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+---- Thread: Linux Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? (/showthread.php?tid=192093)
Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - Wintersdark - 2014-04-12
I'm moving systems around, and need to run Linux on my livingroom HTPC - not enough Windows licences and there doesn't seem much point in dropping $100 for something so simple.
All I need is this:
1) Boot directly into XBMC
2) Very easy wife-friendly way (single keypress) to switch between XBMC and a Kiosk-mode Chromium window.
My wife watches a lot of shows on oddball streaming sites, and I've never had any luck getting addons to stream video successfully. My current HTPC in the living room is running Windows, autostarts XBMC and Chrome, and I've bound ALT-TAB to a remote button so switching between XBMC and Chrome is painless.
I've been trying this with Ubuntu 12.04, but there are a slew of minor problems. I have trouble getting both XBMC and Chrome to autostart, with XBMC being full screen with the focus at startup. Once it's there, you have to take it off Full Screen before you can switch windows because while XBMC is fullscreen Ubuntu decides to pay no attention to things like ALT-TAB... then it's awkward to get things back fullscreen again. Wife becomes annoyed.
Of course, XBMCbuntu and OpenElec are unsuitable, because neither offers fully featured web browsers capable of running Flash - or at least without being even more awkward (logging in and out of the XBMC user in XBMCbuntu, for example).
Is there some configuration option I'm missing, or some simple way to set this up? Or would another distro be preferable? Basically, I don't want to see the underlying OS at all, really - I just want to see XBMC or Chrome.
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - teeedubb - 2014-04-12
I would recommend installing xbmcbuntu 13, configuring it to autostart into the xbmcbuntu desktop session (or openbox, which I prefer), which in turn autostarts xbmc. Install the Chrome Launcher plugin, and also install pipelight for better flash video playback. If controlling the flash video is glitchy (fullscreen, play/pause etc..) disable embedding of the video in the webpage. I personally dont use xbmcbuntu, but chrome + pipelight-flash is working really well, much better that the linux version of flash.
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - Wintersdark - 2014-04-12
Thanks! There's a lot of great info in the Chrome Launcher thread, too, which will really help out. Thanks!
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - patseguin - 2014-04-12
Definitely go OpenElec
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - Wintersdark - 2014-04-12
Err, you can get a full flash video playing web browser in openelec?
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - fritsch - 2014-04-12
Yes - chromium is packaged since oe 4.0
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - Wintersdark - 2014-04-12
Huh, I had no idea; I've always used openelec on my RasPi's so that's never been an option, had no idea the desktop version had a browser at all. Well, I feel foolish.
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - fritsch - 2014-04-12
No chromium for the PI of course. That version does not even run X11.
Re: RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - nickr - 2014-04-12
(2014-04-12, 20:30)fritsch Wrote: Yes - chromium is packaged since oe 4.0
Really? How do I find it?
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - fritsch - 2014-04-12
it's in the unofficial repos, easy to install with flash support and everything
Re: RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - nickr - 2014-04-12
(2014-04-12, 22:03)fritsch Wrote: it's in the unofficial repos, easy to install with flash support and everything
Thanks, should have thought of looking in addons.
RE: Can you recommend a distro, or solution to these Ubuntu annoyances? - teeedubb - 2014-04-13
If you can install pipelight in OE yeah that would be a good choice, otherwise stick to a distro you can install it on - linux flash doesnt have the drm of the windows version and wont work will all online streams, but pipelight-flash has streamed everything so far.
edit, unless OE comes with HAL, which is needed for linux flash drm http://forums.adobe.com/message/6209692