I had installed, in 2016, the then latest version on this old laptop that I gave to my parents. It ran great.
Yesterday I thought it was time for an upgrade- I installed the newest 32 bits Bodhi linux. The live version ran great from the cd, so, I installed. About 30 minutes, not so bad, taking into account I was doing it from a cd
at at 90% of the install, the screen blacked and I thought it had crashed- it was just to save power- this can scare newbies...
after the install process was over, I rebooted.
2 problems- grub showed up "ubuntu", not "bodhi", and worse, then "error: no symbol found". Fortunately pressing any key did allow the boot process to continue.
It booted fine- but... no internet- the network icon wasn't even available near the clock..
I'm a medium level linux user, so I opened my network connection form the menu, found out how to solve the boot problem and rebooted.
Nice, now grub showed Bodhi, and no more errors, and the network indicator automatically opened. I did began installing everything I needed, libreoffice, firefox, a docment viewer, file roller,etc. During that time I began to reange icons on the toolbar (the drawer) so they are more "familiar" to my parents (more windows like)- and found out that there's a bug- many, many time, when activating the "moving" mode, icons switch places by themselves. Terminalogy icon automatically was replaced by the colored on that shows a old style monitor. I fixed that too, no big problem.
I want to add a "search" icon the the idesk (adding Everything there), but I can't seem to find the application's name to add to the icon. Can anyone help with that?
The apps tore does not open in Web, only in firefox
One more minor complaint: the top of the bar is, after opening apps, cut by some dots- The top of the circle of the menu gets cut, for example... Why?
Except for the grub error- I only have very minor "complaints" as you can see

Now the good stuff:
On this 16 years old 32 bits machine with 1 Gig of RAM, Bodhi uses so little RAM (less in fact than the previous version I had installed), and allows Firefox, ungoogled chromium and libreoffice to be perfectly usable. This rig is so old that it takes many seconds to load the applications, but, once open, the computer responds almost like a modern one!
Sure I can use antiX on this machine, but Bodhi is more usable, specially for older folks, seems more familiar to use, looks very nice to boot! Even has space for eyecandy like transparencies, etc.
I'm not a Ubuntu fan, mainly because I don't use recent computers, but I do admit, having it as the distro's backbone makes it easy to use- I google how to solve the grub problem and I found the solution instantly. Also, PPA's can be a pain, but they were the best way to use ungoogled chromium.
Who would have though that a computer this old could be perfectly usable today?

Suggestion:
I found a YouTube video, that I can no longer find again, that showed how to change colors- can it be easily done? Change, for example, all the green in the icons, to white, for example?

icons and theme can be changed in settings under look. that page has an option to change themes if you want to try some of the ones from the app center (or wherever). on the look page there is a category called application theme. inside there you can find an icons tab at the top where you can switch those. for some of them to change, you might need to uncheck the box that says "match moksha theme if possible".

I have seen both these bugs during install as well.. but they are easy work around..

For the Grub.. after your first system update this gets fixed somehow.

I like to use terminal and do "sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade -y". I usually use apt upgrade, but for the very first update I use the dist-upgrade. I do not think it makes a difference, but that is what I do. After that very first upgrade I switch to sudo apt upgrade -y

Anyway, after reboot, the boot menu thing will have the correct text labels.

Also, I like to install Grub_Customizer
It, as you probably know, is a neat gui for grub editing. Then you can easily name what you like set orders, make time outs and even add cool colours and gfx and stuff if you like.

Yeah, this is annoying. I am not sure if it matters but I always connect to the wifi during the install. Anyway, all you need to do is reboot after the first boot. On the second boot the wifi thing always shows up and is already connected using the info from the install I guess.

Yeah, I had this issue as well. There is an easy fix though. If you right click on any of the icons, not the bar itself but the icons, a settings window pops up. In there is a tick bx to "lock" the icons to the bar. Now you can not acidently drag them off or move their positions and stuff. rightclick-icon in bar/ibar/setting/☑lock icon move

yeah, that bugs me as well. How do you change the icon?

I use uLauncher. I assign it to alt+spacebar and then you can quick search, launch apps, all sorts of stuff with a quick key stroke. Not exactly a search icon on the bar like windows, but it is functionally identical. I hidde the icon, but there is a uLaunch Icon that can sit in the system tray you can click to also open the search bar.

Strange, I have the exact opposite problem. I had to completely uninstall web, as I just couldn't get firefox to take over as default in all cases! lol

Yeah, that is strange. Often when you load apps, unless you maximise them, the window will sorta be "over" the start bar. I think this may be because of my smaller resolution on my laptop I am using (it is older). Best fix is to just maximise, or in my case I switched to a auto hiding bar to save some space., but the best fix is if you right click on the top of a open window and go.. right click top bar of open window/window/remember there is a tick box called remember position and size. (I do not know what "locks" means).

