means the core for our upcoming Bodhi 3.0.0 release is finally stable enough for me to stamp a "beta" label onto it. For those that do not really care what I have to say and just want a download link, this beta release comes in the following three flavors:
Those looking for a change log / my TODO list for 3.0.0 please see here. All of these images are built directly on top of the latest Ubuntu 14.04 packages. The 32bit and 64bit images utilize the 3.13 Linux kernel, while the Chromebook image utilizes a 3.11 kernel due to hardware compatibility issues.
The Chromebook image is tested/designed to work with the Acer C720 and HP 14" Chromebooks. It could very well work with other Chromebooks, but they have not been tested. For more information on installing Bodhi on your Chromebook follow the directions here.
Updated Release Schedule
Some folks made note that when I first posted the Bodhi 3.0.0 release schedule we were set for a stable release at the end of June. After some discussion on our user forums it was decided that we would all be more comfortable with waiting till after Ubuntu releases their first major update to 14.04 before we called 3.0.0 our "stable" Bodhi release. With this in mind the Bodhi 3.0.0 stable release has been moved from a June 27th target date to a August 2nd target date. This makes our release cycle heading towards 3.0.0 stable look like:
While I a linked a change log above, a picture is worth a thousand words as they say! Below is pictured the new Radiance Enlightenment theme that is nearing completion (Thanks Duma!) which is now the default look for Bodhi 3.0.0. Also shown in the screenshot is ePad text editor (replaces Leafpad) and eepDater system updater.
Bug Reporting/Issues
As always please, please, please do not post issues in a comment on this post. Instead open a thread in the 3.0.0 testing section of our user forums. Also keep in mind this is a testing release not intended for production machines.
Happy Testing,
~Jeff Hoogland
Those looking for a change log / my TODO list for 3.0.0 please see here. All of these images are built directly on top of the latest Ubuntu 14.04 packages. The 32bit and 64bit images utilize the 3.13 Linux kernel, while the Chromebook image utilizes a 3.11 kernel due to hardware compatibility issues.
The Chromebook image is tested/designed to work with the Acer C720 and HP 14" Chromebooks. It could very well work with other Chromebooks, but they have not been tested. For more information on installing Bodhi on your Chromebook follow the directions here.
Updated Release Schedule
Some folks made note that when I first posted the Bodhi 3.0.0 release schedule we were set for a stable release at the end of June. After some discussion on our user forums it was decided that we would all be more comfortable with waiting till after Ubuntu releases their first major update to 14.04 before we called 3.0.0 our "stable" Bodhi release. With this in mind the Bodhi 3.0.0 stable release has been moved from a June 27th target date to a August 2nd target date. This makes our release cycle heading towards 3.0.0 stable look like:
- May 30th - Release Candidate
- June 27th - Release Candidate 2
- August 2nd - Stable Release
While I a linked a change log above, a picture is worth a thousand words as they say! Below is pictured the new Radiance Enlightenment theme that is nearing completion (Thanks Duma!) which is now the default look for Bodhi 3.0.0. Also shown in the screenshot is ePad text editor (replaces Leafpad) and eepDater system updater.
Bug Reporting/Issues
As always please, please, please do not post issues in a comment on this post. Instead open a thread in the 3.0.0 testing section of our user forums. Also keep in mind this is a testing release not intended for production machines.
Happy Testing,
~Jeff Hoogland
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Enlightenment Foundation Libraries Application Round Up
Most folks who have been around Linux and/or open source software for awhile are aware of what GTK and QT are - tool kits for building applications. Something that not as many may be aware of is that there is another open source tool kit out there - the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries. These serve as the building blocks not only for the Enlightenment desktop, but also for a growing number of applications.
Today I am going to provide a quick round up of applications written utilizing the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries.
System Tools -
Multimedia Applications -
Today I am going to provide a quick round up of applications written utilizing the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries.
System Tools -
Terminology brings "fun" back to the terminal while still being plenty practical. Supporting split panes and slew of other nice features it is stable and fast.
A simple, but functional, lightweight GUI front end for the Connman connection manager. Supports wired and wireless connections.
A simple graphical tool for the sudo command. Supports the same functions as similar tools such as gksudo. Also supports direct integration with other python EFL applications.
A tool for displaying information about the hardware in your computer. Supports exporting the formation collected to a text file.
eCcess provides a few different functions. It is a GUI for managing users on the current OS and assigning/removing group permissions. It can change the current date and time and finally it provides a simple task manager.
Similar to gDebi, eDeb allows the user to install Debian package files using a GUI.
A tool for installing package updates on apt-get based systems.
