The Chakra Project - News

Archimedes-2012.05 released

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:05:32 +0000

A rolling release can mean quite often that an ISO is outdated soon. That was shown quickly after the second Archimedes release from 4 weeks ago. After that release it was time to update a lot of base packages, including the toolchain and the glib2 stack, those updates broke some parts of that ISO, so a third Archimedes is released today.

For all changes, please read the Release Notes.
And as always, The Chakra-Project is pleased to present this latest release.

Release Notes

The Chakra-Project is proud to announce the third Archimedes release, this codename follows the KDE SC 4.8 series.

As with the previous release, Chakra is no longer shipping a GUI for package management. Appset-qt was the GUI for pacman, but was not handling complex updates as should, so it is dropped from this ISO. In the initial phase of using a build from scratch package manager, there will be no GUI for package management either, so this is a good time to let any user get accustomed to this situation. Pacman is the cli frontend for package management, the online package viewer is there for additional info and searches. With this release KDE is updated to 4.8.3, a new toolchain including gcc 4.7 and glibc 2.15, updated glib2 stack, latest nvidia and catalyst, updated sqlite3/unixodbc/python group, to name a few of the newer base packages included. These base updates made it so that the second Archimedes release is no longer usable for bundles, thus a new ISO needed.

Chakra is offering a DVD and CD version. The CD version gets you to a minimal working KDE desktop, with only a text-editor, file-manager, web-browser and a simple media player installed, no further apps, no language packs. The DVD version includes all the language packs, most of standard KDE apps, the all new calligra 2.4.0 has replaced libre-office, amarok, kde-telepathy, spideroak , printer support, minitube, k3b to name a few.

With this release we offer:
- KDE 4.8.3
- Linux 3.2.8 (3.0.22 optional)
- Qt 4.8.1
- DVD image, including all locales and a nice selections of apps
- minimal CD image you can build your desktop on
- tomoyo-tools 2.5 added to a default install, for more security options
- wqy-microhei became the new default font for Chinese/Japanese/Korean
- QtWebkit 2.2.1
- New toolchain, including gcc 4.7 and glib2 2.15
- Switch to kmod

You can install additional packages from our repositories.

A good start is to read our Wiki or visit our Forums. To create reliable installation media, please follow the instructions in the wiki. Chakra's ISO's do not support unetbootin, and CD/DVD's need a burn speed no higher then 4x.

Links:

Download: Images at SourceForge
Wiki: bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Wiki: Alternate bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Chakra Beginners Guide

The Chakra Project signs a partnership with DuckDuckGo

nospam@example.com (Neophytos Kolokotronis) — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:19:00 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that we have signed a partnership with the DuckDuckGo web search engine. DuckDuckGo supports free software projects like this one by sharing revenue generated by search clicks. The funds will be used to maintain our infrastructure of servers used for building packages and hosting the website.

You can use the following Chakra !bangs to search our website faster and easier: !chakrapkg, !chakraforum, !chakrawiki, !ccr.

DuckDuckGo is already used as the default search engine in browsers (Rekonq, Qupzilla, Chromium, Firefox) in our repositories and of course latest ISOs. For instructions on enabling it on other browsers and support Chakra, you can follow the wiki.

DuckDuckGo does not store any personal information, e.g. IP addresses or user agents. For more information about the consequences of tracking as it applies to search results please consult the donttrack.us and dontbubble.us infographics.

Updates today mean virtual replacement of install

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:20:45 +0000
Again time for one of Chakra's big moves from testing to stable. This one will replace more then half of most users install, so needless to say, this is the kind of update why appset-qt was removed from a default install. For those users who still use appset-qt, absolutely DO NOT USE appset-qt for this update, but use "sudo pacman -Syu".

What all you'll find updated:
- KDE to 4.8.3
- Toolchain, including all the base deps (gcc to 4.7, glibc to 2.15, new cloog, etc)
- New hunspell
- Latest Libreoffice (3.5.3)
- New clang/llvm
- Calligra rebuild for hunspell and latest patch
- Networkmanager, bluedevil, virtuoso & akonadi latest version
- Switch to djvulibre
- Ruby 1.9.3, soundtouch 1.6.0, mediastreamer 2.8.2, sage-mathematics 4.8

Plus all packages that needed rebuilds for these updates. All in all, most users can expect around a 400 Mb download for this update, so please give your mirror some time to fully sync. If you are not sure if it is synced, wait at least 24 hours before doing this update.

