Wednesday, October 24, 2012

KIARA 16.01 available for download




Featuring

firefox 16.01
seamonkey 2.13.1
thunderbird 16.01

If anyone is paying attention, they may have noticed that there was no KIARA 16.0.  Firefox 16.0 came and went so fast I didn't notice.   In the past, I've tried to get each new KIARA release out within a day or so of each Firefox release, but I've been a little slow on the draw lately.  I no longer have my own internet connection, and I've been using Ubuntu lately, which can upgrade Firefox automatically without the user noticing.

But I'm going to keep doing this.  I think that KIARA is a good CD.

The word is out that Slax 7 is finally going to be released by the end of this year, superseding Slax 6.1.2, which has been the basis for KIARA for almost three three years.   When that finally happens, I'm going to have to decide what the next step is.  I started KIARA because I wanted to keep using KDE3 indefinitely.  I'd still like to use KDE3, but there are other concerns now, like support for mounting partitions formatted with ext4. 


* Continue with Slax 6.1.2 and KDE3

* Follow Slax 7, presumably to KDE 4

* Base future releases on Porteus, a Slax derivative that uses the Trinity Desktop.

More on this as it unfolds.  There are at least a few people out there who have been using KIARA, and I'd love to hear from them, but he discussion can't begin in earnest until we've seen Slax 7.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

KIARA 15.01 Released.




KIARA 15.01 is released.  There's only one change to this release, the upgrade from Firefox version 15.0 to 15.01.

So, let's recap.   KIARA 15.01 is Slax 6.1.2 with

Mozilla Firefox 15.01
Mozilla Thunderbird 15.0
Mozilla Seamonkey 12.2
Adobe Flash Player version 11.2.202.238

And the following packages, mostly ported from Slackware 12.2, but also from Slax.org, and other online sources:

amarok-1.4.10-i486-3
at-3.1.10-i486-1
bsd-games-2.13-i486-8
elinks-0.11
emacs-22.3-i486-2
fluxbox-1.1.1-i486-1
fvwm-2.4.20-i486-1
gimp-2.4.7-i486-1
gphoto2-2.4.3-i486-1
irssi-0.8.12-i486-2
jove-4.16.0.61-i386-1
kdeaccessibility-3.5.10-i486-2
kdeaddons-3.5.10-i486-2
kdeadmin-3.5.10-i486-4
kdeartwork-3.5.10-i486-2
kdebindings-3.5.10-i486-2
kdeedu-3.5.10-i486-2
kdegames-3.5.10-i486-2
kdegraphics-3.5.10-i486-2
kdemultimedia-3.5.10-i486-2
kdenetwork-3.5.10-i486-2
kdepim-3.5.10-i486-4
kdesdk-3.5.10-i486-3
kdetoys-3.5.10-i486-2
kdeutils-3.5.10-i486-2
kdevelop-3.5.3-i486-3
kdewebdev-3.5.10-i486-2
kdm-fix-s6
knemo-0.4.8-i486-2
krusader-1.90.0
lynx-2.8.6rel.5-i486-1
mc-4.6.1_20070623p14-i486-2
mozilla-nss-3.12.3-i486-2alien
mpg321-0.2.10-i486-2
nano-2.0.9-i486-1
p7zip-9.20.1
pidgin-2.5.2-i486-3
pygobject-2.15.4-i486-1
pygtk-2.12.1-i486-2
python-2.5.2-i486-4
ruby-1.8.7_p72-i486-2
sane-1.0.19-i486-3
screen-4.0.3-i486-1
sqlite-3.6.6.2-i486-1
sudo-1.6.8p12-i486-1
wine-1.1.22-i486-mt
wireless-all
wireless-tools-29-i486-4
wlassistant-0.5.7
wpa_supplicant-0.5.10-i486-1
xchat-2.8.6-i486-2
xgames-0.3-i486-1
xmms-1.2.11-i486-2
xpaint-2.7.8.1-i486-2
xpdf-3.02pl2-i486-3
xsane-0.996-i486-1
yakuake-2.8.1-i486-2mfb

Sunday, September 2, 2012

KIARA 15a (revised)





 KIARA is a live CD, based on  Slax 6.1.2, with added packages from Slackware 12.2 and Slax.org, and continually upgraded to include the latest versions of web software from the Mozilla Project.

KIARA 15.0 features:

Firefox 15.0 (a web browser),
Thunderbird 15.0 (an email client),
and  Seamonkey 2.12 (a browser with a fullsuite of web applications.