Multimedia Applications -
Utilities -
Games -
Escape from Booty Bay (Angry Birds Clone)
Wrapping Up -
Hopefully I've introduced you to some new wonderful applications today! Most of this software is fairly new though, so sadly many of them will not have packages in many Linux distribution's repositories. You can however find every application listed here in the Bodhi 3.0.0 repos (or you can add this repo to your Ubuntu 14.04 install).
If you know of an awesome EFL based application that I haven't included here today - please let us know what it is - and where to find it - in the comments below.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Friday, March 7, 2014
HOWTO: Add Bodhi's Enlightenment Desktop to Ubuntu 14.04
One question we often had users ask us in the past was if it was possible to convert an existing Ubuntu LTS install into Bodhi Linux. Previously the answer to this question had always been "No", but with our 3.0.0 release built on top of Ubuntu 14.04 we are finally looking to change this. The following is how you can add the latest Bodhi desktop to your existing Ubuntu 14.04 install.
Step 1: Add the Bodhi Repo to your Sources
Open a terminal and run:
Step 1: Add the Bodhi Repo to your Sources
Open a terminal and run:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
At the bottom of the file that is opened, add the line:
deb http://packages.bodhilinux.com/bodhi trusty main
Step 2: Sync package lists
Next you will need to sync your package lists with the command:
sudo apt-get update
Step 3: Install the Bodhi Desktop
Install Bodhi's E19 Desktop with the command:
sudo apt-get install packagekit && sudo apt-get install bodhi-desktop
If you have an older computer or just prefer E17 you can install that instead with the command:
After this completes an "enlightenment" session should now be available in your login manager.
sudo apt-get install bodhi-desktop-e17
After this completes an "enlightenment" session should now be available in your login manager.
Enjoy your new enlightenment powered Ubuntu!
~Jeff Hoogland
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 Alpha Release
As promised I've put together our first Bodhi Linux disc that is built on top of the upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 release. Keep in mind this is a very early image not intended for production machines. There will be issues.
That being said, we are very interested in user feedback on our first couple pre-release discs for this version. Because we have a new major release we are trying a few different things that we want your input of. Features of note in this 3.0.0 alpha image that different from our Bodhi 2.x.y base:
Also - don't forget you still have until the end of this month to donate and be entered in our Chromebook raffle!
That being said, we are very interested in user feedback on our first couple pre-release discs for this version. Because we have a new major release we are trying a few different things that we want your input of. Features of note in this 3.0.0 alpha image that different from our Bodhi 2.x.y base:
- Ubuntu 14.04 base
- E19 pre-release replaces E17
- No more manual profile/theme selection at start up
- eConnman replaces nm-applet
- Pulseaudio replaces alsa as the default audio system
- Matrilineare replaces MaXo-Remix as the default icon set
- LightDM replaces LXDM as the display manager
- eSudo replaces gksudo
A few screenshots:
Login Screen
Default Desktop
Applications
The best place to give feedback regarding this release is in our 3.0.0 pre-release forum section. Let us know what you think about these changes or let us know if you have suggestions for improvement. For this first release I've only prepared a 32bit PAE enabled ISO image. Starting with our beta release next month we will provide a non-PAE, PAE and 64bit disc image like we do for all official releases.
Also - don't forget you still have until the end of this month to donate and be entered in our Chromebook raffle!
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Improvements to Bodhi's Chromebook Support
Just a quick update to let folks know about a few updates our special installers for Bodhi Linux on Chromebook hardware.
HP 14 and Lenovo X131e
Also - nothing for these guys yet, but I am hoping to pick up an HP 14 sometime this week and get Bodhi going on it. Our same team member who did all of the wonderful improvements to the Jessie filesystem for the Samsung recently picked up a Lenovo X131e and has started work on dual booting this with Bodhi. I will post updates about these when we have something substantial to share.
Acer C720 Chromebook
I've updated the special ISO image for the Acer C720 which I give instructions for installing here. Updates to the disc include fully functional suspend, automatic audio switching over HDMI, and an E17 profile that enables all the function keys on the Chromebook to work as expected:
You will note in my screen shot above that there is also a bluetooth icon on the system tray. I've opted not to include this by default because I know many won't have a need for it. If you want to use the bluetooth on your C720 simply run the command:
sudo apt-get install blueman
And then use the GUI that is installed to connect to/interact with your blue tooth devices.
Samsung ARM Chromebook
Find instructions for installing Bodhi on the Samsung ARM Chromebook here. While I was busy implementing many improvements to the Debian Wheezy based ARM file system, one of our forum members had been working on a Debian Jessie based file system. Late last month he finished it up to essentially get the hardware fully functional under a true Linux OS!
