Here’s my latest Crunchbang Linux wallpaper. I wanted to stay true to the mostly black default theme as well as ensuring there’s good space on the right side of a lengthy Conky configuration. The file can be downloaded from the #!Crunchbang wiki site.

Over the past several months I have stuck to using Mint, Sabayon and Zenwalk. I’ve been tricking out my XCFE and Gnome window managers with 3D effects, the Avant Window Navigator – a flashy application launcher reminiscent of iMac, wobbly windows, and the rest of the bells and whistles. It was looking so whiz bang my wife asked me to install Linux on her computer!

Just last week, during one of my frequent passes through distrowatch.com, I discovered #!Crunchbang Linux. Crunchbang is an Ubuntu derivative that uses the Openbox window manager exclusively.

Openbox’s menu system has a method for using dynamic menus. This is done by accepting the output of a script and using that output as the source for a menu. Each time the user points the mouse at the sub-menu, the script is re-run and the menu is regenerated. This capability allows users and software developers more flexibility than the standard static menus found in most other window managers. For instance, two developers wrote a script in Python that lists a user’s new Gmail messages in a sub-menu. Openbox is light weight and does not impose a massive toll on the CPU. Upon install (standard Ubuntu install engine) I was immediately struck by the zen-like simpleness.

The desktop was uncluttered save for Conky, a system monitor that is drawn onto the desktop. Conky is highly configurable and is able to monitor many system variables including the status of the CPU, memory, swap space, disk storage, temperatures, processes, network interfaces, battery power, system messages, e-mail inboxes, many popular music players (MPD, XMMS2, BMPx, Audacious), and much more. Unlike system monitors that use high-level widget toolkits to render their information, Conky is drawn directly in an X window. This allows it to consume relatively fewer system resources when configured. I spent a evening learning, configuring and playing with Conky. The forum on the Crunchbang site was very helpful and provided other users Conky config files and many many examples.

So, I’m a week into my Crunchbang install and have not flipped over to one of my other distros. I really enjoy the simplicity, speed and unique linux feel to Openbox not to mention that everything just works and it pulls deb/ubuntu repositories.

crunchbang linux desktop

This is my Crunchbang desktop and it’s running Abiword, GIMP, PCMan file manager, GPictview image viewer and a terminal open. You can see where I have right clicked the desktop to access the application menu and have navigated down to the internet submenu.

Conky is displaying time, date, system info, MEM and CPU usage, top 5 processes, ethernet inbound and outbound traffic, current Melbourne weather details, my Gmail inbox and a few choice keyboard shortcuts.

I’d highly recommend this little distro to all. Looks like I’ll be staying faithful to Crunchbang … at least for a little while!

Here’s another GEEKY T-Shirt design. Wear it with PRIDE

Hit this link to purchase or get more info

Wallpaper for Zenwalk Linux. Download the full size version here.

Anyone who wants a non-Zenwalk version can hit the link associated with the image below and click the ‘all-sizes’ button to choose your resolution size for download. Enjoy.

Download the hi-res version (1500×1200 pixels)

This Zenwalk Linux image was based upon one of my photos from last Summer. This photo has been the most viewed and favorited on my DeviantArt account.

Here’s a hi-res (3888×2592 pixels) Zenwalk Linux wallpaper.

I would like to respectfully acknowledge Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation who are the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land I currently reside.

Using traditional Australian Aboriginal symbols, the image depicts the future dreaming of man leaving the cradle of humanity. The concentric circles the ‘campsites’ or colonies as man takes to the stars. Undulating patterns mirroring trials and tribulations persist in following the journey. The U shapes of mankind identify a new civilization emerging in the stars.

The background image is a Hubble Space Telescope shot of the Orion Nebula.

Created using the GIMP opensource image editing software on Zenwalk Linux.

For more information on Aboriginal Painting or to view real Aboriginal artists work please visit:
www.aboriginalartonline.com/index.php
www.aboriginalart.org/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_art

Note: I am not of Aboriginal descent and do not claim to understand the complexities and full symbolism of traditional Aboriginal art. I hope that by learning more about the Aboriginal culture and art I can gain a greater appreciation and understanding.

Here’s another Zenwalk Linux wallpaper. This one is based on my Nebula In My Backyard II image. The image featurres a photo off my balcony early one morning superimposed upon a Hubble Space Telepscope shot of the Orion Nebula. Download a hi-resolution version (1800×1200) here.

Zenwalk Fly Free Wallpaper Download (3848 x 2592 px – 4GB file)

So far, I love using Zenwalk Linux 5.0.  It’s a very nice lean linux distribution. I had the hankering to create a nice background for my Zenwalk box’s 20″ monitor. I started with a photo I took of some interesting clouds. To that, I added a photo of my youngest daughter jumping on the trampoline. I used the GIMP and also Wine running Photoshop CS2 to cut her away from the original background and blend in with the sky photo.

Above is a screen shot of my desktop using XFCE. Feel free to hit the link and download the large file. If you wish a smaller version, you can find it on my flickr account.

• Camera: Canon 400D
• Downloaded to Zenwalk with DigiKam
• Edited using the GIMP and Wine with Photoshop CS2

Recently I went into a distro binge and downloaded all the most popular ISO’s. I obsessed with Distrowatch.com and saw fit to track down any that looked suitable for my old clapped out PIII 633 machine. I tried all the mini’s and even tried some of the bigger kitchen sink variety distros.

I was wanting something lean mean and not too bad on the eye. When all the smoke had cleared and the hard drive was feeling a bit flaccid, I chose to enter a relationship with Zenwalk 5.0. I know, I shouldn’t commit, I should have learned my lesson but, I just couldn’t help it.

The install was fairly standard and painless, not really worth much of a mention. I’d recommend that you download the live version first and give the distro a good test run. The live version is true to the actual install. One bummer was a lack of install to HDD on the live version.

First off, I liked the philosophy of Zenwalk – simplicity. A single package per task or issue. Following this simplicity was an easy package manager – netpkg when I needed or wanted something not included in the original install. They’ve thrown in a nice netpkg gui but I find that the CLI is much quicker and facilitates my lazy streak. It also is built on off a slackware platform and I have always been fond of slack and it’s speed. Zenwalk’s new you beaut HAL makes plug-n-play a breeze which is important now-a-days.

As a photographer I was initiially disappointed when I plugged in a digital camera and nothing happened. I was hoping HAL would kick in and allow me to browse or download my photos. Alas, a quick “netpkg digiKAM” fixed up that problem pretty quick and so now I’m good to go with the camera.

My verdict after the honeymoon?? It runs a little slower than what I think it should. I was expecting a slack derivative to still look beautiful the morning after but she does have a few bags under the eyes. Nevertheless, I still like her. She’s stable, good looking and easy to maintain. All in all … I’m still turned on and haven’t strayed once!

Before running off, I should mention that the documentation, wiki, support and forums for Zenwalk are very good. I noticed on some of the distros that there was little tolerance or responses to questions in forums … not so with Zenwalk. Good documentation and good support makes me very happy.

Here’s my screen shot of Zenwalk 5.0 with Gimp and a terminal on the desktop. I’m running the standard Xfce with the bottom panel removed. I like the right click access to apps and it leaves more area on my small old fashioned monitor. The wallpaper is one of the standards in the /usr/share/wallpaper/ directory.