XBMCbuntu - Can someone clarify statement from xbmc web page?

KidKiwi · 2012-05-11 06:00

Hello,

This was a statement made here

...The user may now toggle between XBMC, which auto-starts, and a normal desktop if he or she chooses. And, perhaps most exciting for many users, XBMC will now be upgradeable, both from command line and from the GUI package manager, without fear of crashing the XBMC experience...

1 - How is toggling between xbmc and the desktop achieved?? (Or is this achieved via the "Exit xbmc"...get the login screen...enter details....and presto you're there??)

2 - How to you upgrade to the latest [Linux] version (or nightlies) via command line AND/OR the GUI package manager?? (what is the GUI Package Manager?? Is this in the desktop?) - can the latest linux nightlies be dropped into a folder like on Windows??

**lcapriotti** · 2012-05-11 09:10

1. Exit xbmc"...get the login screen...enter details....and presto you're there

2. sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade in a desktop terminal

KidKiwi · 2012-05-12 00:26

(2012-05-11 09:10)lcapriotti Wrote: 1. Exit xbmc"...get the login screen...enter details....and presto you're there

2. sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade in a desktop terminal

Thx for this. I figured it would probably be the answer.

Would certainly be nice if you could just drop xbmc inside a folder like Windoze and would make upgrading/trying nightly builds so much easier.

Plaguester · 2012-05-12 09:46

(2012-05-12 00:26)KidKiwi Wrote:
(2012-05-11 09:10)lcapriotti Wrote: 1. Exit xbmc"...get the login screen...enter details....and presto you're there

2. sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade in a desktop terminal

Thx for this. I figured it would probably be the answer.

Would certainly be nice if you could just drop xbmc inside a folder like Windoze and would make upgrading/trying nightly builds so much easier.

You have to switch the session on the login screen (dropdown in the bottom left of the box) to XBMCbuntu. Once you are in, you can access the Synaptic Package Manager through the menu.

If you want the latest XBMC builds, I believe you can simply switch the XBMC software source from "stable" to "unstable" and then do an upgrade.

I'm not going to bite on the trolltastic "drag and drop to upgrade applications" comment. Tongue

KidKiwi · 2012-05-13 00:10

(2012-05-12 09:46)Plaguester Wrote: You have to switch the session on the login screen (dropdown in the bottom left of the box) to XBMCbuntu. Once you are in, you can access the Synaptic Package Manager through the menu.

Thx - I'll have to look into that. I haven't spent any time in the desktop as of yet because the resolution for it is WAY TOO small. I'll have to find a fix.

(2012-05-12 09:46)Plaguester Wrote: If you want the latest XBMC builds, I believe you can simply switch the XBMC software source from "stable" to "unstable" and then do an upgrade.

Not sure how this is done?? Can you elaborate?

(2012-05-12 09:46)Plaguester Wrote: I'm not going to bite on the trolltastic "drag and drop to upgrade applications" comment.

Again...not sure what a"Trolltastic" is Huh

, but it wasn't meant to be smart. I'm a windows user (not a very good one) that used a linux version because it was stated it acts more like an appliance than Windows. No one said you needed a PhD to drive the damn thing. A windows box is so much easier to manage IMO. Personally, I don't care what o/s people use.

Actually, Having Eden setup on my 2nd HDD has been quite good in that I can try things I wouldn't try on my "stable system". For example, I tired a "apt-get upgrade" when I was having problems playing video in the xbmc release (xbmcfreak version plays video). Thankfully, it didn't bork the setup, but didn't help with the video problem. This way it allows me a lot more latitude to play with the setup without fear of borking it, as I can always re-install it if I break it.

Appreciate the input. Thx

Plaguester · 2012-05-13 00:53

(2012-05-13 00:10)KidKiwi Wrote: Thx - I'll have to look into that. I haven't spent any time in the desktop as of yet because the resolution for it is WAY TOO small. I'll have to find a fix.

You probably don't have the DPI set to 120 x 120. If you have NVidia hardware do this:

Code:

# replace "vi" with your text editor of choice

$ sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf

# In the following section, make sure you have the DPI option set:

Section "Device"

    ...

    Option "DPI" "120 x 120"

EndSection

You can try sticking that in the "Monitor" section if you don't have NVidia hardware.

(2012-05-13 00:10)KidKiwi Wrote: Not sure how this is done?? Can you elaborate?

Log in to the XBMCbuntu desktop
Select the menu button and choose System Tools > Synaptic Package Manager
Select Settings > Repositories
In the "Other Software" tab, scroll down and select the one with "team-xbmc" in it
Click "Edit" and change the URL to "http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/ppa/unstable/ubuntu"
Close out the two dialogs so you are back at the package manager
Click "Reload"
Click "Mark All Upgrades"
Click "Apply"

The last three steps could be replaced by

Code:

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

# Note that if you see something about linux kernel stuff getting held back, you want:

$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Good luck with the unstable builds. I usually don't jump on those until there's a beta.