When you run our installer script you are now asked if you want to use the stable or testing release - I would highly recommend selecting the testing release at this point. It includes the same Chromebook specific profile I pictured above for the Acer as well as full OpenGLES support.
The installer script now provides detection for a previous install on the target disc and over writes it (as opposed to making the user manually remove their old install). Another new feature of the installer is support for different install targets. Simply provide the install target as the first argument for the installer script and you can easily run Bodhi on your Samsung Chromebook from a USB flash drive or SD card.
HP 14 and Lenovo X131e
Also - nothing for these guys yet, but I am hoping to pick up an HP 14 sometime this week and get Bodhi going on it. Our same team member who did all of the wonderful improvements to the Jessie filesystem for the Samsung recently picked up a Lenovo X131e and has started work on dual booting this with Bodhi. I will post updates about these when we have something substantial to share.
Wrapping Up
As always, if you run into any issues please open a support request on our user forums as opposed to posting a comment below.
~Jeff Hoogland
Friday, February 7, 2014
Bodhi Linux 3.0.0 Road Map/FAQ and Donation Drive Updates
The Here and Now - What is going on with Bodhi 2.x.y
In September of last year I posted a notice that the Bodhi 2.x.y update release cycle would be moving to releases three times a year. Then I went and made a liar out of myself when we didn't have a 2.5.0 release in January. For the sake of clarity I would like to let folks know that Bodhi 2.4.0 will be the last set of updated discs in our 2.x.y release cycle.
That being said - our 2.x.y software repositories will keep seeing their normal software updates through the summer of 2014. After this point the 2.x.y release will be moved into "security updates only" mode. Meaning the only changes to software in the 2.x.y repos at that point will be to patch security vulnerabilities. 2.x.y will continue getting security updates until 2017 when Ubuntu 12.04 reaches its end of life.
The Future - Plans for Bodhi 3.x.y
Our plan for major releases has always been every two years just after a new Ubuntu LTS release. This coming summer will mark our third major release - Bodhi 3.0.0. First, lets cover a few FAQs I've been getting regarding this new major release.
Q: Will you continue to support non-PAE Processors?
A: Yep. I do not currently know which kernel version we will be using on our non-PAE disc, but we will continue producing an ISO image that works on older non-PAE computers.
Q: Which version of Enlightenment will you use?
A: Unless I am able to beat E18 into a form I confident is consumable for "normal" users Bodhi 3.0.0 will continue to use the E17 desktop by default. Regardless of which desktop we ship with by default - both desktops will be easily accessible/swappable in our repositories.
Q: If you do use E18+ by default, what happens to systems that do not support compositing?
A: In case you were unaware, one of the "features" E18 brought with it is that compositing is now non-optional. We know that there are still plenty of useful computers out there that don't support this software. Because of this our non-PAE disc will always use E17. It will be the go to disc for running Bodhi on older hardware.
Q: What is the release cycle/date for Bodhi 3.0.0?
A: Because this is a major release, we will have a series of ISO image releases in order to thoroughly test this new base before we call things "stable". Right now the rough outline of release dates I have in my head looks like:
If you have any questions that I did not cover above - please feel free to post them below in the form of a comment or post them at our user forums.
Bodhi 2014 Donation Drive Updates
In case you missed it, last month I posted about a promotion to drum up donations for the Bodhi project. As you can see here our January donation totals were fantastic. I'd like to thank everyone for the support they continue to show our project - without you we wouldn't exist. Remember - you have until the end of March to show your support before we pick a winner for a Bodhi powered netbook!
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
In September of last year I posted a notice that the Bodhi 2.x.y update release cycle would be moving to releases three times a year. Then I went and made a liar out of myself when we didn't have a 2.5.0 release in January. For the sake of clarity I would like to let folks know that Bodhi 2.4.0 will be the last set of updated discs in our 2.x.y release cycle.
That being said - our 2.x.y software repositories will keep seeing their normal software updates through the summer of 2014. After this point the 2.x.y release will be moved into "security updates only" mode. Meaning the only changes to software in the 2.x.y repos at that point will be to patch security vulnerabilities. 2.x.y will continue getting security updates until 2017 when Ubuntu 12.04 reaches its end of life.
The Future - Plans for Bodhi 3.x.y
Our plan for major releases has always been every two years just after a new Ubuntu LTS release. This coming summer will mark our third major release - Bodhi 3.0.0. First, lets cover a few FAQs I've been getting regarding this new major release.
Q: Will you continue to support non-PAE Processors?
A: Yep. I do not currently know which kernel version we will be using on our non-PAE disc, but we will continue producing an ISO image that works on older non-PAE computers.
Q: Which version of Enlightenment will you use?
