New alias – cb or copy bash

 We always compare 2 files after a skel.

The working .bashrc and the newest .bashrc-latest are being compared and we get the new lines in.

There is now an alias to just copy/paste the one over the other.

After typing skel, you type cb and the .bashrc will be overwritten with the .bashrc-latest. More info here.

New alias cleanup. More info here.

ArcoLinux iso

 Changing permissions of folders – already present on the live dvd.

ufetch for arco

 New package for ufetch-arco logo called ufetch-arco-git.

New alias – mirror got some variants

You may have seen me struggle with the Arch Linux servers in one of my videos.

Time to dive into the application reflector.

Servers speed and service all depend on your own network, your isp and the servers around you. 
You can make an other alias to improve on these aliases.

As a result we have now several aliases to get the best servers out there.

#get fastest mirrors in your neighborhood
alias mirror="sudo reflector -f 30 -l 30 --number 10 --verbose --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
alias mirrord="sudo reflector --latest 50 --number 20 --sort delay --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
alias mirrors="sudo reflector --latest 50 --number 20 --sort score --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
alias mirrora="sudo reflector --latest 50 --number 20 --sort age --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"

New arcolinux package – arcolinux-system-config-git

We would like to place more elements that are currently on the arcolinux-iso in this package so we can manage them better from remote and push the necessary updates to the users via pacman.

To keep rolling we have a new script in ~/bin/stay-rolling/18.11-to-18.12.

You can check what we removed from the iso in the package arcolinux-system-config-git on the github.

New conky AUR-Lazuli

3 videos and 2 articles have been created to show how it was created, how to configure vnstat and how the personalize it later.

New fun script

Every month we provide a new fun script – this month it is guns.

Packages removed from installation:

• redshift – geoip problem

ZAFIRO icons will be added to iso:

Thanks to a good understanding with the developer the inherits line now points to Surfn first and we are allowed to put it on the iso.

improvement for ssd:

With an udev rule we aim to improve the speed of SSD.

improvement for Smb.conf:

Added three lines to be able to see the windows computers + ability to enable winbind.service.

improvement for nsswitch.conf:

More explanations in the config file. In context of the Samba tutorials we improved the ArcoLinuxD scripts 140 and 150. This config file is part of this project.

improvement for ssd:

vm.swappiness is set to 1

watchdog:

In an effort to get rid of the long watchdog messages we have added a file to the iso.

SAMBA ERROR:

Just recently we get an Samba error after updating this package (4.9.2-1). We only see the message when we shutdown and it does not intervene in our work or pose any problems.

We have decided NOT to install samba and its related packages and services in future ArcoLinux releases. More from a less frustration, more security and faster computer kind of view.

A script to delete all the samba related packages and services has been created for all the users that would like to keep rolling but want to delete it. Users, who keep rolling, will need this one. Not necessary for people, who do a clean installation. You can find it in the ~/bin/main folder.

Option 1 (recommended)

Disabling this service will fix samba. We will need to wait for an update for it or not. In the meantime we found a solution for winbind if you need it.

sudo systemctl disable winbind.service

Option 2

Remove samba altogether from your system with the script in
.bin/main/delete-all-samba-related-services-and-apps-error-message-vx.sh

Option 3

If the error comes from an update then we can always downgrade.
Choose always this version for all 3 packages :  4.8.5-1.

downgrade samba
downgrade smbclient
downgrade libwbclient

REBOOT.

Type this in terminal to see a green active (running) samba again.

systemctl status smb.service

Watchdog time outs:

In an attempt to figure out why some of our users have these watchdogs messages when shutting down and need to wait until the watchdog stops, we have not installed tlp and its services. See commit. We have added a script to ArcoLinuxD github to install and activate it. It is typically for laptops.

tlp can easily be installed and activated with these commands

sudo pacman -S tlp
sudo systemctl enable tlp.service
sudo systemctl enable  tlp-sleep.service

NEW aliases:

Rip stands for Recent Installed Packages

• alias rip=”expac –timefmt=’%Y-%m-%d %T’ ‘%l\t%n %v’ | sort | tail -100″

 Youtube-dl is a command line way to download and safeguard video and audio.

