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[LINUX] HOW-TO install XBMC for Linux on Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) and 8.10 (Intrepid)
I've removed the guide on the wiki because there were lots of bits that were unadvised (and unsupported) by the XBMC team.

I'll be working in the coming weeks on the wiki content as a whole so that all important information from this guide will be easy to find.

Thanks for everyone who contributed.

TheUni
Sad i liked this tutorial, when i tried regular ubuntu i couldn't figure out anything and the biggest problem was i didn't know how to get HDMI audio from the graphics card to work. This was very simple to follow and it worked 100% for me.
I understand your decision but I have to disagree with it. Yes, the guide wasn't perfect. Yes, it sucked when Jaunty came out and the guide didn't work with it 100%. Yes, the Live! install pretty much gets you the same thing.

But, this guide was the most easy to follow and execute of any XBMC install guide I have seen to date. I used the guide with great success myself. I didn't want to use the Live! install because I didn't want to use a flash drive and I didn't want to use one of my entire hard drives. With the minimal guide on the Wiki, I was able to install XBMC on a small partition on my hard drive and not lose the other 300gb of media that was on the other partition. It also turned out to be a pretty good lesson in Linux.

I have since graduated to using a full desktop install of Jaunty and use the built-in xsession script for that appliance-like feel. But I definitely believe that the minimal install guide has it's place as long as it's being updated on a frequent basis, which it pretty much was. It had plenty of warnings to tell the reader that it was risky.

If this guide isn't restored, I'd really like to see a guide on using the xsession script. I don't think most people even know that exists since it was checked in at the last minute before 9.04 came out.
This is a shame.

I really liked that page and how well it was maintained. Just curious... what parts of the guide are unadvised and unsupported? From what I can see, the only part that really should concern xbmc team is compiling xbmc from svn. The rest is just a good ubuntu linux how to. I'm not concerned that you removed the page (as I have all the information I need) but I really think you should re-instate that page unitl your "updated" wiki content is ready.

Secondly, any regular forum member would know that all the information provided by that page is littered throughout the Linux Support forum. Why make it harder for people to find until the new wiki pages are ready?

Zepp
HW : Multiple Asrock 330HT + NAS
SYS: xbmc-live 10.0
On another note:
A new version of the Alsa upgrade script is available at the ubuntu forums.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t...37&page=24

This apparently upgrades / installs alsa to 1.0.20 stable

I have not tested this yet. At your own risk ( bla bla )

Zepp
HW : Multiple Asrock 330HT + NAS
SYS: xbmc-live 10.0
For starters, "sudo wget http://IP/path/to/somefile" is about the MOST STUPID thing anyone could do on a linux system. Let alone a novice who can't make heads or tails of what they're copy/pasting. All it would have taken is someone to swap out one of those urls (it was a wiki after all) for one with a malicious script and they'd be happily building a bot net of naive XBMC users.

The main problem was that it wasn't so much a guide as it just did everything for you with no explanation as to what you were doing or warnings that it may be difficult to revert what you've done. There was way to much "do this then this then that" and not nearly enough "no we need to do this by that, here's a well commented script that performs that task." Many novice linux/xbmc users came to our forums complaining that XBMC didn't work and they couldn't get to a GUI after following "the minimal install guide in our wiki." We can't be dealing with that. The level of linux knowledge that's required to do some of the stuff that was happening in that guide correctly is pretty high up. Let alone the knowledge required to recover should a problem arise. We simply can't offer this kind of support here, there is plenty on our plate already.

Feel free to host and support your guide elsewhere, but PLEASE make it clear that it is unofficial and unsupported by team xbmc.
First of all, I accept and respiect your decision and really don't want to apply for a reconsideration.
When I noticed that today morning I also thought I will not react on that.

But I really feel I have to make some comments on AlTheKiller's notes. I will make it short.

AlTheKiller, your points are all accepted but one:
" Many novice linux/xbmc users came to our forums complaining that XBMC didn't work and they couldn't get to a GUI after following "the minimal install guide in our wiki."

