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Lemur 5 Base

Here is a screenshot of the Lemur 5 base. This is full Window Maker (not the usual Lemur Hybrid). It is by no means polished and fine tuned. I will get to adding the custom graphics, themes, icons, etc. soon. My main focus is the custom Lemur scripts and apps, that I will have to code from scratch. This will take some time to complete.

Why won’t Lemur die?

Some of you might wonder why I’m back at Lemur development again and why won’t I just let Lemur die. Well, the answer is not that simple and is really two-fold.

First, if you’ve read the About page or you’re already familiar with Lemur and myself you will know my first answer. Lemur is and always has been an attachment to my younger brother. He was excited to see my work on Linux distros and Linux in general. Unfortunately, he never got to see Liquid Lemur. Lemur continues in honor of him. It also inspired the names for my other projects / side gigs; Liquid Lemur Designs (gifts, crafts, graphic design), Liquid Lemur Studios (audio, video, software, publishing), Liquid Lemur Tales (upcoming tech blog), SkyLemur (aerial imagery, drones).

The second part of my answer is that my goals, ideas, etc. of what I want Liquid Lemur to be have not been achieved yet. So, I plan to keep going until they are.

There have been times when I’ve questioned my sanity when it comes to Lemur. I’ve pulled the plug on it before (more than once) and I’m always drawn back to it. And as strange as it may sound, working on Lemur relieves my stress and brings me peace.

The logo attached to this post was designed by Tyler Melton. He has done a lot of graphic work for Lemur over the years and this logo looks awesome. It represents the 3 L’s of Liquid Lemur Linux. It is the official logo of Liquid Lemur Linux.

The Return of Lemur – The Sequel

I’m not sure where to begin with this post. Lemur has been on a roller coaster ride for awhile now. And it took me with it! So, here we are again…

I’ve tried many times to bring Lemur back, but each time either I had trouble with the build or too much going on in my world. From COVID, to work, to my own health issues, and my mom passing away. It was a struggle just to survive, much less work on Lemur. However, things have finally settled down here. So, I’m eager to bring Lemur back.

I have a new PC coming this week that will be my main development machine. I’ve already prepared the build scripts for building Lemur from the latest Debian release. I solved the issues with Window Maker and the dock apps. Using my laptop, I am rewriting the custom Lemur apps from scratch while I wait on the new PC. I’m also working on a couple of new apps for Lemur. I have some ideas for new graphics, sounds, icons, etc. Maybe I can talk Tyler into dusting off his creative graphic skills?

So, if you’re new to Lemur…Welcome! If you’ve been here before, Welcome back!

The Return of Lemur

I’ve been away from all things Liquid Lemur for awhile now. I started rebuilding Lemur from the ground up a couple years ago. I managed to get a prototype running on Debian 11. However, when I moved to Debian 11 (the last Lemur, 4.1 was on Debian 10) a lot of things broke. Several of the third party apps I used within Window Maker no longer worked. Several of the Window Maker dockapps stopped working as well. In order to keep using Window Maker, Lemur would have to remain in its hybrid state. This resulted in me pausing development until I could come up with a solution.

This brings us to 2023. I’ve started developing Lemur again. I’m not sure if I’m to remain on Window Maker, even in its hybrid state. So, I’ve toyed with the idea of switching Lemur to a new DE. The image in this post shows one such idea. Liquid Lemur Openbox. I have thought about switching back to Xfce (Lemur’s original DE). But I just can’t seem to let go of Window Maker for some reason.

In the coming weeks I will be building the Debian base that will host the next Lemur. During that time, I will decide on Lemur’s DE.

Welcome back!

Lemur 5 Reborn!

Liquid Lemur is about to be reborn with Lemur 5. Yesterday I finally figured out the issues with running a default Window Maker layout and the dockapps. As seen in the above screenshot from my laptop, it’s working fine.

Due to this recent discovery, I am changing Lemur back to a default Window Maker layout. This will give users a more “pure” Window Maker experience. I will leave the hybrid bits installed though, for those that like the hybrid layout.

So, what was the issue you might ask… It was just a simple “*” in a script. Yes, it was that simple… This “*” worked just fine in older versions of Lemur (Debian and Window Maker). The “*” in this script makes Window Maker cleaner on the desktop, so I’m hoping to find a workaround.

So, now we have a default Window Maker layout, UEFI compliant, and USB thumbdrive booting. All is right with the world! It will take some time to get Lemur 5 built and fine tuned, but it will be worth the wait!

Lemur 5 Coming Soon!

Development is underway on the next release of Liquid Lemur Linux, Lemur 5. The release will bring some major changes to the Lemur OS and fix a lot of issues.

The Debian base that Lemur uses will still be Debian 10 as in Lemur 4, but it will be rebuilt from scratch this time. The WM/DE will still be Window Maker, but in its hybrid form (as it is in Lemur 4) as shown in the screen shot above this article. The Morpher tool will be discontinued, as plans going forward call for Lemur to stay in its current hybrid state.

There will be changes to the custom Lemur apps, as noted below:

Apps to be discontinued: Lemur Dock, Lemur iDesk, Lemur Panel, and Lemur Installer (replaced by Debian Installer/Calamares). Apps to be updated: Lemur Quit, Lemur Apps Menu Updater, Device Manager, Plymouth Manager, and Lemur Updater (mint-update). Apps getting a complete redesign: Lemur Control Center (replaced APEman), Lemur Autostart, Lemur Favorites, Lemur Welcome, and Lemur Conky.

