HOWTO: Crunchify Aptosid (Openbox Version) (Page 1 of 3)

PREAMBLE
Thanks to those from the #! forum and IRC, I have smoothed out most, if not all, of the kinks in this guide.  There should not be any major hiccups while going through this tutorial.  Should you find one, please post your problem in this thread.

Final Result - without using Sunfizz98's openbox/tint2 configs [wallpaper not included]

Final Result - With Sunfizz98's openbox/tint2/conky configs [wallpaper not included]

==============================
Crunchify AptoSid (Openbox Version)
==============================
Tested and confirmed working on: 32 & 64 bit systems

DIFFICULTY: Moderate (Come Get Some!)

PREREQUISITES
Aptosid livecd/usb (XFCE)
A real computer
Basic Linux Know-how
-creating/saving apt sources.list
-being comfortable with the terminal
Desire to play with Sid and acknowledging that he might break you into multiple pieces

OBJECTIVES
1. Create a fully functional openbox environment similar to crunchbang
2. Purge the xfce environment and its components
3. Remove junk for better junk
4. Make life easier

DISCLAIMER
The author is not liable for any medical/property damage/etc, because it is the user who brought this upon oneself.  If this is your first time with linux, do not proceed any further and play with a debian squeeze distribution first (like Crunchbang Linux).

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New Default Apps
=============
terminator                --->    rxvt-unicode (urxvt)
xchat                        --->    irssi
gedit                         --->    geany
network-manager     --->    Ceni
thunar                      --->    pcmanfm
evince                       --->    epdfview
gdm                          --->    lightdm
viewnior                    --->    gpicview

=======================
Important Notes Before Installation
=======================
1. Aptosid uses sux or su instead of sudo for root activities.  It is highly recommended to do this whole guide via sux or as root.

2. Ceni will handle all of your internet connectivity problems, but you can always use your preferred internet manager application.  Ceni must be accessed with root privileges via terminal.

3. Alsamixer will handle volume-related matters, which can only be accessed via terminal.

4. Volume and Suspend Fn keys are now handled by commands from (Sunfizz98's) rc.xml in openbox config folder.  For lazy people, please install xfce4-volumed to get your volume controls working.

5. My autostart.sh, rc.xml, menu.xml are highly modified versions of the crunchbang's respective counterparts, optimized for this current install.  Aero-snap and shutdown scripts implemented into rc.xml and menu.xml respectively.  Please seek Aero-snap thread to adjust to your monitor's width.

6. The new crunchbang-keyring will be manually installed (included in guide), because it cannot be found in the new repository yet.

7. Please read the aptosid manual regarding the proper way of dist-upgrading or use smxi to walk you through the process.  Be aware that the dist-upgrade process will be the most time consuming out of this whole guide.  Once this process starts, I recommend doing something else (eat, drink, exercise, etc) for the meantime.

8. My .Xresources contains configuration for Xscreensaver and a slightly solarized version of urxvt. Whenever you make a change to .Xresources, please run "xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources" to initiate the new settings.
===============
Installation GUIDE
===============

1. Install Aptosid (xfce)
-Please refer to Aptosid Manual

2. Boot and login into fluxbox environment

3 Configure internet

sux
ceni

4. remove junk

apt-get -m purge xfburn brasero brasero-common mousepad feh xsane sane* sane-utils gpicview gnumeric trayer ristretto xchat gxine xdg-browser-launcher xfce* libxine1 libxine1-* evince* gdm3 thunar* libtotem* libgimp* xfdesktop4*
apt-get autoremove

4.a. [OPTIONAL] Remove stuff I don’t use (dvd-burner, printer stuff)

apt-get purge cups dvd+rw-tools growisofs dvb-apps cups-common

5. Install some goodies

apt-get update
apt-get install geany nano nitrogen rxvt-unicode tint2 conky dmenu gmrun xscreensaver scrot epdfview lightdm pcmanfm openbox obmenu obconf suckless-tools consolekit gpicview