Archimedes-2012.04 released

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:28:06 +0000

This second Archimedes release brings some good news, and for some, bad news.

Good news, after a year of hard work by the Calligra team, we are really pleased to present the DVD ISO with the first ever stable release of the Calligra Office Suite.

Bad news for some, there is no longer a GUI for package-management shipped. Appset-qt, and any other pacman GUI frontend, were not able to handle more complex updates as should, and the team felt it was not correct toward the users to ship such a package, that needed constant warnings.

The ongoing poll for favorite apps did not result in changes for apps shipped in this release.
For all other changes, please read the Release Notes.
And with this, the Chakra-Project team is really excited to present this latest release!

Release Notes

The Chakra Development Team is proud to announce the second Archimedes release, this codename follows the KDE SC 4.8 series.

From this release on, Chakra is no longer shipping a GUI for package management. Appset-qt was the GUI for pacman, but was not handling complex updates as should, so it is dropped from this ISO. In the initial phase of using a build from scratch package manager, there will be no GUI for package management either, so this is a good time to let any user get accustomed to this situation. Pacman is the cli frontend for package management, the online package viewer is there for additional info and searches. With this release KDE is updated to 4.8.2, kernel to Linux 3.2.8, Qt to 4.8.1, updated sound stack, krb5, phonon packages, to name a few of the newer base packages included. A switch from modulue-init-tools to kmod has taken place too.

Chakra is offering a DVD and CD version. The CD version gets you to a minimal working KDE desktop, with only a text-editor, file-manager, web-browser and a simple media player installed, no further apps, no language packs. The DVD version includes all the language packs, most of standard KDE apps, the all new calligra 2.4.0 has replaced libre-office, amarok, kde-telepathy, spideroak , printer support, minitube, k3b to name a few.

With this release we offer:
- KDE 4.8.2
- Linux 3.2.8 (3.0.22 optional)
- Qt 4.8.1
- DVD image, including all locales and a nice selections of apps
- minimal CD image you can build your desktop on
- tomoyo-tools 2.5 added to a default install, for more security options
- wqy-microhei became the new default font for Chinese/Japanese/Korean
- QtWebkit 2.2.1
- updated initscripts with the option to test systemd
- Switch to kmod

You can install additional packages from our repositories.

A good start is to read our Wiki or visit our Forums. To create reliable installation media, please follow the instructions in the wiki. Chakra's ISO's do not support unetbootin, and CD/DVD's need a burn speed no higher then 4x.

Links:

Download: Images at SourceForge
Wiki: bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Wiki: Alternate bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Chakra Beginners Guide

KDE 4.8.2 moved to stable

nospam@example.com (Neophytos Kolokotronis) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:01:02 +0000

Today KDE SC 4.8.2 became available in our Stable repositories, since no issues were found during the time it spent in Testing. This release brings many bugfixes and translation updates on top of the latest edition in the 4.8 series, and it should be a smooth update for everyone.

As usually, please perform this update using "sudo pacman -Syu" and read any instructions by pacman carefully.

Favorite apps for Archimedes-2012.04

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:31:48 +0000
A little reminder that voting your favorite apps included in the DVD ISO's is still open:

Forum posts with apps poll

Archimedes-2012.04 is in the preparation stages, and the release is expected soon after KDE releases 4.8.2

Please make sure your vote counts too, and take part in this poll

LibreOffice 3.5.1

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:28:33 +0000
Today the latest LibreOffice moved to the stable repo's. With this build, it is no longer needed to install the complete office suite, it is split up in different components, and you can choose which parts to install.

Unfortunately, these changes are bigger then appset-qt can handle, in fact it doesn't even recognize this update. So please use "sudo pacman -Syu" for your next update, answer "yes" to all replaces question, and carefully choose the language packs pacman offers to install for you.

