Base install plus Opera

redge · 2006-12-22 00:48:07

I have installed Voodoo base and I have an internet connection. My next priority is to install Opera. I plan to use its browser, download, rss and e-mail capabilities. According to the repository, the only programme that I require in addition to Opera is Qt. Is that correct? What else would I need to pacman, if I can use that word as a verb, in order to view and hear material on the internet (eg. .pdf files, image files, animations, videos with sound) while browsing? It isn't clear to me what the connection is, if any, between running a programme like Opera and having a window manager, but I would prefer to defer a decision about the latter. In other words, can I run Opera with a command? If so, I wasn't able to find that command in the material about Linux in the Opera Support pages (of course, maybe it is too obvious to mention).

Thanks.

lilsirecho · 2006-12-22 01:47:26

Suggest you install opera and its needed supports and go from there with a command line...opera.

See what you can do with that.....

creatorx · 2006-12-22 01:54:28

Hi redge,

First and foremost you do need a windows manager to run Opera. So first you are going to have to install one. I recommend xfce4 or gnome, if you need to know how to install them go to the wiki. Once you have this, It will be fairly simple to install Opera, u just have to do this,

pacman -Sy opera

under root.

Futhermore;
for sound you need alsa
for flash animation you have to install the flashplugin
for videos - mmm, for Opera i dont relly know since I use firefox, but there should be something out tere.
for pdf I use acroread from adobe.

All of these should have a entry(how to install and configure) in the wiki just search for them.

Good Luck
creatorx[/quote]

redge · 2006-12-22 03:06:43

Thanks,

Not what I wanted to hear (Opera needing a windows manager), but what I suspected I'd hear after having a look at Lynx/Links. Right now, I want to stay with the console as much as possible, but those programmes involve more commitment to the console than I'm prepared to put up with

If I need a windows manager, it will be either xfce4 or Enlightenment 17 (I like the screenshots that I've seen of the latter).

Thanks for the suggestions for ancillary programmes.

Best of the season,

Rory

Basu · 2006-12-22 04:56:40

If you want E17, use the Takhis repo (search the forums). It's pretty much up-to-date. Entrance is a bit buggy though.

somairotevoli · 2006-12-23 06:50:16

Afaik, you can run opera w/ just having Xorg installed.

noriko · 2006-12-23 13:12:42

somairotevoli wrote:

Afaik, you can run opera w/ just having Xorg installed.

yes tjat's true, as-is with all gui apps.
however, i don't think they'd be very useful without a window border, or a way to control which window is on-top.... ... that'd be pretty cool if x did that....

Basu · 2006-12-23 14:54:22

noriko wrote:

somairotevoli wrote:
Afaik, you can run opera w/ just having Xorg installed.
yes tjat's true, as-is with all gui apps.
however, i don't think they'd be very useful without a window border, or a way to control which window is on-top.... ... that'd be pretty cool if x did that....

Perhaps it would be cool, but the whole reason for the X server --- window manager break is so that X doesn't have to do that.

Misfit138 · 2006-12-23 15:36:54

Basu wrote:

Perhaps it would be cool, but the whole reason for the X server --- window manager break is so that X doesn't have to do that.

Interesting. Could you elaborate on this concept, please?

Basu · 2006-12-23 17:27:11

Sure thing. Here goes.

The X Window System (all the xorg packages that you installed) does basically two things:

1. Let's you draw stuff to the monitor
2. Gathers information from your mouse and keyboard (clicks, key combos etc.) and sends it off to programs that need it.

What that means is though X let's you produce graphics, it doesn't say what sort of graphics have to be produced. It's the job of other programs to tell X "now put a big glob of green right in the middle of the screen" (Not exactly, but that's a good approximation)

These other programs are our dear Window managers. They specify what the windows look like, what colour the bars and stuff are, what happens when you click a button etc. etc.

And it's because X by itself does so little that you can have stuff like KDE and Enlightenment as well as lighter *boxes, and FVWM and even tiling window managers like Ratpoison and Ion all running on the same X. In fact if you wanted I suppose you could make a WM that surrounds windows in pink globs rather than neat borders.

If you want to know more I suggest you check out X window system on Wikipedia

Misfit138 · 2006-12-23 17:45:29

Ah, so it is because X does so little that it is so dynamic. It is the layer between the gui and the kernel, if I am understanding correctly, over which KDE or Gnome or your WM of choice is pasted.
Thanks for the explanations!

Basu · 2006-12-23 18:13:59

That's about it. Saying that is "does so little" is actually a bit misleading as it does all the basic output work. I suppose you could say that X does the "menial" tasks of outputing information to the screen, while the WMs do the more "intelligent" work of making stuff look pretty (or not ;-)).
If you have any more questions fire away, (not that I'm an expert in these things, but I think I have a fair grasp of the basics while being newbie enough to tone down the language)
Cheers!
Basu

noriko · 2006-12-23 19:07:12

well, in 'theory' it does nothing... as it just sits there in a sleeping state unless instructed to do something by the wm or other aps... *gl* fi.e ...

the X server as suggested prior to my reply .. is an interface between the software and the kernel/hardware ...

u must not mistake the software as directly effecting the screen of the monitor.. but i won't go into that 'cos it's beyond the scope of this lecture.. i mean scope ( a little saying in most lectures at uni when the prof. doesn't know more than is in the lecture notes lol )

xenobrain · 2006-12-29 09:23:40

Doesn't X11 usually come bundled with TWM?

noriko · 2006-12-29 09:38:51

umm... not since modular X.org ... i dunno if it was before, but in either case all previous comments stand corrected.. as TWM is still a windows manager, and not a part of the X Server..

Acid7711 · 2006-12-29 09:50:00

If your looking to stay in the console as much as possible, wouldn't it be easier to use lynx with graphics or a similar graphical console web browser? You wouldn't require a window manager in that case.

redge · 2007-01-02 21:13:17

Acid7711 wrote:

If your looking to stay in the console as much as possible, wouldn't it be easier to use lynx with graphics or a similar graphical console web browser? You wouldn't require a window manager in that case.

Thanks. I'd written off Lynx and Links just based on what I'd read about them. On a whim, I decided to install both, expecting that there would be a quick uninstall. Several days later, they're still on my computer, where I'm using them without X installed in text mode. I'm surprised at how capable they are, and the convenience and speed of calling up a URL from the command line is quite impressive.

Arch Linux

#1 2006-12-22 00:48:07

Base install plus Opera

#2 2006-12-22 01:47:26

Re: Base install plus Opera

#3 2006-12-22 01:54:28

Re: Base install plus Opera

#4 2006-12-22 03:06:43

Re: Base install plus Opera

#5 2006-12-22 04:56:40

Re: Base install plus Opera

#6 2006-12-23 06:50:16

Re: Base install plus Opera

#7 2006-12-23 13:12:42

Re: Base install plus Opera

#8 2006-12-23 14:54:22

Re: Base install plus Opera

#9 2006-12-23 15:36:54

Re: Base install plus Opera

#10 2006-12-23 17:27:11

Re: Base install plus Opera

#11 2006-12-23 17:45:29

Re: Base install plus Opera

#12 2006-12-23 18:13:59

Re: Base install plus Opera

#13 2006-12-23 19:07:12

Re: Base install plus Opera

#14 2006-12-29 09:23:40

Re: Base install plus Opera

#15 2006-12-29 09:38:51

Re: Base install plus Opera

#16 2006-12-29 09:50:00

Re: Base install plus Opera

#17 2007-01-02 21:13:17

Re: Base install plus Opera

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