A: Unless I am able to beat E18 into a form I confident is consumable for "normal" users Bodhi 3.0.0 will continue to use the E17 desktop by default. Regardless of which desktop we ship with by default - both desktops will be easily accessible/swappable in our repositories.
Q: If you do use E18+ by default, what happens to systems that do not support compositing?
A: In case you were unaware, one of the "features" E18 brought with it is that compositing is now non-optional. We know that there are still plenty of useful computers out there that don't support this software. Because of this our non-PAE disc will always use E17. It will be the go to disc for running Bodhi on older hardware.
Q: What is the release cycle/date for Bodhi 3.0.0?
A: Because this is a major release, we will have a series of ISO image releases in order to thoroughly test this new base before we call things "stable". Right now the rough outline of release dates I have in my head looks like:
- March 2nd - Alpha Release
- April 27th - Beta Release
- May 30th - Release Candidate
- June 27th - Release Candidate 2
- August 2nd - Stable Release
If you have any questions that I did not cover above - please feel free to post them below in the form of a comment or post them at our user forums.
Bodhi 2014 Donation Drive Updates
In case you missed it, last month I posted about a promotion to drum up donations for the Bodhi project. As you can see here our January donation totals were fantastic. I'd like to thank everyone for the support they continue to show our project - without you we wouldn't exist. Remember - you have until the end of March to show your support before we pick a winner for a Bodhi powered netbook!
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Sunday, January 26, 2014
HOWTO: Bodhi Linux on the Acer C720 Chromebook
Early last week I acquired my latest tech toy an Acer C720 Chromebook:
I've been on kind of a Chromebook kick lately and I must say I love this Acer C720 even more than Samsung Chromebook. Why you ask? Well - the primary reason is the processor architecture. The Acer C720 is a traditional x86 processor, meaning you are able to easily boot alternative OSes on it.
This also means that under a Linux OS I am able to run applications like the latest Google Chrome browser, Google Hangouts (or Skype), Steam, and even Netflix.
I plan on writing a formal review of the C720, similar to the one I did for the Samsung Chromebook, later next month. Today however I would like to share how you can go about installing Bodhi Linux on the Acer C720 Chromebook.
I've been on kind of a Chromebook kick lately and I must say I love this Acer C720 even more than Samsung Chromebook. Why you ask? Well - the primary reason is the processor architecture. The Acer C720 is a traditional x86 processor, meaning you are able to easily boot alternative OSes on it.
This also means that under a Linux OS I am able to run applications like the latest Google Chrome browser, Google Hangouts (or Skype), Steam, and even Netflix.
I plan on writing a formal review of the C720, similar to the one I did for the Samsung Chromebook, later next month. Today however I would like to share how you can go about installing Bodhi Linux on the Acer C720 Chromebook.
Please note following these steps WILL permanently delete all local data and configurations of your ChromeOS!
Step 1 - Enable Developer Mode
Make sure your chromebook is off. Then hold the escape and refresh keys (where f3 should be) and power on the device. This should get you to a recovery screen - press ctrl+d followed by enter. The system should now reboot with developer mode enabled.
Step 2 - Enable SeaBIOS
After changing to developer mode, configure Chrome OS so that you can log in.
To enable the legacy bios:
Step 3 - Create a Bodhi image for the C720
While the C720 uses an x86 processor, some of the hardware it uses doesn't have drivers in the mainline Linux kernel yet. Because of this you need to download a custom ISO image I've prepared for the C720 from here. You then need to write it to a flash drive using the dd command.
Change to the directory where you have downloaded the ISO image to and run:
Where X is replaced with the drive letter of your USB stick. If you prefer a GUI tool or are using OSX/Windows to create the flash drive you can find detailed information on this process here.
Step 4 - Boot and install Bodhi
Plug the USB stick you prepared in step 3 into your Chromebook. At the startup screen press the key combination ctrl+l (that is a lowercase "L") to tell the system to boot from the legacy BIOS. Then press the escape key to select to bring up the boot menu, select your USB device from the list it provides.
From this point you can follow the normal Bodhi install instructions starting with step II.
Notes
When your Chromebook starts up you will need to press ctrl+l to boot into the legacy BIOS/Bodhi. Still looking for a work around to remove this step - if you know of one please let me know!
When I installed Bodhi on my Chromebook I wiped out all the Chrome partitions and gave Bodhi the full drive. I've not experimented with a dual boot setup. I don't really have a need for ChromeOS with how functional Bodhi is on this hardware.
