Guitar ZyX
Guitar-ZyX Release Notes

version: 0.4.1 "Angelina(alpha6)" 2K10.01.21


Table of Contents




*ALPHA* Disclaimer

This *ALPHA* release of Guitar-ZyX is still a work in progress. As such the usual disclaimers apply. For this release, and its ear-bleeding edge sound system - pulseaudio (and jack), you MUST ASSUME that the computer's volume could inadvertently (due to software bug or misconfiguration) jump to 100%, or even be OVERDRIVEN. The distributor has probably lost a bit of hearing due to such bugs. Not as much as from the Metallica concerts he has been to, but still... Guitar-ZyX-0.5.0 should be much more stable when it is released. In any event make sure you understand the implications of the following text completely before using or continuing to use Guitar-ZyX- .

"
11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
"

There is no root password. Be careful out there...



The Guitar-ZyX Experience

Guitar-ZyX(tm) is a "LiveDVD" personal computer operating system distribution. Guitar-ZyX consists entirely of Free and Open Source Software created by thousands if not millions of people like myself, with the many features listed below. The Essential Experience with Guitar-ZyX is this:

  • If you are not using a purchased Guitar-ZyX cartridge with pre-burned 4G microSDHC flash memory, you will need to burn a multiarch-bootable microSDHC. To do this, use the zyx-live-iso-to-disk tool included in the GuitarZyX LiveDVD (iso image). At this point in time, if that is not clear enough, please practice with Fedora and their similar livecd-iso-to-disk tool first. Or wait a release or two for me to adapt the GUI liveusb-creator tool to work with Guitar-ZyX.

  • Now, insert the microSDHC in an AceKard2i NDS flash memory adapter cartridge. Now insert the flashcart into your NDS or NDSi. Power on the NDS and let ZyXautoboot launch the Guitar-ZyX::MasterControlProgram.

  • The MCP will initially ask for the network/ssid to connect to. For now, you must be using an unsecured wifi network/access-point. (Unless you enter 'wfc' for the ssid, in which case settings including WEP configured from another online game will be used. Though this feature has not yet been tested.) Once you hit return after virtually typing the ssid, the MCP will wait in server discovery mode.

  • Now, and I find this pretty cool, hot-remove the flashcart and microSDHC from the NDS while the MCP continues to run from memory.

  • Next, insert the microSDHC in a usb reader. Now use this Guitar-ZyX LiveUSB to boot your PC, which has an electric guitar connected to mic/line-in, and speakers connected to the audio output. At the boot menu, hit the down arrow once and enter, to select 'AutoJam' mode. Alternately, accept the default boot option, which will start you with Firefox viewing these Guitar-ZyX release notes, and the ability to select 'Guitar-ZyX (reset)JamModeNoRecord' from the Guitar-ZyX submenu of the main system menu if and when you want to subsequently get your jam on.

  • Now, without any user action, configuration, or intervention, the PC should automatically boot into a digital audio workstation. It should automatically connect to the wifi network/ssid that you entered earlier *on the NDS*! Several realtime music creation applications should automatically start, populating themselves in their own KABLUI desktops. I.e. rakarrack for guitar-f/x, hydrogen for drums (usb Rockband(tm) drumkit supported), tuxguitar for tabs and composition, and rhythmbox for prerecorded music.

  • If everything worked, the NDS/MCP can now be used to remotely control the Rakarrack realtime guitar F/X processor that is running on the PC. For lack of a better term, I call the result a 'SuperTouchWhammyPad' operating in a 'CloudSession(tm)'.

  • Finally, if you want to permanently install Guitar-ZyX to a system disk, or even an external usb hard drive, you can select 'Rebootless LiveOS Installation' from the main menu under either the Guitar-ZyX or System Tools submenus.

