What were the Basic Stuff in Linux Beginning?

Most important fact of Linux I forgot.

It is the ability integrate with the Internet seamlessly with NFS or Network File System resident in the kernel. Both client and server NFS are resident in the kernel.

NFS configuration files are resident in /etc/exports.

 

Linux Init process is streamlined and Gnome runs the integrity check of its file system and one should not abort it. Evry time it boot it prepares a journal that is updated as necessary when additional stuff are added

 

1. Kernel to configure hardware

Kernel (first word came as Kernal) is not your work.

It is supervised by Linus Torvalds

 

2. Window Manager (Puppy Linux) which enlarged to a Desktop

Window mangers were light weight

IceWM an Enlightenment are beautiful and functional and not resource hungry. 

KDE is as bulky as Microsoft Windows.

 

3. Web Browser and Mozilla Firefox was the darling.

 

I am not going to ditch Firefox due to minor hitches which saved me for over 30 years.

 

4. File manager which has a folder for home and downloads.

Folders arranged in alphabetical order.

Desktop

Documents

Downloads

Music

Pictures

Public

Templates

Videos

 

Thunar was the beginning but Nautilus took over.

Now we have a nice nemo from cinnamon.

 

5. What else do you need?

Gparted to prepare the partition the way one likes.

/root partition for the  basic system

/boot partition and now it is Efi (Fat partition) of less than one GB.

/home partition to hold all the file system from Dolphin to Nautilus to Thunar 

/tmp or opt partition to drop all unused files,  which are all deleted at boot time.

/var partition to load all user files (this should be big enough to load everything you add after install. I get this wrong  

Any other partition /usr/local is redundant in a desktop but very useful on a serer setting.

That is the basic of Linux operating system

 

Anything else is bloatware. 

Kdenlive is a typical bloatware of about 770MB when installed.

Testing Box Utility on Various Desktops Including Enlightenmnet desktop

Testing Box Utility on Various Desktops Including Enlightenment Desktop

I tested Crunchbang Linux on Box utility using all the desktops I have except KDE.

Budgie

Gnome

Cinnamon

Mate

Enlightenment

I used Stacer utility. 

It shows a running  effects on RAM, CPU and Hardware usage.

basic use of RAM was little over 2GB with so many applications on my system.

It went up to 3GB and 3.5GB except Budgie desktop which took over 6G of my 8GB RAM. 

My Guess is Budgie as a desktop cannot share memory with the  SWAP Partition. All the pages are mounted on its desktop.

Developer guys still working with Budgie Desktop should take a not of this scenario and work on memory usage, if they want to promote it is easy on resources specially the RAM usage.

 

Gnoppix

Gnoppix 

I cannot write anything about Gnoppix except saying it is a derivative of Knoppix Linux which is defunct from 1991.

I really like and used Knoppix over the years from 32 bit time.

It boots well with my old PC left in Ceylon. 

If I have problem with the PC I used boot Knoppix to boot it.

Knoppix could be installed on a PC.

Then when Gnoppix came I tested it with the PC and it never booted with my NUC.. 

Same story, today, I could not boot Gnoppix.

Knoppix had a peculiar file compression which proobaaly the reason it does not opon after booting.

Gnoppix does not mount even on Box utility.

It is not a squashfs file to begin with and that is its problem.

 

What was CrunchBang Linux?

What was CrunchBang Linux?
 CrunchBang Linux (abbreviated #!) is an unmaintained Linux distribution derived from Debian by Philip Newborough (who is more commonly known by his username, corenominal).

 

CrunchBang Linux 11 Waldorf. 

OS family. Linux (Unix-like)

 

CrunchBang was a Debian GNU/Linux based distribution offering a great blend of speed, style and substance. Using the nimble Openbox window manager, it was highly customisable and provided a modern, full-featured GNU/Linux system without sacrificing performance.

Development of CrunchBang has ended, but it inspired the creation of some excellent spin-off projects by community members.

BunsenLabs Linux

Bunsel Lab Linux is active and is a pretty good Light weight distribution.

I think it has a derivative called Beryllium Linux.

BunsenLabs Linux is a distribution offering a light-weight and easily customizable Openbox desktop. The BunsenLabs distribution is based on Debian's Stable branch and is a community continuation of the CrunchBang Linux distribution.

 Using BunsenLabs Linux. I liked the look and feel of this distribution as soon as I booted it and saw the no-frills Openbox windows manager. You will see no annoying translucent windows or CPU-bogging animations with this distribution. The task bar is translucent, but I can live with that.21June, 2024

EFI Files and EFI Boot Partition

This is my recent discovery.

EFI is only 512 in my case.

It is a FAT partition.

I do not format (one should not-no booting) it to avoid erasing previously installed distributions.

I have had no problem with installing Debian Gnome and it detects the existing distributions and update it. It does not record previously erased distributions. 

It only records current existing ones.

This is not so with Elive. However, gets it correct after several attempts at installation but it writes a new GRUB file of its own.

Now with Endeavour OS it goes into blank and runs only Endeavor OS and thankfully no damage done to EFI partition and other previous Boot Files.

Yesterday, I installed Rocky Linux and erased it immediately.

I am sure it did not do any damage to the GRUB file. 

I solved all the problems by Installing Manjaro but I got it right on the 3rd attempt.

Today I installed under Gnome,

MATE

CINNAMON 

Compiz 

IceWM

Now I get a boot Menu that is common to BSD. 

It is graphical and not text menu.

