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.
Tag: Liquid Lemur
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…
Liquid Lemur 4.0
Above you will see a simple screenshot of Liquid Lemur 4.0 that is currently under development. This is an early prototype and not ready for testing.
Lemur 4.0 is running on Debian Buster. I trimmed down the default Conky, removing the redundant bits. I am slowly working to rebuild the Lemur custom apps and other custom bits. A new theme is also in the works.
Stay tuned…
The (re)Building Begins
Let’s get back to building a better Lemur! Over the last few months I’ve been building and rebuilding all things Liquid Lemur. During that time a lot has happened. I had a career change, continued to devote time to my own business, family, and life in general. I had a huge setback with the data loss. A lot of Lemur bits were lost. Former Dreamlinux dev, Nelson, provided the old Dreamlinux build scripts (glad he still had them) and the reBuilding of Liquid Lemur began. It’s a lot of work to start over…and over…again!
During the last two months or so, I’ve heard from a lot of people. Mostly via email or IM. The general consensus is to focus on Window Maker as the default and only desktop for Lemur. Most did not want to go back to the barebones Lemur of old, and preferred a little more meat (apps) out of the box. Many also would prefer the default Window Maker layout for the ISO, instead of the Hybrid.
So, taking all this into consideration, the next Lemur (3.2) will come with the default Window Maker layout active. If you prefer the Hybrid layout, it can easily be switched via the Lemur Morpher tool. Also, Lemur will come with more (everyday) apps installed out of the box. Editions will still be available in APEman, but they will be trimmed down a bit. As mentioned before, Tyler (dgf64) created some new artwork for Lemur and the 3.2 release will showcase that. There have been other ideas, thoughts, etc. and I will try to incorporate those into Lemur if they are deemed beneficial as a whole.
I have spent the last couple of months tweaking the old Dreamlinux build scripts for Lemur and I can safely say, they have been tweaked! So, the (re)Building of Liquid Lemur now begins…