The guide was working for 99,9% of the users (and there were a huge number of novice users started with), and you never had to support that! Nor you did, anyway... There was no increasement of support workload on you, but I strongly beleive a decreasement. So, your above statment is a bit offensive.

Another note: I was begging to you peronally several times for suggestions what to change and how to improve, but you never ever came down from the high horse to give some hints/ hand, or even working together on a better solution.

Again, I agree with all your other points, you were right in them.
What the hell? why was it removed?

I used that guide to get a minimal install of ubuntu 8.04 with xbmc installed. I didn't like the release version because it wasn't a true media center. It was an addon and I'd much rather follow that guide and compile it from scratch. Not to mention I used the guide to get vpdau which is NOT in the current release version. Also I have reported several bugs already that have been fixed using that and I'm glad to.

If you're gonna remove the guide because of what was in it, don't. Tell us what needed to be fixed. Removing it is not the answer for people like me who depended on that guide. Plus the downloads that were in that guide did work. I had very few issues with it. Plus it's not like it was publicly editable. Only sysops could edit it, so that arguement about the downloads part goes out the window.

Edit: for those that need it, here's the link to the last change before it was removed

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW...ldid=12597

If I were you, I would save that html page so that you can refer to it later.
Err, what the hell?! Couldn't you have at least given some warning you were going to take it down so those of use with an existing installation could grab a copy for reference?

I really don't understand this - it was a Wiki... If there were steps that didn't have enough warning, or that could have been done in a different way, why not just edit those steps?

Olympia - do you have a copy somewhere you can put into the first post so those of us with an existing install can reference it for updating etc?

Thanks,
xnappo
xnappo Wrote:Couldn't you have at least given some warning you were going to take it down so those of use with an existing installation could grab a copy for reference?

If you're quick, you can get it off of Google's cached version.
pyrates Wrote:Not to mention I used the guide to get vpdau which is NOT in the current release version.

Yes, it is.
Olympia- Thanks for being cool about it. I appreciate the work that went into the guide, however, anything that is on our wiki is generally accepted as "official". Steps like the alsa upgrade, which knowingly break apt, cause breakage down the road and reflect poorly on us. And wget xxx/*.sh; chmod +x *.sh... yikes. It's fine if you do it yourself and understand the consequences, but afterall, this is a guide for users who are lost in linux and trusting it as good advice. Like AlTheKiller said, you're welcome to host a guide elsewhere.

To everyone still wanting the guide: It's a wiki. Just look at the history. At your own risk.

TheUni
Like others I found this wiki page extremely helpful.

I have some knowledge of linux (fedora) so I didn't blindly follow all the steps. The main benefit is it covered 99% of what I needed to know in one place rather than having to hunt in forums; a couple of issues with sound I quickly solved via the forums.

It worked well, it was very effective. I hope the replacement is as good.

paul
pshepherd Wrote:I hope the replacement is as good.

Yeah, and the support as good.

xnappo
xnappo Wrote:I really don't understand this - it was a Wiki... If there were steps that didn't have enough warning, or that could have been done in a different way, why not just edit those steps?

I did, my warnings were removed or at least numbed to the point most anyone would glance over it without concern.

@olympia, I may have misspoken when I said many users came on the forums complaining their system didn't work. Thinking back, most came on the IRC channel. There were probably 3-5 per week for awhile. As for you asking me "personally several times" I only remember talking with you about it once. I described the portions I wasn't pleased with and why. I don't go following forum threads or any nonsense like that. So, if you posted in one thinking I was keeping track of it, I apologize, but there's always PM.


We will of course get a guide which we approve of up in this one's place ASAP. It will not however involve compiling anything, downloading random scripts, or hacking at config files. This level of linux has no place in our wiki, the margin for error and potential for disaster is just too great. It will instead likely be based around the new xsession file and autologin at the DM. Sure, some will want a more *stripped* build. But Team XBMC has no aspirations of providing the how to or supporting such a method.
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[LINUX] HOW-TO install XBMC for Linux on Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) and 8.10 (Intrepid)10