Based on the latest Manjaro 0.8.13 base system, we are proud to present Netrunner Rolling 15.06 (release candidate 1) for testing.
This release includes the following changes from the beta 3 release:
Linux 3.4.1 LTS kernel
Plasma 5.3.1
KDE Frameworks 5.11.0
KDE Applications 15.04.2
Muon 5.3.1 added and is now the default update manager
(Octopi is still included for it’s AUR support and as a power user tool)
The default theming has been updated as well.
Warning:
Do not install and test this ISO in a production environment or on a mission critical system, this early preview ISO intended for testing and feedback purposes ONLY.
Yes I know, I had some major issues with it on my 32bit test system, system freezes, graphics glitches, Intel CPU errors on boot-up, etc. However, since my 64bit test systems worked fine with this kernel and I was asked to use it, I went ahead and used it for this ISO build.
For starters, let me say that the current Release Candidate build is working well on my VirtualBox. But there are a few questions I have regarding the art style.
I would like to know if the current default theme style will be kept on release. I ask this because the default theme pack and the current icons and cursor are inconsistent to the new Plasma5 approach.
For example, the cursor is set by default to “windows cursor style”, the icon pack style is set to oxygen and the current theme is also not representative of the new Plasma5 medium.
I am just curious because I would have thought that being sponsored by Blue-Systems (who also work on other KDE related projects) would imply having a degree of consistency in their sponsored projects. Now, I do not know what the theme guidelines are for the current version of Netrunner editions, but maybe they could use an overhaul. I’ve seen this issue being discussed in the beta thread, but there was the problem of not having the necessary people to work on the art style. So since doing another (more modern theme) specifically for Netrunner is out of the question, and using the old one is a “no no”, why not use the default Breeze theme pack that comes with Plasma5 and which is actually emblematic for the current plasma release?
If the people working on this project consider a switch to the more modern and more polished theme (Breeze), could it be also considered to have libreoffice preinstalled with the Breeze theme like in Kubuntu?
As an added note. I know that it is possible to change everything back to look like Plasma5, but the issue I’m bringing here is the default settings approach, the first image that represents the personality of this release. I am only bringing this to the table because I care for this project and I want it to succeed.
If you would like to read, here are my recommendations for the theme configurations that I can come up with so far:
cursor theme (Breeze Snow). I have chosen the white Breeze cursor over the black for consistency;
widget style (Breeze);
window decorations (org.kde.breeze);
desktop theme (Breeze);
colors (Breeze);
icons (Default Plasma 5 Theme - Breeze);
GNOME Application Style Icon Themes (Breeze);
splash screen (maybe use the Breeze one with the background wallpaper of Netrunner);
login screen SDDM (same here as above, maybe use the Breeze style with the Netrunner background + Breeze snow cursor, which is currently set to Adwaita);
compositor setting for desktop effects (have the animation speed set to medium for more fluid and relaxed animations)
the theme is not final and will be more closely to the themeing in Netrunner 16, which is “classic” rather than Breeze=flat.
If you want Breeze, its easy to change either by hand or from the LooknFeel package.
For future releases, we might think about some true unique icon mix and themeing.
This is also only a default theme and will be changed by the end user while personalizing their system, so changes here only effect a fresh installation. This being a rolling release based system, there is no need to ere-install unless the end users system becomes unstable or unable to boot. Even if the default themes were to change over time on later ISO releases, the end users customization will be kept and the new theme would not be applied automatically by an update. Right now these themes are being handled by setting each individual theme in skel, and applied to each user as thier accounts are created. When and if the defaults get changed on the next ISO, the end user would need to set them themselves on an existing installation if they wish to use the new themes. However, once we have and use full and proper theme packages, this would be easier for the end user to set if they so choose.
The point I’m trying to make here is that these ISO’s are only intended for the initial installation of the OS and re-installing every so often is not required by a rolling release based system. Since this type of system is designed to be installed only once and then just continually updated to the current release state (packages and base system settings only), any and all customization made by the end user to their systems should never be overwritten or changed without expressly being done by the end user themselves.
Here is how it normally works:
Standard releases - usually require a full re-install periodically to get from one version release to the next due to the large size and number of the packages needing to get updated, and all the changes made to the newer systems base (only security and bug fix updates are applied between releases, with a few exceptions)
Rolling releases - install once and update forever via smaller more manageable updates which leave an always up to date system. (All packages are updated as they are released upstream after some bug and stability testing, all major base system changes are handled via scripts during these smaller updates)
Having just got around to attempting to install RC1, may I respectfully state that Calamares is currently not fit for purpose and request that you revert back to Thus.
See attached screenshot for what went wrong.
It’s no wonder the installation failed because it was trying to install the bootloader to my swap partition(/dev/sda3) when I specifically told it to install it to my System partition(/dev/sda5).
Hi roadrunner. Many thanks for testing this pre-release ISO of Netrunner Rolling. I’m sorry to learn you had some issues with the installer. However, this is what a release candidate is for: catching issues so they can be fixed before the final ISO. For this reason, I believe fixing this issue is a much better idea than just reverting to legacy software (which has its own set of issues).
I’m the maintainer, can you help me fix it? I’ve taken the liberty of submitting your report to the Calamares issue tracker (CAL-250). Could you please reproduce your issue while running Calamares in debug mode in a terminal emulator like this:
$ sudo calamares -d
and then please attach the full output to the bug report on the issue tracker or otherwise make it available to me.
my question refers to calamares: Will it be possible to deselct grub installation? For people who have more than one linux distribution installed side by side, this can be a useful feature.
That’s a very interesting question indeed because, on a possibly unrelated issue, somebody has tinkered with Thus in their 0.8.13 release and it’s now impossible to install the bootloader to a partition!
This option was requested almost twelve months ago on the Calamares issue tracker: https://calamares.io/bugs/browse/CAL-62 and it looks as though this might be added in 1.2
Perhaps you might like to add a comment on the issue tracker
Netrunner rolling is based on Manjaro (Arch) linux, which adds an early boot Intel microcode image to grub on Intel based systems that loads prior to the main image. Netrunner rolling like it’s parent distribution, can not be added to a grub boot loader installed an maintained by any other distribution, it will not boot. Grub2 in Manjaro is capable of adding the other distrobutions and operating systems to it’s own menu automatically.
