LWDW 363: Hipster-Pixel Browsing and Debian Slax

Terminal browsing with hipster-pixels, Pi powered toaster ovens, Linux podcasting basics, and Debian Slax?

Listen:

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
11:56 Debian Slax
19:44 hipster-pixel terminal browser
28:44 Podcasting on Linux
37:26 Flowpi reflow oven

New SLax

https://9to5linux.com/new-slax-releases-make-persistent-changes-up-to-10-times-faster-with-dynfilefs

One of my favorite Slackware based live CD/USB distros of all time has an update!
Slax 15.0.1 and Slax 11.6.0 are now available based on Slackware-current and Debian GNU/Linux 11.6 “Bullseye”.
Slax is a compact, fast, and modern Linux operating system that combines a sleek design with a modular approach. With the ability to run directly from a USB flash drive without the need for installation.
Both versions are available for both 32-bit and 64-bit processor architectures.
It boots into a simple desktop using the Fluxbox window manager which offers a small collection of applications, including the Chromium web browser, a text editor and a calculator.
With tens of thousands of prebuilt packages and applications readily available through the slackpkg (for Slackware) or apt (for Debian).
History:
- Back in 2003 I was using this distro a lot to show my students the power and speed of Linux running from a live CD/USB.
- And the creator Tomas Matejicek had stopped development on the project until he returned with Slax 9.2.1 in 2017, but this time it would be Debian based.
- I love Debian, it is my favorite distro of all time, don’t get me wrong, but I loved Slax because it was Slackware based, and there were very few Slackware based distros at that time.
- And now we have Slackware back in Slax 15.0.1!
Another key feature of the new Slax versions is the use of the newest DynFileFS, which implements how “persistent changes” are stored on USB drives.
You can now store up to 16GB of data instead of the older 4GB limitation.
Ever wanted to use slackpkg in Debian?
Well too bad, now you can!
It’s now based on Debian 11.4.0.
Neat?
Still has a 32-bit version.
Usefulness of live distros in 2023.

Pixel browser

https://github.com/fathyb/carbonyl

This is fantastic! There is a new Chromium based web browser built to run in a terminal called Carbonyl.
It supports pretty much all Web APIs including WebGL, WebGPU, audio and video playback, animations, etc.
It’s snappy, starts in less than a second, runs at 60 FPS, and idles at 0% CPU usage.
And it can be very pixely, depending on your terminal settings.
It is nice having a lightweight full-featured web browser in the terminal.
And being able to watch YouTube in a terminal browser, without having to write FFmpeg scripts when using Lynx and eLinks to play YouTube videos!
The Pixels are quite chonky but good for a laugh.
We’re talking White Stripes chonky.
Uses about 50x more CPU power vs Browsh, the original “normal browser into a terminal” project.
It’s Chrome light, clocking in at under 200MB.
Yes, it’s silly and you hate it because you’re allergic to fun.
For the rest of us there will be a link in the description so you can play around with pixel wackiness.

Podcasting basics

https://www.patreon.com/posts/77926476

Here it is, open to the public.
Everything you wanted to know about making a podcast but were too afraid to ask.
This is focused on teaching audio engineering basics and how to use a DAW.
We’re going to start with installing a DAW.
Downloading free plugins.
Creating a session and routing audio.
Loading audio tracks.
Making a virtual channel strip.
Exporting a podcast.

Slice of Pi

Melty Pi

https://www.electromaker.io/project/view/flowpi-the-affordable-reflow-oven-with-smart-features

Yeah, pop the card in the oven and reflow the solder.
I’ve had the internet tell me that fixes things on more than one occasion.
Problem is, things can go wrong with a quickness.
Just ask any mirewave pizza tossed in the oven at 4 am after a night of drinking.
Dan here took a few extra steps that will aid in the protection of silicone.
Using a raspberry pi pico W + a little knowhow he was able to make a reflow oven on the cheap.
Now the oven runs a server and does a 5-stage reflow process.
This is awesome, he repurposed a food oven to bake PCBs in!