System information
Based on: Debian Trixie (stable)
Version number: 4.1
DE: JWM
WM: JWM
Processor architecture: 64bit
Disk usage: average 8 GB
Ram usage: average 320 MB
Kernel: 6.12.96+deb13-amd64
Icon theme: besgnulinux-frame-dark
System theme: bes-gradient-dark
Installer: Calamares
Grub installation: UEFI and BIOS
Newly added
Flatpak isn't something I particularly prefer, but it's installed by default in version 4.1 due to high user demand. I've created a tool to make Flatpak easier to use. With this tool, you can search for packages in the Flatpak repository, install packages, and uninstall packages. It's not limited to that; you can also update the repository, get a list of installed packages, troubleshoot bugs, and run installed packages from a single window. If you wish, you can install flatpakref files downloaded from the Flatpak repository using this tool or by right-clicking the file. In short, this tool will easily handle many tasks related to Flatpak. Actually, I created this tool years ago, but it wasn't very usable. Since Flatpak is installed in version 4.1, it became necessary to make this tool more user-friendly. Before using this tool, update the repository using the "Repo update" button so it's ready to use.
The second innovation was in sound management. As you know, Pavucontrol was previously replaced by Pasytray. This time, Pasytray has been replaced by Mate Media, which I find more user-friendly. Mate Media is very similar to the Pavucontrol tool. It's a lighter, smoother-running sound control tool that does its job well. I guess it's because I liked this software, but I made the volume tool on the panel more usable. Visually it got better, and also a Pulseaudio refresh feature was added in case there’s a possible sound issue.
The third innovation was made to the media player. VLC, a player not included in any previous Besgnulinux versions, has been made the default player in this version. In my tests of various players, I can say that VLC uses fewer resources than the others. While VLC was the most resource-intensive player in previous versions, this time it stands out with its minimal resource usage. Other players like MPV, Smplayer, Haruna, Kmplayer, Mplayer GUI, Parole, and Celluloid failed this time. I was surprised that the MPV player used more resources than VLC. However, it's important to remember that things can change with software updates. QMPlay2 is the second player I would recommend; it's very feature-rich and quite useful. Those who prefer QMPlay2 can install it with a single click using a third-party software tool.
A special method has been created for the 20 most used social media platforms in the world. Clicking the "Social" icon on the desktop will bring up shortcut files for all platforms, which can then be removed. This allows you to easily access social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube from your desktop. Additionally, a dedicated menu tab has been created for these platforms, allowing you to access them from there as well.
The newly added package is the Gtkhash software. With this software, you can obtain the hash value of everything on your system, including ISO files. Obtaining these hash values is especially necessary for verifying files downloaded from the web for security reasons.
For various needs, 20 tasks have been added to the Thunar right-click context menu. These added tasks are not all visible at once; they appear when you right-click on various files.
A separate font editor was made for JWM for users' convenience. With this tool, you can easily change JWM's (not the system's) font and font size.
The USB printer has been changed. Mintstick was added instead of the Rosa imagewriter. I used to prefer Rosa writer because it recognized the file with a right-click, but it doesn't get updated much. That's why Mintstick, which does its job well that most of us know, was adapted to the system.
The image manager now has a feature to extract images from animated GIFs. So, 11 tasks have been added to the image manager.
Updated tools
- There are two output managers, one is full screen and the other is in a small window. A feature was added that changes the background images in slideshow mode as a screensaver, with adjustable timing.
- The Conky control tool has been updated. An issue where Conky would sometimes move behind the background image and cause transparency problems has been fixed.
- The screen recorder I added to the Screenshot tool has been updated. The sound level is automatically set to 30 during recording.
- A search software icon has been added to the menu to find and run apps.
- The theme color changing tool has been updated, or rather, renewed. Users can see a screenshot with a different color from the tool.
- The Window Control tool has been updated.
- The third-party software tool has been updated.
- The issue of the reload process sometimes not working at system startup has been resolved. This problem was causing the icons not to refresh.
- All background images used for the system itself have been changed.
- My latest Frame icon set has been updated and is now the default system icon set.
- The previous flat system theme has been supplemented with new, non-flat themes – dark and light – which have been set as the default.
- The Qemu virtual machine, which I call a virtual machine, has been updated. You can test ISO files, install them, and run the installed file.
- I didn't really like the kernel in version 4.0, so this time I was more selective and built the system on the kernel I thought was most suitable.
- The menu font was set to monospace because it looks clearer.
It's worth mentioning one point: In every release, existing software is tested against its counterparts. Video players, web browsers, file managers, text editors, audio managers, background processes, and others undergo repeated testing with each release. Therefore, there's no guarantee that something that works well in one version will work well in another. For this reason, Besgnulinux never hesitates to perform these rigorous and demanding tests. Because our goal is to use a user-friendly, stable, and trouble-free operating system. Besgnulinux is based on Debian Stable for this reason.
Some of the installed software
LibreOffice (included in this version with all its tools), Brave browser, Flatpak, Touchpad Indicator (also touchegg), Youtube downloader, Uget, Deluge, Sylpheed, VLC, Guvcview, Synaptic, Network editor, Viewnior...
Many more improvements were made to the system. These improvements were especially focused on lightness, stability, and usability.
For example, the image preview plugin for Thunar is ruthless with system resource usage. A script was made to prevent excessive resource use for this.
The background image viewer was removed. It was made healthier manually.
Another example is the Debian Bookworm and Bullseye repositories, which have been enabled. The reason for enabling these repositories is that some older computers lack Nvidia drivers. This allows them to install drivers up to Nvidia version 390. Some older computers may not work with the current kernel or may fail to log on. This is a general problem unrelated to Besgnulinux. Another reason for the login failure could be some minor errors the system detects in the graphics card. In such a case, after passing the BIOS screen, you can try logging on using the 'nomodeset' option from the screen that appears.
If the RAM size in your machine is very low, disable the 'Desktop' option in the settings. That way, you'll gain about 50-60 MB of memory.
Let me give a little warning. JWM system files (xml) are very sensitive. Even a tiny mistake in these files can cause the system to crash and boot back to the login screen. Also, these files are specifically configured for Besgnulinux. So, if you're not familiar with the JWM session, I suggest not messing with the JWM system files.
After touching on these details, you can download and try out or install the Besgnulinux 4.1 version, carefully prepared from start to finish and, as always, tested with various tests, from the link below. The most important thing for a developer is user feedback. So don’t hesitate to give your feedback.
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