Submitted by The endless stream of Ubuntu derivatives just refuses to end. “Fluxbuntu is a Ubuntu-based derivative that uses FluxBox as the desktop environment. It is lightweight, swift and efficient compared to Gnome or KDE. These features makes Fluxbuntu suitable for vast range of computers, from low-end to high-end.” There’s a screenshot gallery as well. Laugh at me all you want, but I want a ROXbuntu. I’m not kidding. Anyone?
That’s cool, but I’m still waiting for IceUbuntu myself.
There is already ubuntu lite, which uses icewm as its wm.
http://www.ubuntulite.org/
No offense, but that project’s home page looks a tad rough. Of course, it is cited that it’s a work in progress, but “enyoj”?
I don’t think English is his native language – “j” is pronounced “y” in many central European languages. This shouldn’t reflect per se on the quality of the distro
It will take over your entire harddrive, and warn you only once. I couldn’t believe it was serious, and thought there would be other configuration questions to follow, but it filled the start of my harddrive before I caught it.
from what I read, this isn’t going to be “Ubuntu with Flux and as the Default Environment” that would be ubsurd in my book.
I can see a reason behind Ubuntu/Kubuntu, as KDE/Gnome are IMO the leaders in Linux desktops, with the lesser/lighter DE’s available via apt.
If this becomes something along the lines of like, DSLinux or Puppy, in it does away with the heavyness and gives a sharp fast system, then that would be cool. but if its Ubuntu booting into Fluxbox, then that is just a waste, IMO.
and I dig flux, I’m not a hater, I triple boot DSLinux, Fedora Core 5 and Ubuntu.
I guess if BlueEyedOS ever started up again, it could be HaikUbuntu.
…but I prefer Openbox myself.
same here … though I’m not sure I’d bother with OpenBoxuntu vs. just installing Debian core and apt-get’ing what I wanted.
Does this Fluxbuntu have any advantage over DSL-N? http://damnsmalllinux.org/dsl-n/
IMO, they should use another gtk2-engine — the default gtk2 theme doesn’t look very attractive in the screenshots.
I’m still waiting for someone to build a Debian- or Ubuntu-based live-cd with Ion as the default WM. (Yeah, I already know about grml and I like it. Still, Ion is not the default in grml. http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php ) And, of course, I’d like this Ion live-cd to use my own special customized keybindings. 😛
One major advantage of Fluxbuntu over DSL-N is probably the ability to use apt-get/aptitude/synaptic to update packages. I love DSL, but I love Debian/Ubuntu’s ability to update to new packages easily even more!
I want EvilUbuntu.
http://www.6809.org.uk/evilwm/
I think ROXbuntu would make more sense than Fluxbuntu. Flux is just a windowmanager. ROX is actually a lot closer to a desktop environment. There are applications for it and an overall cohesive way of doing things. Maybe someone should just package a large array of windowmanagers and all non KDE/GNOME dependant applications with it.
ROX would be better, but it has a problem: Packaging. Ubuntu uses APT and ROX uses app folders. Rox really needs its own distribution to shine properly, not to be bolted onto a Debian-based.
There was a ROX-OS distribution project that started:
http://roxos.sunsite.dk/dev-contrib/guido/Blog/
This was due to build a whole distribution around ROX, with a complete new appdir based file system hierarchy (somewhat similar to Gobolinux). But it appears to have stalled due to lack of contributors and developer time.
ROX already has a mature and advanced application packaging and delivery mechanism with zero-install:
http://zero-install.sourceforge.net/
All both projects need are more enthusiastic developers with Linux hacking skills and enough free time. Zero install particularly just needs willing volunteers to package applications and make them available.
There seems to be another Ubuntu-based distro, nUbuntu, that also uses fluxbox but specializes in security testing.
http://nubuntu.org/
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=691&slide=3…
I just want to get my votes in for these two sorely needed OSes.
Well, maybe I should start looking into fvwmbuntu… Or, maybe we all just need a *buntu distro…
Seriously, this is getting silly.
It is quite ridicolous that everyone packages his own distro just by switching *buntu desktop environments.
Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu make sense because they are consistently different – Ubuntu is geared towards GNOME tools, Kubuntu towards KDE tools etc., and they try to do this consistently, creating a smooth experience for the end user. But, AFAIK, while there are KDE and GNOME/Gtk apps, there are no “fluxboxish”, nor “icewm-ish” apps.
So, where’s the point?
I agree, wich is why I brought up *buntu… I would say that maybe we need a non-desktop geared *buntu for people who want to run fluxbox/icewm/whatever… except wouldn’t that be debian? 😛
Or, perhaps, ubuntu-server…
Edited 2006-09-12 18:32
What is the point of making a zillions of clones instead of 1-2 flexible distributions?
Agreed. It is really getting silly. Next we will see washmyclothesbuntu and domyironingbuntu, too. … Hm… not such a bad idea after a second thought.
than <insert your preferred DE/WM> ?
I don’t think that fluxbox’s popularity has so much to do with its speed but, rather, with its balance of providing features many users like and still staying light-weight. Fluxbox doesn’t take much hard disk space and it doesn’t eat much RAM. If you’ve got a computer with little RAM, fluxbox is certainly faster than a heavy-weight desktop environment that requires lots of RAM. In such comparison fluxbox leaves you with more RAM for running applications.
The man page of fluxbox is a great introduction to its many features and also a helpful guide for configuring it.
“The endless stream of Ubuntu derivatives just refuses to end…”
An endless (official) stream of Kubuntu, Edubuntu (if that even counts), Xubuntu, and Fluxbuntu (if that even counts). So a box of one dozen eggs is three endless streams of eggs?
Linux, and all of open source, as far as I can discern, is all about derivative work with incremental improvements. Why reinvent the wheel when all you need are knobbier tires? If this opening remark is supposed to indicate the author’s eyes rolling, it’s inflammatory.
Now, if we’re remarking upon the conversion of Mepis and the abovementioned Ubuntulite, there may appear to be a burgeoning stream, but in some way it gives me heart that Linux developers and packagers are beginning to agree on more than they disagree upon. We’ve picked an OS, it is Ubuntu (OK, OK, Debian) and now we’re skinning it. Sounds like the tuner market to me, and that’s promising.
I seem to recall someone commenting in the Shuttleworth article last week, that if Ubuntu tried to become Debian it would inherit its broad internal diversity and disagreement, hence why EVERYTHING is available in Debian.
Well, looks like despite his original intentions, Ubuntu’s basically going the same route. This is Linux’s “problem”- everyone has their own preferred way of doing things, and there’s no Microsoft- or Apple- like corporate entity standing there saying NO, YOU MUST DO IT THIS WAY AND ONLY THIS WAY.
Sooner or later I think they’re going to have to rebrand these things, and have Ubuntu be the name of the base system, and perhaps default to the Gnome desktop version…
if Ubuntu tried to become Debian it would inherit its broad internal diversity and disagreement, hence why EVERYTHING is available in Debian.
That’s why god gave us Novell and Rad Hat. I don’t get to say that often, but… “Gee, Thanks Pal!!!”
I _really_ think this ubuntu/kubuntu/xubuntu/fluxbunto is the wrong approach. Why not stick to vanilla ubuntu and maintain the kde-desktop packages etc? It is such a waste of time. What I mean is, that it’s no difference to install ubuntu and then add another desktop. No need for all these distribution that underneath is the same thing.
BR/D
Struck a chord, I always thought Ximian had the right approach to the linux desktop. Letting go of the underpinning and focusing on the user experience could only hasten the arrival of the linux desktop. The ubuntu/kubuntu/xubuntu/fluxbunto ‘s all have the right idea and direction, they just need another degree of isolation. The os and the desktop should be two separate entities. Then we can address making them all cross-compatible.
o yes! the same story! want a specific feature? then do a full installation of an OS again. don’t see it as your final OS though. it’s sure that another linux flavor would invite you for another full OS installation for another cool feature…
Thats that I want to see ….
I’ve been running Ubuntu since 2004 (pre-release 4.10) and I have to say the proliferation of forks, take-offs, “based-ons”, etc. is getting a little, um, embarrassing. I guess it’s a form of flattery – but do we really need a “*buntu for red-headed, left-handed gilwickies”?