Category: exton

RaspAnd Marshmallow 6.0.1 Build 170521 for Raspberry Pi 3/2 – now with Google Play Store, Aptoide, Aptoide TV, Kodi 17.1 and SnapTube

May

2017

NEWS 170521 about RaspAnd Marshmallow 6.0.1
I’ve made a new extra updated version of RaspAnd Marshmallow. In this version I’ve included Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!), Aptoide 8.2.1.1 (for installing new apps), Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps) and SnapTube 4.17.0.8739. (Using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect sound and video quality). Google Play Store is of course also pre-installed.

Raspberry Pi
RaspAnd Marshmallow runs very well on the new Raspberry Pi 3 computer. The system runs also on the “old” Raspberry Pi 2 computer.

How do I install RaspAnd?
Use Win32 Disk Imager in Windows or the dd-command in Linux.

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager?
Well, until now you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge).

About Aptoide App Manager and Google Play Store
I had to remove Aptoide in build 160915. I could not get Aptoide to work properly in that RaspAnd build. In RaspAnd Marshmallow 170521 Aptoide App Manager works very well – see this screenshot. Google Play Store works very well in both versions – see this screenshot. I.e.: A lot of apps can be found and installed.

YouTube performance
YouTube works alright in RaspAnd Marshmallow Build 170521. You can watch almost all videos. I.e. normally you will hear the sound very well, but some of the movies won’t play or play very slow with strange colors. If you want to run YouTube with (almost) perfect video and sound quality you must use Kodi 17.1, which is pre-installed. Example of perfect video quality in Kodi 17.1.

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Add-ons. Most important is that the YouTube Add-on is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying.

Spotify
Spotify works very well in RaspAnd Marshmallow. Just log in and play your favorite music! Watch this screenshot.

Screenshots
Boot animation during the start of RaspAnd
Screenshot 1 – Google Play Store running
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s new Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Aptoide running
Screenshot 4 – Kodi 17.1 running
Screenshot 5 – Example of perfect video quality while running Kodi 17.1

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2 – Build 170519 – with Kodi 17.1, Aptoide TV, VLC, SnapTube and Termux

May

2017

NEWS 170519 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2
I have finally managed to make a version of RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, which can be installed to a Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) in Windows 10 using Win32 Disk Imager. You can alternatively (of course) use the dd-command in a Linux system. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-kodi-snaptube-aptoide-tv-termux-win32diskimager-install-652mb-170519.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-kodi-snaptube-aptoide-tv-termux-7400mb-170519.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager?
Well, until now you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd 7.1.2. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge). When you use Win32 Disk Imager it will look like this.

MORE ABOUT RaspAnd
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170519 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2. I have included the following apps:
1) Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
2) Firefox 53.0.2
3) Spotify 8.4.3.479 (working very very well)
4) Rotation Control Pro 1.1.9 (which you may or may not need)
6) AIDA64 1.46 (for exploring your Rpi system)
7) Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps)
8) ES File Explorer Pro 1.0.8 working very well
9) Termux 0.48 (terminal with which you can use Apt to install certain programs)
10) SnapTube 4.17.0.8739 (with sound, but no video will play. However, using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect sound and video quality).

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2 – Build 170516 – with Kodi 17.1, Aptoide TV, SnapTube and Termux

May

2017

ABOUT
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170516 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2. I have included the following apps:
1) Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
2) Firefox 53.0.2
3) Spotify 8.4.3.479 (working very very well)
4) Rotation Control Pro 1.1.9 (which you may or may not need)
6) AIDA64 1.46 (for exploring your Rpi system)
7) Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps)
8) ES File Explorer Pro 1.0.8 working very well
9) Termux 0.48 (terminal with which you can use Apt to install certain programs)
10) SnapTube 4.17.0.8739 (with sound, but no video. However, using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect video quality).

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Add-ons. Most important is that the YouTube Add-on is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying.

Kernel
Kernel 4.4.35-exton-v7+ is used in RaspAnd Nougat Build 170516.

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 – Nougat boot animation (which you must see during the boot. If not, the installation was unsuccessful)
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Kodi running
Screenshot 4 – Kodi running (choosing Add-ons)
Screenshot 5 – ES File Explorer running
Screenshot 6 – Spotify running
Screenshot 7 – AIDA64 running
Screenshot 8 – SnapTube running
Screenshot 9 – Termux running
Screenshot 10 – Settings running (choosing apps to start)

Please note that the colors in the screenshots are not accurate. The actual screen color is more like in this picture taken with my mobile phone.