  • Finally, every line of computer source code that was used to produce Guitar-ZyX is included in Guitar-ZyX (the .wsource.iso). And of course the VirOS(tm) tools used to build Guitar-ZyX are included as well. This means that it is pushbutton/kid simple to easily add your own modifications, mogrifications, and mutations. From just changing the name 'Guitar-ZyX', to deploying a demo-appliance which showcases your work, assisted by the work of millions of others on any PC.



What's New In Guitar-ZyX-0.4.1

Guitar-ZyX-0.4.1 is primarily a major upstream rebasing release. That is, now f11 based. But there are many enhancments to 'sidestream' projects. Here are the details-

  • Guitar-ZyX MCP :: Version 0.2* of the MCP now includes a main menu system. This allows access to the filesystem in order to launch other applications such as DSOrganize, and dozens of ZyXdevSuite examples. Browsing visible SSIDs is now supported, and many more menu accessible features are just around the corner. There is now a command to download and execute updated MCP code via wifi, vastly easing development.

  • Rakarrack-0.4.0.dmc :: The latest prerelease CVS sources including the fruits of my new cvs write access are included. Josep Andreu has made many bugfixes and improvements, including new skinnability and font scaling. Ryan Billing has added new DSP modules, which I'll eventually understand enough to properly explain. And my Global Wet/Dry is now an upstream feature with a slider even. And more presets from all of us. Rolling Echo is kind of interesting, while Tricky Dick is just an homage to a crook.

  • Guitar-ZyX JaMode :: The big sledgehammer session initiation scripts have been vastly improved. Now, when you select one of the JaMode commands from the ZyX submenu of the mainmenu, they will execute much more quickly, as well as utilizing an aesthetic splash screen with progressbar during the transition. There is one to launch a recording session, one to launch a practice (non-recording) session, and one to return to the normal desktop audio system.

  • desmume-0.9.5 :: Every aspect of the MCP can now me developed and tested via emulation, except sadly wifi/networking. But still, that is a vast improvement over the bugs that were interfereing with input handling in prior versions while in a 3D mode. Sound works, virtual cflash fatfs of the current directory sortof works, scaling the window, .... (recording movies still seems broken though)

  • ZyX-LiveInstaller-0.2.2 :: The same enhancements and bugfixes that led to its availability in the official Blueberry release of SugarOnAStick, are now included in Guitar-ZyX as well. Many bugfixes, thanks to a much broader range of testing.

  • VirOS and *ZyX :: Enhancements have been made to VirOS which make it robust and possible to build across major ancestor releases. Also, many other things, particularly in the traits, have been massively cleaned up, though probably as much cleanup remains to be done. Time will tell if this facilitates a much more rapid rebasing against f12. Note, that it will still be another release or two before integration with the relatively new upstream bootsplash is done. This is because f12 introduces a major rewrite of the initramfs infrastructure.

  • qemu-0.11.1 :: /usr/local/bin/qemu is based on upstream sources, with kqemu support intact, which on my laptop yields a greater than 100% speedup even with linux kernel 2.6 for both the guest and host.

  • Games :: Standard gnome-games like freecell/solitaire, and chess are available. Frozen Bubble is also included - a much better rip off than the one I coded partially in assembly more than a decade ago for a CoE project. And most importantly, PokerTH is now available for all of your open source online texas holdem needs.

  • GitmoHippieCat / SWS:: My creative expressions are contained in this LiveOS, including 8 audio tracks created exclusively with the included open source software. TechnoSpyra'ell*2....... Also, a low resolution copy of my website (Dawg's Metaverse) is served by apache from the localhost. Check out the last link in these relnotes. As with everything but the MCP port, the software firewall prevents external access to the webserver by default, so it is just there for you to view, even when cut off from the internets.



