|
I think that a news
feature will be helpful
just to let anyone who
is interested know whats
going on. There may not
be a lot of updates, but
I will try and post
important changes and
events.
|
3/30/24
|
We are
heading into the busiest
time of year for
gardening, and I love
gardening. Early spring
will eat my free time up
quickly. To keep the
releases on schedule I
have started making themes
for releases in advance. I
now have 2 sets of themes
done, and I am hoping to
get at least one more
ready. That way no matter
what I can hopefully get a
release out quickly.
At present the 4/24 Debian
series is ready to build
the final release iso's. I
should have LXQt out on
April 1st.
|
3/15/24
|
I have some
family commitments this
weekend, then I am an
election judge on Tuesday
of next week. Thats an all
day thing and I am
physically useless for a
few days afterward.
Because of this I released
almost all of the Manjaro
23.1.3.2m series today.
I still have Talking Mate
left, and it will be
released sometime next
week. The older iso still
works if you cant wait to
install it.
|
2/28/24
|
After
banging my head into a
wall yesterday fixing the
Directory Menu applet
settings in the
Xfce-Compiz release, a bug
surfaces in the Cinnamon
iso I built. Its an easy
bug to troubleshoot this
time, intel-ucode image
not found,just like the
amd-ucode error last
series. It will take a lot
more work to fix. This bug
will affect anyone with
intel graphics. That means
a package needs to be
added to all iso's, and so
everything in this release
series will have to be
built and uploaded again.
|
2/24/24
|
I just
announced the LXQt
23.1.3.1 release, its
really nice in my opinion.
I also finished changing
to the new modified
website theme. The pages
look good and scale to
about 800 pixels wide.
That should be ok for most
computers still in use
today. The text overlaps
the solid background below
that slightly, but its
still readable.
|
2/23/24
|
Real life
got in the way of starting
the Manjaro 23.1.3.1
series. Traveling 40
minutes one was for my
wift to have a cataract
removed, and then back the
next day to a doctor, then
taking care of her ate up
my free time. Some
things are infintly more
important than putting out
spins. I will get the LXQt
out today.
I also took a look at the
website in Chrome. It was
awful. I went to work and
fixed it. The pages should
all be replaced soon, I
just need some free time,
and that is in short
supply lately.
|
2/9/24
|
After
finishing the 2/24 Debian
series I took a look at my
electric bill. It seems
leaving an extra computer
on all the time to host
the website is wrecking my
budget plan. I had hoped
the "Buy me a coffee"
button would have helped
offset the cost, but so
far no one has donated. So
its back to free hosting.
The projects
spinsbykilz.com url will
be replaced by
spins.tuxfamily.org.
|
1/14/24
|
The 23.1.3
Manjaro series is in
progress. LXQt is
uploading now.
|
12/16/23
|
This is
going to be a long post,
and its reason may never
be reveled, but its
important to understand
the past to choose the
future. Please read it
all.
I have been using
Linux a long time. In the
early part of my journey I
spent a log time using
Ubuntu. In those days the
32bit version was promoted
over the 64bit version. At
that point the 64bit
version was not multiarch.
The problem was at the
time a few important
pieces of software were
only 32bit, some of them
were browser plugins that
only worked with the 32bit
browser. I wanted to use
the 64bit version, but
with a 32bit browser and
plugins. The OS at its
core could do this, but
multiarch support, while
promised, went a few years
with no results. So I
wrote a script that
downloaded 32bit packages
and setup a 32bit browser
and plugins along with all
the libraries they needed.
It was one of the most
popular threads on the
forum, and my posts were
one of the highest there
helping other users.
Finally 64bit became
multiarch, but it had
taken years, and about
that time Ubuntu
introduced Unity. Unity
was a huge misnomer. People,
thinking their opinions
mattered posted against
the change to Unity. Posts
against Unity started to
be deleted, and users were
eventually banned for
posting them. I had 6k
posts at the time and one
of my posts against Unity
was edited by a mod to
remove some of the
criticisms.
I questioned it in a
private message and was
told that criticizing the
OS direction would not be
allowed. I left that very
day and never went back to
Ubuntu. Choosing whats
allowed to be said was
just to much. I gave my
help freely and there were
others distributions that
valued what people had to
say. I helped out where I
could over the years going
to Debian and others
before landing with
Manjaro.
The lesson is freely
expressing yourself is
important. If a projects
steps on that, find one
that allows you to express
yourself.
|
12/15/23
|
Two days after I
started the 23.1.0.1
series when a stable
update was released, a
stable update gets
released. This one has
security updates. Its a
no brainer to to just
rebuild the 2 desktops
already built.
