ArcoLinux -D -B 19.12

Not just coremembers – more betatesters and helping hands

This is the current ArcoLinux Team

Calamares 3.2.16

Beginning of November 2019 Calamares released a new version. Check out the link below for more information.

https://calamares.io/calamares-3.2.16-is-out/

We are using this version on our 19.12 release.

new module in calamares – nvidia

We have added the possibility to install the nvidia driver on the iso.

If you select the box on the Nvidia page with an internet connection it will install :

• nvidia
• nvidia-settings
• nvidia-utils

There is currently no support for the 390x driver. This needs to be installed manually.

New module calamares – select LTS kernel

We had a separate script to build LTS isos. There is no need for that anymore. This resulted in 64 isos. Because of the new module we can now downsize in the number of isos.

We went from 64 isos to 35 isos.

Every iso can potentially install the LTS kernel.

You will need internet to get it installed.

If there is no internet, the lts kernel will not be installed and installation will finish with the standard linux kernel.

NEW CALAMARES MODULE – intel and amd

We have written a new module that will detect if you have an AMD or an INTEL machine and will make sure you have amd-ucode or intel-ucode installed on your system.
Check the folder /boot to see the correct ucode file either Amd or Intel.

You will need internet to get it installed.

If there is no internet, the packages will not be installed.

New calamares – autologin

New code has been added to enable autologin on all 15 desktops.

new module  in calamares – pacman database

After a clean install pacman will already have a database and you can immediately start installing packages.

Keep it simple and stupid – One presentation on all our isos

Simplifies our maintenance.

surfn-arc-breeze has been created for plasma with dark toolbar

During the development of ArcoLinuxB Plasma we did not like all the Surfn icons.

Icon themes are never going to be 100% to your liking on all desktops.

Plasma is quite different from all the rest of them. Hence the idea to make an icon theme that is created only to be used on Plasma.

Now you can install and use

sudo pacman -S surfn-arc-breeze-icons-git

arcolinux-arc-kde

During the development of ArcoLinuxB Plasma we liked the arc-kde theme the most.

However the icons that were provided with that theme were not to our liking.

So we have created a variant of this theme without the icons using a PKGBUILD.

Now you can install and use

sudo pacman -S arcolinux-arc-kde

New Package for Conkies on Plasma

We have created a new package just for the conkies on plasma.

IF ON PLASMA, install the package with

sudo pacman -S arcolinux-conky-collection-plasma-git

Delete the current conky folder in your home directory .config or move it to another folder for backup.

Then do a skel to get the new conkies in or copy/paste just the conky folder over like shown in the video.

Youtube series of the creation of ArcoLinuxB-Xtended

You can combine with ease different desktops together.

We tested this out in the project ArcoLinuxB Xtended.

We have recorded every step for you.

8 hours and 19 videos later we have a new iso just for people who want to learn about Tiling Window Managers.

Tiling Window Managers are a special breed. Once you passed a few hurdles you will love them.

Every tiling window manager has tutorials on arcolinuxd.com.

Xtended i3 polybar menu

We are using polybar on different tiling window managers and the config of polybar is already part of the ArcoLinuxB Xtended iso.

We had the idea to add a second config for i3. This will enable users to easily switch between the standard bar of i3 and polybar.

Switch between config and config-polybar by simply renaming them.

Xtended openbox menu

When working on Openbox with polybar and a dual screen I needed to restart polybar to get the polybar on my second screen.

I created a menu to do just that. Restart polybar is now in the menu.

Whatever we can create on ArcoLinux we can create on Arch Linux.

We would love that ArcoLinux users install Arch Linux at least once. We have a learning path and for us that is phase 5 on arcolinuxd.com.
It would be great if you can do a clean install the Arch way and then learn how to use Arch Linux.

After the creation of ArcoLinuxB Xtended – we wanted to see if we can spice up Arch Linux and make our own

Arch Linux Xtended

Read here how we created it.

Renaming of packages – consistency

Why do we rename some of our packages?

It should be clear in the name of the package where the data is going to be written.

arcolinux-config – means the data is going to be stored in ~/.config

arcolinux-local – means the data is going to be stored in ~/.local

arcolinux-local-applications means installation in .local/share/applications – we skip the share folder

arcolinux-local-xfce4 means installation in .local/share/xfce4 – we skip the share folder

 These packages had to be renamed in order to follow the naming convention:

As a result all ArcoLinux, ArcoLinuxD and ArcoLinuxB scripts need to change.
You may encounter issues.
Report them.

Packages for Desktop Settings

We are talking about packages that will actually improve a particular desktop.
All these files contribute to the uniqueness of the ArcoLinux Desktop.

In bold are the new packages.