This version offers full integration with KDE4, and you can choose from a few themes (oxygen being the default).

KDE 4.8.1 moved to stable

nospam@example.com (Neophytos Kolokotronis) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:35:28 +0000

Today KDE SC 4.8.1 became available in our Stable repositories, since no issues were found during the time it spent in Testing. This release brings many bugfixes and translation updates on top of the latest edition in the 4.8 series, and it should be a smooth update for everyone.

As usually, please perform this update using "sudo pacman -Syu" and read any instructions by pacman carefully.

Huge updates moved to stable today

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:53:35 +0000

Today we moved some package-sets to our stable repositories. This news-post is a reminder how to update right:

- don't use Appset-QT for those updates
- read the tuxonice wiki how to setup your system for resume/hibernation
- wait for your mirror to sync

What got changed:

- linux-lts got updated to 3.0-series
- krb5 stack got updated
- sound-stack got updated
- kmod replaces module-init-tools
- kernel and nvidia were updated
- phonon-backend-xine got dropped.
- gamin replaced fam

If you have troubles use our bug-tracker or post your issues in our support forum.

We also strongly recommend once again to regenerate all your initramfs-images of all non-official repo kernels you might have installed before rebooting your system:

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux
sudo mkinitcpio -p linux-lts

tuxonice & linux-lts updated to 3.0

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000

With the latest package updates you will get tuxonice enabled as default in linux and linux-lts packages.

Also linux-lts got updated to the 3.0-series which will be supported for 2 years from now on. Please read our wiki about how to use tuxonice.

Report back any issues you might have.

kmod replaces module-init-tools

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:46:00 +0000

With module-init-tools being declared a dead project by its current maintainer, a new project has stepped up to take its place: kmod.

If, upon upgrade, pacman moves /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf to a .pacsave, you should move it back. This file, and any other config read by module-init-tools, is still read by kmod. However, the kmod package will no longer include a blank config file. You'll find the same (if not more) documentation in the manpages and --help output for the binaries.

We also strongly recommend to regenerate all your initramfs-images of all your kernel you might have installed:

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux
sudo mkinitcpio -p linux-lts

Report any issues you might have back.

Sound-Stack updated in [testing]

nospam@example.com () — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:22:02 +0000

After the great release of Archimedes we now have time to update our packages again.

Our first set of packages are related to our sound-stack. Test all your multimedia applications and report back if any application is broken due this update. You can do that in our Forums Support Thread.

We will contact our packagers to fix those issues in our testing branch. If this update creates new issues or even bugs, use our Bug-Tracker and fill out a form so we can fix it for you.

What got updated

alsa-firmware 1.0.24.1 > 1.0.25
alsa-lib 1.0.24.1 > 1.0.25
alsa-oss 1.0.17 > 1.0.25
alsa-plugins 1.0.24 > 1.0.25
alsa-utils 1.0.24.2 > 1.0.25
ffmpeg 0.8.9 > 0.10
libvorbis 1.3.2 > 1.3.3
mplayer 34104 > 34707
orc 0.4.14 > 0.4.16
perl-alien-sdl > 1.430
perl-sdl 2.534 > 2.536
phonon-backend-mplayer 20111223 > 20120212
rdesktop 1.7.0 > 1.7.1
sdl 1.2.14 > 1.2.15
sdl_mixer 1.2.11 > 1.2.12
transcode 1.1.5 > 1.1.7
x264 20111108 > 20120204
xine-lib 1.1.20.1 > 1.2.1

What got rebuild

cdemu-client
cdemu-daemon
cdrdao
celt
dssi
ffmpegthumbnailer
flac
gstreamer0.10-bad
gstreamer0.10-base
gstreamer0.10-base-plugins
gstreamer0.10-good
gstreamer0.10-good-plugins
gstreamer0.10-pulse
gstreamer0.10-python
gstreamer0.10-ugly
gstreamer0.10
jack
ladspa
libao
liblastfm
liblrdf
libmirage
libogg
libsamplerate
libshout
libsndfile
libtheora
mlt
mlt-python-bindings
normalize
opencv
phonon-backend-gstreamer
phonon-backend-vlc
phonon
pyogg
pyvorbis
sdl_sound
sox
speex
timidity++
vlc
vorbis-tools

Updated pkgs due sound-stack update

kdelibs
k3b
kaffeine
mplayer2

Note: phonon-backend-mplayer might not work and might be dropped ...