Guitar-ZyX Features

  • Free and Open Source Software MultiArch LiveOS

    • The core of Guitar-ZyX is an entirely free and open source software based operating system. This free operating system can run on multiple architectures, even from the very same microSDHC boot media. Guitar-ZyX will run on x86, x64, and most importantly - the two arm architectures that are found inside the Nintendo(tm)-DS(-Lite/i). You can author and read office documents, listen to or author music, and use or even modify hundreds of free open source applications. Every line of source code for all of those applications is either included or available seperately for download.

    • Guitar-ZyX is distributed in the form of a LiveDVD or iso image file that can be burned to a writable DVD. This LiveDVD can boot a PC, bypassing any installed non-free operating system, and not modifying the local system disk. This mode of operation is quite slow to load applications, but can be quite useful nonetheless. Alternately the included zyx-live-iso-to-disk program can be used to create a LiveUSB form, i.e. on a usbflash stick or a flash memory card in a usb reader. In LiveUSB form, Guitar-ZyX is comparable in speed to a normally installed operating system.

    • Like Fedora which Guitar-ZyX is derived from, LiveUSB persistence is supported. Thus instead of a traditional LiveCD/DVD boot where changes made to the system are stored in ram and lost upon the next boot, changes persist across reboots, and even when using the LiveUSB to boot a different computer.

  • Guitar-ZyX::MasterControlProgram

    • The MCP is my open source software application for the Nintendo(tm)-DS(-lite) portable game system. It allows you to wirelessly remote control...

  • Rakarrack: Real-time Guitar F/X Proccessing Software

    • Rakarrack is open source software which can perform a vast array of transmogrifying effects on an audio stream, such as one that might be coming from an electric guitar plugged into the PC's mic/line-in port, before sending the transmogrified signal out through the PC's speaker/line-out port to your stereo speakers.

    • With the Guitar-ZyX::M.C.P. and an NDS-lite velcro-d to your guitar, you can even have fun with... A Touchscreen-Whammy-Pad able to expose realtime linear 2-axis control for any 2 FX parameters of your choice (by default, global volume and global F/X wet/dry).

  • Other Music Software

    • TuxGuitar for tab/sheet music simulation and composition

    • Hydrogen for drum synth, and generation with Rockband(tm) USB drums.

    • Audacity and Ardour for final multitrack post-fx-process,mixing and production editing

    • Asound for scriptable Jack recording

    • Rhythmbox to playback previously recorded sessions and your music library

  • Other Useful Free and Open Source Software

    • The standard Linux(tm) LiveOS distribution favorites like Firefox, Gnome-terminal, Thunderbird, OpenOffice, Gimp, Inkskape, and many many more are there.

    • Last, and certainly least, Snake3D is my own little 3D OpenGL game written in C++.

  • Complete Software Development Environment (NDS Too!)

    • The standard Linux(tm) LiveOS distribution favorites like gcc, make and countless others are there.

    • But more interestingly, a completely preinstalled and preconfigured *and perfectly legal* Nintendo-DS software development environment is provided. If you've ever tried to fight the slew of slightly incompatible tools and versions out there, you'll definitely appreciate a LiveOS tailored as a turnkey NDS development workstation. (More documentation coming soon, look in ~kablui/dev to see how easy it is to rebuild and tweak the MCP. Yes, YOU are finally in complete control of the MCP. Because others out there believe in the user too.

  • K.A.B.L.U.I.(tm) Desktop

    • My default desktop configuration, found with the default 'kablui' user, is the result of eons of organic evolution of my own preferred *nix development environment. Mainly the control+up/down/left/right hotkeys provide an easy way to navigate virtual desktops and virtual tabs within applications. But beyond that, things are generally 'just the way I like em(tm)'.

  • Insecurity...

    • The NSA's 'Security Enhanced Linux' has been disabled by default. I've heard claims from the NSA that this will gain a 5+% overall system performance benefit. Not to mention, that you won't run into any major pains in the ass that are the result of your usage behavior patterns not fitting the typical/mainstream behavioral patterns that have been encoded into the default upstream selinux policy. I would very much like to support SELinux in the future, as it certainly does have its place in the world. But Guitar-ZyX and its use for music creation isn't that place, thus for me it is a very low priority.

