Very useful thread!
I also write things I found useful on a webpage.
http://users.skynet.be/six/gpure/tech/linux/debian.html
It's very rough, but I hope to make it a good debian install guide for having a light fluxbox/.. system on older computers. I prefer light apps on any computer.
I copy some of the tips I find useful and haven't seen here in this thread:
starting X automatically after loging in, without [gkx]dm
To do this, just add the following line to the end of your ~/.bash_profile:
ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || startx
OR you can add this line instead:
ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || xinit >/dev/null 2>&1
The last one is faster, because it starts xinit right away. Startx calls on xinit anyway, so this one saves a process. There are differences though. Startx uses .xsession and .Xresources; xinit uses .xinitrc and .Xdefaults. The files have exactly the same function.
You can even save some more by adding exec before xinit:
ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || exec xinit >/dev/null 2>&1
The use of exec prevents the shell from running after X starts.
Fluxbox
To start fluxbox and the slit apps automaticly when starting X, you need to have these lines in ~/.xsession (startx) or .xinitrc (xinit):
---------------------------------------------
asmem -withdrawn -bg black -fg white &
wmbutton -m &
wmcpuload &
wmnet -L cablemodem -w &
mount.app &
wmix &
numlockx &
fluxbox
---------------------------------------------
I let numlockx start to enable numlock by default.
The first six lines are my slit apps, change them with your own or delete the first six lines.
You can install slitapps using "apt-get slitappname".
You can choose the order of the slit apps in ~/.fluxbox/slitlist
You'll probably want to add a submenu in the fluxbox menu to shutdown or reboot the computer.
First you'll have to install the "sudo" package. Then you can run "visudo" as root in a terminal.
Add these lines (change the usernames):
------------------------------------------------------
User_Alias USERS = yourusername, yoursecond username
Cmnd_Alias SHUTDOWN = /sbin/shutdown
USERS ALL = NOPASSWD: SHUTDOWN
------------------------------------------------------
To change the fluxbox menu for all users you have to become root and edit /etc/X11/fluxbox/system.fluxbox-menu.
Or if you want to change it only for yourself, edit ~/.fluxbox/fluxbox-menu.
Add these lines (BEFORE the final [end]) :
----------------------------------------------
[submenu] (Power Down) {}
[exec] (Reboot) {sudo shutdown now -r}
[exec] (Shutdown) {sudo shutdown now -h}
[end]
----------------------------------------------
Here's an example of my system.fluxbox-menu for fluxbox.
http://users.skynet.be/six/gpure/tec...m.fluxbox-menu
After changing the menu files be sure to change this line in ~/.fluxbox/init:
system wide menu: session.menuFile: /etc/X11/fluxbox/fluxbox-menu
your own user menu: session.menuFile: ~/.fluxbox/fluxbox-menu
After that run the command "update-menus" to update the debian menu system.
Note: you can also use the program "fluxconf" to configure the menu (and more) of fluxbox.
hope it is helpful,
grtz,
guni
