User:Pithdillinja

From ArchWiki
Summary
Moderate to advanced Linux user, been using arch since early 2012. Started using Ubuntu at version 8.04 until 10.10/11.04 then switched to Linux Mint 11. Once Linux Mint 12 came out I switched to Arch.
Contact
Twitter: @pithdillinja
IRC: pithdillinja on #archlinux/#archlinux-offtopic
Setups
Current: Openbox+tint2
Secondary: xfce4
Others: gnome, cinnamon, awesome
Computers
ASUS Eee PC 1015PE (netbook)
Sony Vaio vpcw111xx (netbook)

Hello. I suppose the purpose of a user page is to inform others about myself, so I will do so by telling everyone about my configurations. I like to contribute to the Arch Wiki more than anything when it comes to helping the Arch Community. I click on "random page" and look for whatever things I can change at that page.

My configurations

ASUS Eee PC 1015PEM

rc.conf

Note: rc.conf is no longer in use. Consider this a historical section.

/etc/rc.conf
# LOCALIZATION
# ------------
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
TIMEZONE="America/Phoenix"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
LOCALE="en_US.UTF-8"
DAEMON_LOCALE="yes"
USECOLOR="yes"

# HARDWARE
# --------
MODULES=(acpi-cpufreq vboxdrv vboxnetflt)
USEDMRAID="no"
USEBTRFS="no"
USELVM="no"

# NETWORKING
# ----------
HOSTNAME=asusarch

interface=wlan0
address=
netmask=
broadcast=
gateway=

NETWORK_PERSIST="no"

# DAEMONS
# -------
#
DAEMONS=(@syslog-ng dbus !acpid networkmanager !network !dhcpcd !wicd @crond @vbox-service @cupsd @alsa slim mpd)

mpd

My MPD configuration is global on one computer. Coupled with the following line from /etc/fstab.conf, here is my MPD configuration. Also, I use sonata as my frontend.

/etc/fstab.conf
...
/home/chuck/Music /var/lib/mpd/Music none bind
/etc/mpd.conf
music_directory	"/var/lib/mpd/Music"
playlist_directory "/var/lib/mpd/playlists"
db_file "/var/lib/mpd/mpd.db"
log_file "/var/log/mpd/mpd.log"
pid_file "/var/run/mpd/mpd.pid"
state_file "/var/lib/mpd/mpdstate"
user "mpd"
follow_outside_symlinks	"yes"
follow_inside_symlinks		"yes"
input {
        plugin "curl"
}
audio_output {
	type		"alsa"
	name		"My ALSA Device"
	mixer_type      "software"	# optional
	mixer_device	"default"	# optional
	mixer_control	"PCM"		# optional
}

conky

Requires terminus-fonts.

~/.conkyrc
alignment tr
background no
border_width 1
stippled_borders 1 
cpu_avg_samples 2
default_color white
default_outline_color white
default_shade_color black
draw_borders no
draw_graph_borders yes
draw_outline no
draw_shades no
use_xft yes
font Terminus:size=8
xftfont Terminus:size=8
gap_x 5
gap_y 5
minimum_size 5 5
net_avg_samples 2
no_buffers yes
out_to_console no
out_to_stderr no
extra_newline no
own_window_transparent yes
own_window yes
own_window_class Conky
own_window_type normal
own_window_hints undecorated,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager
stippled_borders 0
update_interval 1.0
uppercase no
use_spacer none
show_graph_scale yes
show_graph_range yes
mpd_host localhost
mpd_port 6600
double_buffer yes