  • DualCorruptionModulator(tm) Support

    • When StackCorruptionCorporation's DualCorruptionModulator(DCM) ships, Guitar-ZyX will support it fully...

  • ZyX Rebootless LiveOS Installation

    • Like the other *ZyX's that preceded, Guitar-ZyX also supports rebootless installation to hard drive. What this means is that after you run the installer, the whole time having used your LiveOS with the installer running in the background, you are looking at your installed operating system, and no reboot is necessary. Just remove the DVD or LiveUSB.

  • VirOS LiveOS Synthesis Software

    • The very same tools that were used to generate this LiveDVD have been included so that you can very easily generate a version that is entirely your own unique transmogrification - or 'micro-fork' - of thousands of other people's work. More docs coming soon....



Guitar-ZyX Feature :: Jam Mode (JaMode)

The JaMode commands, available from the main menu under the ZyX submenu, handle the transition from traditional desktop audio configuration, to a complete live guitar f/x jamming and recording setup. There are three commands. Off returns you to a normal configuration. JaModeRecord launches a session recording pre and post guitar-f/x audio streams, as well as one for drums coming from hydrogen, and finally, the final output you are hearing from the system. You can find the raw .wav output in ~/bin/ZyX-eroc/sessions/session-*/*.wav. This will chew up disk fast. To start a practice session that is not recording, such as is started when booting in 'AutoJam' mode, select the JaModeNoRecord.



Guitar-ZyX Feature :: Master Control Program

Short story: "Touchscreen Whammy Pad". Longer story- alpha software. See the Guitar-ZyX Experience for information on how to put the MCP to good use. Better documentation coming soon...



Guitar-ZyX Feature :: K.A.B.L.U.I.

Beyond being a somewhat silly acronym, Kablui is a set of Desktop preferences, which help me to be much more efficient when using computers. I like to type. I like command lines. It is entirely possible if not probable, that after trying out Kablui, you decide that it is not for you, and that you prefer the more traditional Gnome desktop defaults. This is fine, and why I have not made Kablui preferences into the system defaults. If you like them, when you log in as a newly created user, merely run the program "kablui" to import the preferences. Note, that in the years since kablui debuted, projects like moblin and the forthcoming gnome-shell have finally realized that full screen apps in their own workspaces is a good idea, at least for netbooks. Since I use a relatively inexpensive 1280x800 display, I tend to think such a UI should be default.

Here is the list Kablui enhancements, and design philosophies-

1) The Matrix

The Matrix represents the focus on the use of ctrl+arrows keyboard shortcuts.

In kablui, there are by default 3 or more virtual desktops, which can be navigated with the ctrl-up and ctrl-down shortcuts. Typically, you will keep your favorite applications in full screen mode, in their own virtual desktop, and use ctrl-up and ctrl-down to switch amongst them. By default, the kablui desktops are prepopulated with
  • Desktop 1 "Main" -- Gnome-Terminal
  • Desktop 2 "Web" -- Mozilla Firefox
  • Desktop 3 "X" -- Your Stuff
  • ... and more when rocking out in AutoJam mode ...
The second half of the matrix, is the horizontal component. Kablui has set the keyboard shortcuts for popular applications such as Gnome-Terminal and Mozilla Firefox, so that ctrl-left and ctrl-right cycle between tabs.

In this fashion, you can think of the desktop as a grid or matrix, where rows are the main applications, and the columns are multiple instances (tabs) of those applications.

To try this out, use the ctrl-t shortcut in both gnome-terminal and Mozilla Firefox to open several tabs. Then see how easy and logical it is to switch amongst all of these tabs and between applications with ctrl-up/down/left/right.

2) The Vertical Panel

The second key element of kablui is replacing the default upper and lower Gnome panels, with a single vertical panel on the right, combined with the ZyX drawer applet in the lower right corner.