Article can be found here.

• alias yta-aac=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format aac “

• alias yta-best=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format best “

• alias yta-flac=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format flac “

• alias yta-m4a=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format m4a “

• alias yta-mp3=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format mp3 “

• alias yta-opus=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format opus “

• alias yta-vorbis=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format vorbis “

• alias yta-wav=”youtube-dl –extract-audio –audio-format wav “

• alias ytv-best=”youtube-dl -f bestvideo+bestaudio “

new PackageS :

To be able to support the aliases we have added 2 small applications :

• expac
• youtube-dl

Pamac-aur update results in designing the icons :

One of the last updates resulted in a different look.

ArcoLinuX Package updates for:

• arcolinux-root-git (for all the aliases)
• arcolinux-applications-git (no geometry option in termite anymore)

Third party Package updates for:

• pamac-aur
• vivaldi
• vivaldi-codecs-ffmpeg
• xcursor-breeze
• surfn
• sardi
• mintlocale
• inxi
• …

Third party Package updates for:

• i3-gaps-next
• vivaldi
• pamac-aur

Fun script of the month:

• arch
• arco

New package : arcolinux-logo

A new package has been created to have a separate folder containing all the logos.

You will find all the logos of ArcoLinux in this hidden folder ~/.arcolinux-logo

Package Improvement : arcolinux-openbox-config

Scripts were deleted – they moved to .bin a while ago.

Logo’s were deleted – a new package has been created for them.

You can delete the folders scripts and logos yourself from ~/.config/openbox or you can just leave them.

Calamares – geoip

Calamares, our graphical installer, will show again in what country you are located on the world map, if you are connected to the internet.

NEW Package hblock – 3party software

Improve your security and privacy by blocking ads, tracking and malware domains.
https://github.com/hectorm/hblock

Read more here.

Package IMPROVEMENT: Arcolinux-applications

Thanks to the report on github compton.desktop has been changed – no error message anymore in menulibre (xfce) for compton

Package IMPROVEMENT: Arcolinux-calamares-awesome

Making sure packages are uninstalled after installation of Calamares

Package IMPROVEMENT: Arcolinux-tint2-themes

Since the creation of Tint2 themes many things have changed in the background – tint2, gtk3, …

We noticed that the icons in the system panel were overlapping in some of the themes.

We figured out what to change in the tint2 configuration and you can fully enjoy all themes again.

Package IMPROVEMENT: Arcolinux-rofi-themes

We have added two more themes to the collection

• arcolinux-darkish
• arcolinux-nord

developed by Intrcptr – ArcoLinux Coremember

Package IMPROVEMENT: Arcolinux-root

New alias to backup the content of the current /etc/skel folder to your home folder : bupskel

When you type update in your terminal and you see a new ArcoLinux package coming in, you can stop the update with CTRL + C.

The idea then is to make a backup of the current /etc/skel with the new alias bupskel.

Then do your update and if I like you can compare then the differences in both folders with meld.

Package IMPROVEMENT: arcolinux-bin

We have added two scripts for intel-ucode and amd-ucode installation (for cpu only), if you would like them to be installed. There are reports of performance reduction after installation but it will increase your protection against spectre attacks.
More info on the wiki : https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/microcode

Package IMPROVEMENT: arcolinux-root

We added a new alias microcode to .bashrc : microcode

It will instantly display the status of your vulnerabilities of your cpu.

More info on the wiki : https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/microcode

Third party Package updates for:

• yay-bin
• vivaldi
• trizen
• xcursor-breeze
• pamac-aur

ISO IMPROVEMENT:

Calamares reverted back to initial setting after trying settings to help out people behind a proxy.

Changed urxvt settings for font size and background colour in Xresources. Now more similar to termite.

From left to right:

• Old urxvt
• New urxvt
• Termite

All desktops using urxvt will follow the new config like bspwm.