Rebuilding the two that
were done was fast and I
am uploading the new
iso's as I write this.
It just took a few hours
to do and was worth it
to me.
|
12/13/23
|
I wasnt
planing on building a
Manjaro series until later
in the month. Its only
been 15 days or so since
the last one finished. But
I delayed that one, so it
was later than usual. Then
the holidays are at the
end of the month. There
might not be an update
then, and I would rather
have that time for family,
church, and friends. Since
I finished the themes
yesterday now is as good a
time as any. It will
be a point release,
23.1.0.1.
|
12/1/23
|
I
will start building the
Debian 12/23 series
tomorrow. All the themes
are ready and the packages
built and uploaded. But
its been a hectic day and
a pour of Wild Turkey Rare
Breed is in front of me.
Time to relax a little.
|
11/21/23
|
The next
Manjaro stable update was
today. I have started on
the 23.1.0 release series.
I am really enjoying the
performance benefit I got
by spending $23 last month
to upgrade the build
server/nas. The builds
finish about 15 minutes
faster.
|
11/15/23
|
Life
sometimes gets in the way
of fun. I am real busy
taking care of my family
and taking them and myself
to appointments right now.
So I took a break on the
Manjaro release cycle
until the next stable
update. I still have a
little time here and there
like this morning. I
cleaned up the left hand
menu of the website, put
the Buy me a coffee button
back, and added a
Sourceforge achievement
badge.
|
11/2/23
|
I just
posted the release
announcement of SbK Debian
Cinnamon 1123. Its a great
release. To me the Debian
releases seem faster and
the iso's are about 200mb
smaller on average. Whats
amazing with that is they
have larger software
packages like the Waterfox
browser.
Talking Mate for Debian,
the next release, also has
a big advantage, the
screen reader works with
the calamares installer. I
have tried and tried to
port the obvious changes
to Manjaro but they dont
work there.
11/23 is looking to be a
great release. Then I will
take a small break while
waiting on Manjaro to make
a stable update.
|
10/26/23
|
While
updating some of the
websites pages to add
Debian info I noticed
inconsistency with the
websites theme. That was a
rabbit hole I fell into
and ended up redoing the
website template and
transferring all the pages
to the new theme. It still
has the basic concept of
the old theme, but when
going from one page to
another the layout of a
page stays closer to all
the other.
|
10/24/23
|
With a nice
new https url that shows
the projects domain and
the hosting for the site
figured out I am slowly
going through the pages.
The 11/23 Debian spins are
still a few days away from
the final builds so now
seemed like a good time to
edit pages. My left
hand is still messed up so
the typing is hard and
slow. But a lot of the
pages are Manjaro
specific. Since Debian
spins were added, sections
of the pages that deal
with a specific
distribution base need to
be defined. Hopefully it
wont take long.
|
10/21/23
|
While I
know a little about
websites and hosting, I am
not an expert. But the
main host for the website
has been down a week so I
splurged and upgraded my
build server/nas with a
core 2 quad and an extra
4gb of ram for $23 on
eBay. I then installed
Apache and had the site up
in no time. Next came a
https certificate.
Everything looked good
when I installed the cert,
but the site wouldnt come
up. I proceeded to
pound my head into a wall
for two days trying to
make it work. Searching
and reading, trying
anything that was
suggested.
Turns out my router wasnt
setup correctly.
Well at least I now know
way more about setting up
https software than I ever
wanted to. The benefit is
that the site is now
working at
https://spinsbykilz.com
and is nice and fast with
no warnings.
|
10/19/23
|
I have most
of the work for the Debian
11/23 series done. I took
a little time today to
update the About page.
Next month the project
will be 4 years old.
|
10/15/23
|
Just after
posting the release of
Xfce-Compiz for Manjaro
Tuxfamily, the main host
for the project, went
down. I was prepared this
time and tried hosting
thee site and repo myself,
it was a disaster. Slow
and full of connection
errors. But its to be
expected from a AthalonXP
(i386) that I had
available. Yes the project
runs on ancient hardware.
The best is a FX-6300
system, my main computer.
The build server/nas is a
Dell 380 with a core 2
duo. I had hoped some kind
soul would have donated to
help me replace them with
something a little newer,
but so far a total of $0
has been donated.
Dont get me wrong, I build
the spins as a labor of
love. But a little help
wouldnt hurt. Paid hosting
and upgrading to more
modern hardware (Zen 1, 2
or 3) are the end goals of
asking for donations.
Sadly being disabled and
on a fixed income it wont
happen without help.
|
10/03/23
|
Im in the
middle of the Debian 10/23
series and had a little
time. I updated the
websites theme pages
adding a Debian page for
full themes.