The main justification for the choice of vertical panel, other than a subjective aesthetic preference on my part, is the fact that more and more displays these days have a larger aspect ratio (e.g. 16x9 instead of the more traditional 4:3). Combine this with the fact that applications such as web browsing seem to benefit more from greater vertical screen usage, than horizontal screen usage, and you hopefully understand why I made the choice I did.

Now, lets take a look at what is present in the vertical panel:
  • Guitar-ZyX Main Menu
    • The Guitar-ZyX Main Menu provides access to the full scope of the OS.
    • The top item of the Guitar-ZyX Main Menu is the Guitar-ZyX submenu, which provides access to the most important Guitar-ZyX specific features. Currently, this includes documentation, website, release notes, Rebootless LiveOS Installer (see its section below), and a little video game I wrote 7 years ago called Snake3D.
    • Of particular note, is the Places submenu, which provides access to the file management functions that are noticably absent from the desktop.

  • System Monitor
    • The System Monitor always provides simple insight into the health and status of your computer. Four key metrics are provided:
      • blue - processor usage
      • green - memory usage
      • cyan - network usage
      • orange - disk usage

  • Terminal Launcher
    • The terminal launcher is the only launcher that I deemed worthy of taking up screen real estate. This certainly reflects my own narrow usage scenario as a developer and a heavy command line user. I don't however feel it is a bad choice for my target audience, as I feel that more exposure to the command line is something that needs to happen, if we as users are to maintain a sense of control over our computers. I very much dislike the microsoft GUI only attitude, for reasons that are best left to Neil Stephenson's book "In The Beginning Was The Command Line".

  • Window List
    • The window list, which people are familiar with, gives a visual representation of all the windows in the current desktop. The most useful thing to note, is that if you hover over it with the pointer, and use the mouse wheel, you can easily cycle amongst windows. When not using the mouse, this is accomplished with the alt-tab keyboard shortcut.

  • Virtual Desktop Switcher
    • The desktop switcher, provides a nice mini view of the entire desktop matrix. As with the window list, hovering and using the mouse wheel, will cycle amongst the 7 virtual desktops, just as ctrl-up and ctrl-down will from the keyboard.
    • windows can be dragged between desktops using the desktop switcher, as well with a right click on the titlebar of windows.

  • System Notification Area
    • The notifcation area, shows important mini-applets, such as battery charge meter, and NetworkManager connection status. The latter is how you manage connecting to wireless networks, at coffee shops for instance.

  • Clock
    • The clock, unfortunately until I hack together some modification code, is rotated vertically. Myself, I do not find this unusable.
    • If you hover the mouse pointer over the clock, you will see the date.
    • If you click on the clock, you will see a calendar.

  • Volume Control
    • If you hover and use the mouse wheel over the volume icon, you can easily adjust or mute the volume.
    • If you double click on the volume icon, you will launch the full mixer control panel.

  • ZyX Drawer
    • Finally, the ZyX drawer represents the key design differentiation between Kablui, and traditional desktop panel defaults. You can click the ZyX icon to open and close the ZyX drawer, which is merely a panel extension, which does not permanently take up screen real estate.

3) The ZyX Drawer

The main design motivation for moving application launchers and less frequently used panel applets to the ZyX drawer, is the idea that they should not be permanently wasting screen real estate, given how often they are needed. In general, the assumption is that you will have all of your main applications already open in the many virtual desktops, especially since Kablui automatically starts the most common ones when you log in. In the default ZyX drawer, you will find the following:
  • Command Line
    • Want to launch an xterm with custom options? Just type -
      "xterm -fg green -bg black" and <enter> in the command line applet.