Anyway, if you set the window to whatever size and position you like that is NOT over the bar, then this problem is hidden.

Again, if you just update the system with the terminal or the update app (if you installed the "app" version of BodHi, this will be fixed on your next boot.

I would recommend FreeOffice or OnlyOffice. I use OnlyOffice. Libreoffice is awesome, but its compatibility with Microsoft Office is spotty at best. The sad fact is that nearly everyone uses MS Office in a professional capacity, so if you plan to share any documents or spreadsheets with anyone in any profession, you need a truly compatible office app, and libreOffice just 'aint it.

OnlyOffice has been perfect for me when swapping between official MS Office and back in both spreadsheets and documents. Just a suggestion, give it a try. OnlyOffice Desktop is 100% free.

yeah, fuck getting a new pc, installing BodHi was like buying a brand new laptop!

I tried a zillion distros... I think BodHi is one of the best I have used as a noob. The uBuntu base means there is a metric ton of tutorial and help posts you can look at. Also this fourm is a gold mine of helpful people. I have been spamming it pretty heavy with questions and only gotten one snarky repsone, while everyone else has been super friendly and helpful. Very cool. Also most of the ubuntu software runs perfectly fine on it. I know that there is snap and other things, but basically I just want any distro I use to be ubuntu based and use apt.

PPA's are fine, in fact i love them as they become part of the update procedure. If you look at my post there are a few apps I suggested that use ppa's.. as you can see it is a very simple command to add a PPA... much easier than screwing about with GUI stuff imo. .deb files also automatically add the PPA in many cases. I install them with apt as well. sudo apt install filename.deb

There are actually a number of distro's that are designed specifically to mimic windows to make the transition super smooth. Though many of them are a little more resource intensive.

• LinuxLite - https://www.linuxliteos.com/ : Is a good light weight distro, ubuntu based and very "pretty". It is a easy transition for windows user imo and runs great on oldish laptops.
• Zorin Core - https://zorinos.com/download/#core : This is a "windows clone" distro. The "ultimate" version seems to a price tag, but it is cheap and the core version is free and you can easily add your own apps. Again, uBuntu based, runs well on my older laptops and is a litural windows clone in many ways. Any windows user will make the transition seamlessly.
• Chalet OS - https://sites.google.com/site/chaletoslinux/home : This is a lightweight (not as light as BodHi) distro that is also a windows "clone". In fact this is the OS I installed for my Dad. It is bascally identical to using windows. Like Zorin it is only when you start to install software that you see the difference, but if you set it up and they use it.. then they might not even know they are not using windows. It is basically xUbuntu with a custom UI I think.

The truth is though, imo, BodHi is the perfect mix. It is super lite and easy to use, but exposes all the linux power I am really enjoying. I have tried so many distros recently, as that new ventoy usb tool just lets you simply copy 99% of distro iso files onto a usb and they just boot perfectly (even the windows 10 install iso) Anwway I tried a heap and really liked Bodhi for making my laptop seem new and also being easy to use and customize.

There are a number of ways. I basically like a minimilist style, so the green style is cool for me.. but if you go "setting/look", as in CLICK on the menu item settings, not go deeper into the menu for setting. That brings up a bunch of controls and the first is "look"... there are a ton of options in there. You can also download a pack of "themes" from the bodhi app center...

unfortunately I do not know where you can find other themes besides the ones found there.

Also, try installing sudo apt install -y lxappearance This adds a bunch of quick customise options that you could look at.

Yeah... just one small suggestion for you to consider and this is just a purely personal preference. Try installing Touchpad Indicator It is a super cool little app that has some neat touchpad options that are super neat imo. Like you can make the touchpad automatically turn off when typing, or turn off when they plug in a mouse and stuff. You can also set modern gestures.. like scrolling down in firefox with the pad and stuff. Worth a look imo for any install.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks for all the answers!
Bodhi is very polished, but I find somethings missing for the regular, not computer savvy user:
I offer some easy to implement options:

1 - No easy, not terminal way of updating the system, out of the box! Sure the user can do it using Synaptic, but there's no easy "click here to update" solution, that would be very easy to implement!
I did so creating a one line script:
sudo apt update ; clear; echo 'Step 1 of 2 done' && sudo apt dist-upgrade && echo 'Step 2 of 2 done, closing in 5 seconds' && sleep 5 && exit