From left to right:

• New urxvt
• Old urxvt

ISO IMPROVEMENT:

Only people, who want to keep rolling (so no clean install), need to do this and only if you want to have your submicron wallpapers back. If you want to build isos it is mandatory to do this.

Since more and more people are building their own iso on the basis of the packages on github, we would like to be able to add even more mirror sites/urls to your system in the future.

We have created a new package called arcolinux-mirrorlist-git just for that reason.

We have now 2 mirrors. We will add more to the list in the future.

It will install a file into /etc/pacman.d with the name “arcolinux-mirrorlist”.

BUT

You will need to change your /etc/pacman.conf

Procedure

First do an “update” in your terminal.

Install the new package with “sudo pacman -S arcolinux-mirrorlist-git“

Then only replace the ArcoLinux lines of your current pacman.conf with these lines.
You can do a copy/paste but delete the older ArcoLinux lines first and then do the copy/paste.

Do not delete the Arch Linux lines.

#[arcolinux_repo_testing]
#SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
#Include = /etc/pacman.d/arcolinux-mirrorlist

[arcolinux_repo]
SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
Include = /etc/pacman.d/arcolinux-mirrorlist

[arcolinux_repo_3party]
SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
Include = /etc/pacman.d/arcolinux-mirrorlist

[arcolinux_repo_submicron]
SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
Include = /etc/pacman.d/arcolinux-mirrorlist

With this copy/paste you will get the wallpapers from Submicron back.
We have moved these wallpapers (1GB) to a separate github for easier mirroring and more efficiency.

Wallpapers from submicron are gone?

Check the above text. The new pacman.conf will fix that. They have been moved to a different repository.

Improvements:

• fun script has been added to .bin folder
• unnecessary line in vb cleanup script
• script to build our isos has improved – out folder defined as well
• 3 new aliases – skel and kc and hw
• variety got a major update – config has been updated – no important differences in config files.
• Halo icons got an update
• Awesome – compton toggle script works
• Awesome – double use of keyboard shortcut to decrease gap
• ET-Arcolinux-Fofo-LUA.conkyrc – New conky
• compton.conf has been changed for openbox and i3 – backup files present

ISO IMPROVEMENT:

New packages

• xf86-input-elographics
• cups-filters
• poppler-qt5
• gtk-engine-murrine

Removed packages

• xf86-video-dummy
• xf86-video-voodoo
• xf86-video-sisusb
• libva-intel-driver
• libva-vdpau-driver
• mesa-vdpau
• cantarell-fonts
• shotwell
• mousepad
• qt5tools

Group packages

xfce4 and xfce4-goodies have been replaced with a long list of their packages. Users (read ArcoLinuxB builders) can choose what application to include or not.

The ones with a hashtag and in bold are not installed anymore on the iso.

So even less applications on ArcoLinux.

The idea to take a look at this came from our ArcoLinuxB Xfce Minimal, ArcoLinuxB Openbox Minimal and ArcoLinuxB i3 Minimal. We experimented with all the needed packages and all that knowledge is now in the ArcoLinux iso as well.

#xfce4 also for ArcoLinuxB iso builds
#xfce4 group content
exo
garcon
gtk-xfce-engine
thunar
thunar-volman
tumbler
xfce4-appfinder
xfce4-panel
xfce4-power-manager
xfce4-session
xfce4-settings
xfce4-terminal
xfconf
xfdesktop
xfwm4
xfwm4-themes  