  • Popular Application Launchers
    • terminal (Gnome Terminal)
    • web browser (Mozilla Firefox)
    • email client (Thunderbird)
    • music player (Rhythmbox)
    • word processor (OpenOffice.org writer)

  • Utility Applets
    • brightness (for laptops)
    • sleep
    • fast user switcher
      • It has been far too long in coming, but it is finally possible in OS distributions like Guitar-ZyX to have multiple users logged in at the same time on a single computer, without each having to close down all of their applications while the others log in and work.
      • Guitar-ZyX follows a long tradition of generosity towards users, and comes with a default guest account. If your friend wants to borrow your computer to surf the internet, but you don't want to worry about them accidentally screwing up your desktop, just do a fast user switch to the guest account.
    • hide/show desktop
    • lock screen
    • trash
    • search files

  • Edge Button
    • The edge button, like the ZyX drawer icon, can both be used to either close an open drawer, or right-clicked on to add your own launchers and applets to the drawer.



Security Considerations / Production Notes

The below process is what I used prior to Fedora/RedHat(tm)'s 2008 security breach which resulted in them using a new signing key for every release. For the timebeing, consider this an alpha distribution, but knowing that should a significant user base develop, I will move back to something as paranoid as below. Thought what I currently do is fairly secure/paranoid already.

Production
Guitar-ZyX was produced on a non-internet-connected system, built from scratch. The system may have been left unattended for various amounts of time between installation, and its use in the production of Guitar-ZyX. Therefore I cannot personally vouch that any FBI/CIA/NSA/Mafia/Miscreant-next-door-teenager sneak-and-peak-and-god-knows-what-else warrants were not executed. For non-beta releases I intend to configure the production system from scratch immediately prior to production, to mitigate those (paranoid/minor) risks. The following procedure, or something similar, was used to minimize any chance that corrupted software was used to produce Guitar-ZyX:
  • Get Fedora 9 DVD directly from linuxidentity magazine from Barnes and Noble(tm) - 2008
  • Install the known authentic F9
  • Use this Fedora GPG key to verify the sha1sum fingerprint file downloaded from mirrors.kernel.org
  • Use the verified sha1sum to verify the integrity of the downloaded Fedora 9 LiveCD
  • Install the verified copy of Fedora 9 LiveCD
  • Skimp on a code review of my own VirOS code to generate LiveCDs. Will not skimp on non-beta releases. Hint hint community- please look over my stuff and help me catch the security bugs that are no doubt there.
  • count on yum and GPG keys in the verified F9 LiveCD, to ensure the integrity of packages installed from an rsynced (on a seperate internet-connected system, transported via sneakernet to the production system) mirror of F9 Everything and Updates repositories.

Lockdown
Certain services and configuration that I deemed unnecessary were removed from the default Fedora style installation. Some other day when I'm not tired of writing release notes, I'll enumerate. For now, use chkconfig --list, iptables -L, ps auwwxf, etc... to investigate the security configuration of Guitar-ZyX.



Known Issues / Bugs

Here is a brief list of known bugs and issues that were not fixable in time for this release-


  • Rhythmbox with pulseaudio has enough problems of its own. Combine intermittent usage of jack underneath pulse, and rebootless live installation, and... Well, I've seen rhythmbox be hit or miss. Toggling JaMode or rebooting, can get it working again, but then it can also go stupid again. I'm hoping the f12 maturity of pulse fixes this when Guitar-ZyX-0.5.0 is released.

  • LiveUSB-Creator, the graphical tool, does not work with *ZyX yet. For now, you must use zyx-live-iso-to-disk from the commandline.

  • Guitar-ZyX has grown in size to the point of not being easily usable with a non-SDHC NDS flashcart. If you have a 2G non-SDHC flashcart, you can easily manually copy everything except the /boot/LiveOS directory to the 2G card, while using an SDHC or LiveDVD to run the PC.