I saved it as "update-bodhi.sh" on my home folder and made it executable
Then I created a launcher that ran this script using "gksu terminology -e ~/update-bodhi.sh"
Now the user doesn't even have to type a single word at the terminal to perform an update (you can add the -y flag so the user doesn't even have to press enter to confirm the update)

2- I found no GUI way to set the time!?
One option is using the terminal (use the real numbers for hours, minutes and seconds where it reads hh:mm:ss):
date +%T -s "hh:mm:ss"

3- The install process could ask if the user wants to see an how-to change system language. I had to google the "how to". The process, of course involves using the terminal and loading the language module, AND changing the language from there... Not easy for non tech savvy non english users.
A simple yad script could, at least automate the first part...

4- I wanted to add the amazing "Everything" app to my bar, finally I found out I could show it's module on the bar, but that costed me a little RAM, so I installed xdotool and instead used a one line script to simulate pressing the windows and space key, to fire Everything. I made a .desktop file, using the magnifying glass icon, and put that in the bar instead!

5- Reading the forum, I noticed someone else reported the some windows overlap the top part of the bar, like it happens to me, no big deal, only a very minor usability question (it cuts the top part of the clock's digits).
Fix: right click an empty space in bar > Definitions > Stacking > check the first option

A user asked where did I get the replacement for the Terminology (that got switched on me):
right click the icon on the ibar > first option > Proprieties > "Icon" tab > /usr/share/icons/arc-green-icons-GTK/apps/scalable/terminal.svg

(I looked in /usr/share/icons/arc-green-icons-GTK/apps/scalable until I found one I liked...)

Question: is there any way to add a window preview, like Enlightnment has, to Moksha? I don't really need it, because I installed skippy-xd, but it does look very nice...

Even after all the apps I installed (I know Libreoffice is heavy, but I've been using Open/LibreOffice for almost 20 years now, I'm used to it) Bodhi runs very fluid! It's really, really usable!

Once again, my praise to the devs, amazing work (dispite all the very minor kinks- please fix the wondering icons bug every time I try to move any gadget!!!)

P.

1 members found this post helpful.

if you install the "app" version you get the update indicator app as default... I think the thesis of BodHi is minimal, and you install what you like.... I just type into the terminal the update commands personally.

You can install the update app that is packaged with the "app" version of the iso with.... sudo apt install mintupdate. Then add it to the star-up apps to load each time.

This puts an app in the system tray that displays a shield or something like that and the icon changed when you need to update. You just click and it updates for you.

2 members found this post helpful.

what questionsBot said ^.

as well as: your method sounds totally functional. there is also a mintupdate package in the repos (which also adds some other user functionality programs like additional drivers, kernel manager etc) that provides an update manager that can add an icon to the systray to let you know that updates are available (among other things like integrating with timeshift to help with system recovery snapshots).

Hello ppc76

I can answer some of your questions as one of two bodhi developers. Firstly, thanx for your kind words about our distro

1. Yes, guys above are right. All doable with sudo apt install mintupdate. Nice icon updater will appear. Be aware you need to add it to startup apps.
2. No time GUI. Yes it is, but you need to install swami-control. Little bit obsolete, not maintained project with ambition to cover some user needs like time, lightdm, keyboard layout or themes. Anyway, I do not use it. I prefer installing ntp package with time service.
3. Install process DOES ask you for language on the first installer page. This means, you will have language-pack-xx installed. The only trick is to apply that language after installation. You have to load the language module under module settings and then go to the Setting panel with newly added Language tab. That is all.
4. Everything on the shelf. As you wish, use what you want but my experience is fantastic with using keyboard shortcut (in my case ALT ESC which is very addictive). I am not a launcher apps expert but this stuff supports also plugins like calculators, dictionary, clipboard text copy feature and many more. Why not to use it. See my video on YT. https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...er-4175672906/

Icons: Not sure but I had problem was with the systray gadget in the past. I expanded the gadget container size to be possible grab it and move on the shelf. I can recommend you pressing right mouse button on the shelf and click on "refresh". Then rearange icons as you wish. To be clear, you probably mean Battery, systray, time, pager icons. Because I think there is no problem with iBar launcher icons... Am I right? Anyway, I will look at that reordering closer and if possible, try to fix.

Window preview. You prob mean e18+ feature for ibar. Feature like Windows has with small app windws above the icon. No this is no possible in Moksha. I will not promise to add this feature. Advanced level

Stefan

2 members found this post helpful.

Thanks for replying, Stefan!