#xfce4-goodies group content
#mousepad
#orage
#parole
ristretto
thunar-archive-plugin
thunar-media-tags-plugin
xfburn
#xfce4-artwork
xfce4-battery-plugin
xfce4-clipman-plugin
xfce4-cpufreq-plugin
xfce4-cpugraph-plugin
xfce4-datetime-plugin
xfce4-dict
xfce4-diskperf-plugin
xfce4-eyes-plugin
xfce4-fsguard-plugin
xfce4-genmon-plugin
xfce4-mailwatch-plugin
xfce4-mount-plugin
xfce4-mpc-plugin
xfce4-netload-plugin
xfce4-notes-plugin
xfce4-notifyd
xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin
xfce4-screenshooter
xfce4-sensors-plugin
xfce4-smartbookmark-plugin
xfce4-systemload-plugin
xfce4-taskmanager
xfce4-time-out-plugin
xfce4-timer-plugin
xfce4-verve-plugin
xfce4-wavelan-plugin
xfce4-weather-plugin
xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin
xfce4-xkb-plugin

new Packages:

• compton.conf can be set either to glx or xrender – xrender is set as default for virtualbox to work
• arcolinux-obmenu-generator-minimal coming from the project ArcoLinuxB-Openbox-Minimal

Removed Packages:

• insync out of third party github >100MB limitation of Github ? – communication with github
  

Arcolinux iso

• moving ~/.config/compton.conf of openbox into ~/.config/openbox folder was bad idea – undone

HIDDEN Packages:

• 2 avahi packages in internet category in xfce menu

new Packages:

• compton.conf can be set either to glx or xrender – xrender is set as default for virtualbox to work

Removed Packages:

• insync out of third party github >100MB limitation of Github ? – communication with github (old version in there)

Improvements:

• ArcoLinux, ArcoLinuxD and ArcoLinuxB building script will move the iso to your home directory in either
  • ArcoLinux-Out
  • ArcoLinuxD-Out
  • ArcoLinuxB-Out
• arcolinux-pipemenus – added arcolinuxb and arcolinuxiso websites
• moved ~/.config/compton.conf of openbox into ~/.config/openbox folder – better for all isos
• fun script has been added to .bin folder

HIDDEN Packages:

Making ArcoLinuxB Xfce, Openbox and i3 Minimal made us aware that software engineers put a lot of links in our menu we NEVER use. We can hide them from our XFCE menu with a simple file.

• menu of icon browser application is hidden in Xfce  aka yad-icon-browser
• menu of volume application is hidden in Xfce (for Openbox and i3 only)
• menu of electron is hidden in Xfce
• menu of qv4l2 is hidden in Xfce
• menu of urxvt tabbed is hidden in Xfce
• menu of urxvt client is hidden in Xfce

new Packages:

• xfce4-panel-profiles replaces xfpanel-switch
• arcolinux-xfce4-panel-profiles package with ArcoLinux look
• compton.conf is replaced with the latest official version on Openbox and i3
• new thunar version gave problems in i3 and openbox – thunar –daemon is out in both

Removed Packages:

• xfpanel-switch gone + configuration file gone too
  
• parole
• cmake
• orage
• insync out of third party github >100MB limitation of Github

We have added more files to the arcolinux-applications-git package.

There are files in there we DO want to show in our xfce settings manager.

And there are files that we hide (not delete) from the menu.

Here is the list.

Added more packages for support on livedvd and then uninstalled them afterwards on the harddisk.

We install these on the live-dvd

#Needed for Calamares installer
calamares
networkmanager
upower
extra-cmake-modules
kcoreaddons
kconfig
ki18n
kservice
kwidgetsaddons
kpmcore
boost-libs
libpwquality
squashfs-tools
arcolinux-calamares-git

We uninstall these afterwards

– calamares
– arcolinux-calamares-git
– xfce4-artwork
– ckbcomp
– kpmcore
– extra-cmake-modules
– kwidgetsaddons
– cmake

The rest of them we either need or want them to be on the iso.

We will proceed in similar way in ALL THE ISOS.

Improvements:

• Making sure that polkit permissions are set correctly 
• turning back setting in i3 config – xfsettingsd can not be started – conflicts with setting of themes

Improvements:

i3 config gets 3 new shortcuts. The Enter button from a separate numeric keypad will also launch thunar or termite like Super + Return Keypad

bspwm config gets 3 new shortcuts. The Enter button from a separate numeric keypad will also launch thunar or termite. Hashtagged out. Check with your hardware first like Super + Return Keypad.

