Introduction
PCFluxboxOS is a beautiful little remaster of PCLinuxOS with Fluxbox as the window manager.
PCFluxboxOS gives you all the power of PCLinuxOS through Synaptic and the Control Center, whilst delivering a lightning fast operating system, even on older hardware.
There are currently two remasters in the series - TinyFlux (the main remaster) and MidiFlux (a beta release). Both come with a carefully considered selection of applications so that memory usage is kept to a minimum. Each remaster has the same polished and modern 'look and feel'.
Fluxbox presents a unique desktop experience. Whilst it is often used in 'light-weight' distros because of it's low memory print, beneath the surface it is actually quite powerful. This Wiki provides some useful tips and links to get the most from your PCFluxboxOS experience.
PCFluxboxOS ships with the 'legacy' 2.6.18 kernel for compatibility with older hardware, Synaptic for package management, and the famed PCLinuxOS Control Center for maximum control over your PC.
This Wiki is currently under development. Please bear with us as there is a lot of documentation to create. If you would like to contribute any documentation, please PM me at the PCFluxboxOS forum.
TinyFlux
- The first stable TinyFlux release, version 1.0, is now available for download.
- Features:
- A minimal desktop experience within a tiny ISO of 235MB.
- Ships with the legacy 2.6.18.8 kernel for ultimate compatibility with older hardware. Newer kernels, including 2.6.22.10 will be available as a Synaptic upgrade just as soon as they move out of testing status into the main PCLOS repos.
- Main applications: AbiWord (word processor); Netscape browser (inc Flash 9); Sylpheed (e-mail); Thunar (file manager); Audacious (XMMS/WinAmp clone); gThumb and mtPaint (image viewing/manipulation); Brasero for CD/DVD burning; Synaptic (package manager); PCLOS Control Centre; guided installer.
- The GlorySimplex GTK theme and the Oxygen Refit icon theme give TinyFlux a polished, modern appearance!
- See TinyFlux downloads page for full details
MidiFlux
- A large selection of applications in a relatively small ISO - 340MB.
- There's too many applications to list here, but the main apps are (in addition to those in TinyFlux): Pidgin, Xchat, Pan, gFTP, TightVNC, Gnumeric, Aiksaurus, abiword grammar and GIMP plugin, GIMP, XSane, VLC, Exaile, Audacious plugins, Gparted, Partimage, Grsync, Midnight Commander, games…
- See MidiFlux downloads page for full details of the current beta release
Future versions
PCFluxboxOS 2008 is currently under development and release should tie in with the release of PCLinuxOS 2008. The aim for the next release will be to create a truly modular opertaing system using metapackages to enable users to quickly and easily add groups of applications, all fully configured for maximum performance with your Fluxbox desktop.
There will probably be just one ISO initially, based on TinyFlux which will be a complete, but lean system. Users wishing to upgrade to MidiFlux will be able to do so from Synaptic and other modules will also be available from sound/video, graphics, file management to office modules.
Background
As the name suggests, the project is about creating a series of PCLOS remasters using Fluxbox as the sole window manager. The original reason for this was I was trying to create a mini-PCLOS that would load on an old laptop I have knocking around. In the end, I got it loaded, but couldn't get it to install. Anyway, despite this, I have started to delve into the workings of fluxbox and found it to present a different user experience, a different ethos if you like, for people who want a minimal style to their OS. In short, this simple window manager has won me over!
Many 'lite' Linux distros use Fluxbox or have it as an option although other window managers (icewm, XFCE to name but two) have become more popular in recent times. DSL and Feather Linux are two distros that I know make use of Fluxbox.
When I first came across Fluxbox, I was coming from the wrong angle. I wanted a lite distribution to work on old hardware but expected the look and feel of KDE, Gnome or Windows. Fluxbox is not memory intensive, so it is ideal for older hardware, but what it lacks in bells and whistles, it makes up for in a uniquely minimal GUI experience. If you need convincing, either try my test release or install Fluxbox from Synaptic in your normal PCLOS install and try it for a while.
I initially started working down from a fresh PCLOS install, removing KDE and various components as I went along. I managed to get the live-cd size down to around 500MB, but I was after something smaller still. I discovered the TinyMe project and saw that the guys on that project have done a great job of stripping out some of the excesses of the main OS. I decided to use TinyMe as the base for my first release - TinyFlux. I created a new theme and logo for this remaster series.
Since then I have shared numerous ideas with KDulcimer and Gettinther, the TinyMe developers, though TinyFlux is now an independent project, with 90% of the base system taken directly from PCLinuxOS. KDulcimer has very kindly set up the support forum for us at their site and provided a repository for a small selection of PCFluxboxOS rpms that Gettinther created for us.
iainrj
PCFluxboxOS Developer