Sidestream Changelogs

Here are the changelogs for some of the Guitar-ZyX sidestream projects since the last real major release - 


-----
GZMCP
-----

* Sat Jan 16 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.2.2010_01_16
- update to sync with rakarrack-0.4.0.dmc (presets/midi map)

* Sun Nov 22 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.2.2009_11_22
- client: doubled and undoubled font modes for menu, better filebrowsing
- client: aesthetic menu enhancements, alphasort, headers, ...
- client: flicker free fading goodness
- client: ssid scanning and entry now supported via main menu
- common: bugfix: fixed possible protocol data size mismatch

* Thu Nov 12 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.2.2009_11_12
- client: main menu system instead of proof of concept dedicated mode
- client: filesytem browse with execz() thanks to external loader code 
  - using Chishm's GPLv2+ loader for now, maybe later akloader under <=LGPL
- common: client can now pull and execute updated code/firmware from server 
  - or any file, via new update request command packet type over wifi
- bugfix: server: broadcast presence on all interfaces 
  - 255.255.255.255 on linux apparently only goes to default interface
    - makes it easy to just dedicate a wifi dongle and AP to the task
      - remember to use iptables and opt-in port 24642
- client: better pc debug client, or at least supports new command type

-----
VIROS
-----
* Mon Jan 18 2010 Douglas McClendon  - 0.6.2010_01_18
- for Guitar-ZyX-0.4.1

* Mon Dec 21 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.6.2009_12_21
- new mutateopt of save_traits to put trait source in output
- new trait:/trait-install/config.vml for trait dependencies
- no longer strip out comments
- guest_smirf: no longer rely on host files if virthost specified
- use per ancenstor major version strain configs (easier rebasing)
- sha256sum instead of sha1sum as per upstream defaults
- add /lib/terminfo to initramfs for less (ala livecd-tools)
- fixed typo in LiveOS smirgen.cfg for splash files
- strain: g-zyx: add empathy for voice chat
- for Guitar-ZyX-0.4

-----------------
ZYX-LIVEINSTALLER
-----------------
* Tue Jan 19 2010 Douglas McClendon  - 0.2.2-1
- fix permissions on /tmp (had lost 777+t prior to subsequent reboot)
- zyx: copy music from livemedia to /usr/share/music
- zyx: leave autojam off of possible installed bootloader args/append

* Mon Dec 21 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.2.1-1
- f11 based *zyx for the moment will do the extra tmpfs cruftage as well

* Tue Nov  9 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.17-1
- bugfix: fstype-flag was not being set when target was sole partition
- bugfix: add recently required execute permission on .desktop file

* Tue Oct 27 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.16-1
- build: incorporate several changes, noarch, from Sebastian Dziallas
- build: improve python version compatability tricks
  - bugfix: now upgrade from fedora build works
- typo: 'boot-(/)' -> 'boot-(/boot)'
- aesthetic: add installation choice information to install progress page
- aesthetic: remove unusable buttons for unfinished features
- aesthetic: don't show terminal output of partitioner
- bugfix: yes, there seems to have indeed been a bug with no-swap installs
  - bug reported by Tom Gilliard, fedora-bz-530787
- bugfix: centos: fixed failure to reboot when rootfs was on non-lvm 

* Sat Oct 24 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.15-1
- enhancement: centos-5.4 support: py2.4, new distrotype, misc...
- enhancement: untested initial support for /dev/vd* devices
- bugfix: enforce target install volume size minimums

* Tue Oct 13 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.14-1
- bugfix: handle nondefault kernel cmdline args
- debug: backend failure exception propogation tested and working
- bugfix: catch exception for situation with no /dev/disk/by-id
- bugfix: yes, there seems to have indeed been a bug with no-swap installs

* Thu Oct  8 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.13-1
- bugfix: extra space caused problem with mitigating automounter
- bugfix: missed a few things related to v0.1.12 f12 udev config
  - should now be able to eject LiveCD after install of f12 based distro
- bugfix: randomize initial UUID to allow multiple concurrent installs
- bugfix: use blkid instead of deprecated vol_id (absent in f12)
- bugfix: newer udev path_id needs non /sys prefixed argument
- debug: catching more errors, and giving user better directions for feedback
- use rootfs type for bootfs unless f11 special case (that needs ext3)

