Scorpio_2013-1 : now with its own website

[Taco.22]

Scorpio_2013-1 is now out.  Download size is 523mb. 

Download - Scorpio_2013-1.iso
                Scorpio_2013-1.iso.md5

Scorpio is based on Debian Wheezy, using the Testing repos.  It uses pure Openbox, with no panel, icons or "desktop".  It runs no eye candy or special effects.  It is designed to run light and fast, and to supply a stable base for further development if required.  But it works great as is!

Lightdm is DM, Thunar is FM; Chromium default browser; terminal is xterm, although there is also urxvt with tabs embedded in the desktop.  There is also lxappearance, gparted, unetbootin, and remastersys.  There is no synaptic - if you need that then su to root and "apt-get install synaptic".  Having done that though you may then be wondering why you needed synaptic in the first place!  By the way, there is no sudo.

Desktop shortcuts are included in the root menu - these are visible in the screenshot below.  Other shortcuts are in a shortcut sub-menu under "Openbox", including for pytyle which does window tiling on the fly.  Also visible in the screenshot is conky and the embedded urxvt terminal.  There has been an extra icon theme added, and there is a "Places" entry in the root menu.

Website for Scorpio_Openbox has lots of info and instructions.

But this is the place for brainstorming and problem solving!

[Taco.22]

Due to the base that Scorpio is built on, and the issues regarding locales and language, Scorpio will be relaunched on the Village_RC1 base once it achieves RC2 status, which should be soon.  In the meantime it works fine as an English only release.  Stay tuned for further details.

[patrick013]

Hi,

I noticed Scorpio is just over 500MB and LV is just over 400 MB

Is that because LV is at a higher compression ?

I thought Scorpio was the lightest version.

THX

patrick

[Taco.22]

LinuxVillage is lighter than Scorpio.  Scorpio has Chromium rather than Midori, and the compression ratio was different.  I now have a new Scorpio based on LinuxVillage_RC2 - will be interesting to see how it compresses.  I'll be uploading once LV_RC2 is sorted.

[djohnston]

patrick013,

Good eye. Scorpio used lzma compression and LV uses xz compression. Taco.22 may go back to lzma for LinuxVillage.

[melodie]

Hello,

Does Village RC-x have zram on ? 

[Taco.22]

Does Village RC-x have zram on ?   

Good lord - no way!!  I have barely any idea of what it's all about, despite a number of attempts to enlighten myself regarding said subject.  One day, ... maybe ...  I'll have to sleep on it!

[melodie]

This is a kernel module coming from the compcache projet: http://code.google.com/p/compcache/

examples of places where a script to use it exist:
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/zramswap/

Description:    Sets up zram-based swap devices on boot
Upstream URL:    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZRam

exists for Ubuntu:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/precise/zram-config

doesn't exist for Debian:
http://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=zram&searchon=all&suite=all&section=all

exists for Fedora...

had it in all pclinuxos openbox versions, hand configured in rc.local

I think djohnston recently talked about a script to activate it on the fly in the menus.

Zram is a kernel module which when loaded creates a virtual device in swap, acting as a swap device, but compressed in RAM, and configured the right way it will be 25% as large as the available RAM, and it will be used if more RAM is needed, with a high priority above the swap partition.

I have used the script provided for antiX, for which I asked two friends their help to improve it because it was not working the right way at that time. Therefore you could grab it from antiX as the system basis is the same.(systemv and not upstart as in Ubuntu)

The last alpha I had done is still there:
http://tyruiop.eu/~melodie/Downloads/ISOS/antiX/

and the script is in /usr/local/bin with a bunch of other scripts done by and for antiX

PS: zram, when nicely configured, makes a system snappier and the user happier !   //snappy happy system user !

[patrick013]

patrick013,

Good eye. Scorpio used lzma compression and LV uses xz compression. Taco.22 may go back to lzma for LinuxVillage.

I was trying that out once and lzma  was making regular compressed files but at a
higher speed.    I don't think it made the smallest files, however.

[melodie]

Well, more you compress slower it is : for going and for coming back.