(2012-05-13 00:10)KidKiwi Wrote: Again...not sure what a"Trolltastic" is , but it wasn't meant to be smart. I'm a windows user (not a very good one) that used a linux version because it was stated it acts more like an appliance than Windows. No one said you needed a PhD to drive the damn thing. A windows box is so much easier to manage IMO. Personally, I don't care what o/s people use.

Technically that comment would be more like rant-bait for a Linux user. I'll explain.

One huge bummer about Windows is that you have to update each of your programs separately. Most people don't like getting bombarded by programs asking for updates, and so users turn that crap off. This leaves you with security holes and old software on the system. Windows users who have never used anything else get used to updating programs by going to the website, downloading the update, and running it manually for any software that doesn't automatically update itself.

Linux uses repositories (think "App Stores", although repositories have been around much longer). This allows the package manager to keep track of everything installed on the system and update all of your software from one place with one command. This is least intrusive to the user experience and allows for the system to be kept up to date. In a regular distro, a nice little update GUI would periodically pop up and ask you to update. XBMCbuntu is meant to be as light as possible, and therefore the "Update Manager" is not included (though it could be installed from the package manager).

If you were to install a program by going the Windows route and downloading an archive, extracting it to a folder, and running the program, you defeat the entire purpose of the package manager. The package manager won't know about the program and it could go without updates indefinitely (this is particularly bad if there are security patches available). This causes Linux experts to do the facepalm.

You are right that XBMCbuntu is "more like an appliance". It is more friendly than tinkering with your bluray player or cable box, but it won't be as user-friendly as a full-blown (or fully bloated Tongue

) OS (Linux, OS X, Windows, etc.) when you're trying to troubleshoot something unless you like the command line (trust me, it is so much easier than GUIs once you get the hang of it). Once you get it set up, you shouldn't have to touch it at all unless you are afflicted with the pathological tinkering disorder (like me). If you do a little research before you buy to make sure you get a good hardware combo for XBMCbuntu, you can have everything setup just through the installer and XBMC itself without ever dropping into a terminal or the desktop environment (I just did this Thursday with the Zotac box in my sig).

**natethomas** · 2012-05-13 01:00

Wow. Plaguester. Nice post!

KidKiwi · 2012-05-13 08:26

Wow Plaguester...what a post. Really appreciate the effort that took.

1 - Funny...I just found the DPI fix earlier today.

2 - That would've taken me some time to find. I haven't looked at a linux desktop for years. ONce I get the DPI sorted, I'm off to have a play. I just did a "apt-get" upgrade to see what would happen. Seems it did a whole lot of stuff and didn't bork the system - excellent Big Grin

3 - Wow...that's a good description of things. I tend to be reasonably on to keeping my programs up to date in windows. I have never updated my xbmc box until a new version comes out and then I do a fresh install. I built my current box about a year ago - still running Dharma 10.0. Having the 2nd HDD is great and it allows me the chance to set everything up before I carry out a fresh install to Eden on my SSD. I'm learning heaps and it's not important if I bork it while trying things.

While I love the idea of the linux box being more like and appliance, from my perspective as someone not too skilled on puter stuff, the management of it is much more difficult. Even simplet things take a lot of research - like adding a 2nd drive...having the partitions accessible / mounting etc. Even backup/restore is a nightmare - not to mention how to add a nightly for a play. All these things are easy for me in windows. I missed all the puter stuff at school - too long ago. Don't have the time to suss it all out.

Thx again for the fantastic post.

Plaguester · 2012-05-13 08:50

You can install GUI tools to manage drives (Disk Utility, GParted), I haven't ever used any GUI tools for backups ("dd" and "bzip2" are fine for me), but they do exist. However, in the long run, you'll be better off keeping your media separate (on a file server, NAS, external drive, non OS internal drive, etc.). You can install Openelec or XBMCbuntu in 15 or 20 minutes, unzip your .xbmc directory, and be good to go.

KidKiwi · 2012-05-14 01:45

(2012-05-13 08:50)Plaguester Wrote: You can install GUI tools to manage drives (Disk Utility, GParted), I haven't ever used any GUI tools for backups...

I had a quick play in the desktop late last night. I got the resolution and overscan sorted. I had a chance to look at the repositories are, but haven't tried it yet.

Following up on your post, I searched for GUI Tools". I got lots of hits, but mostly about "MySQL GUI Tools" - which doesn't seem to be the thing you are mentioning. Is GUI Tools a software package (Or a collection of packages), and do you have a link? Thx

natethomas Team-XBMC Community Manager Posts: 2,834 Joined: Apr 2008 Reputation: 53	2012-05-13 01:00 Post: #7 Wow. Plaguester. Nice post! Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting. Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules. For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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