About changing the default language - if possible, please add a small window to the installer, telling users how to apply the selected language to Bodhi! All I found as the general "How-to"... If there was any instructions during or after the install process, I didn't even take notice of that (probably it was my lack of attention to details during the install process)

About the bugs when moving "gadgets" on the bar- sigh... sorry to report, al least here, on my 32 bits installation, it affects both gadgets (that randomly move around) and icons on the ibar - their order sometimes changes, and, more serious... even today Firefox and libreoffice writer icons got "deleted" (even from the menu entries!) and I had to manually replace them... Ungoogle Chromium randomly switched from the green one to a colored one... Very wierd!
This can make non techie users, that just click icons on the bar to start the browser and the file manager, for example, unable to use Bodhi!!!
I don't recall that happening on the Bodhi version I installed on this computer in 2016, but then again, I just added a Firefox icon and never changed anything else...

About the "window previews" - not really necessary- skippy-xd does almost the same (only one dependency necessary, but has one bug, if it runs without any open window)

I'm happy to report that this is the only single "bug" I found in Bodhi (and only happens when moving gadgets) during "normal" use, this is rock solid!
For example: what can I do on a computer that is almost old enough to vote? - Surf the web, using the latest browsers- Firefox and Ungoogled Chromium- watch youtube in low res (or even in 720dpi, if I use smtube!), listen to music, watch videos (it plays everything to 720HD videos, some full HD videos, too, but even those that play are a bit choppy). Use libreoffice - it even works with "language tool" that does not work in some OS!

P.

I'm not sure if I should start a new thread, but since Stefan replied to me here:

About my missing icons problem- this computer is almost only used to run internet browsers, LO writer and the file manager from ibar icons and its suspended/turned off from the gadget next to the clock, so I basically don't use the menu...
Yesterday, I noticed that almost every single entry in the menu (except for those that I selected myself and a few others) do not show any icon (exceptions: leafpad, vim, Ephoto, Transmission and Synaptic - that show icons that are not in the default green theme) ... So I'm betting that, at least this part related to missing/changing icons is directly related to how Moksha processes .desktop files OR what the default icon theme Moksha uses for .desktop files - is that altered somehow when the user enters the "move gadgets" mode?
Is there any way I can manually edit any config file that selects the default icon theme?

@Stefan: Also, way of topic- I wrote/collaborated in several yad scripts ( that I use in antiX and MX)- that include a GUI to change time and date; a GUI to mount android devices and automatically display them in the default file manager, and a Rclone GUI that does almost the same to rclone mounted "remote" drives (that also allows to configure automaticaly "google drive")- do any of this scripts interest you guys? They do depend on YAD being installed, but offer some functionalities that I use almost daily, that may also interest other users (I have not tested any of this in Bodhi yet- probably they need to be adapted to run on it)

P.

gtk icon themes can be set in ~/.gtkrc-2.0 (which suggests ~/.gtkrc-2.0.mine) and ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini. qt5 in ~/.config/qt5c5/qt5ct.conf. or lxappearance, qt4-qtconfig and qt5ct if you want a gui.

ppc76

Thanx for another info.

Missing icons issue is sorta common phenomenon under Enlightenment. As far as I know, Ylee contacted raster (E main developer) in matter of this issue. Without any result so far. Maybe ylee can tell us more. Anyway an easy and working solution is deleting ~/.cache/efreet folder.

YAD offer. Why not, post that script or link here. We would like to see it. Although we like more orthodox efl natural apps or modules, we are OK to support creative guys who want to participate or have good ideas

Stefan

1 members found this post helpful.

@Stefan: thanks, deleting that folder (I renamed it) logging off an back on solved the missing icons! I didn't even noticed that all menu entries had icons, until I clicked the menu again and saw the difference...
One less crack in Bodhi's perfection. If I may suggest something- if this is a common issue, why not add a entry, somewhere in the menu or in options to automate that?

Ok, I checked and my rclone "remote" clone drives script does not run well on Bodhi- since I can't even use the command it uses to mount "remotes" using the terminal, maybe Bodhi installs an older rclone version.. I'll have to check that later.

But I adapted my set time and date script to run in Bodhi, using terminology to choose the timezone. Here it is:

ppc76

Sorry mate, I havent time to check your script yet. Hopefully I will during the weekend...

Stefan

OK, I had a look.

Working fine. Nice playing with yad.

Maybe it inspires me creating something similar but under EFL. Anyway, I checked the older swami-control setting where date, time and other settings are included. Unfortunately it is broken and does not work for me. Probably related to the last PyEFL changes. Ylee can tell us much more...

Stefan

1 members found this post helpful.

I agree 100% Bodhi is way more user friendly then antiX...