I pinched a nerve in my
back that affects my right
hand. ts getting better
slowly, but my left pinky
and ring finger are
useless right now. Typing
is hard without them so I
may be a little slow
getting things out.
|
9/24/23
|
I am
working on the Debian
10/23 series. While
I wasnt planing on adding
another desktop after
finishing the 9/23 series,
I thought Talking Mate
should also be a Debian
spin. It has a special
place in my heart as my
wife needs visual
accessibility in a
desktop.
Adding Talking Mate to
Debian was not easy and
required a new setup.
While it took some time it
was well spent as it will
help the Manjaro version.
I have gotten at least
some screen reader
functionality with
the Calamares installer.
The change in setup also
makes it eary to disable
the screen reader if
someone just wants the
Mate desktop. This will
also be useful if someone
who doesnt need a screen
reader wants to use the
computer. All thats needed
is setting up another
login and disabling it for
that account.
|
9/10/23
|
The Debian
923 series finished a few
days ago, and I am now
building the Manjaro
23.0.1 series.
|
9/4/23
|
I am
uploading the first of the
Debian 9/23 series,
Cinnamon. The other two
will follow over the next
two days.
|
8/28/23
|
Its been a
productive week. On the
Debian side Cinnamon and
Xfce-Compiz were added.
This took a lot of
scripting to the eznix
build platform to have
multiple profiles
available, and pull
and replace files in the
setup depending on the
profile.
A few generators were
created to build and make
the common packages, and
one to update the profiles
for the various iso's for
a series.
It took some time to
setup, but in the long run
it will free up time to
improve the spins. An
example, it took about 6
hours to make the 11
package folders, create
the packages, and test
them for the 923 series.
The generator does it in
about 3 minutes.
Everything looks on track
for the Debian 923 series
to be out the first week
in September. I also have
a head start on the
wallpaper and themes for
the next Manjaro and
Debian series. After
release its time to relax
and od on Hearthstone for
a few days.
|
8/23/23
|
I have been
working on the 9/23 Debian
series. Xfce-Compiz was so
easy I figured I would get
a start on Cinnamon
because there is a dock
and a panel iso. Even if
it wasnt done for 9/23 I
thought the work would
make it easier to add it
for 10/23. The good news
is that Cinnamon is coming
along nicely. There are
still a few things left to
do, but it will be ready
for the 9/23 series.
LXQt, Xfce-Compiz, and
Cinnamon will be the
lineup for the near
future. For the
10/23 series I will be
looking at the included
software lists to see if I
can improve it.
|
8/17/23
|
The Manjaro
23.0.0.2 series is almost
done. Only Cinnamon is
left, and its built and
being tested. It should be
released on 8/18/23.
I have built the first
Debian Xfce-Compiz iso. It
still needs some work but
it should be ready for the
Debian 923 release.
A huge thank you to Donald
Norwood. He answered an
email to the Debian Forums
and said it was ok to post
about the Debian spins
there.
|
8/8/23
|
I am
uploading the 8/23 Debian
release as I write this. I
was able to do the
scripting to make a
minimal iso. That will put
me ahead for next month
when I plan on adding a
desktop to the Debian side
of the project. I am still
thinking about it. The
choices are Mate-Compiz or
Xfce-Compiz. Cinnamon has
an outside chance, but its
going to be more work.
Gnome will be last if its
added at all.
I did create my first
little application. Its an
update script for the
update notifier. It will
open a terminal, ask for
your password, then update
and upgrade. It will stay
open a few minutes in case
there are any errors so
they can be copied into a
txt file for
troubleshooting purposes.
Not much, but the other
option was bloated and
added a lot of files. For
a lightweight desktop like
LXQT, its good.
|
8/6/23
|
Its been
some time since the last
update. The 23.0.0.1
Manjaro series was
finished about two weeks
ago and I started on the
Debian spin. Since I
couldnt make a Pantheon
spin, I had an extra theme
already made. I used it
for the upcoming August
Debian spin that should be
released in the next week.
The Debian side of the
project took some big
steps since the initial
release. Its now
multiarch, has a timeshift
autosnap, the SbK Debian
repository is up, and lots
of graphics have been made
for its parts. The
build script is also
pretty well set for a full
LXQt iso.
The September release will
see a minimal iso release
and possibly another
desktop. Thats going to
take a lot of scripting to
accomplish so it wont make
the August release.
|
7/19/23
|
The
repository and web host
are back up. I am working
on the 23.0.0.1 series.
OSDN is still down, but
Sourceforge is a good for
a download host. I am
keeping all the backup
sites updated in case one
of the main hosts goes
down in the future.