ExTiX 17.5, Build 170508, with KDE 4.16.12 together with KDE Frameworks 5.31.0, Refracta Tools and kernel 4.11.0-1-exton

May

2017

I have made a new version of ExTiX – The Ultimate Linux System. I call it ExTiX 17.5 KDE Live DVD. (The previous version was 17.0 from 161221). The best thing with ExTiX 17.5 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Tools (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu system. So easy that a ten year child can do it!

ABOUT
ExTiX 17.5 KDE DVD 64 bit is based on Debian 8.7 Jessie/Debian 9 Stretch and Ubuntu 17.04. The original system includes the Desktop Environment Unity (Ubuntu). After removing Unity I have installed KDE Frameworks 5.31.0 with KDE 4.16.12. KDE Frameworks are 60 addon libraries to Qt which provide a wide variety of commonly needed functionality in mature, peer reviewed and well tested libraries with friendly licensing terms.

The system language is ENGLISH.

Used KERNEL
My special kernel 4.11.0-1-exton corresponding Kernel.org’s kernel 4.11-rc8.

What’s new in Linux kernel 4.11?

NEWS ABOUT ExTiX 17.5 Build 170508 with the KDE Desktop environment and Refracta Tools
1. ExTiX KDE is based on Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus. KDE 4.16.12 is used as Desktop environment. All packages have been updated to the latest version by 170508. Kernel 4.11.0-1-exton is used. (Kernel.org‘s kernel 4.11-rc8).
2. I have removed Google Chrome. It is now possible to watch Netflix movies in Firefox.
3. I have installed BlueGriffon Web Editor. BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for the World Wide Web. Powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of Firefox, it’s a modern and robust solution to edit Web pages in conformance to the latest Web Standards. Only to be compared with Dreamweaver. (In my opinion).
4. Other included important/useful packages are: LibreOffice, Thunderbird, GParted, Brasero, SMPlayer, GCC and other compilation tools so that you can install packages from source. Furthermore “all” multimedia codecs. Everything the average Linux user could wish for I would say.
5. The best thing with ExTiX 17.5 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Tools (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu system. Very easy to do.

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – KDE 4.16.12 – NetworkManager running
Screenshot 2 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – Synaptic running
Screenshot 3 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – Samba running

MeX 64 bit Linux based on Ubuntu 16.04.2 with Cinnamon 3.2.8 and kernel 4.10.8 – Build 170501

May

2017

NEWS/CHANGES 170501 in MeX
Mex Linux is no longer based on Linux Mint. MeX Build 170501 is based only on Debian 8.7 and Ubuntu 16.04.2. I have replaced the original kernel with “my” special kernel 4.10.0-19-exton (4.10.8). All packages in MeX Linux have been upgraded to the latest version by 170501. This version of MeX uses Cinnamon 3.2.8. Linux Mint 18.1 also uses Cinnamon 3.2.8 as Desktop environment.

MORE MeX NEWS 170501
1. The MeX ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive.
2. Another big improvement is that MeX now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 5 (load to RAM). When the system has booted up you can eject the disc (DVD)/USB stick. You’ll need at least 2 GB RAM to run MeX that way. The ISO file is of only 980 MB so MeX will run superfast from RAM!
3. I have replaced Google Chrome with Firefox. Google Chrome is no longer needed to be able to run Netflix in Linux.
4. The best thing with this new MeX build – Create your own installable Ubuntu 16.04.2 Live DVD with Refracta tools (pre-installed)! The whole “remasterprocess” is so simple that a 10 year old child can do it.

WHY NOT Ubuntu 17.04?
Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS (Long Term Support) is supported by Ubuntu until April 2021. Ubuntu 16.10 is supported until July 2017 and Ubuntu 17.04 until January 2018.

Important about Refracta
You can use the Refracta tools (pre-installed in MeX Build 170501) to create your own installable Ubuntu Live DVD once you have installed MeX to hard drive. I mean change everything and then create a whole new Ubuntu 16.04.2 live system. When you start Refracta it will look like this. You don’t even have to install MeX to hard drive before you can use the Refracta tools. If you have plenty of RAM you can create a new (your own!) Ubuntu system while running MeX from DVD or a USB stick. Please note that the whole Refracta process (creating your new ISO) will only take 5 – 10 min! You can then install VirtualBox in MeX so you can test run your own created new Ubuntu ISO. Or do it in Windows. Btw: You can do the whole thing in VirtualBox. I mean install MeX in VirtualBox, change everything, create a new Ubuntu 16.04.2 system using Refracta tools and transfer your new ISO to your server with FileZilla (sudo apt-get install filezilla).