The revised edition removes the KOffice package I had ported from Slackware 12.2, which was redundant, as it had already been included with the base modules of Slax. In it's place I've restored the installation files for the Opera 12 browser. The files are located on your bootable disk (cd or flash drive) at */slax/opera-12.02, and can be used to install and run a temporary (deleted on reboot) instance of the opera browser from KIARA.  Flashplayer has already been installed, and ought to be supported for Opera.

 Here's a slightly cleaned-up version of the the READ ME text file is contained in that directory:

  For your variety, and convenience, KIARA containes the Installer Files for OPERA 12.02 If you have enough RAM, you can run Opera from a running KIARA live system, complete with support for flashplayer. Once you know how, installing Opera to your RAMdisk takes less than a minute. 

 1. From the Desktop, click on "storage media". Open the partition or device containing your KIARA files 

 2. Open the */slax/opera-12.02 directory in Konqueror. 

 3. Open a terminal window by hitting the F4 Key. 

 4. In the terminal, type sh install and hit "Enter". The installation should begin. 

 5. Complete the installation by answering the questions at the prompts. Usually, defaults (hitting enter) will suffice. You can always try hitting "Enter" until the installation is completed. Remember, none of this is permanent; you can't screw up your hard drive.


Friday, August 31, 2012

KIARA 15.0 released




A live CD based on  Slax 6.1.2, with added packages from Slackware 12.2 and Slax.org, and continually upgraded to include the latest versions of web software from the Mozilla Project.

KIARA 15.0 features Firefox 15.0 (a web browser), Thunderbird 15.0 (an email client), and  Seamonkey 2.12 (a browser with a fullsuite of web applications.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

KIARA 14.01 released

I let this go way too long before upgrading.  Sorry about the lapse of attention


Features:  Firefox 14.01
                 Thunderbird 14.0
                 Seamonkey  2.11


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

KIARA 13.01 is available for download.

Okay, it's 95 degrees, my best friend was just released from the hospital, and and I don't even want to be near a computer right now.   Here's the link for KIARA 13.01  see the previous post for  information


There's an issue with mplayer, the audio isn't working at the command line,  but the KDE frontend, kplayer is working fine.  Dropbox seems to be working perfectly.

Monday, June 18, 2012

KIARA 13.01 uploading now


 


KIARA 13.01 is about to be released.   The new version of my homemade Slax-based live CD contains Firefox 13.01, Thunderbird 13.01, and Seamonkey 2.10.1.

It also features the addition of Dropbox, the excellent networking and backup application, although it's not enabled to run in the default Slax root mode.  To run Dropbox requires creating a normal user account, something I've been intending to write documentation about for a long time now.

I've actually made several changes in KIARA geared toward running a normal user account, a reflection of how I've been using it lately.  If anybody wants information on using KIARA (or Slax, for that matter) as a normal user, leave a comment, and I'll get around to it that much sooner.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

KIARA 13.0 REVISED VERSION




After going back to a new copy of Slax 6.1.2 for my my main platform, KIARA 13.0 may be my best release.  It sports a great new version of Firefox, additional packages, and it seems to be extraordinarily stable.  Of all of my four old machines, there's one that previous KIARA versions have crashed on quite frequently, a Dell Optiplex GX280.  It hasn't crashed yet, and I'm using it right now.

But I needed to make one major change before people start really downloading.  Vim-gvim-7.2.018, the graphical version of VIM, was interfering with the function of visudo, the secure editing application that allows users to enable sudo for a normal account.  So I have removed gvim for the moment.

Future releases may see gvim restored.  It occurs to me that I'd like to see a different editor, probably nano used as the default text editor for visudo.  For years, Debian and Ubuntu have used nano as the text editor, and it's worked great.  Vim is not at all intuitive, and people shouldn't have to learn how to use a difficult new text editor just to enable sudo.   I believe that a simple addition to the startup scripts should allow me to make the change, but that's for the next release.

I also discovered that Tomas' Slax Drive is no longer enabled, so I added a link to information to the KIARA desktop.   There are other ways of storing data in the cloud for free.   I've been using Dropbox. 

Maybe I can add Dropbox to KIARA?  There are problems. I'll be thinking about this.   

Friday, June 8, 2012

KIARA 13.0 live CD



KIARA 13.0 introduces a new system of numbering for KIARA. Traditionally, I release a new KIARA CD with each new Firefox release, and from now on, the version number of each KIARA release will match the new Firefox. Simple, right?