* Mon Sep 21 2009 Douglas McClendon  - 0.1.12-1
- cli: handle new lack of liveos udev rules in f12
- cli: handle dracut for initramfs in f12

Alpha Test Plan

If you would like to help me out and test this alpha quality software, the following I consider the most basic functionality-


  • Can you boot the LiveOS? Seeing autojam, i.e. rakarrack and other applications automatically started.

  • Can you use rakarrack with your guitar without changing any default mixer settings?

  • Can you create and use a LiveUSB version of the LiveOS with zyx-live-iso-to-disk

  • Can you install the LiveOS to hard disk with the ZyX Rebootless Installer?

  • Can you trivially modify and recompile the included GZMCP source code with the included complete development environment? Does the modified copy still work on the NDS?

  • Again, more and better documentation on how to complete the above tests will be available with the next release, hopefully quite soon.



Thanks!

The following is a necessarily incomplete list of people whose generous contributions to the Free and Open Source Software community have made Guitar-ZyX possible. For a more complete list, please review the changelogs and documentation for each of the hundreds of software packages included in the Guitar-ZyX distribution.

  • All Free and Open Source developers collectively - work on linux(tm), gnustuff, etc...
  • All 'Fedorans' collectively - work on Fedora, ...
  • Dave Murphy (WinterMute) - work on libgba, libnds, ...
  • David Zeuthen - fedora bluesky seer, ...
  • Ed Hutchins - rbdrums2midi, StackCorruptionCorp cofounder, ...
  • Grek DeKoenigsberg - upstream process help, fudcon, ...
  • Jason Rogers (Dovoto) - work on libnds, ...
  • Jeremy Katz - work on livecd-iso-to-disk, ...
  • Jeroen Van Meeuwen - fellow fedora forker, (i.e. IP issue trailblazer) ...
  • Josep Andreu - work on rakarrack, ...
  • Josie Thorpe - artwork for (Fork-)*ZyX, ...
  • Linus Torvalds - Linux creator, ...
  • Paul Nasca Octavian - guitar f/x work included in rakarrack, ...
  • Richard Stallman - GNU father, work on GCC, GDB, ...
  • Ryan Billing - work on rakarrack, general guitar-f/x gurudom...
  • Sebastian Dziallas - testing ZyX-LiveInstaller, work on Sugar-on-a-Stick, ...
  • Stephen Stair - work on dswifi, ...
  • Steve Foster - testing Guitar-ZyX, StackCorruptionCorp cofounder, ...
  • Thomas C Gilliard - testing ZyX-LiveInstaller, ...
  • and countless others...



Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy your experience with Guitar-ZyX and Kablui. For further information, please refer to the following resources-



Acekard, Debian, Fedora, Firefox, GamesNMusic, IceWeasel, Linux, Mozilla, Nintendo, R4, RedHat, and Rockband, are all registered trademarks of entities entirely unrelated to Guitar-ZyX. No part of Guitar-ZyX is supported, licensed, or endorsed in any way by any of those trademark holders. Please inform me via the below email address immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of a mark in Guitar-ZyX. Guitar-ZyX, G-ZyX, Fork-ZyX, E-ZyX, VirOS, ZyX-LiveInstaller, CloudSession, and K.A.B.L.U.I. are all protected trademarks, which may generally be used while redistributing unmodified packages of software that are distributed under Free and Open Source licenses - such as all the software in this release of Guitar-ZyX. If you wish to modify the software I make available and distribute with those marks, let me know. Peace...



Release Notes Last Modified (c)2010/01/19
by Douglas McClendon
http://filteredperception.org
dmc AT viros DOT org (aka smiley)