BLAG

I've done some major updates in the last couple days. There have been lots of graphics fixed, all FC3 updates have been applied, plus updates from Dag, Freshrpms, & newrpms.

At this point what is left is a few graphics tweaks and...

the final hard part is finalizing updates from 9k & 10k. This needs testing & tweaking. I did some of it, but a big chunk is left to do.

We're almost from alpha->beta at this point. :)

Sooooooooo, last call!

-Jeff

I'm guessing my update script isn't getting in until some later point, then. Cause even if it made it in, we'd have to get somebody to mess around with the python and update the blag-firstboot to somehow get it to work. :(

I'll finish the script ASAP tho (the error checking portion is almost done).

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E-mail me at s.clement@localhost (replace localhost with sympatico.ca) or stevo32@localhost (replace localhost with blagblagblag.org).

OK. Well, when you get it done, send it along.

We don't necessarily have to have it auto-run, we can always have it installed, and just run manually.

-Jeff

Ok, I finished the updater, here it is:



Thanks,

Stephen Clement

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E-mail me at s.clement@localhost (replace localhost with sympatico.ca) or stevo32@localhost (replace localhost with blagblagblag.org).

I had a question. Is gtoaster included with the new blag cause I cannot find it anywhere. I even looked around synaptic and I cannot find a thing.

No, it's not in blag (nor fedora-extras). Dag has older versions, but not for FC3. It looks like gtoaster hasn't had a release in awhile...

Nautilus can burn CDs.

Well thats kindof dissapointing. If your goal is to try to make windows users convert to blag you need a good cd burning program. Most people could not figure out how to burn a cd with nautilus. Not to mention that nautilus does not automatically convert mp3 files into wav for you which is what windows users are acustom to. Gtoaster made it easy by just letting you drag and then burn. No file converting involved. Everything is done for you. Also, another thing I noticed is that when I gave k3b a try it would not allow the burning of mp3s. So k3b will not be a good substitute unless that is fixed.

Ya, well, i wish there were better options. Nautilus I think is very easy to use (you just put in a blank CD and drag files into it's folder). But it doesn't do mp3->wav conversion, which would be nice.

gtoaster pretty much appears to be abandon-ware though (no updates since 2002). Do you know of other options?

-Jeff

In all fairness, the Windows OS itself doesn't burn the CD's correctly anyways and most people revert to Nero. Secondly on Linux at least the OS isn't trying to constantly contact the M$ site trying to verify if the music you are trying to burn is licensed. Annoying if you are a pirate. Piss taking if you actually own the CD and want to legitimately make a backup.

For the most part cdrecord is better than Windows. Ok so you don't get the dinky little % bar saying nearly done 45 minutes after you started burning on your new 52x CD drive you purchased to speed up burning. You also don't get the customary Windows crash and another wasted CD.

Prepare your tracks



Open a terminal, su to root and type cdrecord --scanbus



You will get something like that though perhaps not two devices if you only have one obviously. Windows will tell you D: or even sometimes E:. Most times though you don't get to pick unless you want to dive 15 menus deep.
Then you type



if I wanted to use my PHILIPS ' 'DVDR824P'

or



if I wanted to use my 'LG' 'CD-RW CED-8083B'. Just replace my device names with ones of your own.

Now something you don't get on Windows is the -pad parameter. That basically sorts out the data length of the MP3's. MP3's come in all shapes and sizes. That fixes them. Windows won't allow for that because it of course assumes you have put in all license info. Of course you need the original CD for that. So if you are trying to burn a backup of an old CD, then you are screwed anyways. Not too good in the world of legitimate audio lovers. Linux has more trust in your ethical approach to lining the pockets of Britney and her rich millionaire but needy for money friends.

You can of course go the long Windows way around things and covert wav files to cdr files if you wish. Alternatively you can use just the above cdrecord command and see how even on a 24x speed drive things tend to be a lot quicker than it would be in Windows.

If you don't want to type the command, then make a script and call it burn. Each time you fancy burning a CD, just dump the wavs in a folder called tobeburned or something similar. Then just execute the script. The options really are endless because you can do what you want with Linux.

I also must say our goal is not to make Windows users convert to BLAG. We won't hold guns to heads. They are just shown an alternative world of freedom and given a choice If you want an OS that is insecure, unstable and will costs you a good weeks wages (or two) to purchase not to mention having to download half a gig of updates out of the box with numerous Service Packs, then have Windows. If you want something quicker, secure, stable and free then use Linux. Trust me though most people who have enough patience to deal with Windows fuddy duddy burning heartachs and wasted CD's would probably feel like Linux is a breath of fresh air. Most users in these forums dual boot. The only one who probably doesn't is jebba. So it is not a case of Windows vs Linux. Just honest opinions.

I am going to try to prepare a few scripts for the wiki to automate some of the stuff we take for granted from Windows. Windows isn't **all** bad. Just a lot of it is. It is to be fair a decent desktop OS. So there is a bit we can take from it and maybe add that to our own more stable and secure environment to enhance the desktop experience for your average desktop user.

Ok, after about 6 hours of time searching all over the internet for a suitable cd burning program for Blag I finally found one. It was vary difficult to find one since almost all the burning programs we are used to no longer detect cd drives in the new kernel. That is why can no longer be used. I stumbled accross this program called graveman. It can burn audio and data cds as well as data dvds and allready has an rpm file ready for fedora core 3. It supports both wav and ogg file formats. Here is the link to the site. The rpm installed without a problem for me on the blag 29000 00050 version. The only thing is it did not put an icon the in program menu for it. I had to type in the name manually in the run program option. I tested a burn on my generic 52X cd burner and it burned through without a hitch. I figure this program should work well even though it cannot convert an mp3 automatically. If anyone needs to do this they can just use audacity to convert the mp3 to a wav or ogg file and then burn with graveman. http://graveman.tuxfamily.org/telecharger-e.php

Oops, I meant to say that is why gtoaster is no longer usable.

Oh, one more correction. I meant the current 29999 00050 release

Hey hey, the icon is in the program menu. After I rebooted my system there it was. Except it is in the accessories menu. Oh well, at least its there.

Looks promising....it even burns iso files...and is a hell of alot faster than k3b...I think we should put this on the cd and repos....Haven't burned anything with it as of yet...when I do i'll let you know.

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BLAG 30000 user,it runs great...BLAG owns all distros, hands down. formally demitri_88

Ya, as you see in the new thread, graveman is now included.

I've played with it a bit. Here's what I like:

1) Clean pared-down interface
2) Automatically detects CD/DVD drive
3) Converts mp3/ogg to wavs (actually .cdr) for audio CDs
4) Can burn ISOs
5) Can duplicate CDs (needs 2 drives)
6) Very light-weight! (i love this)
7) Fukn simple to use

I sent a Request for Enhancement to the author. I asked him to implement burning playlists (e.g. .pls & .m3u). That would make it do everything needed... Saving Projects/Sessions would be cool too.

I hope this thing stays maintained :)

Thanks for tracking it down chris. Nice one. :)))

-Jeff