KIARA 13.0 includes Mozilla Firefox 13.0 (Web browser) Thunderbird 13.0 (email client) and Seamonkey 2.10 (web suite), along with the current plugin-in for adobe flashplayer. I've actually added a whole pack of applications ported from Slackware 12.2 tgz format to Slax's lzm format:

gnuchess-5.07-i486-3.lzm
gnuplot-4.2.3-i486-1.lzm
gphoto2-2.4.3-i486-1.lzm
gqview-2.1.5-i486-2.lzm
gxine-0.5.903-i486-1.lzm
imagemagick-6.4.3_10-i486-1.lzm
jove-4.16.0.61-i386-1.lzm
pidgin-2.5.2-i486-3.lzm
vim-gvim-7.2.018-i486-1.lzm
windowmaker-20060427
cvs-i486-1.lzm
xgames-0.3-i486-1.lzm
xine-lib-1.1.15-i686-1.lzm
xine-ui-0.99.5-i686-1.lzm
xpdf-3.02pl2-i486-3.lzm

 I spent a couple days trying to get the iso down below the 700 mbs necessary to release a live cd instead of a live DVD. Finally, I added the modules and rootcopy files to a freshly downloaded copy of the original Slax 6.1.2, and decided that I was going to go ahead and release KIARA 13 as a DVD, so I added a bunch of packages. The resulting iso images weighed in at 703 mb, so I only had to remove a single package to get below the 700 mark. I can't vouch for how the added packages will perform, and xine and gxine don't seem to work at all. As usual, the most reliable video player for Linux remains mplayer, especially at the command line, and it's derivatives including kplayer.

 For information about how to use mplayer at the command line, open a terminal and type:

man mplayer

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

KIARA 2.11 Now Available for Download


KIARA 2.11 is about to be available for upload. KIARA is a live CD based on Slax 6.1.2 with additional software packages from Slackware 12.2, including the classic KDE 3.5.10 desktop supplemented with the latest web software from Mozilla: firefox-12.0, seamonkey-2.9.1, and thunderbird-12.0.1. Efforts have been made to make KIARA compatable with wifi, and lately we've been succsessful. For a secured wifi connection with a password, logging in with wireless assistant is recommended. For an unsecured connection, KNEMO will login automatically by default.

Monday, February 13, 2012

KIARA 2.8 Released


KIARA 2.8 is now available for download.  KIARA is a live Linux CD based on Slax 6.1.2 that combines the classic KDE 3.5 Desktop environment with the latest web software from Mozilla and opera.  KIARA releases immediately follow each new release of Mozilla Firefox.

KIARA 2.7 includes Firefox 10.10, AND Seamonkey 2.7.1, and an upgraded version of wireless-assistant from Slax .org.

To simplify things, the Opera web browser has been removed.  I'll ll bring it back if anyone really misses it.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

KIARA 2.7 Released



REVISED: Corrupted files replaced, perl added. New version uploaded 2012.02.03




Highlights include added development files, Firefox 10.0

KIARA 2.7 is now available for download.  KIARA is a live Linux CD based on Slax 6.1.2 that combines the classic KDE 3.5 Desktop environment with the latest web software from Mozilla and opera.  KIARA releases immediately follow each new release of Mozilla Firefox.

KIARA 2.7 includes Firefox 10.0, Thunderbird 10.0, Seamonkey 2.7, and Opera 11.61.   I've also restored the following (mostly) development files that were once included in KIARA 1.x:  p7zip-9.20.1, pygobject-2.15.4,  pygtk-2.12.1,  python-2.5.2, ruby-1.8.7, perl-5.10.0

Finally, I've added a couple of links to the /root desktop to help simplfy administrative tasks.  One link executes the command "fdisk -l" in a terminal window, listing all partitions in all hard disks.  The other link opens the Konqueror "storage media" window.






Monday, January 9, 2012

KIARA 2.6 Released

Mozilla and Opera Web software upgraded Mozilla Firefox Web Browser9.01 Mozilla Thunderbird Email client 9.01 Mozilla Seamonkey Web Suite 2.6.1 Opera Web Suite 2.60 Opera must be installed after booting, the Desktop launcher will open a terminal window with the opera install script. For me, the installer works with defaults, so I hit "Enter" a few times and I'm done with the install. It just takes a few seconds, but you may need to go into more detail. After installing, the run command "opera" will launch the browser.
KIARA GNU/Linux is a full-featured general desktop live CD based on Slax 6.1.2, with packages ported from Slackware 12.2, and web software from Mozilla and Opera continually kept current.