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So this will definitely be a bit off topic, but I wanted to share my latest spare time project with fellow...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:14:54 +0000

So this will definitely be a bit off topic, but I wanted to share my latest spare time project with fellow Archers: a JavaScript clone of the old Unix game, 'worm'. I got inspired by—and addicted to—it in my hours on the command line of my Arch distro.

JS Worm v1.0. This is a clone of the classic Unix game 'Worm', originally distributed with. Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Unix in the 1980s. Worm is originally by Michael Toy of UC Santa Cruz, ...

Ran across this today on DeviantArt...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:02:05 +0000

Ran across this today on DeviantArt...

ok , this is for my fav. linux distro "arch" work time : 2 hrs render time : 5.5 hrs on inel i3 my CPU was burned !. program : modo 501 1920x1079 pxls ,...

Here's an old wallpaper I had laying around, originally from one of the free wallpaper sites. I didn't...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:13:31 +0000

Here's an old wallpaper I had laying around, originally from one of the free wallpaper sites. I didn't author it and would be glad to credit and link to the source, but after searching the Web and even doing a "search by image" on Google Images, I'm no longer able to find the original. I did resize it here for an HD monitor. If anyone knows the original author, please chime in in the comments. I've always loved this one.

Arch_Linux_Wallpaper.png

Discovered Conkeror in the AUR today and am in love. So much better than Firemacs for browsing with ...

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 20:17:44 +0000

Discovered Conkeror in the AUR today and am in love. So much better than Firemacs for browsing with Emacs keybindings. I'm curious as to what sorts of keybindings other people have internalized and love and how other Archers have customized their software/DEs to suit these preferences.

I have a 2011 model MacBook Pro. I've been virtualizing Arch on it for some time now and am thinking...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 02:16:24 +0000

I have a 2011 model MacBook Pro. I've been virtualizing Arch on it for some time now and am thinking of partitioning the drive and going native. I've heard, though, that running Linux on Apple hardware and all its non-off-the-shelf components can be a serious pain. A few years back I ran Ubuntu natively on a MBP without issue, but then I had the training wheels of the Mactel Ubuntu community, and that was also several generations of hardware ago. Are there any Archers here who use Mac hardware and was it painful to set up? I get a lot of mileage out of virtualizing Arch; is it worth taking the leap from VM to metal?

The great tiling window manager experiment continues. Now trying herbstluftwm on the recommendation ...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:52:26 +0000

The great tiling window manager experiment continues. Now trying herbstluftwm on the recommendation of +Roulette Dares and so far really liking it. Not sure what I'll stick with at this point, but it has a lot of the ease of configuration I like about i3, without some of the weird window container behaviors that keep tripping me up in i3. Definitely a good WM to shop and compare.And yeah, it looks pretty much the same as the last two tiling WMs I tried out. But that's not a bad thing.Image Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/Connecticut/comments/v5fh9/xposted_from_history_porn_brooklyn_bridge_and/

Been configuring i3 and have got it pretty much to the same point I previously had Awesome WM. Lots ...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:24:12 +0000

Been configuring i3 and have got it pretty much to the same point I previously had Awesome WM. Lots of fun!

Been messing with i3. Created a simple script to select and load a random wallpaper each time i3 loads...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:02:32 +0000

Been messing with i3. Created a simple script to select and load a random wallpaper each time i3 loads. You can also run it from the terminal to change your wallpaper on the fly. It's written in PHP (I know, I'm weird), and so requires 'php' be installed. You'll also need to install 'feh'.Cheers!

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Looks like the cause of the VirtualBox bug has been found, wherein updating to glibc 2.17 caused X to...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:56:59 +0000

Looks like the cause of the VirtualBox bug has been found, wherein updating to glibc 2.17 caused X to hang on start while the Guest Additions video module was enabled. The problem turned out to be not with either glibc or VirtualBox, but with the xorg-server package. Arch Linux user Benjamin Robin came through with the final information, as well as a patch.Ironically, this bug has been kind of a great experience for me. It was the first Linux problem I had to seek help for that turned out to be an actual issue with the software and not just an issue with my understanding of it. I dunno what the grand barometer is, but when the bugs you're experiencing begin to be actual bugs, that's progress, no?I also improved my bug reporting skill substantially and I got to experience the open source community at work troubleshooting. It turned out to be a conversation between an Arch Linux user and a VirtualBox developer (someone far more helpful than the initial VB dev who responded to the ticket) that led to the resolution of the issue. While I didn't contribute directly, I cross-linked between their comments on the separate Arch and VirtualBox bug trackers and so I had the satisfaction of facilitating their ensuing conversation and watching the problem-solving process unfold.The vicarious satisfaction I felt when they found the offending line of code was addictive, and while I'm not looking forward to future bugs, my confidence in the open source process has never been higher. I at least look forward to contributing further, and perhaps eventually in a more direct fashion.