The custom ISO image for the C720 differs from the normal Bodhi desktop release in a few ways. First is that it utilizes the 3.11 Linux kernel with a few custom patches to support the C720 hardware. Second is that it utilizes pulseaudio for the default sound system as alsa has a few issues. It has slightly newer Intel/Mesa drivers to support OpenGLES on the C720 by default. Finally, it comes with a custom E profile that has key bindings for Chrome OS function keys configured.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the default desktop you will see on your Bodhi Chromebook install:
Finally, if you have any issues getting Bodhi setup/installed on your Chromebook I would ask that you please open a support request on our user forums as opposed to simply pasting a comment below.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Step 2 - Enable SeaBIOS
After changing to developer mode, configure Chrome OS so that you can log in.
To enable the legacy bios:
- Open a crosh window with Ctrl+Alt+T.
- Open a bash shell with the shell command.
- Become superuser with sudo bash
- Enable legacy boot with:
crossystem dev_boot_usb=1 dev_boot_legacy=1
Step 3 - Create a Bodhi image for the C720
While the C720 uses an x86 processor, some of the hardware it uses doesn't have drivers in the mainline Linux kernel yet. Because of this you need to download a custom ISO image I've prepared for the C720 from here. You then need to write it to a flash drive using the dd command.
Change to the directory where you have downloaded the ISO image to and run:
dd if=bodhi-c720-chromebook.iso of=/dev/sdX
Where X is replaced with the drive letter of your USB stick. If you prefer a GUI tool or are using OSX/Windows to create the flash drive you can find detailed information on this process here.
Step 4 - Boot and install Bodhi
Plug the USB stick you prepared in step 3 into your Chromebook. At the startup screen press the key combination ctrl+l (that is a lowercase "L") to tell the system to boot from the legacy BIOS. Then press the escape key to select to bring up the boot menu, select your USB device from the list it provides.
From this point you can follow the normal Bodhi install instructions starting with step II.
Notes
When your Chromebook starts up you will need to press ctrl+l to boot into the legacy BIOS/Bodhi. Still looking for a work around to remove this step - if you know of one please let me know!
When I installed Bodhi on my Chromebook I wiped out all the Chrome partitions and gave Bodhi the full drive. I've not experimented with a dual boot setup. I don't really have a need for ChromeOS with how functional Bodhi is on this hardware.
The custom ISO image for the C720 differs from the normal Bodhi desktop release in a few ways. First is that it utilizes the 3.11 Linux kernel with a few custom patches to support the C720 hardware. Second is that it utilizes pulseaudio for the default sound system as alsa has a few issues. It has slightly newer Intel/Mesa drivers to support OpenGLES on the C720 by default. Finally, it comes with a custom E profile that has key bindings for Chrome OS function keys configured.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the default desktop you will see on your Bodhi Chromebook install:
Finally, if you have any issues getting Bodhi setup/installed on your Chromebook I would ask that you please open a support request on our user forums as opposed to simply pasting a comment below.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Bodhi Linux powered Chromebook Raffle
Something you may not know about Bodhi Linux is that we are 100% funded by user donations. We do not plaster our home page or user forums with ad content like so many distros do. We are very thankful to all of the folks that donate to keep our package servers running. Towards the tail end of 2011 we raffled off a Dell Netbook to a random person who donated at least five dollars during a set period of time.
This idea was very successful and since a couple of years have passed we are going to give away some more Bodhi powered hardware to a random donor. I'm quite fond of my Samsung Chromebook and I recently announced how well our Debian based operating system runs on this device today.
We are going to give away at least one of these little guys to someone who donates to the Bodhi project during the first quarter of 2014:
To have a chance to win one of these wonderful netbooks simply head over Bodhi's donation page and donate at least 5 USD. For every 5 USD you donate your name will be entered once into the raffle at the end of March.
I would just like to say thank you to the open source community. Your continued support has allowed us to become one of the longest lived Linux distributions that features the beautiful Enlightenment desktop by default.
If you could please share this post on your various social networks so our giveaway gets more exposure we would be very grateful!
For those who care, the full tech specs of the Chromebooks we are giving away:
This idea was very successful and since a couple of years have passed we are going to give away some more Bodhi powered hardware to a random donor. I'm quite fond of my Samsung Chromebook and I recently announced how well our Debian based operating system runs on this device today.
We are going to give away at least one of these little guys to someone who donates to the Bodhi project during the first quarter of 2014:
To have a chance to win one of these wonderful netbooks simply head over Bodhi's donation page and donate at least 5 USD. For every 5 USD you donate your name will be entered once into the raffle at the end of March.
I would just like to say thank you to the open source community. Your continued support has allowed us to become one of the longest lived Linux distributions that features the beautiful Enlightenment desktop by default.
If you could please share this post on your various social networks so our giveaway gets more exposure we would be very grateful!
