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Those watching the Distrowatch page hit listings have probably noticed an oddly named entry that stayed in the top 25 for a good chunk of 2011. Called Bodhi (current version is 1.3.0) it not only made this level in just over a year of release (for all versions) but managed to do so using Enlightenment 17 (e17) as a desktop shell. What is e17?
Ceux qui regardent la page listant les hits sur Distrowatch auront probablement remarqué une entrée au nom bizarre, trustant le top 25 depuis une bonne partie de 2011. Nommée Bodhi (la version actuelle est la 1.3.0), non seulement elle a atteint ce niveau en un peu plus d'un an de sortie, mais réussit à le faire en utilisant Enlightenment 17 (e17) comme gestionnaire de bureau.
Qu'est-ce que e17 ?
Enlightenment is a desktop shell, much like Gnome and KDE, that has been in development for nearly 15 years. I've worked with just two versions, 16 and the current 17, the latter having been in various alpha/beta stages for the past 5 or so years (if you want to be technical, e17 is really 16.999 but what's .001 among friends?). Although initial development focused on low base spec computers, current testing is geared to multi-core processors with higher RAM counts, although e17 is at home in either setting. Base code is somewhere around 25MB (Gnome and KDE are 10 times that amount) with Bodhi's version undoubtedly being more due to eye candy and tweaking.
Enlightenment est un gestionnaire de bureau, plus comme Gnome et KDE, qui est en développement depuis près de 15 ans. J'ai travaillé seulement avec deux version, la 16 et maintenant la 17, cette dernière étant passée par différentes versions alpha/beta depuis les 5 dernières années (si vous voulez être technique, e17 est en réalité à la version 16.999 mais qu'est-ce que 0.001 entre amis ?).
Bien que le développement initial ciblait les ordinateurs de faible caractéristiques (ordinosaures), les tests actuels sont menés sur des processeurs multi-coeurs avec de grandes capacités de RAM, bien que e17 soit à la maison dans tous les cas. Le code de base pèse environ 25 MB (Gnome et KDE sont 10 fois plus gros), cette version de Bodhi étant indubitablement plus grosse vus les effets graphiques et les personnalisations.
As options go, Enlightenment never really caught on, and was overshadowed by others in the “light”category such as Xfce or LXDE . Anybody care to remember the ill-fated gOS venture of 2007-08 or OpenGEU from 2009, both of which took a powder after relatively short runs? Even moonOS defected to Gnome after version 3, thereby abandoning e17. This is unfortunate, since e17 holds promise as a highly customizable shell, but an early, unreliable e16 version left a bad taste with many users, and the stigma still lingers. Of note, Synaptic still lists e16 although it's not advisable to consider using it. Although there may be others, I know of just one OS other than Bodhi that is Ubuntu and e17 based, and that's ExLight from Sweden (don't bother looking, it doesn't rate mention at Distrowatch).
Comme toutes options, Enlightenment n'a jamais réellement “pris”, et a été éclipsé par d'autres dans la catégorie “léger”, tels que Xfce ou LXDE. Qui se souvient de l'entreprise malheureuse gOS de 2007-2008 ou OpenGEU en 2009, lesquels deux prirent une poudre après une course relativement courte ? Même MoonOS parti de Gnome après sa version 3, et abandonnant également e17.
The Basics Bodhi is not quite as foreign as the name may indicate. Properly pronounced Bo-Dee (not Bod-Hi or Bod-He as I thought) it hails from the States, and the lead developer is Jeff Hoogland. The name is Sanskrit for enlightenment, appropriate given the shell. Unlike other distributions that change base code as Canonical does, Bodhi has always used 32-bit Lucid Lynx (10.04 LTS) and has a downloaded image of roughly 375MB. No other way to say it, but Bodhi is minimalistic and included programs are limited to the Midori browser (with private browsing), LXTerminal, PCManFM (file manager), Leafpad (akin to MS Notepad) and Synaptic Package Manager. The original Bodhi release, 0.1.6, came with Firefox 4 beta but that was discontinued, possibly to save space although the extra 40MB or so would still leave plenty of leftover room on a CD.