Please, if you can, help
support this project with
the "Buy me a coffee"
button.
|
7/17/23
|
Its been a
frustrating week for the
most part, but at least
one bright spot. The
frustrating part is that
the website, repository,
and release hosts all went
down. There is no
timetable for them to
return. I got a free web
host for the website and
resurrected the old
Sourceforge site that had
not been used in a year.
So the project is back
online, but the repository
on Sourceforge is slow and
sometimes errors out. I
will move back to the
hosts I was using when
they are up. The
Sourceforge site will be
kept up to date as a
backup from now on.
The bright spot worth
mentioning here is that
the first Debian spin was
built and released. I
spent a long time in the
Debian community at large.
It feels good to give
something back. You can check
it
out here if you
want.
|
7/4/23
|
I have
added a "Buy me a coffee"
button to the website. If
you would like to help
support my work you can
click on the button. At
present the plans for any
funds raised will be used
for paying for the domain
the project uses.
Additional money raised
will likely be saved to
upgrade the ancient
computers the project uses
before they die.
Thanks in advance for any
donations.
|
6/24/23
|
I have
uploaded the new website
theme. I hope everyone
likes it.
|
| 6/22/23
|
With all
the work that went into
the last series on the
theme generators I find I
have a little extra time
on my hands. While I am
typing this I am looking
at the dated website I
created in the early days.
It works and info is easy
to find, but its far from
my best work.
That being said I have
been working on a website
refresh. Not sure when it
will be done, but the
early test page has
progressed to a point it
is the clear path forward.
A little more work and
maybe it will be ready for
the launch of the next
series.
|
| 5/7/23 |
An update
was released, so the next
series (22.1.1) is being
built. There is a new LTS
kernel 6.1. I expect the
LXQt spin will be released
Monday.
|
| 4/30/23 |
All the
themes and wallpapers are
ready. A release should
happen with the next big
Manjaro stable update.
Until then I will take
some time and polish a few
things.
|
| 4/21/23 |
If there
was one piece of advice I
would give to someone
working with css or some
other code they do not
know like the back of
their hand, its backup
often. After two days of
hard work I had the full
theme generator 98%
complete. I forgot to back
it up. I made some changes
to get that last two
percent done. That didnt
happen, I fubar'd
the gtk 3.0 and 4.0
templates up. I thought I
had a current backup, but
it was more than a day
old. So back to work I
went, backing up after
each little area I worked
on. Two days later its all
done.
The project now has a
complete theme generator
instead of five separate
ones. This is going to
make the theme very
consistent, and save a lot
of time. The next release
series will use themes
from the generator, and I
am sure there will be bugs
that need to be fixed. But
I am also sure I will
backup as much as
possible, at least until a
month goes by and I start
some other project. :)
|
| 4/17/23 |
The new
Gnome shell theme is
pretty much done. There
are a few tiny things I
would like to change, but
its nice as it is. The
advantage is that all
themes from this point on
will include a gnome shell
theme. I am thinking of
making this an all in one
generator. It will take a
little work, but it should
be doable.
|
| 4/16/23 |
I have
spent a few days working
on a new gtk theme
generator script.
Its based on Otis,
but has had extensive
changes including a
complete recreation of the
gtk asset icons. The css
is also modified. Its
looking real good. One
advantage is that Otis
also has a Gnome Shell
theme, something I wanted
to address at some point.
Well no time like the
present. I already have
the shell icons I need
modified for the script.
Next is the css.
|
| 4/11/23 |
The 22.1.0
series is complete. It
turned out to be very
nice, and as a total might
be the best series of the
past few. But I think it
can be better. One area I
am not happy with is the
gtk theme. Specifically
the dotted outlines in
some situations. I will be
looking into alternatives
for the next series.
|
| 3/31/23 |
The big
update I was waiting for
happened today. I have
started work on the 22.1.0
series. The packages for
it are uploaded. I had to
do a little work on the
build scripts, but
everything looks to be ok
now. I expect to have LXQt
up tomorrow, and the rest
will follow.
|
| 3/11/23 |
The last
big update was to close to
the last release series,
so I put it off for one
more. Everything is ready,
so the next series will
come right after the next
big update.
|
| 1/26/23 |
I have
uploaded the first of the
22.0.1 series. The rest is
going slow. I may get out
Mate-Compiz today, but it
will take some luck. If
not the rest of the series
should be out daily after
today.
|
| 9/29/22 |
I have a
lot of spare time so I
went looking for things to
fix. In September of 2021
the project moved to a new
repository. For a long
time the old repository
was left as it was and it
was more or less
forgotten. In June of this
year I was forced to
pretty much empty it
because of limited hosting
space. That brings us to
today, I have created a
symlink linking the old
repository to the new
repository. I am not sure
how many people are still
running the old spins, but
they will need to add the
new repository key to
access the files, instructions
are found here.
|
| 9/27/22 |
The 22.0.0
series has been done for a
few days. My foot is
getting better and while
it is healing it gave me
time to finish the
preparations for the next
series. It also gave me
time to sit and think
about what needs to be
done. One area of need was
a way to backup the build
server, the repository and
the theme creation setup.