For those who care, the full tech specs of the Chromebooks we are giving away:
| Screen Size | 11.6 inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Processor | 1.7 GHz Exynos 5000 Series |
| RAM | 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM |
| Memory Speed | 1333.00 |
| Hard Drive | 16 GB eMMC |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Integrated Graphics |
| Wireless Type | 802.11 a/b/g/n |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
| Brand Name | Samsung |
| Series | Chromebook |
| Item model number | XE303C12-A01US |
| Operating System | Bodhi Linux/Chrome OS |
| Item Weight | 2.4 pounds |
| Item Dimensions L x W x H | 11.40 x 8.09 x 0.69 inches |
| Color | Silver |
| Processor Brand | Samsung |
| Processor Count | 2 |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Flash Memory Size | 16 |
| Optical Drive Type | No |
| Audio-out Ports (#) | 1 |
| Battery Type | Lithium Polymer (LiPo) |
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Sunday, January 12, 2014
HOWTO: Bodhi Linux on Samsung ARM Chromebook
The battery recently died in my old Asus Netbook which gave me some fire to finally get together a functional filesystem for the Samsung Chromebook I've had for a little over a year. I published a rough file system with install instructions here last December. Since then a few things have changed in the structure of ChromeOS and the install script/file systems needed some updates.
The following instructions install a Debian Wheezy based ARMHF file system with the Bodhi branded E17.6 desktop powered by the EFL 1.8.4
It is also worth noting that this updated installer script now supports installing the file system to an external media. When you run the second command in step three, simply provide an install target as the first argument (such as /dev/sda for a flash drive) and then press ctrl+u to boot tell the Chromebook to boot from an external media at start up.
Please note following these steps WILL permanently delete all local data and configurations of your ChromeOS! It essentially restores the system to factory defaults.
Step 1 - Boot in Recovery Mode
Make sure your chromebook is off. Then hold the escape and refresh keys (where f3 should be) and power on the device. This should get you to a recovery screen - press ctrl+d followed by enter. The system should now reboot into recovery mode.
Step 2 - Get to a TTY with Internet
Once the system reboots in recovery mode it will take a few moments to get everything configured (this requires no user input, just waiting - so grab a snack). Once the system starts up select a wireless access point to connect to, but do not log into a Google account. Now that we have an internet connection you need to drop to a TTY. To do this press ctrl+alt+-> (The "->" key is where f2 would be on a standard keyboard).
For the username type chronos and then press enter - no password is needed.
Step 3 - Download and run Bodhi installer
From the tty run:
Followed by:
Both of the above commands are case sensitive so make sure you type them correctly! After running the second command you will be provided with some information about your Chromebook - you should be asked if you want to install our stable or testing release.
At this point I would recommend using the Testing release because it offers fuller hardware support (such at 3D) and a newer Chromium version. I'd only recommend using the stable release if you need exactly Debian Wheezy as a base for some reason.
Step 4 - Choose how much space you are giving Bodhi
The installer will prompt you for how much space you want to give to Bodhi. Enter an integer amount for how many gigs you would like to give Bodhi. On the 16gig smartbook the most I would recommend giving to Bodhi is 9gigs (with the max being 10). For reference the base Bodhi install occupies around 1.6gigs. Once you select an amount of space to give Bodhi the drive will be re-partitioned automagically and then your system will restart. When it starts back up again you will need to walk through the ChromeOS setup process once more - again get as far as the Google login screen but do not log in.
Step 5 - Getting the Bodhi Filesystem
Get to a TTY again by following the instructions outlined in step 2 once more. Then run the same two commands provided in step 3. This time the Bodhi installer will see your drive has already been partitioned and it will begin downloading the Bodhi Chromebook image which it will then install. Note that this will take awhile depending on your internet connection speed as a 300MB tarball needs to be downloaded and extracted. After it finishes installing your system will reboot and you will be greeted by the Enlightenment desktop!
User Information
Default username:
Default password:
The default user has sudo rights.
Getting back to ChromeOS
If you need to get back into ChromeOS after installing Bodhi on your Chromebook - don't worry it is still there. In a terminal client on Bodhi run:
Once you are done with ChromeOS you can run the following in the ChromeOS TTY to get back to Bodhi:
The following instructions install a Debian Wheezy based ARMHF file system with the Bodhi branded E17.6 desktop powered by the EFL 1.8.4
It is also worth noting that this updated installer script now supports installing the file system to an external media. When you run the second command in step three, simply provide an install target as the first argument (such as /dev/sda for a flash drive) and then press ctrl+u to boot tell the Chromebook to boot from an external media at start up.