TEXT
${font}${scroll 42 $nodename - $sysname $kernel on $machine }
$hr
${color lightblue}Uptime:$color $uptime
${color lightblue}RAM Usage:$color $mem/$memmax - $memperc% ${membar 4}
${color lightblue}Swap Usage:$color $swap/$swapmax - $swapperc% ${swapbar 4}
${color lightblue}CPU Usage:$color $cpu% ${cpubar 4}
${color lightblue}Processes:$color $processes  ${color lightblue}Running:$color $running_processes
#$hr
${color lightblue}File systems: ${stippled_hr}
 /root 	$color${fs_used /}/${fs_size /} ${fs_bar 4 /} ${color lightblue}
 /home 	$color${fs_used /home}/${fs_size /home} ${fs_bar 4 /home}
${color lightblue}Networking: ${stippled_hr}
 Up:$color ${upspeed wlan0} ${color lightblue} - Down:$color ${downspeed wlan0}
 ${wireless_essid wlan0} ${wireless_bitrate wlan0} ${wireless_link_qual_perc wlan0}% ${color grey}${wireless_link_bar 4 wlan0}
 ${color lightblue}wlan0 ip addr: ${color}${addr wlan0}
$hr
${color grey}Name              PID   CPU%   MEM%
${color lightblue} ${top name 1} ${top pid 1} ${top cpu 1} ${top mem 1}
${color lightblue} ${top name 2} ${top pid 2} ${top cpu 2} ${top mem 2}
${color lightblue} ${top name 3} ${top pid 3} ${top cpu 3} ${top mem 3}
${color lightblue} ${top name 4} ${top pid 4} ${top cpu 4} ${top mem 4}
${color lightblue} ${top name 5} ${top pid 5} ${top cpu 5} ${top mem 5}
${color lightblue} ${top name 6} ${top pid 6} ${top cpu 6} ${top mem 6}
${color}$hr
${alignc}${color}${scroll 42 2 ${mpd_smart}}
${alignc}${color lightblue}${mpd_status} - ${mpd_elapsed} / ${mpd_length}
${color lightblue}${mpd_bar 4}
#${color}${stippled_hr}
${color}Battery is ${battery BAT0}. 
#the next line is a battery bar color script. 100% green, 70% light green, etc.
${if_match ${battery_percent BAT0} < 100}${color green}${endif}${if_match ${battery_percent BAT0} < 70}${color lightgreen}${endif}${if_match ${battery_percent BAT0} < 50}${color yellow}${endif}${if_match ${battery_percent BAT0} < 35}${color orange}${endif}${if_match ${battery_percent BAT0} < 15}${color red}${blink BATTERY WARNING ${battery_percent BAT0}%}${endif}${battery_bar 4 BAT0}
${color}${battery_time BAT0} remaining.
${color lightblue}kernel.org - ${kernel}${stippled_hr}
${color}${scroll 42 2 ${rss http://www.kernel.org/kdist/rss.xml 10 item_titles 3 2}}
${color lightblue}Most Recent Arch Packages ${stippled_hr}
${color}${rss http://www.archlinux.org/feeds/packages/ 10 item_titles 10 1}
${color lightblue}Tickers${stippled_hr}
${scroll 42 8 ${color}${rss http://slashdot.org/slashdot.rss 5 item_titles 5 2}}
${scroll 42 3 ${color lightblue}${rss http://www.archlinux.org/feeds/news/ 60 item_titles 3 2}}
${alignc}${font AvantGarde CE:size=12}${color grey}${time %T, %A  %D}

See picture of conky - note that this image doesn't include the Arch Linux ticker. The really long battery line makes the battery bar change color as the percentage changes.

Openbox Configurations

I use the following tools for easy configuration:

~/.config/openbox/autostart
xfce4-power-manager &
tint2 &
loffice --nodefault --nologo --quickstart &
nautilus --no-default-window &
cairo-compmgr &
sonata --hidden &
#terminal &
xfce4-volumed &
nm-applet &
conky -d &
gnote --daemon &
xscreensaver -no-splash &
#/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon &
#/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=pkcs11 &
#/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=secrets &
xfce-mcs-manager &

The following snippets of my Openbox configuration allow thunderbird to placed on desktop 2 always, and firefox on desktop 1 always. I only run windows xp under virtualbox so I force it on desktop 3. Also included are my keyboard shortcuts.