6. Add iceweasel repo

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozilla.list
deb http://mozilla.debian.net/ experimental iceweasel-aurora

save and exit nano

7. Install mozilla keyring

apt-get update
wget -O- -q http://mozilla.debian.net/archive.asc | gpg --import
gpg --export -a 06C4AE2A | apt-key add -
apt-get update

8.a. Use Sunfizz98's openbox config.

cd /home/username/.config/openbox 
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/openbox/autostart.sh
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/openbox/menu.xml
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/openbox/rc.xml
chmod +x autostart.sh

9. Install smxi and run it

cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/smxi.zip && unzip smxi.zip && smxi

-remove bluetooth as so desired via smxi

10. [OPTIONAL]Installing useful tasktray goodies
10.a. Have a tasktray power manager

apt-get install xfce4-power-manager

10.b. Display icon-only tasks and battery information in tint2

nano /home/username/.config/tint2/tint2rc
##Change the following lines to:
battery = 1
taskicon = 1
tasktext = 0
task_maximum_size = [width] [height]

Or use Sunfizz98's Tint2 config.

cd /home/username/.config/tint2
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/openbox/tint2rc

10.c. For those who don't want to dig into /home/username/.config/openbox/rc.xml for volume setup

apt-get install xfce4-volumed

10.d. Use Sunfizz98's .conkyrc.  Very useful if already using Sunfizz98's tint2rc

cd /home/username
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/openbox/.conkyrc

11. Reboot PC (or start desktop somehow)

shutdown -r now

12. Login into openbox environment

13. [OPTIONAL][HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]Add xscreensaver configurations and make urxvt [terminal/editor] more usable and trendy.

cd /home/username
sux
wget -Nc http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14800/.Xresources
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources

14. Install dropbox via obmenu
-Right click on desktop
-Navigate to dropbox menu
-Install Dropbox

15. Installing other stuff you might want

apt-get install [package]

16. ENJOY YOUR NEW BOX!

=============
Basic Q & A
=============
What is the reason for replacing some of #!’s default apps with the specified ones?
They are leaner and more versatile for your system without the cruft.  A leaner system is a happy system.

My super button is broken.  How do I fix it?
run xev in terminal and find the keycode for it
make a file named “fix_keymaps" with the following:

#!/bin/bash
xmodmap -e “keycode [number] = Super_L"
done

Now copy the file directory and add it into "/etc/xdg/openbox/autostart.sh" or "~/.config/openbox/autostart.sh"
It should go something like:

/directory/to/your/scripts/fix_keymaps &

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Optional Tweaks / Enhancements
========================
1. Adding somewhat recent Wine repo

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/experimental.list
deb http://packages.siduction.org/debian/ unstable main

2. Get access to non-free contrib in debian repos
-Please find your closest debian repo source from this site and add source accordingly
http://www.debian.org/mirror/list
-For my purposes, I’m using the USA repo.

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
deb ftp://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ sid main contrib non-free

3. Locate closer aptosid source
Aptosid sources
Mine is USA.

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/aptosid.list
deb http://mirror.yellowfiber.net/aptosid/debian/ sid main fix.main

4. Additional multimedia stuff

nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/multimedia.list
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org sid main non-free

5. Easy fancy shmancy way of coloring user and root prompts in the terminal
http://manual.aptosid.com/en/term-konso … tm#colours

6. Disable automount for usb devices
Check preferences within pcmanfm

7.For no fuss 10-bit h264 video playback
-Do steps described in "Additional multimedia stuff"
-Install mplayer2 from debian-multimedia.org

apt-get install mplayer2

-I have tested mplayer and mplayer2 from the regular debian sid repos and both of them incorrectly rendered or refused to playback my 10-bit videos, wheras the one from debian-multimedia provided flawless playback.
-One could technically update their ffmpeg decoders,etc, but that's too much work for a typical user.

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CHANGELOG
=======
Nov 2011 - Made the Guide, Troubleshooted, Revised, etc, etc
Feb 2012 - Liberated the Guide from Crunchbang repos and files.

========
Shoutouts to dmdhdlr, machinebacon, anonymous, gutterslob, simpledesign and the whole #! community for making this possible.

Last edited by sunfizz98 (2012-02-05 23:02:06)