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  • Author Author: Former Member
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Hadron Vortex G2 - Launching GUI apps without Desktop

Former Member
Former Member

The Gizmo's main limitation is it's ram which means that the less resources the system needs, the more we can devote towards applications that we want to use.

 

There are lots of lightweight Desktop environments that can help reduce these resources but it's worth considering launching programs without any desktop or file manager if you want to use your system towards a dedicated task.

 

When Ubuntu boots up, you should be presented with a log in screen asking for your password. At this point Xserver is running allowing graphical applications to be be used but there isn't a desktop loaded yet until you put in your password.

 

If you installed a different desktop than the standard one that Ubuntu ships with, you have the option of selecting to change the desktop shell type by pressing the little picture Icon, You then get a list of desktops that are available to log into.

 

image

 

image

 

Wouldn't it be great to just put a program in this list and launch that straight away instead of a desktop? That's what were gunna do!!

 

Any graphical application can be used, this is how to add the game Warsow to the list to launch independently without a desktop.

 

open Gedit as a superuser

 

sudo gedit

This allows us to save files into the filesystem.

 

Next paste the following into Gedit:

 

[Desktop Entry]

Name=warsow

Comment=warsow game launcher

Exec=warsow

TryExec=warsow

Icon=

Type=Application

then save to /usr/share/xsessions/warsow.desktop

 

Log out or restart, when the log in screen appears, select the icon and you should see that warsow has been added to the list. Select it and enter your password and the game should launch independantly.

 

The Exec line can take any command line instruction including optional parameters.

the TryExec should just stay as the basic application without options.

 

You can have a dedicated web browser by making a .desktop file that launches firefox or a custom office machine by just making a .desktop file for libre office.

 

By far the most powerful thing to add to this list is a terminal. From there anything else can be launched from live command line!!

 

Try it out, it's definately useful for resource intensive applications!!

  • in reply to clem57

    Ya, Tiny Core is a great Distro. I have it on an old Camera Card. A Compact Flash Card. The Camera Died. So, I decided to put the card to good use. I keep it in a USB Adapter. My Tiny Core Card. Will boot on most all of my Machines, form old to new. As long as the machine supports Booting from USB. Although, I have used Plop Boot manager. To get USB devices to Boot, on Older Machines. Tiny Core, could be useful, for System Rescue. But, I usually use Parted Magic or Hirens Boot CD, Super Grub, etc. With Fedora I use a Fedora Live CD - USB. Since it will mount Fedora's EXT4 and LVM Partitions. I looked up the new version of Core 6.2 and Downloaded them. And the Site says. The "absolute minimum of RAM is 46mb. TC won't boot with anything less, no matter how many terabytes of swap you have. Microcore runs with 28mb of ram. The minimum cpu is i486DX (486 with a math processor)." That's Amazing, compared to the System Requirements, of Fedora, Ubuntu and even Debian. I even remember, that older versions of Core. Would run on 8Mb of Ram! If you install it on your machine. Let me know, how you set yours up. IE, with... Default Mode: Cloud/Internet or Mount Mode: TCZ/Install or Copy Mode: TCZ/Install + copy2fs.flg/lst or All on an HD (HD install, is what I would want for my older PC's). I have a 486, under the Bed. That's been calling to me for years. I want to live again!;) Have fun!:)

    Don

  • in reply to dweb98

    Playing with Tiny Corr since it loads into ram

  • in reply to clem57

    Ya, that should make a good Laptop, again. Which Linux Distro, are you putting on it?

    Don

  • in reply to clem57

    That's good. The last time I was over that way. They had most of 820 Dug Up and were Building new Over Passes. I was trying to go N on Old Denton Highway. But, ended up going all the way to NE Mall. And then turning around and finding a way to get Denton Hwy on the way back home. It was a mess...

    Don

  • in reply to Former Member

    Hay Lucie,

    Ya, I like testing out and setting up, different Linux OS's on Old Machines. I've been given, several. In return, for helping a neighbor with his PC's. I do Windows Builds, too. Just for those few Apps, that I like. That aren't available for Linux. I swap hardware parts, around them allot too. Like you did with yours. I haven't tried an SSD HD, yet. Still cost to much for the Storage, that you get, for my taste. I want a 4 or 5 TB HD, now. I'm running out of Space on, all of my Drives. Ya, Starting a Single App, form the Login Screen. Can be useful. Especially for Low Resource Machines. I setup Kdenlive and Krusader, on that P4, with 512MB of Ram. It worked fine. But, for some reason, on that machine. The Keyboard does not work. I only had the Mouse Working. And I don't remember having any problems, with the Keyboard on my Core 2, 1.8GHz System, running Krusader. And a couple of Apps, that I started from the Terminal. They even opened up smaller than the Krusader Window. So, I was able to click on them and change App Windows. On the P4. I was still able to work on a Video in Kdenlive, with only the Mouse. But, I didn't try to Render it yet. I need to finish editing it first. I'll do that in XFCE and then switch to the Stan Alone Mode, to try the Video Render. As long as your Mouse and Keyboard work. I bet you can start a Remote Desktop Viewer. From the Logon Screen. And VNC into your other System. I do that allot with my Systems. I find it especially useful, for the 500MHz P3 and the 350MHz Machines. That I have setup in my Garage. They can handle basic text and images in the Web Browser. But, if I hit a site, with allot, of Flash, Java or I want to watch a Video. They can't quite keep up. I can check my e-mail and surf the Web on my System in the House, via VNC Remote Desktop. It's cool to be able to use my main computer, form out in the Garage. I have a Zonet Router, out there. Setup as a Wireless Repeater. So, I'm wired, from the PC's to the Router. And then Wireless form the Zonet Router, to the Wireless Routers in the House. Saved having to run more Cat 5 in the Attic. I have Cat 5 run to each Bedroom and the living Room, though. Did that, years ago. Oh, there's a cool Remote Desktop Viewer, that comes with Debian 5. I can't remember the name of the App. But, it will allow you to set it. So that, you can just move the Mouse, to the edge of the screen. And move around your remote Screen, automatically. When you get to the edge of what you can see on a smaller Monitor. I have a 24 inch LCD in the House, set to 1920x1080 Res. But, I only have old CRT's in the Garage. Running 1024x768 or so, Res. It gets to be a real pain Paging up and down and back and forth. When trying to work in a Remote Desktop Viewer. But, this feature, makes thing work quite nicely. So, your going to write your own Steam App;) Cool!:) I've been reading about Steam and I installed it on a couple of my Machines. One Window and one Fedora 21. But, I haven't got around to trying it out yet. Have you?

    Don