Please note following these steps WILL permanently delete all local data and configurations of your ChromeOS! It essentially restores the system to factory defaults.
Step 1 - Boot in Recovery Mode
Make sure your chromebook is off. Then hold the escape and refresh keys (where f3 should be) and power on the device. This should get you to a recovery screen - press ctrl+d followed by enter. The system should now reboot into recovery mode.
Step 2 - Get to a TTY with Internet
Once the system reboots in recovery mode it will take a few moments to get everything configured (this requires no user input, just waiting - so grab a snack). Once the system starts up select a wireless access point to connect to, but do not log into a Google account. Now that we have an internet connection you need to drop to a TTY. To do this press ctrl+alt+-> (The "->" key is where f2 would be on a standard keyboard).
For the username type chronos and then press enter - no password is needed.
Step 3 - Download and run Bodhi installer
From the tty run:
wget http://goo.gl/HFG6a
Followed by:
sudo bash HFG6a
Both of the above commands are case sensitive so make sure you type them correctly! After running the second command you will be provided with some information about your Chromebook - you should be asked if you want to install our stable or testing release.
At this point I would recommend using the Testing release because it offers fuller hardware support (such at 3D) and a newer Chromium version. I'd only recommend using the stable release if you need exactly Debian Wheezy as a base for some reason.
Step 4 - Choose how much space you are giving Bodhi
The installer will prompt you for how much space you want to give to Bodhi. Enter an integer amount for how many gigs you would like to give Bodhi. On the 16gig smartbook the most I would recommend giving to Bodhi is 9gigs (with the max being 10). For reference the base Bodhi install occupies around 1.6gigs. Once you select an amount of space to give Bodhi the drive will be re-partitioned automagically and then your system will restart. When it starts back up again you will need to walk through the ChromeOS setup process once more - again get as far as the Google login screen but do not log in.
Step 5 - Getting the Bodhi Filesystem
Get to a TTY again by following the instructions outlined in step 2 once more. Then run the same two commands provided in step 3. This time the Bodhi installer will see your drive has already been partitioned and it will begin downloading the Bodhi Chromebook image which it will then install. Note that this will take awhile depending on your internet connection speed as a 300MB tarball needs to be downloaded and extracted. After it finishes installing your system will reboot and you will be greeted by the Enlightenment desktop!
User Information
Default username:
armhf
Default password:
bodhilinux
The default user has sudo rights.
Getting back to ChromeOS
If you need to get back into ChromeOS after installing Bodhi on your Chromebook - don't worry it is still there. In a terminal client on Bodhi run:
sudo cgpt add -i 6 -P 0 -S 1 /dev/mmcblk0
Once you are done with ChromeOS you can run the following in the ChromeOS TTY to get back to Bodhi:
sudo cgpt add -i 6 -P 5 -S 1 /dev/mmcblk0
Notes
I am really happy with the state of this image. Audio works, screen backlight is functional, Chromium browser works, and Flashplayer works. Sadly opengles still escapes me, but I have no need to play games on my netbook.
Wrapping Up
As always, please do not post support requests here! Please direct them to the ARM section of our forums. I'd also like to say many thanks to Bodhi community member Seekamp for posting here about the many improvements he came across in the last year for Bodhi on the Chromebook.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Sunday, December 1, 2013
HOWTO: Watch Netflix on Bodhi Linux
Not being able to utilize the Netflix video streaming service has been an issue on the Linux desktop for the past few years. This is due to the fact that Netflix utilizes Microsoft's Silverlight technology for video playback.
For the last few months though we have been able to watch Netflix in our native browsers on Linux using a Wine pluggin wrapper called Pipelight. Today I would like to walk you through the short process of using Pipelight to watch Netflix under Bodhi Linux.
Step 1 - Install Chromium or Firefox
Pipelight needs Chromium or Firefox to work. So if you are still using Bodhi's default browser Midori - you will need to install one of these other two browser. You can obtain your browser of choice by clicking on one of the links below:
Step 2 - Install Pipelight
Next we need to install the Pipelight plugin by clicking on the link below:
Pipelight depends on the Microsoft corefonts package. This means that if you do not already have these fonts installed they will be installed as part of the installation of Pipelight. When installing these fonts you need to agree to an EULA, to navigate to the Accept button you will need to use the tab key, and then press the enter button to select it.
Step 5 (Optional) - Add Netflix to the Permanent Spoof List
If you are like me then you hate having to manually click a button and change your user agent string back and forth every time you visit the Netflix site. Thankfully the User Agent Switcher for Chromium as a "Permanent Spoof List". Simply add the URLs shown in the image below to identify as Windows Firefox 3.5 (note the * at the end of the URLs - it is important):
Enjoy! If you have any questions or issues feel free to drop a comment below or open a support request on the Bodhi user forums.