Chakra - 2012-02 - Archimedes ISO released

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:22:21 +0000

Team-work & community, without it no Chakra-Project.

This latest release shows that nothing is more important for this distro then the above statement.

The arts team has worked hard together, and kept sharing their ideas and improvements with the community, and implemented ideas from there. This resulted in a great complete new theme, Ronak.

To get KDE 4.8.0 and Qt 4.8 ready for a stable release, many users tested relentlessly and helped with bug-fixes for months, both upstream and in Chakra directly.

Users came with the idea to have a real theme for naming the ISO's following a new major KDE release. After discussing ideas for about a month, the team settled on using famous engineers from now on, starting with the founding father of engineering "Archimedes"

This is the first time too, that most apps available on the DVD version are the users choice, a poll had been presented for many categories, and users voted very actively, to come to the final selection.

And with all this, the Chakra-Project team is really excited to present this latest release, for all what has changed further, please read the Release Notes.

Release Notes

The Chakra Development Team is proud to announce the first release of the KDE 4.8 series, codename Archimedes, Chakra GNU/Linux featuring Linux 3.2 and KDE 4.8.

After well over 100.000 downloads of Edn it is the goal to continue the further growth of Chakra into a mainstay distro. With this release KDE is updated to 4.8.0, kernel to Linux 3.2.2. A new theme, Ronak is introduced. Updated Qt, boost, subversion, phonon packages, libxcb stack to name a few of the newer base packages included. A switch to GRUB2 has been decided on, to be more compatible with any other Operating System.

Chakra is now offering a DVD and CD version. The CD version gets you to a minimal working KDE desktop, with only a text-editor, file-manager, web-browser and a simple media player installed, no further apps, no language packs. The DVD version includes all the language packs, most of standard KDE apps, libre-office 3.4.5, amarok, kde-telepathy, spideroak , printer support, minitube, k3b to name a few.

With this release we offer:
- KDE 4.8.0
- Linux 3.2.2 (2.6.35.14 optional)
- Qt 4.8
- DVD image, including all locales and a nice selections of apps
- minimal CD image you can build your desktop on
- tomoyo-tools 2.5 added to a default install, for more security options
- wqy-microhei became the new default font for Chinese/Japanese/Korean
- QtWebkit 2.2.1
- Boost 1.48, switch to GRUB2
You can install additional packages from our repositories.

A good start is to read our Wiki or visit our Forums. To create reliable installation media, please follow the instructions in the wiki. Chakra's ISO's do not support unetbootin, and CD/DVD's need a burn speed no higher then 4x.

Links:

Download: Images at SourceForge
Wiki: bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Wiki: Alternate bootable USB-FlashDrive creation
Chakra Beginners Guide

KDE 4.8.0 comes to stable

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:42:15 +0000
After nearly 3 months of testing, rebuilding & updating, the Chakra-Project team is happy to announce we feel KDE 4.8.0 is ready for our stable users.

As always, and especially this time, DO NOT USE APPSET-QT for this update. "sudo pacman -Syu" is the only correct way.

For most users this update will mean an almost complete replacement of your install. Not only new KDE, but new kernel, a good part of the sound base, new Qt, new boost, most graphic drivers are new, and all that depended on these will come with this update. So please follow this advice:

- Wait for your mirrors to fully sync, if you are not sure if they have synced, wait one day before pacman -Syu
- Read all the pacman instructions carefully, and answer "yes" to all replaces questions.
- After the update is finished correctly, make sure to reboot your system
- Again, we cannot stress enough, do not use appset-qt for this update

Vote your favorites apps

nospam@example.com (Anke Boersma ) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:11:09 +0000

A new stable release is just around the corner. This time we want more feedback of what you, the user, prefers to be on the DVD version. A poll was started for this on the forums, covering 5 categories:

http://chakra-project.org/bbs/viewforum.php?id=3

Please put in your vote too.