Renaming conky elegant and eleganto as they are written for 8 cores. That conky will not launch if you have less than 8 cores. If you delete the lines referring to the cpu’s then it will work.
Renamed to Arco-Elegant-8core and Arco-Eleganto-8core.

Awesome got a new update of its configuration files.

Building script has been rewritten to have more automation and more info for users who want to BYOI or build your own iso on the basis of ArcoLinux.

Updated Packages:

All packages from ArcoLinux repo with number 18.9.1 or higher – 11 packages and counting.

Yay-bin is being used instead of yay. No need to get “go” (435MB) in to compile it.

Your command to install an application will be “yay openoffice” for example.

• font-manager
• pamac-aur
• arcolinux-neofetch (ability to change the config – see fix video on youtube)

Removed Packages:

yaourt gets a transition time. Stays in for coming 2 months.

Yaourt is out and Yay is in

.bashrc file has been changed to reflect this change.

We use yay now as AUR helper instead of yaourt.

Pksyua is still our command to update everything.

We will launch now :
yay -Syu –noconfirm

Bottom-line : update and pksyua

From now on two command to update your machine

update is for Arch Linux and ArcoLinux

pksyua is for AUR packages (applications from 3parties)

Arcolinuxd scripts use yay now

We have adapted all scripts for the ArcoLinuxD project from yaourt to yay and reused the newly created packages for ArcoLinuxB in the scripts as well.

Hundreds of scripts have been updated.

Improvements:

Root was set to use zsh. We have given root the bash shell.

Updated Packages:

none

Removed Packages:

none

Improvements:

More detailed information of the date in Thunar. Depending on the setting it will say today, yesterday,… That is not enough information to work with.

Xfce, Openbox and i3 all have one more shortcut. CTRL + ALT + DELETE will be the shortcut to log out or exit your system.

Super key in Openbox will open Openbox menu.

Set /etc/sudoers.d folder permissions correct as package builders want it.

Inactive opacity is no longer used in i3 in compton.conf

Updated Packages:

none

Removed Packages:

none

Openbox – Menu – Link to neofetch github

Improvements:

We stopped naming our isos. No Kirk or Spock. We will release monthly updates with the new naming convention.

ArcoLinux-18.9.1 = year 2018 month 9 aka September version 1 – release in middle of month  the 15th

Laptops will go to sleep once you close the lid in XFCE, Openbox and i3.

Better font resolution for I3.

Ownership to user/root gives a prompt to give the root password before executing command. Xfce – thunar – custom action

New calamares installer

Updated Packages:

• arcolinux-lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings
• pamac-aur
• menulibre
• pythonqt
• faba-icon-theme
• inxi
• moka-icon-theme
• mugshot – will work with new version
• oomox
• vivaldi
• vivaldi-codecs-ffmpeg-extra-bin
• xcursor-breeze
• yay

Removed Packages:

none

Sardi and Surfn got a bunch of icons
for Deepin and Plasma.

NEw fun script – pacman1 and pacman2

You can find the script in ~/.bin

Packages currently in third party repo

• discord
• dropbox
• insync
• spotify

Improvements:

No automount of volumes – installation issue raised on discord with computer contained 1ssd and 1 harddisk. Thunar – Preferences – Advanced – Volume Management

Fix for openbox-arc-git – we will just not install it – Arc theme has changed github and provides now support for Openbox.

Yay added to the packages list – evaluating this AUR helper – gives the ability to download missing keys!!

No vmware resolution 1920×1080 set in order to avoid issues with some users with different resolution

Geopip locator in Calamares (second screen wordmap) works again thanks to support of the Calamares team.

Updates for inxi, grub-customizer and pamac-aur with latest kernel

New logo – arcolinux-fractal.png

You can find the logo in your conky folder in ~/.config

Improvements:

New logo from Phanner98 has been included in the logos of the conkies.

Font display has been improved and resized to 11.

Archiso update lead to improving building scripts.