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 – Refracta tools running
Screenshot 2 – Spotify running (install Spotify with sudo apt-get install spotify-client)
Screenshot 3 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with Samba
Screenshot 4 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with Refracta2USB running
Screenshot 5 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with SMPlayer running
Screenshot 6 – Firefox with Netflix running
Screenshot 7 – Boot screen live
Screenshot 8 – Boot screen Grub

Android-x86_64 Nougat 7.1.1 – Build 170426/170423/170422 – with GAPPS and kernel 4.11-rc7/4.10.11/4.4.62-exton-android-x86_64

Apr

2017

NEWS 170426 about AndEX Nougat 7.1.1 – April 2017 builds
I’ve added a new ISO – android-x86_64-7.1.1-nougat-kernel-4.4.62-exton-vmware-1050mb-170426.iso – which can run very well live in VMware Workstation 12.5.5. You can of course also install the system in VMware. Kernel 4.4.62 is used. GAPPS and all other apps mentioned on the INFO site are installed. NOTE: You can run AndEX Nougat Build 170426 also on newer laptops and Desktop computers. Sound won’t work on all though. The video performance is generally very good.

Screenshot – AndEX Build 170426 running in VMware

READ MORE…

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Run Raspberry Pi PIXEL Desktop on a PC or Mac – an Exton modified Build 170425 with Refracta Tools

Apr

2017

NEWS 170425 about Raspberry Pi Debian Pixel
I have updated my first Debian Pixel Build from 161223. Study all included packages – latest by 170425. I’ve also added NetworkManager, which makes it easier to configure wireless connections.

NEWS 161223
Yesterday I read that the Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the release of a new PIXEL image that can be booted on a PC or Mac. Study this site. I saw immediately that there was no installer included, which I thought was a little disappointing. Come to think of Refracta tools, which work very well in Debian and Ubuntu. I quickly made a “remix” of the Raspberry Pi Foundation PIXEL image. My remix thus include Refracta tools. This means that you can easily install the system to hard drive and you can just as easily make it your own remix of the Raspberry Pi Foundation PIXEL image. Study all included packages. I’ve added a few packages. Most important Synaptic, which I find essential.

READ MORE…

exton 1 Comment extonExton Linux SystemsLinuxRaspberry Debian PixelextonLXDERaspberry Pi PIXEL

Android-x86_64 Nougat 7.1.1 – Build 170426/170423/170422 – with GAPPS and kernel 4.11-rc7/4.10.11-exton-android-x86_64

Apr

2017

NEWS 170426 about AndEX Nougat 7.1.1
I’ve added a new ISO – android-x86_64-7.1.1-nougat-kernel-4.4.62-exton-vmware-1050mb-170426.iso – which can run very well live in VMware Workstation 12.5.5. You can of course also install the system in VMware. Kernel 4.4.62 is used. GAPPS and all other apps mentioned below are installed. NOTE: You can run AndEX Nougat Build 170426 also on newer laptops and Desktop computers. Sound won’t work on all though. The video performance is generally very good.

Screenshot – AndEX Build 170426 running in VMware

NEWS 170423: AndEX – Nougat 7.1.1 with kernel 4.11-rc7-exton-android-x86_64 respectively kernel 4.10-11-exton-android-x86_64 and GAPPS
My new builds of Android-x86_64 Nougat 7.1.1 have GAPPS pre-installed. I.e. Google Play Services, Google Play Store 7.6.08.N-all, Gmail and YouTube 12.09.58. Also many other apps. For example: Spotify 8.4.0.539, Clash of Clans 8.709.23, File Manager 2.0.0.355, Google Earth, Google Maps 9.48.2, SnapTube 4.3.0, Firefox 53.0 and Google Chrome 58.0. The two systems are called android_x86_64-7.1.1-nougat-gapps-kernel-4.11.rc7-exton-1160mb-170423 respectively android_x86_64-7.1.1-nougat-gapps-kernel-4.10.11-exton-1160mb-170422.

PREREQUISITE
Both systems have to be installed manually to hard drive. To be able to do that you must have at least one Linux system installed on your hard drive. You must also use Grub as bootloader.

ABOUT Andex Nougat 7.1.1
My compiled Android-x86_64 systems (Nougat 7.1.1) can run from hard drive on certain computers. They must be installed to hard drive and run from there. The systems can be installed on almost all newer laptops (and some Desktop computers). For example Acer (Aspire), HP, Samsung, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Thinkpad, Fujitsu, Panasonic and Asus laptops. I can also mention that I could run my new Nougat versions without problems on a HP Pavilion 500-317no Desktop Computer. The Android-AndEX systems are distributed in the form of a Zip files. I.e. not as ISO files as the rest of my Linux distributions. You must do a manual installation to hard drive. That can even be done to a drive where you already have another Linux system (for example Ubuntu 17.04) installed. That’s sort of a Frugal Installation (normally used by Puppy Linux).

Android Nougat 7.1.1 was released 170106.

