Monthly Archives: May 2017

Android, exton, Exton Linux distributions, LINUX, Raspberry systems

RaspAnd Marshmallow 6.0.1 Build 170521 for Raspberry Pi 3/2 – now with Google Play Store, Aptoide, Aptoide TV, Kodi 17.1 and SnapTube

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NEWS 170521 about RaspAnd Marshmallow 6.0.1
I’ve made a new extra updated version of RaspAnd Marshmallow. In this version I’ve included Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!), Aptoide 8.2.1.1 (for installing new apps), Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps) and SnapTube 4.17.0.8739. (Using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect sound and video quality). Google Play Store is of course also pre-installed.

Raspberry Pi
RaspAnd Marshmallow runs very well on the new Raspberry Pi 3 computer. The system runs also on the “old” Raspberry Pi 2 computer.

How do I install RaspAnd?
Use Win32 Disk Imager in Windows or the dd-command in Linux.

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager?
Well, until now you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge).

About Aptoide App Manager and Google Play Store
I had to remove Aptoide in build 160915. I could not get Aptoide to work properly in that RaspAnd build. In RaspAnd Marshmallow 170521 Aptoide App Manager works very well – see this screenshot. Google Play Store works very well in both versions – see this screenshot. I.e.: A lot of apps can be found and installed.

YouTube performance
YouTube works alright in RaspAnd Marshmallow Build 170521. You can watch almost all videos. I.e. normally you will hear the sound very well, but some of the movies won’t play or play very slow with strange colors. If you want to run YouTube with (almost) perfect video and sound quality you must use Kodi 17.1, which is pre-installed. Example of perfect video quality in Kodi 17.1.

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Add-ons. Most important is that the YouTube Add-on is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying.

Spotify
Spotify works very well in RaspAnd Marshmallow. Just log in and play your favorite music! Watch this screenshot.

Screenshots
Boot animation during the start of RaspAnd
Screenshot 1 – Google Play Store running
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s new Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Aptoide running
Screenshot 4 – Kodi 17.1 running
Screenshot 5 – Example of perfect video quality while running Kodi 17.1

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Android, exton, Exton Linux distributions, LINUX, Raspberry systems

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2 – Build 170519 – with Kodi 17.1, Aptoide TV, VLC, SnapTube and Termux

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NEWS 170519 ABOUT RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2
I have finally managed to make a version of RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, which can be installed to a Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) in Windows 10 using Win32 Disk Imager. You can alternatively (of course) use the dd-command in a Linux system. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-nougat-7.1.2-kodi-snaptube-aptoide-tv-termux-win32diskimager-install-652mb-170519.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-nougat-7.1.2-kodi-snaptube-aptoide-tv-termux-7400mb-170519.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
(Change X to b, d or…).

What’s the point with Win32 Disk Imager?
Well, until now you had to have some basic knowledge about Linux to be able to install RaspAnd 7.1.2. Now you don’t need any special knowledge at all! (Just some basic computer knowledge). When you use Win32 Disk Imager it will look like this.

MORE ABOUT RaspAnd
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170519 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2. I have included the following apps:
1) Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
2) Firefox 53.0.2
3) Spotify 8.4.3.479 (working very very well)
4) Rotation Control Pro 1.1.9 (which you may or may not need)
6) AIDA64 1.46 (for exploring your Rpi system)
7) Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps)
8) ES File Explorer Pro 1.0.8 working very well
9) Termux 0.48 (terminal with which you can use Apt to install certain programs)
10) SnapTube 4.17.0.8739 (with sound, but no video will play. However, using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect sound and video quality).

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

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Android, exton, Exton Linux distributions, LINUX

RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2 – Build 170516 – with Kodi 17.1, Aptoide TV, SnapTube and Termux

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ABOUT
RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2 Build 170516 is an Android 7.1.2 Nougat system which can run on Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2. I have included the following apps:
1) Kodi 17.1 (latest version which allows users to play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the Internet. YouTube is enabled and working very well!)
2) Firefox 53.0.2
3) Spotify 8.4.3.479 (working very very well)
4) Rotation Control Pro 1.1.9 (which you may or may not need)
6) AIDA64 1.46 (for exploring your Rpi system)
7) Aptoide TV 3.2.1 (for installing new apps)
8) ES File Explorer Pro 1.0.8 working very well
9) Termux 0.48 (terminal with which you can use Apt to install certain programs)
10) SnapTube 4.17.0.8739 (with sound, but no video. However, using SnapTube you can download videos/movies from YouTube and replay them in Windows or Linux with perfect video quality).

ABOUT Android 7.1.2
Version 7.1.2 is the latest Android system by now. Released on April 8, 2017. The system is used in very few mobile phones (as far as I know).

ABOUT KODI
Kodi (an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more) works very well in RaspAnd. You can enable a lot of Add-ons. Most important is that the YouTube Add-on is enabled by default and that it works very well. I.e. both the sound and the video performance when running YouTube in Kodi is satisfying.

Kernel
Kernel 4.4.35-exton-v7+ is used in RaspAnd Nougat Build 170516.

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 – Nougat boot animation (which you must see during the boot. If not, the installation was unsuccessful)
Screenshot 2 – RaspAnd’s Desktop
Screenshot 3 – Kodi running
Screenshot 4 – Kodi running (choosing Add-ons)
Screenshot 5 – ES File Explorer running
Screenshot 6 – Spotify running
Screenshot 7 – AIDA64 running
Screenshot 8 – SnapTube running
Screenshot 9 – Termux running
Screenshot 10 – Settings running (choosing apps to start)

Please note that the colors in the screenshots are not accurate. The actual screen color is more like in this picture taken with my mobile phone.