It is called rFind, probably coming from BSD.

How Come?

I do not know?

I put the blame on Compiz (I do not think it can) but I cannot mount a Compiz as a desktop.

Any way, I have no qualms at all.

I erased it using Gnome.

Not the boot menu is graphical and it is good with my poor eyesight.

CrunchBang Linux

 The minimalist Linux distribution CrunchBang Linux was discontinued back in Feb 6, 2015. 

CrunchBang Linux was popularly known by its abbreviated symbol #!. 

It was based on Debian. 

It wasn't just another Linux distribution because it featured a window manager instead of a desktop environment like GNOME and KDE.6 Feb 2015

 

 

CrunchBang Linux Shutdown
Announcing that CrunchBang will no longer be developed, head of the project Philip Newborough said that when he started the project, Linux world was different place. He mentioned that there was no ‘competition’ in the same ilk at that time but with the advancement of Linux distros like Lubuntu, Crunchbang doesn’t hold the same value.

For anyone who has been involved with Linux for the past ten years or so, I’m sure they’ll agree that things have moved on. Whilst some things have stayed exactly the same, others have changed beyond all recognition. It’s called progress, and for the most part, progress is a good thing. That said, when progress happens, some things get left behind, and for me, CrunchBang is something that I need to leave behind. I’m leaving it behind because I honestly believe that it no longer holds any value, and whilst I could hold on to it for sentimental reasons, I don’t believe that would be in the best interest of its users, who would benefit from using vanilla Debian.

 

CrunchBang Successors

 As of now, the CrunchBang website/forum is no longer active and you will not be able to access them.

However, there are a couple of community projects that are unofficial successors to CrunchBang Linux. Here’s some of them:

BunsenLabs Linux
Crunchbangplusplus
Crunchbang Monara
Except for Crunchbang Monara, the rest of the two options are being actively maintained, you can try them out if you want.

You can head to ArchiveOS’s page to download the original file for CrunchBang Linux to try it out. Since it’s been discontinued, I don’t recommend using it on your main computer and as your regular operating system.

Did you get the chance to try CrunchBang Linux back then? What did you think of it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

Gnoppix Linux

 Gnoppix Linux was developed in September 2002 and was based on Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (Woody).

After the successful public launch of Gnoppix in 2003, Gnoppix Lead Andreas Müller was hired by Canonical to implement Gnoppix Linux LiveCD functionality into the 1st Ubuntu 4.10 aka Warty in 2004. Since Ubuntu and Gnoppix Linux became identical, the Gnoppix Project was stopped, as there was no longer a need for it. 

Andreas then founded the Kubuntu Project.

 

COVID-19
Gnoppix Linux was relaunched in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gnoppix was before 2025 based on Debian GNU Linux. It is still free and the most privacy and secure way with a maximum of performance, no personal data were taken nor uploaded to somewhere.

 

Key Features

Gnoppix can be run from a DVD, USB thumb drive or from a local drive. It can resume previous sessions while running in a live mode. The distribution attempts to clean up after itself, removing all traces of its use from the computer or used media.

Gnoppix 2025
Gnoppix switched to pure Arch Linux in Jan. 2025 from Debian to optimize workflows. 

Arch Linux is an independently developed Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model.

How to Live without KDE Desktop?

 How to Live without KDE?

There are lot of options

1. Enlightenment which Elive and Mohksha of Bodhi Linux uses

2. MATE original Ubuntu Unity

3. Cinnamon made famous by Mint

4. Gnome which is my backbone

5. IceWM is actually is a beautiful Window Manager

6. Compiz which I could never get to work in my NUC integrated graphic card.

7. Minimal Blackbox

 

For Coding and Python Guys to Explore

For Coding and Python Guys to Explore

Python was the word I learned  from the book "Joy of Linux" but I never went to coding during my busy medical life. Only when I entered University for teaching career, I decided to dig into coding. 

I finished my these in double quick time well past the age of 50, mature enough to delve in deep to Linux and coding.

Vi was my entry point.

This pieces is not about that.

There ton of coding material in Debian Gnome.

Just under r key, I found 2000MB of coding material outside Latex and Lyx.  Now that I disposed of 2000MB by deleting Firefox and LibreOffice I can rely do some Tex editing CODE.

Perl

Ruby

 and many more 

rocs is something new to me and it has  desktop,too. 

It has a huge database.

AI does not have an entry.

Leads to rocky Linux which I have disposed of.

Go and investigate them.

Linux is based on C and not C++. 

Learn C not Java. 

I still have 7GB Left in my root directory.

If I give 8GB for Gnome root I have 5GB for my Coding and basic utilities like Boxes, OBS and Kdenlive.

KDEnlive coming from KDE base takes over 700MB but OBS does not. 

So use OBS instead.

Catchy OS with Catchy OS Browser

Catchy OS with Catchy OS Browser

Yes, It is Arch based distribution with KDE Desktop and only 2,3GB Image.

 

Arch Linux is coming of age and user friendly not seen long time ago.

 

A few minutes ago I installed Manjaro Linux in my NUC for the third time (my fault) to get the configuration perfect with enough space in /var partition.

 

I prefer Catchy OS to Light Weight Linux which still have lot of problems.

 

Arch perform well with minimum applications.

Majaro takes 7.7GB for its core and with another 3.3GB I have all the applications without LibreOffice and Firefox which takes 2GB in totl.

 

That is the reality and who preach "Small is Beautiful" theme.

 

Thank YOU guys and Girls for your hard work.