Flyspray, a Bug Tracking System written in PHP.

Here's my issue, which isn't exactly pressing, but more of a puzzle. I virtualize Arch in VirtualBox...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:03:41 +0000

Here's my issue, which isn't exactly pressing, but more of a puzzle. I virtualize Arch in VirtualBox on a Mac laptop and recently got a new external monitor. When I run Arch in fullscreen mode on the new monitor and launch Awesome WM, the DE comes up still sized for my laptop screen. However, when I launch Gnome, it correctly recognizes the new monitor size and the DE goes fullscreen.To add to the weirdness, if I log out of Gnome and launch Awesome afterward, Awesome does go fullscreen correctly. So it appears to be inheriting the correct resolution setting from the previous X session in Gnome.Likewise, if I unplug my external monitor and reboot Arch on my laptop screen again, Gnome correctly resizes to the smaller screen, while Awesome is still sized for the larger monitor unless I run it after running Gnome.I've yet to inspect the X.org log files from these different scenarios—since I've been busy and this hasn't been a major issue, I've been rolling with it so far. But I'm curious as to whether anyone has any speculative Car-Talk style theories as to what might be happening here? Being relatively new to Awesome, is there an obvious solution that I'm missing—like some simple line I should add to my Awesome config file that will get it to look for the correct screen size on startup?

Here's my desktop. Nothing special, just Awesome WM, but I'm new to tiling window managers and enjoying...

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 15:07:28 +0000

Here's my desktop. Nothing special, just Awesome WM, but I'm new to tiling window managers and enjoying it enough that I thought I'd post it, since most of the screengrabs I've seen so far are from Openbox and other DEs.The wallpaper photo's mine, btw, though I haven't yet resized it for my new larger external monitor (hence the blurriness, which is not Awesome's fault).

Another update for users virtualizing Arch in VirtualBox and having issues with X hanging on start due...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:00:19 +0000

Another update for users virtualizing Arch in VirtualBox and having issues with X hanging on start due to a conflict between the latest glibc package and the Guest Additions video module. While Allan McRae has been doing some work (https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/33229#comment104729) to see if there's not a way to get glibc to play nice with Guest Additions, the VirtualBox folks are now starting to look into the issue as well (https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/11356#comment:3). Sadly, they've said that fixing the issue will be a low priority on their end, as they don't classify Arch as a major Linux distribution and the distros they do view as "major" are not yet using glibc 2.17.

System Information. I am running a 32-bit Arch Linux guest on an OS X 10.7.5 host using VirtualBox 4.2.6. Issue. On my Arch Linux guest, updating glibc-2.16.0-5 and dependencies (binutils-2.23.1-1, gc...

Hey all, just an update to the earlier glibc/X/VirtualBox Guest Additions issue (https://plus.google.com...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:57:03 +0000

Hey all, just an update to the earlier glibc/X/VirtualBox Guest Additions issue (https://plus.google.com/111441278602865212925/posts/dKQVJLPMNSV), in which upgrading to the latest glibc and dependencies in a VirtualBox Arch install caused X to hang on start. Allan McRae has been working on the bug and has released a version of the glibc package for testing (https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/33229#comment104729), which appears to fix the issue—for me, at least. I don't know if it's a version of the package that could be moved into the official repository, or if it's just an experiment to further define the issue. But he could probably use another tester or two, as I'm pretty green when it comes to such things. The sooner the package gets tested, the sooner something will move to the official repository and fix the issue for everyone. :)

Flyspray, a Bug Tracking System written in PHP.

A heads up if you're a VirtualBox user having difficulty launching into the desktop environment on your...

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:06:38 +0000

A heads up if you're a VirtualBox user having difficulty launching into the desktop environment on your Arch Guest after an -Syu. VirtualBox Guest Additions—the video module, in particular—is having some compatibility issues with the latest version of glibc. Downgrading glibc and its dependencies (see here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1211119#p1211119) or disabling the Guest Additions video module will temporarily resolve the issue.I have filed bug reports with VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/11356) and Arch (https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/33229). Feel free to vote and/or comment on them if you're experiencing this issue.

My Christmas gift to everyone is an Arch Linux installation guide. Enjoy!

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 18:43:14 +0000

My Christmas gift to everyone is an Arch Linux installation guide. Enjoy!

A Guide to Installing Arch in VirtualBox | Josh Braun's Blog