Added vmware configuration file to include 1920×1080 resolution.

Current applications in third party REPO

Mid July 2018 we got updates in for libc++. These packages have a long build time. To avoid long build times for us and all our users we have a new repo were we can host packages that take a while to build. Build time goes down from 30 minutes to 30 seconds.

New logo – arcolinux-fractal.png

You can find the logo in your conky folder in ~/.config

Improvements:

Neofetch has been upgraded from v4 to v5. We follow the official config and change it to our own ArcoLinux config. Logo’s are now 300x300px.

000- script to use all cores includes now also 6 cores.

New alias “vbm” to mount the folder Public when on virtual box

alias vbm=”sudo mount -t vboxsf -o rw,uid=1000,gid=1000 Public /home/$USER/Public”

New config and Logo’s for  Neofetch

New FUN SCRIPT in your .bin

Your .bin folder includes now also a folder called Main. The scripts, we use all the time, will be in there like

• 000-script to use all cores
• script to get the linux-lts kernel
• deleting the linux-lts kernel

Improvements:

made new images for ArcoLinux-calamares configuration – improving calamares with lesser applications in packages.both if possible.

New calamares greeter for ArcoLinux

Improvements:

made sure arcolinux-calamares configuration is gone after installation

Installed applications:

We are using the latest version of Calamares 3.2.0.

Uninstalled applications:

We keep looking at our applications to decrease the size of our iso

• darktable

Since we deleted libreoffice, there is no need to keep the supporting packages :

• hunspell
• hyphen

These applications are not maintained anymore and we stop using them :

• packer

Installed applications:

none

Uninstalled applications:

Arch Linux has moved an application out of the standard Arch repositories to AUR

• speedtouch

We moved these “fun” applications to this “fun” script – see this article.

• cmatrix
• cool-retro-term
• python-pywal

Uninstalled applications:

We decided to trim down our iso. The obvious candidates for us are :

• zoom
• libreoffice
• discord
• flashplugin
• filezilla
• google-talkplugin

We saved more than 300MB with these.

Calamares configuration is now in a separate package/github.

New conky Arco-elegant added

Adding 3 Arc themes with matching sardi icons

Theming ArcoLinux can be fun. You can create your own Arc themes, your own Sardi icon themes and your own Oblogout theme. That is exactly what Nick did and you can use them now.

Installed applications:

upgraded calamares installer from 3.1.12-4 to 3.1.13-3.

Adding interesting scripts to your distro

We created a new package arcolinux-bin-git to include a new script to read out information of your system. Like neofetch or screenfetch or even like the conkies. The idea is to include the FUN factor via scripts on a monthly basis.

Installed applications:

updated the following AUR packages

• peek
• sardi-icons
• surfn-icons
• discord
• grub-customizer
• inxi
• pamac-aur
• python-pywal
• sublime-text-dev
• trizen
• vivaldi
• vivaldi-codecs-ffmpeg-extra-bin

Deleted applications:

Because of issues with login into Xfce we found out that the new Xorg-server and Xorg-server-common where to blame. But after further investigation we think there must be a conflict between the new version of xorg-server and the xf86-video-nouveau. As a result we do not install this package anymore.

xf86-video-nouveau

Improvements:

xfce action button plugin

XFCE Action buttons plugin

Thanks to a report on the forum we found out that we can actually theme this as well to our liking.

Installed applications:

added python-pywal
added gnome-screenshot for jpg support
added gnome-software-packagekit-plugin to get images in gnome-software
added ~/.bin in bashrc to path
added Xcape for super key in openbox

Deleted applications:

nothing yet

Improvements:

more uniformity between two neofetch configs
arcolinux i3 has python-pywal with keyboard shortcuts
bspwm has python-pywal with keyboard shortcuts
awesome has python-pywal with keyboard shortcuts
more xfce custom actions
Hardcode-fixer is present in xfce settings
variety config update to latest version and compatible with bspwm and awesome
bashrc was updated to include a local .bin folder