~/.config/openbox/rc.xml
<keyboard>
    <chainQuitKey>C-g</chainQuitKey>
    <keybind key="W-m">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>sonata</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-c">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>gcalctool</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-F2">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>gmrun</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-f">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>firefox</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-t">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>thunderbird</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-space">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>sonata pp</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-Right">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>sonata next</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-Left">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>sonata prev</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-A-Right">
      <action name="DesktopRight">
        <wrap>no</wrap>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-S-A-Left">
      <action name="SendToDesktopLeft">
        <wrap>no</wrap>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-S-A-Right">
      <action name="SendToDesktopRight">
        <wrap>no</wrap>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-A-Left">
      <action name="DesktopLeft">
        <wrap>no</wrap>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="S-A-Up">
      <action name="SendToDesktop">
        <desktop>1</desktop>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="S-A-Down">
      <action name="SendToDesktop">
        <desktop>1</desktop>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-d">
      <action name="ToggleShowDesktop"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-F4">
      <action name="Close"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-Escape">
      <action name="Lower"/>
      <action name="FocusToBottom"/>
      <action name="Unfocus"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-A-m">
      <action name="Iconify"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-space">
      <action name="ShowMenu">
        <menu>client-menu</menu>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-Tab">
      <action name="NextWindow"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-S-Tab">
      <action name="PreviousWindow"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="S-A-m">
      <action name="ToggleMaximizeFull"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="S-W-m">
      <action name="Resize"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="C-A-Tab">
      <action name="NextWindow">
        <allDesktops>yes</allDesktops>
        <linear>yes</linear>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-S-Right">
      <action name="DirectionalCycleWindows"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-S-Left">
      <action name="DirectionalCycleWindows"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-S-Up">
      <action name="DirectionalCycleWindows"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-S-Down">
      <action name="DirectionalCycleWindows"/>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="A-Menu">
      <action name="ShowMenu">
        <menu>root-menu</menu>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="XF86PowerOff">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>oblogout</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="XF86Sleep">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>dbus-send --system --print-reply --dest="org.freedesktop.UPower" /org/freedesktop/UPower org.freedesktop.UPower.Suspend</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-e">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>nautilus</command>
        <startupnotify>
          <enabled>yes</enabled>
          <name>Nautilus</name>
        </startupnotify>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-r">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>terminal</command>
        <startupnotify>
          <enabled>yes</enabled>
          <name>Nautilus</name>
        </startupnotify>
      </action>
    </keybind>
  </keyboard>
<applications>
<application name="/usr/lib/virtualbox/VirtualBox --comment 'Windows XP' --startvm '6c987e84-84ba-4c1b-8d40-e7757063fc4e'">
      <position>
        <x>center</x>
        <y>20</y>
      </position>
      <layer>above</layer>
      <desktop>3</desktop>
      <maximized>true</maximized>
    </application>
    <application class="VirtualBox">
      <desktop>3</desktop>
    </application>
    <application name="Mail">
      <desktop>2</desktop>
    </application>
    <application name="Navigator">
      <desktop>1</desktop>
    </application>
</applications>

Applications I Use

I am a college student and I want maximum usage from my computer. (as we all do!) Here are the programs I have found most useful during my studies.

  • gnote - good for jotting stuff down as well as being an attractive program.
  • rednotebookAUR - good program for taking quick or thorough notes in an organized fashion.
  • libreoffice - obviously.
  • networkmanager - works perfectly at ASU as well as the neighboring MCC
  • lyx - Most important tool I've downloaded so far, does everything perfectly for math and science classes. Note that the texlive-latexextra will enable you to use a lot more features.

Raspberry Pi

Recently I acquired a Raspberry Pi. As I progress with it, I will post tidbits of info about it.

Basic configuration

The default Arch Linux Raspberry Pi image comes with a 1.6gb LVM containing a root partition as well as a boot partition. On my 8gb SD card, there was a lot of unused space due to this. I simply resized the LVM partition and the root partition to consume the full 8gb and I have had no issues since

I would like to add that on one occasion, I attempted to use Gparted to resize the LVM/root partition and it completely screwed up the SD, so I had to re-image it. Use care.

I found that LXDE was slow using the xf86-video-fbdev driver that is recommended for use with the Pi. Xfce was even slower. I chose to use fluxbox instead of finding a different driver, and I have had minimal problems since.

Fluxbox's native Xorg use forced me to grow accustomed to native X applications. I installed xterm, xorg-xclock, emacs-nox, and I have used synergy with great success so far.