1. arcolinux-awesome-git
2. arcolinux-bspwm-git
3. arcolinux-budgie-git
4. arcolinux-cinnamon-git
5. arcolinux-deepin-git
6. arcolinux-dwm-git
7. arcolinux-enlightenment-git
8. arcolinux-gnome-git
9. arcolinux-herbstluftwm-git
10. arcolinux-i3wm-git
11. arcolinux-jwm-git
12. arcolinux-lxqt-git
13. arcolinux-mate-git
14. arcolinux-openbox-git
15. arcolinux-plasma-git
16. arcolinux-plasma-nemesis-git
17. arcolinux-qtile-git
18. arcolinux-xfce-git
19. arcolinux-xmonad-git

As a result all ArcoLinux, ArcoLinuxD and ArcoLinuxB scripts need to change.
If you encounter issues, report them.

All kinds of packages for the .config folder – not related to desktop

We are talking about packages that will add configs and settings inside your future .config folder.
With this naming convention users will know that arcolinux-config means that any and all ‘non-desktop-related‘ configuration files are to be written into ~/.config.

It has nothing to do with the ‘desktop‘ but everything to do with the rest of the theming and/or applications.

In bold are the new packages.

1. arcolinux-config-awesome-git
2. arcolinux-config-bspwm-git
3. arcolinux-config-budgie-git
4. arcolinux-config-cinnamon-git
5. arcolinux-config-deepin-git
6. arcolinux-config-dwm-git
7. arcolinux-config-enlightenment-git
8. arcolinux-config-gnome-git
9. arcolinux-config-herbstluftwm-git
10. arcolinux-config-i3-git
11. arcolinux-config-jwm-git
12. arcolinux-config-lxqt-git
13. arcolinux-config-mate-git
14. arcolinux-config-openbox-git
15. arcolinux-config-plasma-git
16. arcolinux-config-plasma-nemesis-git
17. arcolinux-config-qtile-git
18. arcolinux-config-xfce-git
19. arcolinux-config-xmonad-git

Arcolinux-config-git is the package for the ArcoLinux iso (Xfce, Openbox, i3).

As a result all ArcoLinux, ArcoLinuxD and ArcoLinuxB scripts need to change.
If you encounter issues, report them.

ARCOLINUXB – New structure in packages.x86_64

We want you to be able to easily edit this file.

We have changed our names and packages.

Naturally this file should reflect the new structure.

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX FOLDER
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX DESKTOP FOLDER
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX CONFIG FOLDER
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX DCONF FOLDER
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX CALAMARES
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# CALAMARES DEPENDENCIES
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ARCOLINUX CONFIG CALAMARES
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# DESKTOP SPECIFIC
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# XFCE
###########################################################################

..

###########################################################################
# ISO SPECIFIC
###########################################################################

..

November Switch

We will look back at the November month as a major switch in our packages and way of thinking.

• Moving from development to stable.
• Different repos.
• Different applications.
• Different calamares.
• Deleting old githubs.
• Deleting old packages.
• Less packages.
• Less maintenance.
• Downsizing in number of isos.
• Easy to install multiple desktops on  one system.
• Script to decrease bandwidth usage

ArcoLinux iso  – Less is more

All the latest changes have in common that the isos need to be maintainable with a small crew.

So a less is more vision has been on our mind this November month.

We got rid of packages if we could. For example oblogout packages.

Now we take a look at all the icons that you can easily install afterwards via pacman or yay/trizen.

We are removing the following packages from the ArcoLinux iso

• papirus-icon-theme
• arc-icon-theme
• adapta-gtk-theme
• breeze-cursors-lh
• breeze-obsidian-cursor-theme
• xcursor-vanilla-dmz-aa
• faba-icon-theme
• halo-icons-git
• moka-icon-theme
• paper-icon-theme
• zafiro-icon-theme
• xcursor-simpleandsoft

It will result in 150MB less on the iso.
You make your own nemesis script and include your packages

sudo pacman -S --noconfirm --needed adapta-gtk-theme
yay -S --noconfirm --needed paper-icon-theme
...

Just 1 0blogout for all desktops

We added a script to Oblogout.
Now we can shutdown all current tiling window managers (and future ones) and openbox.

New isos will get this by default.

ONLY FOR TILING WINDOW MANAGERS + OPENBOX

If you keep rolling, you need to do the following steps.

sudo pacman -Scc

update

sudo pacman -S arcolinux-oblogout

Install any of our desktops and learn

Because of November changes we are now super flexible and we can install any desktop on any system.

Hence the name SUPERFLEX.

We show you how easy it is to install a second and a third desktop on several systems.

We want you to be convinced this is the time to experiment with other desktops.