XFCE More custom actions

We have added more custom actions to thunar – the file manager of XFCE like

• change ownership to root
• change ownership to user
• md5sum check
• sha1sum check
• symbolic link

Quick system info

New application added to xfce settings

Installed via arcolinux-applications-git package

Hardcode-fixer

Available in xfce-settings
New package created for it – arcolinux-applications-git

More xfce settings

Common and important applications available in xfce-settings
New package created for it – arcolinux-applications-git

• pulse audio volume control
• disks
• dconf-editor
• gparted
• grub-customizer
• hardinfo

Nano coloring

Added coloring of syntax to help us analyze files – config file is called nanorc

Tint2 themes

Created arcolinux-numix.tint2rc

Rofi themes

All ArcoLinux packages received an number update to 6.7. Through this number we know the packages are created for the iso ArcoLinux 6.7 or May 2018.

ArcoLinux iso :

• The liveuser is booting into bash rather than zsh. Aliases like pksyu can be used in the livecd.
• gksu is now used – we will see what good replacement we can find
• urxvt-perls is used to give better support for urxvt users (=terminal)
• urxvt-resize-font-git is installed to make it easier to increase or decrease font size on the fly
• .Xresources has been updated to have the Ascii logo in ArcoLinux and is improved
• termite got a new coloring scheme to make sure the Ascii logo looks good.
• neofetch got a new config so the Ascii logo looks good.
• polybar has been updated for Bspwm
• variety has been given support for Bspwm

Installed applications:

• arcolinux-rofi-themes (4 Arc themes have been created – more will follow to cover all Arc colors from the Arc themes
• arcolinux-neofetch-ascii has been added to have an ascii look instead of the logo in termite and urxvt.

Neofetch logo with Ascii

Development of BSPWM

We have developed a new desktop aka windows tiling manager called Bspwm and its configuration can be installed with arcolinux-bspwm package. More tutorials will follow on a later date.

Development of Rofi themes

We have developed 4 new Rofi themes. This is casablanca. More themes will follow. They will follow the coloring theme we use in the Arc themes so you can have a desktop that looks awesome.

Phase 5 is finished – Install Arch Linux the arch way

ArcoLinux’s learning path includes an Arch Linux installation following the wiki. This is our phase 5.
We explain to you a BIOS installation for older computers
We explain to you an UEFI installation for newer computers.
After 20 minutes you have Arch Linux installed with the desktop of your choice. Then we theme and tweak it with more packages and tools.

All the articles can be found on arcolinuxd.com.

Development of DEEPING SCRIPTS

When we were writing the Arch Linux guides for phase 5 : how to install Arch Linux the arch way we seized the opportunity to have a new desktop environment. This can be installed on ArcoLinuxD too. They are on the github of ArcoLinuxD. Tutorials and articles will follow later.

BYOI or build your own iso

ArcoLinux added a phase in the learning path. Phase 4 is when you build your own iso (BYOI) on the basis of ArcoLinux or ArcoLinuxD.

At any moment in time you can now build/burn your own iso and boot from it.

Installed applications:

added discord for a chat channel with users and ArcoLinux team

Deleted applications:

deleted hexchat – discord is our way to communicate

ArcoLinux iso :

logical order in packages.both for BYOI

improvement for BYOI in scripts

ArcoLinux Xfce :

ArcoLinux General:

Deleted applications:

broadcom-wl – now wifi works for macbookpro

ArcoLinux iso :

added dconf-editor

deleted qt4 – not necessary for any application we use

deleted hexchat – in favor of discord

qt5 settings will work with Noto sans or Noto mono regular 10 – important for vlc

improvement for BYOI in scripts

ArcoLinux Xfce :

Standard 2 workspaces rather than 4

ArcoLinux General:

Neofetch logo has matching colors with Arc themes

ArcoLinux iso :

Removing intel-ucode from packages.both.

This needs to be installed by the user like polybar.