Lemur 5 will finally bring UEFI compatibility and support for booting from USB thumb drives to the table. Both of these have been thorns in Lemur’s side for awhile now. I’m glad to have these resolved now.

Lemur 5 will also see changes in default apps lineup. I will be trimming the fat, so to speak. Additionally, Lemur 5 will be less dependent on Xfce bits. There will be new themes / artwork, as seen in the screenshot. A quick-start guide will be ready for Lemur 5 as well. This guide will help you with the basics of operating Lemur. A more in depth guide will follow sometime later. And last but not least…Lemur 5 will ship with the 5.x kernel.

A lot of work on Lemur 5 has already been completed. However, there is still much work to be done before a release. Stay tuned…

The Future Lemur…

As I have mentioned previously, I’m having trouble with the Window Maker dock apps used in Lemur. This has been an ongoing problem since day one of the Window Maker Lemurs. However, it seems to get worse with each Debian update. This is why, years ago, I started the Window Maker Resurrection Project (WMRP). I gathered as much Window Maker stuff as I could find. From apps, to themes and styles, and more. At one point, work was started on re-coding the dock apps to run on a newer base. Sadly, it seems those days are long gone.

Recently, I built a stock Debian 10 ISO. Without any Lemur bits added. I proceeded to install Window Maker and all the dock apps Lemur uses, straight from the Debian repos. About one third of those apps worked. This could just be a Debian thing as I haven’t tested the dock apps on other Linux bases (such as Arch). But I believe a lot of these dock apps are no longer being actively developed.

So where does that leave Lemur? Well, personally I like my hybrid Window Maker layout. It has the speed and power of Window Maker with a more pleasing look (IMHO). However, it lacks some features of a more modern desktop and I know not everyone likes the hybrid layout. Lemur is sort of stuck in the middle of things. On one end, we have those wanting a more traditional Window Maker setup (and for the most part that is achievable, but without some of the Lemur flare). Then, on the other end, we have those that want a more modern (aka: flashy eye candy) setup. And Lemur is currently in the middle.

So, going forward, I need to make a decision. Stick with the current hybrid setup (my preference), ignoring the legacy Window Maker layout. Or switch Lemur to a new WM/DE setup. I’m open to suggestions and thoughts on this.

Lemur 4.1 Released!

Liquid Lemur Linux 4.1 has been released. It should be available on the download server by the time you read this post.

Unfortunately, there is no upgrade path from previous Lemurs (including 4.0) due to the entire Lemur update system being re-written. Going forward from this release, you will be able to upgrade without doing a complete re-install.

Just to mention a few changes… The old Lemur installer has been replaced with the default Calamares installer for Debian. The Lemur Dock and Lemur iDesk have been removed. They are no longer compatible with Lemur. APEman was replaced with an updated version of the old Lemur Control Center. The Control Center is still a work in progress so please be patient.

More changes and updates coming in the next release…

Lemur 4 Released!

It has been a long time coming, but Liquid Lemur Linux 4.0 has been released! I’ll get the forums back online in the next day or two…

Lemur 4 still comes in the pre-morphed state. I planned to release it in the default Window Maker layout. However, after updating to Debian 10 (Buster) a lot of the Window Maker apps refused to work. So until I can find the issue, Lemur will remain pre-morphed.

Release Notes:

The Lemur 4 base has been updated to Debian 10 (Buster), which includes a newer kernel.

All the patches / fixes from Lemur 3.1 through 3.4 have been applied.

APEman (aka: Lemur Control) has issues. The Morpher / Themer tools are not working correctly. Other functions are affected as well. I am working to code a new Lemur Control app so I didn’t put much into fixing APEman.

Pretty much all of the custom Lemur apps are pulled from Lemur 3.x, since I lost almost all of the Lemur files in a freak hard drive disaster. All custom apps are being re-coded and should be in the next release of Lemur.

From the readme.txt file…

This release is a continuation of the Hybrid Window Maker Lemur. While it is stable, it’s not complete. I really wanted to wait, but felt I should get this one out in the wild and get some feedback on what has been done so far. Please note, there are bits of this release that are experimental.

This release is pre-Morphed into the Hybrid-Light morph. If you prefer the traditional Window Maker layout, then edit the Window Maker config files. The Morpher tool in APEman is currently not working.

Below is a short known issues list (check the forums for more details):

Liquid Lemur Linux 4.0.0-a1 KNOWN-ISSUES:

- Not all custom apps are fully functional.
- User's Guide is still a work in progress.
- APEman (aka: Lemur Control) is in serious need of updating. Many things are not working properly.

LEMUR-QUIT:

- Hibernate only seems to work under the Liquorix kernels (at least on my laptop).
- Save session wasn't working correctly, so it's disabled for now (Sessions can be saved via the Window Maker menu, prior to running LEMUR-QUIT.).

LEMUR-WELCOME:

- The welcome app can be buggy. So, I'm working on a new one.

APEman:

- Morpher / Themer are not working.
- Some functions are not complete. Use with caution. :P
- Add-ons and Editions are outdated. They will be updated next release of APEman.

LEMUR-INSTALLER:

- Currently only fully localized in English (will be fixed next release).