KERNELS
AndEX Nougat Build 170423 uses kernel 4.11-rc7. (Latest kernel by 170423). AndEX Nougat Build 170422 uses kernel 4.10.11. (The second latest stable kernel by 170423).

KNOWN ISSUES
1. You can’t run AndEX Nougat 7.1.1 Build 170423/170422 in VirtualBox and VMware. Note that my other two Android Nougat systems from 170201 respectively 161107 can run in VirtualBox and VMware.
2. Bluetooth won’t work.

And once again please note this
PREREQUISITE
Both systems have to be installed manually to hard drive. To be able to do that you must have at least one Linux system installed on your hard drive. You must also use Grub as bootloader.

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 – AndEX Nougat (ZIP) Desktop – kernel 4.11-rc7
Screenshot 2 – AndEX Nougat (ZIP) Desktop – kernel 4.10.11
Screenshot 3 – About

ExTiX 17.4 – “The Ultimate Linux System” – with LXQt 0.11.1, Nvidia 381.09 and kernel 4.10.0-19-exton – Build 170418

Apr

2017

I have made a new version of ExTiX – The Ultimate Linux System. I call it ExTiX 17.4 LXQt Live DVD. (The previous version was 17.2 from 170320).

ABOUT
ExTiX 17.4 LXQt DVD 64 bit is based on Debian 8.7 Jessie/Debian 9 Stretch and Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus, released 170412. The original system includes the Desktop Environment Unity (Ubuntu). After removing Unity I have installed LXQt 0.11.1. LXQt is the Qt port and the upcoming version of LXDE, the Lightweight Desktop Environment. It is the product of the merge between the LXDE-Qt and the Razor-qt projects: A lightweight, modular, blazing-fast and user-friendly desktop environment.

NEWS ABOUT ExTiX 17.4 build 170418 with LXQt Desktop environment
1. ExTiX LXQt is based on Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus. LXQt 0.11.1 is used as Desktop environment. All packages have been updated to the latest version by 170418. Kernel 4.10.0-19-exton is used. (Kernel.org‘s kernel 4.10.8).
2. Google Chrome is used as Web Browser, which makes it possible to watch Netflix movies. It is normally not possible in Firefox (in Linux).
3. I have also installed BlueGriffon 2.3.1 Web Editor. BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for the World Wide Web. Powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of Firefox, it’s a modern and robust solution to edit Web pages in conformance to the latest Web Standards. Only to be compared with Dreamweaver. (In my opinion).
4. Other included important/useful packages are: LibreOffice, Thunderbird, GParted, Brasero, SMPlayer, GCC and other compilation tools so that you can install packages from source. Furthermore “all” multimedia codecs. Everything the average Linux user could wish for I would say.
5. I have also installed Nvidia’s proprietary graphics driver 381.09 in this new version ExTiX LXQt. It has support for the following GPUs: Vulkan, GeForce GTX 1080 Ti,TITAN Xp, Quadro GP100, Quadro P4000, Quadro P2000, Quadro K1200, Quadro M6000, GeForce 920M, GeForce 930A, GeForce 930M, GeForce 940M, GeForce GTX 950M, GeForce GTX 960M and GeForce GTX TITAN X. This driver will be used automatically if your card is supported (if you start up ExTiX in compatibility mode).

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL about ExTiX and especially the new version from 170418?
1. The ExTiX ISO’s are ISO-hybrids, which means that they can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive. You can even run ExTiX from the USB stick and save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence!
2. Another big improvement is that both ExTiX versions can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 3 (Copy to RAM). When the system has booted up you can remove the disc (DVD) or USB stick. You’ll need at least 2 GB RAM to run ExTiX that way. Running from RAM means that the system will run faster than from DVD or USB stick. Everything will be superfast I would say!
3. All packages have been upgraded to the latest version by 170418.
4. I’ve replaced kernel 4.10.0-14-exton with kernel 4.10.0-19-exton (Kernel.org‘s stable kernel 4.10.8).
5. The installation program Ubiquity (live installer) is now working as intended. I.e. a new user (your user) will be created during the installation process.

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot of ExTiX 17.4 Desktop – LXQt 0.11.1
Google Chrome with Netflix running
Connections to Windows computers via PCManFM-qt using Samba

A new light version of exGENT (Gentoo) live is ready – Build 170412

Apr

2017

NEWS 20170412 about exGENT (Gentoo) 64 bit
I’ve made a light version of exGENT with only a few necessary packages pre-installed. It uses LXQt 0.11.0 as Desktop environment and kernel 4.10.4-aufs-gentoo-exton-s. The ISO file is of only 1090 MB compared to exGENT version 170407, which is of 2620 MB. Study all packages installed in Build 170412.

Screenshot
exGENT Build 170412 running Firefox and Netflix.