ArcoLinux iso :

Using another way to start calamares

Updates from AUR

• menulibre

ArcoLinux iso :

comparison between arcolinux and arcolinuxd

Updates from AUR

• vivaldi
• i3 gaps next
• trizen

ArcoLinux Iso :

deleted deadbeef and lollypop and pragha music player is the now the standard music player

improved building script 20 for easier installation for BYOI.

Major shift in githubs :

We need to have more granularity for the future projects like BYOI.

github arcolinux-iso-skel is replaced with 9 githubs

• arcolinux-config
• arcolinux-neofetch
• arcolinux-variety
• arcolinux-local
• arcolinux-nitrogen
• arcolinux-geany
• arcolinux-plank
• arcolinux-tint2
• arcolinux-rofi

Added more colorful logos in arcolinux-neofetch

ArcoLinux Iso :

added deadbeef to test it again

added 3 new slimlock themes

ArcoLinux Iso :

added zoom

added asciinema

added tint2 theme : arcolinux-minimal-white

ArcoLinux Iso :

fix for double linux at bootup

using oomox instead of oomox-git

Added trizen to the packages – AUR helper

ArcoLinux(D)-iso : improving build script for BYOI

New alias : unlock=“sudo rm /var/lib/pacman/db.lck“

All conky names and images have been updated to ArcoLinux.

ArchMerge to ArcoLinux

ArchMergeD to ArcoLinuxD

• all website references
• slim.conf
• …

Xfce :

Conkyzen application is showing up in xfce settings now

ctrl + alt + enter = terminal

xfce right mouse click no applications anymore – icons too small

xfce : icons size for category icons is a bit bigger (2)

Openbox :

Conky chooser renamed to Conkyzen

ctrl + alt + enter = terminal

openbox : Changed fading in compton.conf to smaller number to get quicker response

i3wm :

arcolinux-i3wm-git  – only thunar starts – applications are no longer fixed to a workspace

i3 : Changed fading in compton.conf to smaller number to get quicker response

Sardi and Surfn icons : 

created sardi and surfn icons for ArcoLinux

4 Arc Themes and matching Oblogout themes:

• Punch (dark red)
• Orchid (pink)
• Niagara (green)
• Boticelli (blue)

When developing ArchMergeD Awesome we have decided to add Rofi to that tiling windows manager. It can be an easy way to start your application. As a result Rofi has been added to the iso of ArchMerge.  We can use rofi only in i3 and openbox and not in xfce.  Next month we will create Arc Rofi themes that will match our Arc themes. The Rofi themes, you will receive now, are the standard ones from Rofi.

Rofi keyboard shortcuts have been added

• CTRL + ALT + R = rofi-theme-selector
• Super + F11 = full-sceen rofi application selector
• Super + F12 = smaller screen rofi application selector

Sardi and Surfn got a major update. More icons, spring clean in the svg code and Sardi Ghost Flexible is back in for Arch based distros. Read more about Sardi here.

Boost your system

While testing ArchMergeD desktops we were developing a script to make sure that all cores of our processor are involved in the building and compressing task for applications coming from the AUR.

Added script “000-use-all-cores-makepkg-conf-vx.sh” to speed up compiling your applications from AUR in ~/.config/openbox/scripts. You can find more info about this in this article.

ArchMergeD users will find it on the github.

Connecting to shared folders on an Apple or Mac system is now easy to do in filemanager.

Polybar has been added. A bar or panel for Openbox and i3 and many other desktops coming in the future.
Giving you 33 modules to display in your panel/bar.

2 extra Arc themes

• hibiscus
• tory

i3 config improved for polybar

Openbox config changes

• make lts kernel script executable and rewrite of kernel scripts
• change icon to lock openbox

Packages removed

• snapd gave us issues in January 2018

AUR packages update

• conky-lua-archers
• grub-customizer
• i3-gaps-next
• oomox-git
• python2-pyparted
• timeshift
• vivaldi and its codec
• Sardi icons
• Surfn icons

Calamares – installer for ArchMerge should not give an hardware clock error upon installing.