For the last few months though we have been able to watch Netflix in our native browsers on Linux using a Wine pluggin wrapper called Pipelight. Today I would like to walk you through the short process of using Pipelight to watch Netflix under Bodhi Linux.
Step 1 - Install Chromium or Firefox
Pipelight needs Chromium or Firefox to work. So if you are still using Bodhi's default browser Midori - you will need to install one of these other two browser. You can obtain your browser of choice by clicking on one of the links below:
Step 2 - Install Pipelight
Next we need to install the Pipelight plugin by clicking on the link below:
Pipelight depends on the Microsoft corefonts package. This means that if you do not already have these fonts installed they will be installed as part of the installation of Pipelight. When installing these fonts you need to agree to an EULA, to navigate to the Accept button you will need to use the tab key, and then press the enter button to select it.
Step 3 - Setup a User Agent Changer
The User Agent is a little code in your browser that tells the page you are viewing what browser you are using. In order for Netflix to even offer us the Silverlight player it needs to think we are on Windows. To do this we install a user agent changer browser plugin. Install the proper plugin linked below for your browser:
After you have the user agent changer installed - set your browser to detect as "Windows Firefox".
Step 4 - Watch Netflix!
Step 5 (Optional) - Add Netflix to the Permanent Spoof List
If you are like me then you hate having to manually click a button and change your user agent string back and forth every time you visit the Netflix site. Thankfully the User Agent Switcher for Chromium as a "Permanent Spoof List". Simply add the URLs shown in the image below to identify as Windows Firefox 3.5 (note the * at the end of the URLs - it is important):
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
HOWTO: Test E18, EFL 1.8.0, and Terminology 0.4.0 on Bodhi Linux
As of this past weekend the testing builds of the Enlightenment window manager DR18 (E18 for short) are in the Bodhi Linux testing repository. The following are the steps you need to take if you would like to install and help test the future of the Enlightenment desktop on your Bodhi Linux install.
Step 1 - Add the testing Repository
First we need to add the testing repository to our software sources. Open our sources.list with sudo using the following command:
Step 1 - Add the testing Repository
First we need to add the testing repository to our software sources. Open our sources.list with sudo using the following command:
gksudo leafpad /etc/apt/sources.list
Towards the bottom of the file you will find a line that reads:
deb http://packages.bodhilinux.com/bodhi precise stable
After the "stable" component we want to add the "testing" component. To do this we edit the above line to be:
deb http://packages.bodhilinux.com/bodhi precise stable testing
Save and close the file.
Step 2 - Upgrade to EFL 1.8.0
Open your terminal emulator of choice and run the following command:
This command will tell you that it wants to remove a number of packages (ecore edje eet eeze efreet eina eio embryo emotion eobj ethumb evas). This is fine - all of these packages have been merged into one "efl" package. Let the upgrade command complete.
Step 3 - Install E18
The default "enlightenment" package in Bodhi Linux will remain as the DR17 desktop - we will not be forcing anyone to upgrade to E18 so long as E17 still builds with the latest Enlightenment Foundation Libraries. This means to replace E17 with E18 we need to install the E18 package. In your favorite terminal run:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
This command will tell you that it wants to remove a number of packages (ecore edje eet eeze efreet eina eio embryo emotion eobj ethumb evas). This is fine - all of these packages have been merged into one "efl" package. Let the upgrade command complete.
Step 3 - Install E18
The default "enlightenment" package in Bodhi Linux will remain as the DR17 desktop - we will not be forcing anyone to upgrade to E18 so long as E17 still builds with the latest Enlightenment Foundation Libraries. This means to replace E17 with E18 we need to install the E18 package. In your favorite terminal run:
sudo apt-get install e18
It will tell you it wants to remove the "enlightenment" package - let it. After it finishes installing you should restart your desktop environment.
Congrats, you now have the E18 desktop to play with!
A few Notes
I would like to remind everyone that this is pre-release software and you should expect to encounter issues. You can report/discuss the issues you are having in the testing section of the Bodhi forums.
At this current point a number of the extra modules (such as places and the engage dock) that the Bodhi profiles use are not currently built for E18. We will be working on adding support for these over the next few weeks.
In this same vein - a number of the existing E17 themes will have issues running under E18. They will all need updates to function with the latest version of the desktop. So when trying to confirm bugs it is always best that you are using the "default" E18 theme when testing things.
If you run into issues getting the testing repo added or the software installed I would encourage you to please open a thread on our user forums as opposed to simply posting a comment below. It is much easier to debug software issues on a forum than in a comments section.
Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland
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