Check out the articles of Superflex at https://arcolinuxd.com/category/superflex/

New oblogout theme called adeos-cores-64

It is a reworked version from adeos-cores by TheUncleMez on discord.

This is smaller in icons (64 pixels) and will be our standard for the coming months.

Change it with your alias

noblogout

You see that the sardi oblogout is still active.

It does not matter. The last one in the list always wins.

Changes to ArcoLinux iso

Removed from Iso

• i3-gaps-next-git
• terminus-font
• vivaldi-codecs-ffmpeg-extra-bin

Added to iso

• i3-gaps
• font-manager-git
• lshw

Tint2 theme created

After the change of the wallpaper the standard tint2bar was too dark to even distinguish the 4 virtual desktops we have.

We have created a new theme – arcolinux-xtended.

pacman.conf – new repository for Extra Large packages

We added a new repo to be future-proof.

More and more applications are growing in size. We now have a repo that can handle any size.

Add these lines to your /etc/pacman.conf or do a clean install.

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

Neofetch update

Neofetch got an update. We have changed the size of the medallions images.

Neofetch now needs xdotool to display images. So install the package with

sudo pacman -S xdotool

Hblock

Hblock received a place in the settings menu of Xfce.

Easy access to block sites.

variety

It is safe to assume that the website desktoppr.co is not coming back online. We update our variety settings.

Taking this opportunity to alter variety NOT to change the wallpaper after a certain time.

All tiling window managers have the super+k keyboard shortcut to lock the screen with slimlock.

drop down terminal

All tiling window managers have the F12 keyboard shortcut to get the xfce4-terminal dropdown terminal.

Other desktops received a version of their own dropdown terminal like deepin.
If the desktop in question does not have the ability to create a drop-down terminal we use yakuake (plasma) or xfce4-terminal for the others.

We will make an F12 of some kind available on most desktops.

Polybar for openbox simplified

On the ArcoLinuxB-Xtended iso openbox uses polybar. On a smaller laptop the polybar was rather full. So we changed some modules around to get some more space in the bar.
This will ofcourse also apply to Openbox if you install the polybar on it.

Automatically update your mirrorlist on a daily basis

We got rid of the reflector service to update our mirrorlist.

The solution is now a cron job. Cronie will handle it automatically on a daily basis.

sudo pacman -S arcolinux-cron-git

New fun script called unix

No explanations necessary

lshw – interesting tool

During the work on Calamares we discovered a tool we can all use at some point in time. We may use it in our scripts later.

With a line of code you can get data from different parts of your computer like the graphical card

sudo lshw -C display

Qtile dropdown for xfce4-terminal

Standard wallpaper

We have tried to standardize the use of the standard wallpaper across all desktop systems.

Standard reference is /usr/share/backgrounds/arcolinux/arco-wallpaper.jpg.

In the future we change that wallpaper and all isos will take over the new wallpaper.
Still a few desktops to do.

ArcoLinuxB – 3 more tutorials

We have added 3 more tutorials how to build

• ArcoLinuxB Bspwm bare
• ArcoLinuxB Xfce bare
• ArcoLinuxB Xtended

Check https://arcolinuxb.com

Hellotux.com – a new way to buy products and support ArcoLinux in the same time

We have a new way to support us

Check https://www.hellotux.com/arcolinux

You can buy polos, t-shirts and sweatshirt.

Christmas period

We will focus on our websites.

How to reorganize our knowledge base so we can get 1000 articles to our users at the right time in an orderly fashion.

We will also write the fast track page for users taking their first steps in ArcoLinux.

https://www.arcolinux.info/fast-track/

Your input on this can help us.

Let us try to get a new article/video/step out every month.
In a few months time we will have made progress.

We have dedicated an article to this particular topic since it is probably FAQ number 1.

How to update any ArcoLinux or how to stay rolling

After a clean installation we will install more software like spotify, dropbox, insync, etc…

Installing nemesis on any ArcoLinux

After a clean installation we will install more software like spotify, dropbox, insync, etc…
Re-use our get ready script.

The url to this script is ALWAYS on discord in the official channel at the top in discord.

Up and running in 15 minutes after a clean install

Aliases are created to get improved functionality and for conveniences sake.

See that you know and understand the consequences of the most important ones regarding updates –
update,
skel,
backupskel,
cb,
upall

The full package list of the latest isos can always be found on github at this address :

ArcoLinux : https://github.com/arcolinux/arcolinux-iso/blob/master/archiso/packages.x86_64

ArcoLinuxD : https://github.com/arcolinux/arcolinuxd-iso/blob/master/archiso/packages.x86_64

ArcoLinuxB : https://github.com/arcolinux/arcolinuxb

ArcoLinuxB gives you the power to build your personal iso with

all the applications you love and none that you hate.

Build the iso on your computer.