Les bases
Bodhi n'est pas aussi étrangère que son nom semble l'indiquer. Prononcée proprement Bo-Dee (et non Bod-Hi ou Bod-He comme je le pensais), elle est originaire des Etats-Unis, et son développeur en chef est Jeff Hoogland. Ce nom correspond au mot illumination en Sanscrit, ce qui est approprié compte-tenu du gestionnaire de bureau.
A l'inverse des autres distributions qui changent leur code de base comme le fait Canonical, Bodhi a toujours utilisé la version 33-bit de Lucid Lynx (10.04 LTS), et dispose d'une image téléchargeable de 375 MB approximativement.
Pas d'autres manière de le dire sinon que Bodhi est minimaliste, et les programmes inclus se limitent à Midori navigateur (avec une navigation privée), LXTerminal (console), PCManFm (gestionnaire de fichiers), Leafpad (ressemblant à MS Notepad) et le gestionnaire de paquet Synaptic. La version originale de Bodhi, la 0.1.6, venait avec Firefox 4 beta, mais n'a pas été reconduit, sans doute pour économiser 40 MB supplémentaires ou pour garder plus d'espace libre sur un CD.
Website After years of reviewing OS websites I've pretty much got the pattern down. Usually a home page, another to highlight the developers and sell paraphernalia and, finally, one that offers the actual download. Occasionally a forum or FAQ page is thrown in but most information is often stale and it has become obvious developers are phoning it in (the thrill is gone, baby). But www.bodhilinux.com is the rarity in the bunch, with comprehensive and relevant information, additional program offerings that rival many repositories, tutorials aplenty and well staffed forums with questions often answered in minutes. In addition, it's well designed and visually appealing. Whether or not they meant to, Bodhi developers have better Enlightenment tutorials on their website than the Enlightenment website itself (check it out at www.enlightenment.org).
Site web
Après des années à compulser des sites web sur les OS, j'en suis arrivé au schéma suivant : une habituelle page d'accueil, une autre pour mettre en avant les développeurs et vendre le produit et, enfin, une dernière offrant l'actuel téléchargement. Occasionnellement une page de forum ou type FAQ est présente, mais l'essentiel de l'information est souvent vicié et
Installation Normally I don't elaborate on live mode since it's the usual CD/DVD spin and grind, but Bodhi has a couple of additions to the routine that merit attention. Two choices must be made prior to a complete boot, with the first being a profile, what you might call a desktop layout. These range from Bare (wallpaper and nothing else) to Compositing (a modified Compiz code for e17). In between, you'll see offerings for laptops, desktops, netbooks and tablets, with each showing specific engineering and design traits. There isn't a bad choice in the group, although Bare dispenses with everything but a background and may be too light for most. Then you have to pick a scheme from a palette of several, all of which are artistically pleasant, so just click on one since any choice from these two areas can easily be changed later. The last stumbling block involves default backlight settings that are pegged to dark, for lack of a better description. This requires a trip to the settings menu, kind of hard when the screen resembles NYC during a blackout (have a light nearby). My previous e17 tests didn't exhibit this characteristic so I can only assume it's a Bodhi tweak. Even with all this, live mode boot times averaged 2 minutes; however, continued use of this mode is a bear since any changes made will disappear when the power does. Those desiring portability are advised to visit www.pendrivelinux.com for info on creating persistent USB drives (i.e. drives that retain changes). So it was full installation, but there is a pleasant surprise in this option. Care to guess how long it takes – 30, 45 or 60 minutes? How about 8? You read right, 8 minutes. Resetting backlight settings and 50MB updates took a couple more, so I was out all of 15 minutes, tops. Quite impressive given that previous tests with e17 based distros never produced such stellar times. The only other issue is a final screen hang. When all is said and done, the CD ejects but the final splash screen (nicely designed with small green leaves cascading left to right) refuses to close. Let it do the leaf dance for a couple minutes and then hit enter. It never hangs again. If you're wondering, Bodhi takes roughly 2GB off your hard drive post-install. Desktop Design Even with entering user ID and password, cold boot times are a respectable 30 