Slashdot Reader Builds 'Spaced Linux', a New Devuan-Based, User-Friendly Desktop Distro (spacedlinux.com)
- Reference: 0184902554
- News link: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/26/08/09/0226209/slashdot-reader-builds-spaced-linux-a-new-devuan-based-user-friendly-desktop-distro
- Source link: https://spacedlinux.com/
> I've been working really diligently for the last few weeks on [3]a new distro called Spaced Linux that is exactly what I want to use. It's heavily focused on the [zoom-friendly 3D] [4]Compiz desktop, very efficient using the rolling Devuan Ceres backend, and avoids dependency hell by promoting mostly Flatpak usage.
>
> It's still early, but it's already working great for me, it's been my daily driver for a few weeks now.
There's also user-friendly themes — everything from Linux, Android, GeoWorks, and Mac OS X to Windows 11, Windows XP, and even Windows 3.11 (dark or light theme). And you can also run Windows apps under Wine. "And let me tell you, Nvidia runs perfectly on here now..." he adds [5]in the video . "It just works really, really well out of the box."
He's now working on voice-command features, bur argues that Spaced Linux "is already extremely usable, extremely efficient, extremely fast, and extremely reliable.... And it's only going to get better and better."
[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~crhylove
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVftMkIorSY
[3] https://spacedlinux.com/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVftMkIorSY
Mostly flatpak? (Score:5, Interesting)
Nice, so now... I can sleep well with the confidence that my home directory can will get corrupted and my entire os might become useless just because. And that I'll have no warning about any of it until my entire os catches fire, because there aren't any meaningful logs anywhere.
Here for it.
This is the change we needed.
Re: (Score:3)
Flatpak, Snap and containers in general need lots of drive space. Good thing storage is cheap these days OH WAIT
Re: (Score:2)
> Flatpak, Snap and containers in general need lots of drive space. Good thing storage is cheap these days OH WAIT
Just use a RAM disk instead. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Something, something, evtx something. Oooh, that's gonna sting.
Re: (Score:2)
Well at least it has a tech demo of a desktop that saw it's last release four years ago. Most probably flatpack full of other outdated software is actually required to run this by now.
Re: (Score:2)
Noting that Ubuntu Core is built entirely? from snap packages, so this kind of thing isn't a new idea.
New Distro? (Score:2)
Is this really a new distro? What makes it a unique distro?
This looks more like a cool bunch of desktop themes more than a distro, to me. I guess the choice of Compiz is the distro distinguishing characteristic? But, Compiz is a dead end, in my opinion. So unless he's developing and maintaining Compiz, I don't expect this to gain any traction.
I am happy that it makes him happy.
Re: (Score:2)
it's an opinionated install of a base distro, which can be and is often labelled a distro itself. the heavy lifting is just left to the base. crunchbang was exactly that and was quite nice and got some following for a while, and last i checked there still was a derivative around after it shut down.
Re: (Score:2)
Looks like a personal customization to me. I did that too about 15 years ago... what was it called? Umm.. I asked the great big head in the sky (Gemini) this was it: Refracta (and its core tool suite, Refracta Tools), created by fsmithred. same guy behind Devuan.
I used Refracta to make a customized iso that I could install on client computers and machines on the private lan ... customize once, install many times. This distro looks nearly like what I had 15 years ago. So yeah. It's barely a distro at all, bu
The Extremely Distro. (Score:2)
Need more "extremely" to corner the rest of the market.
Spaced Linux (Score:3)
Can we still use tabs?
Lost me at "Flatpak" (Score:3)
> ... avoids dependency hell by promoting mostly Flatpak usage.
I'm glad that crhylove brought something to the party, but I won't be partaking. I fully sympathize with the desire to avoid dependency hell, but in my experience AppImage is the only format that does that cleanly, reliably and painlessly.
Yes, heavy reliance on AppImages chews up disk space - and also memory, if you're using a lot of apps which under traditional package management systems share libraries. But they're clean, and they generally don't break when the system is updated and libraries change. The onus is on the user to keep them up-to-date, and I can live with that.
I'm not hugely experienced here, so this is just an opinion: if you want to avoid dependency problems, AFAICT AppImages are the best choice. That said, in my limited experience, Flatpaks are at least less problematic than Snaps.
Re: (Score:2)
amen brother... dependency "hell" using apt is pretty effing good vs flatpak and snap. Appimages I agree are the only portable format that doesn't f*ck you over. Actually, if you use apt you dont' have dependency hell. I've used debian/devuan and apt for ever now, over 20 years, on hundreds of installations. Install or remove/purge operations have worked very well, only occasional problems have occurred with nearly always something to do with python versions. Ugh. If I want problems, I'll stick with PHP. Th
Re: (Score:2)
Was gonna say, people using APT and the phrase "dependency hell" clearly never used RPM back in the day. Not sure if it's gotten better, but I don't care, because I've been avoiding it for two decades now.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah same. My first linux was Mandrake and all I can remember is chasing down random rpm's to get something working.
I haven't experienced any dependency hell since switching to pacman, although yeah APT is a pretty close second.
Re: (Score:2)
> amen brother... dependency "hell" using apt is pretty effing good vs flatpak and snap.
My biggest problems have been with trying to install out-of-band programs/versions in APT and having unsatiisfiable dependencies. It's really annoying when there's a program - or a specific version of one - that I really want but can't install. In those cases I look for AppImages, Flatpaks, and Snaps - in that order.
After about a year I STILL hate current versions of Thunderbird; but I can't find any older ones that will install, and I can't find Snaps or AppImages. Similarly, I'd be on an older version of
Re: (Score:2)
Eh, they lost me at Compiz. An X11 only DE? Gross.
Sweet! (Score:2)
Sweet! I've also wanted Compiz to work well on Linux. Looks like it's shaping up to be a great distro.
It would be cool to see a [1]3D file browser, too [wikipedia.org].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_System_Visualizer
would be awesome (Score:2)
without the AI infection vector crap
Huh (Score:2)
I'm a little confused what has really been accomplished here. Did he train his own speech to text model? Otherwise, it seems like he packaged up his favorite settings and called it a distribution. I've been using Linux since 1994. I don't love or hate systemd. I don't think new users are going to care about that. It doesn't spy on users and you can audit the code yourself. So, this just seems like a customization for a guy with strong opinions on what seem like random things.
Compiz (Score:2)
Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.
Re: Compiz (Score:2)
I'm still waiting for Linux to feel as good as Compiz on Ubuntu 7.04
It's not terrible now, but there was a long period of
Relavant XKCD comic (Score:4, Informative)
[1]https://xkcd.com/927/ [xkcd.com]
I mean, we shouldn't shame the guy for making his own custom Linux distribution. But did we really didn't need yet another one? Why can't these things just be an add-on package to an existing distribution, instead of fragmenting the Linux ecosystem even more?
[1] https://xkcd.com/927/
Re: (Score:2)
Gotta create a standard to standardize to first. Kinda chicken and the egg here. Never discourage potential innovation.
Re: (Score:2)
The KDE vs Gnome wars and UI "standardization". Let alone breaks spatial browser caused.
Re: (Score:2)
> Why can't these things just be an add-on package to an existing distribution,
This one goes to eleven, you impotent numbskull.
Re: (Score:2)
Distros are more of "the taste of the consumer", specially in basic appearance and utilities.
As long you don't make an incompatibility trainwreck, you can make a bunch of different distros to try to get to different tastes.
The fragmentation is only a problem if you get stuff like "this distros can only run X programs".
If all of em can run all of the software, it's fine and even desirable.