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exton, Exton Linux distributions, LINUX

ExTiX 17.5, Build 170508, with KDE 4.16.12 together with KDE Frameworks 5.31.0, Refracta Tools and kernel 4.11.0-1-exton

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I have made a new version of ExTiX – The Ultimate Linux System. I call it ExTiX 17.5 KDE Live DVD. (The previous version was 17.0 from 161221). The best thing with ExTiX 17.5 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Tools (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu system. So easy that a ten year child can do it!

ABOUT
ExTiX 17.5 KDE DVD 64 bit is based on Debian 8.7 Jessie/Debian 9 Stretch and Ubuntu 17.04. The original system includes the Desktop Environment Unity (Ubuntu). After removing Unity I have installed KDE Frameworks 5.31.0 with KDE 4.16.12. KDE Frameworks are 60 addon libraries to Qt which provide a wide variety of commonly needed functionality in mature, peer reviewed and well tested libraries with friendly licensing terms.

The system language is ENGLISH.

Used KERNEL
My special kernel 4.11.0-1-exton corresponding Kernel.org’s kernel 4.11-rc8.

What’s new in Linux kernel 4.11?

NEWS ABOUT ExTiX 17.5 Build 170508 with the KDE Desktop environment and Refracta Tools
1. ExTiX KDE is based on Ubuntu 17.04 Zesty Zapus. KDE 4.16.12 is used as Desktop environment. All packages have been updated to the latest version by 170508. Kernel 4.11.0-1-exton is used. (Kernel.org‘s kernel 4.11-rc8).
2. I have removed Google Chrome. It is now possible to watch Netflix movies in Firefox.
3. I have installed BlueGriffon Web Editor. BlueGriffon is a new WYSIWYG content editor for the World Wide Web. Powered by Gecko, the rendering engine of Firefox, it’s a modern and robust solution to edit Web pages in conformance to the latest Web Standards. Only to be compared with Dreamweaver. (In my opinion).
4. Other included important/useful packages are: LibreOffice, Thunderbird, GParted, Brasero, SMPlayer, GCC and other compilation tools so that you can install packages from source. Furthermore “all” multimedia codecs. Everything the average Linux user could wish for I would say.
5. The best thing with ExTiX 17.5 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Tools (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu system. Very easy to do.

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – KDE 4.16.12 – NetworkManager running
Screenshot 2 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – Synaptic running
Screenshot 3 of ExTiX 17.5 Desktop – Samba running

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exton, Exton Linux distributions, LINUX

MeX 64 bit Linux based on Ubuntu 16.04.2 with Cinnamon 3.2.8 and kernel 4.10.8 – Build 170501

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NEWS/CHANGES 170501 in MeX
Mex Linux is no longer based on Linux Mint. MeX Build 170501 is based only on Debian 8.7 and Ubuntu 16.04.2. I have replaced the original kernel with “my” special kernel 4.10.0-19-exton (4.10.8). All packages in MeX Linux have been upgraded to the latest version by 170501. This version of MeX uses Cinnamon 3.2.8. Linux Mint 18.1 also uses Cinnamon 3.2.8 as Desktop environment.

MORE MeX NEWS 170501
1. The MeX ISO is now a ISO-hybrid, which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a USB pen drive.
2. Another big improvement is that MeX now can run from RAM. Use Boot alternative 5 (load to RAM). When the system has booted up you can eject the disc (DVD)/USB stick. You’ll need at least 2 GB RAM to run MeX that way. The ISO file is of only 980 MB so MeX will run superfast from RAM!
3. I have replaced Google Chrome with Firefox. Google Chrome is no longer needed to be able to run Netflix in Linux.
4. The best thing with this new MeX build – Create your own installable Ubuntu 16.04.2 Live DVD with Refracta tools (pre-installed)! The whole “remasterprocess” is so simple that a 10 year old child can do it.

WHY NOT Ubuntu 17.04?
Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS (Long Term Support) is supported by Ubuntu until April 2021. Ubuntu 16.10 is supported until July 2017 and Ubuntu 17.04 until January 2018.

Important about Refracta
You can use the Refracta tools (pre-installed in MeX Build 170501) to create your own installable Ubuntu Live DVD once you have installed MeX to hard drive. I mean change everything and then create a whole new Ubuntu 16.04.2 live system. When you start Refracta it will look like this. You don’t even have to install MeX to hard drive before you can use the Refracta tools. If you have plenty of RAM you can create a new (your own!) Ubuntu system while running MeX from DVD or a USB stick. Please note that the whole Refracta process (creating your new ISO) will only take 5 – 10 min! You can then install VirtualBox in MeX so you can test run your own created new Ubuntu ISO. Or do it in Windows. Btw: You can do the whole thing in VirtualBox. I mean install MeX in VirtualBox, change everything, create a new Ubuntu 16.04.2 system using Refracta tools and transfer your new ISO to your server with FileZilla (sudo apt-get install filezilla).

Screenshots
Screenshot 1 – Refracta tools running
Screenshot 2 – Spotify running (install Spotify with sudo apt-get install spotify-client)
Screenshot 3 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with Samba
Screenshot 4 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with Refracta2USB running
Screenshot 5 – Cinnamon 3.2.8 Desktop with SMPlayer running
Screenshot 6 – Firefox with Netflix running
Screenshot 7 – Boot screen live
Screenshot 8 – Boot screen Grub

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