LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 review

LuBu OpenMagic is an enhancement of the Solaris OpenStep 1.1-sparc desktop enviroment. It is not a rewrite, nor is it a re-release

License: Free To Use But Restricted File size: 18202K Developer: Luke Th. Bullock

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LuBu OpenMagic is an enhancement of the Solaris OpenStep 1.1-sparc desktop enviroment.

It is not a rewrite, nor is it a re-release, but is a package that enhances and improves (and includes) Solaris OpenStep 1.1.

LuBu OpenMagic is only available for the SPARC architecture.

LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 is a heavily modified version of the Lighthouse OpenStep 1.1
release for the Sparc platform. It is not a theme, nor a reconfiguration, but
an almost pure rewrite of non-binary files (runtime configurations, application
definitions, enviroment variables, and many functions). In some parts entire functions
have been replaced features have been added. This applies primarily to the Wrapper
function which has been entirely rewritten to use the LuBu OpenMagic Alert System
(aka: LOAS). This is a completely new feature which among many other things also
produces error messages in human readable form, with the actual cause of the error.
This makes taking countermeasures and avoiding future errors easier. The default
application definitions provided with OpenStep 1.1 were the cause of countless bugs,
and I have spendt a great amount of time optimizing the default defs. There are still
a few bugs for which I have found no workaround, but non are critical.

OpenMagic 1.0 will only run on Sparc CPU's since it is based on Solaris OpenStep 1.1 for Sparc. There is not, nor will there ever be, a release for any other CPU. Since
LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 is based on the binary Solaris OpenStep release, it remains a
Solaris Sparc product. There are no known binaries for other CPU's or operating
systems. It does however fully integrate the Solaris Operating Enviroment, Common
Desktop Enviroment, and any other enviroments that run on Solaris Sparc. This makes it alot easier to integrate applications into the OpenStep enviroment without the need of porting.

LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 is packaged as a pure gzipped tar file, intended for unpacking
from the root directory (ie: / ). This means that the default installation directory for OpenStep should be /usr/openstep - it is importent that this rule is followed, else the installation will fail and the distribution will not function at all. It is however possible to extract to a different directory and create a symlink to /usr/openstep. Just remember to copy the etc/dt/config files to their desired location (/etc/dt/config). This is needed as there are some additional files included in order for LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 to function correctly:

1. A modified /etc/dt/config/Xservers file with -dpi 72
2. Configuration files for dtlogin (in /etc/dt/config/*.os|*.xpm)
3. Icons for /cdrom and /floppy (directories will be created if missing)

For an optimal installation:

$ su -
# cd /
# gtar zxvf /path/to/lubu_openwb-1.0-sparc.tgz

Make sure that all the files are extracted, and that existing files ARE overwritten! This will NOT reduce system security or in any other way reduce system performance.

Make sure all files in /usr/openstep are owned by bin:bin else you will loose alot of functionality! There is NO NEED for ANY of the files to be owned by root (other than possibly Preferences.app/set_password which is initially broken due to a missing library - see KNOWN_BUGS).

If you must chown /usr/openstep, then it is a good idea to cd to /usr before running chown -R in case you are using a non-standard chown. Worst case scenario is that a chown -R from / chowns your entire system bin:bin! Better safe than sorry.

# cd /usr
# chown -R bin:bin openstep/

If you extracted OpenStep to a different location, then cd to that location before running chown

# cd /path/to/your/installation
# chown -R bin:bin ../openstep (provided you actually are in the openstep directory)

Make sure the following line is present in /etc/dt/config/Xservers:
:0 Local local_uid@console root /usr/openwin/bin/Xsun :0 -nobanner -dpi 72
(this is however included in the distribution files and should be installed upon
extraction). For optimal performance it is best to run your display at -depth 24 -dpi 72

This file (Xservers) should be -rwx-xr-x otherwise run
# chmod 755 /etc/dt/config/Xservers

It is vital that dtlogin is restarted after installation. Exit your windowmanager, login as root to the system console, and run the following commands (as root):

# sh /etc/init.d/dtlogin stop
# sh /etc/init.d/dtlogin start

Now log out from the console and allow the dtlogin loginwindow to reappear.
Select "LuBu OpenMagic 1.0" from the session menu. Log in and enjoy!

It is however possible to run LuBu OpenMagic 1.0 without CDE installed, or without running it through dtlogin by simply starting the file /usr/openstep/bin/openstep:

$ sh /usr/openstep/bin/openstep

though you might loose some valuable configurations using this method.
It has not as of yet been tested thouroughly.