seconds or less. Those familiar with Fedora 12 will recognize the blue bar that creeps from left to right on the screen to indicate boot progress (no boot music, though). As much as I'd like to describe the first desktop, that's sort of difficult since so many choices are offered; however, some attributes are the same no matter what, and those I'll discuss. You can quit looking for desktop icons. There are none, nor does e17 allow for them. No trashcan or home folder icons, nor is there anything for attached external drives or cards. You'll have to access these via the home folder off the main menu. Instead, e17 uses shelves (a.k.a. docks), modules and gadgets. Shelves can be placed anywhere along the borders, and you can install several. Modules and gadgets can then be inserted into these shelves (such as iBar, a module that allows for program icons to be dragged and dropped). An unfortunate aspect of e17, and possibly one of the reasons it never became as popular as Gnome or KDE, is that the protocol for adding, deleting or modifying any of these areas can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. Settings under the main menu have roughly 14 categories, that open to expose nearly 80 subcategories. Hardly intuitive, and most will have to spend time just to get the menu map memorized. Once deciphered it becomes second nature. For example, changing backlight settings requires 7 to 8 clicks or mouse movements and is hardly intuitive. Most newbies will undoubtedly be overwhelmed the first time. As for main menu access, you have two choices, the first of which is to click the Enlightenment or Bodhi button found in the left corner of most shelves (except for the Bare design – it has no shelves). This opens a Gnome-like menu. The second option is to left-click an empty desktop area, but make sure you're not too close to the right side of your screen. E17 menus are limited to right-hand cascading and being too close to the edge will cause it to disappear into cyberspace. Move to the left to alleviate that issue. One other peculiarity of the e17 menu design is that the main menu is not static in left-click mode, that is, both the main and secondary menus cascade up and down when scrolling through program listings, so it's possible to have the main menu disappear off the screen when scrolling. As for the right mouse button, it's active only when used on shelves, modules or gadgets and then only to reset or choose options for those areas; however, if programs are added to favorites, right-clicking an empty desktop area will produce a menu of those. In essence, plan on taking some time to learn these procedures. Operational Efficiency E17 is fast. Amazingly, blazingly, blindingly fast. Without a doubt the fastest desktop shell I've ever used. Programs snap to attention within a few seconds. LibreOffice Writer opens within 5 seconds and Gimp is ready to use within 10. Either of these programs in Gnome or KDE would take 3 to 5 times longer to open on my system. Even more surprising is that resource usage rarely peaked above 20% and settings could dip as low as 2% at idle. Hardware acceptance was exemplary, with no downloads necessary, an oddity given that usually 1 or 2 are necessary with Gnome or KDE. Wireless, video and audio were operational from first boot, and I was happy to not see that aggravating “AMD Unsupported Hardware” pop-up. About the only thing missing is a printer driver set, but that can be added (read below for that). Wish I could give kudos for battery consumption and generated heat but Bodhi is no better than Gnome or KDE counterparts in this category, rather odd given that resource usage is so low. Adding Programs Bodhi is purposely light, so users can make their own program additions, and believe me when I state you probably will. Midori is a mediocre browser and LeafPad is equally dismal as a text editor. Since e17 is neutral it will accept both Gnome and KDE programs, but there is a protocol that must be followed and is stressed at the Bodhi website. There are four ways of adding programs – apt-get, modified apt-get, the website or Synaptic. Of these, the website is my recommended first stop. Midori defaults to the Bodhi website. Go to AppCenter under the Resources heading and you'll see a boatload of program choices including the Nikhila and Pratibha packages. Nikhila (Sanskrit for “whole, entire, all, complete) is 530MB and includes Mirage, Adobe PDF Reader, Cheese, Firefox, gEdit, Handbrake, k3b, LibreOffice, Okular, Openshot, Qalculate, Pidgin, Printing, Rhythmbox, Shotwell, Simple