A day of scripting fixed
that and I can now backup
everything with a command.
While it doesnt improve
the spins it does make
sure that if something
would happen to a hard
drive it would be easier
to restore it from
archives stored in the
cloud. Otherwise
years of work could be
lost, and its a real
possibility with my
ancient hardware.
|
| 9/19/22 |
Just when
things are going good,
life takes a turn. I was
mowing my backyard, in a
house I have owned for
over 20 years. I must have
walked on every part of
that yard, or so I
thought. I stepped on a
big rusty crusty nail that
went into my foot. I
cleaned it out, put
antibiotic ointment on it.
The next morning my foot
swelled up, I went to the
emergency room.
I spent over a week in the
hospital, had surgery, and
now have a nifty hole in
my foot than needs to
heal. I have been out now
a few days and I am
working on the 22.0.0
release that Manjaro
released during my
hospital stay. Its going
slow, but I am half way
done. I hope you like that
new Pantheon spin.
|
| 8/28/22 |
A few days
after stopping work on the
Enlightenment spin I tried
Pantheon. It has gone a
lot better. Most of the
work was theme and package
selection related. The
only real bug is I ran
into was getting the live
environment to auto sign
in. Along with its
release, likely in the
next release cycle, will
be a Pantheon specific
theme that may work with
other desktops, but I
havent tested it yet.
Still some scripting work
to do to fit the desktop
into my build/packaging
setup, it should be easy
but time consuming.
|
| 8/22/22 |
After
pounding my head against a
wall for a day trying to
change the default file
manager in Enlightenment,
I am shelving this build
for a bit. The file
manager that is part of
Enlightenment is just bad.
I was considering Caja or
Nemo, but after trying a
lot of ways to do it, it
still wont start them by
default.
|
| 8/21/22 |
The 21.3.7
series is done and I'm a
little bored. I have some
of the theming done, and
the rest wont take to
long, and a month until I
will likely release the
next series. I have been
looking at Enlightenment
as a possible desktop to
spin. I have created a
buildiso profile and an
iso. The iso boots to the
desktop, and installs. But
there is a lot of work to
do. I'm not sure when it
will be ready, or if it
will ever be released. But
its a start.
|
| 7/18/22 |
The 21.3.4
update dropped this
morning. Its only been 21
days since Manjaro was
updated to the 21.3.1
series, but I am going to
create the SbK 21.3.4
series. Updates to stable
have been over a month at
times in the past. If the
next update takes that
long there would to much
time between releases. I
have all the packages
created and uploaded and I
will start making the
iso's soon.
|
| 7/9/2022 |
I went
ahead with spinning the
Kora icon set. I created a
color change script and
created the base package
(KoraSpinBase). The base
package is in the SbK
repository, but it only
has grey folders. Kora
will not be in the next
release because the icons
for it are already done,
but they will be in the
one after that.
|
| 7/7/2022 |
I am
getting a little bit bored
at the moment. So I am
looking for ways to
improve the spins.
FlatRemix icons are nice,
but the appeal they once
had is swiftly fading. I
have been looking at the Kora
icon set. There is a
good chance I may Spin it.
It likely wont appear for
two releases if I do.
|
| 6/22/2022 |
I
think I misunderstood what
was said on a update
post on the Manjaro
forum. I thought that the
22.0 series was next, and
Manjaro did not update the
lsb-release package that
shows the release version.
So I named the last SbK
series 22.1.b. Then
Manjaro released 21.3
after the SbK 22.1.b
series was released. In
the future I will not
advance the series number
if that happens again,
instead I will create a
point release.
At present all the
theming is done for the
next series. Its likely to
be 21.4 or 21.5 with the
release coming after the
next stable update. I will
delete the 22.1.b iso's
from OSDN site once the
next release is posted
since the numbering will
be off.
Earlier this week I
did some repository
maintenance. I removed
some ancient packages from
a very old repository on
OSDN. I created some empty
package databases and
uploaded them to OSDN so
any users that still have
not moved to the new
repository will not
get any errors. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