Scan, Thunderbird, Transmission, VLC, Xchat and Filelight. Pratibha (“light, splendour, intelligence) is 157MB and packs Claws, DeadBeef, ePDFView, ePhoto, Geany, Light Office (Abiword plus a couple others), Pinta, Qalculate, VLC, Xchat and Xfburn. Specific packages for Audio, Image, Scientific Publishing, Educational, Web Development, Online Media, Icon Sets and GTK Themes are also highlighted along with service packs, Internet specifics, graphics, kernel upgrades, multimedia, Enlightenment modules and assorted extras. Although some apps are repeated in various categories, this all adds up to a whopping 2.5GB +/- larger than the initial Bodhi installation uses on the hard drive. Not only do your have programs galore but you'll see options to install or download them. “Install” downloads and installs chosen programs, with little user intervention, but is designed to be used by Midori or Firefox browsers (the files have .bod extensions). “Download” is not browser specific since it merely parks files in the Home folder for retrieval later. While this is simple enough, using Synaptic and/or apt-get can present difficulties. E17 has no problem accepting Gnome and KDE programs but it does find related dependencies and “recommended” files hard to digest, and both techniques load them by the bushel. This is where the modified apt-get comes into play. The usual command line would be “sudo apt-get install” along with the program name, but developers recommend you use a different approach with “sudo apt-get install –no-install-recommends” with the program name. This effectively halts those extra, unnecessary dependencies (this technique is also mentioned on the Ubuntu website). Does it work? Both Synaptic and apt-get attempted to retrieve 660MB of files when I downloaded Kile, a LaTeX processor, but using the modified apt-get command reduced that figure to just 80MB and it works perfectly. So, yes, it does work. While you can add Ailurus, Ubuntu Software Center or Ubuntu Tweak as package managers, they can be used only as root (which means the added menu entries are for show only) necessitating a terminal sudo command (ailurus, software-center or ubuntu-tweak preceded by sudo), but the risk of including yet unnecessary files will still be there. I learned to use these package managers as a means of spotting programs of interest and then using the modified terminal command to actually install them. What happens if you don't follow this protocol? As I discovered, you may notice programs start to slow down, e17 may occasionally crash and login options may change to include Gnome and KDE desktops (they are bare-bones Openbox versions with wallpaper and zero else). While slow programs are a problem, an e17 crash is a perverse blessing of sorts and is the polar opposite of a Windows BSOD. Shelves, modules and gadgets all disappear along with the capability of shutting down except by pushing the power button, but programs still work and open documents can be saved without any loss. In fact, I once went over an hour with a crashed desktop and lost nothing (the only oddity is that the left click menu still works to open programs but it can't be used to shut down or log out – that part of the menu vanishes). Final Analysis E17 is an odd choice for a desktop shell but not a bad one in the long run. It's fast and, for the most part, reliable. Play by the rules, add programs properly and you'll have no problems. I did have the usual snafus with disappearing shelves and the odd gadget or two that failed to always work, but that's life. I've had the same issues with Gnome, KDE and Windows. Nothing is perfect, even the much-vaunted OS X has its issues. As a comparison I installed Xfce as a login option, and was somewhat surprised to see it used double the resources, and programs were noticeably slower to respond. While I didn't have to watch for Gnome or KDE dependency snafus, continued usage became laborious compared to e17. Truthfully, I went into this review biased concerning Enlightenment's past issues and knew they would get in the way; however, I must admit Bodhi is really impressive. It's fast and well designed, and the website is second to none. All things considered, Bodhi is a stellar choice for those looking to start with a minimal system, and build it up with what they like. There is nothing to indicate it can't be a daily user. I'd give Bodhi 4 out of 5 stars with a drop of one only because it has a learning curve that may confuse some, and a desktop shell with a few quirks that necessitates caution when performing some actions, such as adding programs.