Tutorial - Installing PeppermintOS Three on an Acer Aspire One AOA110L ZG5

[CrlyWrly]

Cheers Mark :-)

I have also left out Thunderbird, because I know that this computer's owner won't use it - been there, done that, banged head against wall. 

(ASIDE: I do sympathise, actually.  Thunderbird has got awfully clever for it's own boots and I tend to use Seamonkey on my Mac. I do like Lightning Calender though - brilliant.  Shame Mozilla ditched it as the separate Sunbird app - the Lightning add-on doesn't seem to work as well on Seamonkey as on Thunderbird.)

The last time my Laptop Man actually enjoyed using a computer, rather than regarding it as a necessary evil, was when he had a Mac at work some years ago.  If there are Linux apps that look and behave like Mac apps then I might be able to get out of being his unofficial PA and tame geek a bit more often :-)

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

It's possible to get Peppermint (or any other Linux) to have a VERY similar "look and feel" to OS X if that's what you want.

You can move the bottom panel to the top .. and install a dock at the bottom (such as docky or cairo-dock)

As in this pic that I've just grabbed from the Peppermint forum


click here for full-size screenshot

As for Applications .. which Mac applications are you taking about ?

[CrlyWrly]

Just reinstalling - but before I did so, I found a dock app in the Software Manager called AWN, noticed it mentioned here:

http://www.wikihow.com/Install-and-Configure-Linux-Mint

I didn't get as far as setting it up.

It was the inclusion of Thunderbird in the list of installs that got me thinking about this, ie. that a Mac lookee-likee desktop and apps, eg. Mail, might help him to feel like he was back in his comfort zone.

He uses the Yahoo Mail web interface (yukk!) at the moment for a personal account and I have set it up so he also receives emails from a "business" account too (can't recall if that was by pop or forwarding without checking).  I have tidied it up as much as possible with "smart folders" and filters but it is still not very user-friendly.  Gmail is out of the question in terms of the web mail interface as he likes it even less than Yahoo.

I think maybe I should just have a look at the email apps that come with Peppermint to see if any take his fancy.

Possibly a Mac-type desktop might be enough to make him feel at home to begin with.

I found a couple of other apps that will be familiar - VLC in your list of installs and Audacity - so this is all heading in the right direction :-)

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

I've never tried AWN .. and Cairo Dock is probably the closest to the OS X dock .. see the screenshots here:
http://glx-dock.org/
(yes I know it says glx-dock .. but I think they've recently changed the name .. it's listed as cairo-dock in the Synaptic package manager (and Software Manager) in Peppermint.

There are also a load of plugins for it .. so you might also want to install cairo-dock-plug-ins

There are a few tweaks that need to be done in Peppermint before Cairo Dock will work properly .. so gimme a shout when you're ready

[SenZen]

I only signed up to say thank you, my ZG5 A110 was unusable ever since I bought it, it came with Windows XP (what where they thinking??). I followed your instructions and everything works great. Greetings from Mexico!

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Hi SenZen, and welcome to the  forum

Glad to hear it helped revive your AA1

Yeh, I've tried an AA1 with XP (not my doing) and it was like "swimming in honey" .. only less sweet.

[CrlyWrly]

Another BIG thank you to Mark Greaves for all the tutorials and personal help that made it possible to install Peppermint on a HiGrade VA250 - and also with all the help getting the right USB wifi adapter and codes to connect successfully with a Netgear DG834GT router. 

Definitely well-deserving of the "Hero" status - added a couple of "Karma points" with that "applaud" button under your avatar:-)

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Heh .. you're more than welcome, and thanks for the kind words

[brian grieves]

Mark
Recently reinstalled P3 after the original install began refusing Pword.
This install seems largely Ok - but I got this message (re; below) when  authenticating the Syn Packet Man.trying to apply your Jupiter fix (the battery was not holding charge even when shutdown). Is there a simple answer?...and it will have to be simple!....

E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem.
E: _cache->open() failed, please report.[

Brian







or=Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) link=topic=10313.msg76525#msg76525 date=1343691976]
Stage 11 (optional) ..

Installing the Jupiter power management application

This is an optional install, but I recommend it for the Acer Aspire One, as when you switch from mains power to battery power, the Jupiter panel applet will switch your CPU into power saving mode, which will make your battery last longer.

Open a terminal and run

Code: [Select]

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter

then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update

then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get install jupiter

Now REBOOT (to load the application) .. you'll then see a new icon by the clock that looks like a lightening bolt .. when you unplug the mains power, this icon should change to reflect it has set the CPU to "Power Saving" mode, when you plug it back in, it should switch to "Maximum Performance" mode.

You can also switch modes manually by clicking the lightning bolt icon, and selectont the "Performance" mode.

Be aware .. with certain Acer Aspire One BIOS versions, the switching to "Power Saving" isn't 100% accurate .. so when you unplug your AA1 from the mains to run on battery for an extended period, visually check the icon has changed to "Power Saving" mode, if it hasn't, do it manually.
[/quote]

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Have you tried running:

Code: [Select]

sudo dpkg --configure -a

then trying again?


If that doesn't clear the issue, let me know and we'll clear out the package cache, and apt lists.

.

[brian grieves]

Stage 11 (optional) ..

Installing the Jupiter power management application

This is an optional install, but I recommend it for the Acer Aspire One, as when you switch from mains power to battery power, the Jupiter panel applet will switch your CPU into power saving mode, which will make your battery last longer.

Open a terminal and run

Code: [Select]

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/jupiter

then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update

then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get install jupiter

Now REBOOT (to load the application) .. you'll then see a new icon by the clock that looks like a lightening bolt .. when you unplug the mains power, this icon should change to reflect it has set the CPU to "Power Saving" mode, when you plug it back in, it should switch to "Maximum Performance" mode.

You can also switch modes manually by clicking the lightning bolt icon, and selectont the "Performance" mode.

Be aware .. with certain Acer Aspire One BIOS versions, the switching to "Power Saving" isn't 100% accurate .. so when you unplug your AA1 from the mains to run on battery for an extended period, visually check the icon has changed to "Power Saving" mode, if it hasn't, do it manually.

[brian grieves]

The code seemed to go OK but on rebooting the same error message appeared when I tried to update system.....

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

OK, run these commands in sequence:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get clean

then:

Code: [Select]

sudo mv -v /var/lib/apt/lists /var/lib/apt/lists.old

then:

Code: [Select]

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/apt/lists/partial

then:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get clean

then:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update

then try:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get install --reinstall jupiter

and let us know if there are any errors

.

[brian grieves]

Got the same error message.
 dpkg interrupted..e tc.
Ran the suggested script - no success.
 Is this down to an error I made in the installation do you think? I can easily re-install. There is nothing at stake.
Brain

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

That's up to you .. but it's probably just something wrong with the PPA repository, so try this first.

Let's clear the cache/lists again .. remove the PPA, then just download the Jupiter .deb and install it manually.

Open menu>System Tools>Synaptic Package Manager

In Synaptic, go to Settings>Repositories>Other Software (tab)

Scroll down the list till you find 2 lines that start with:- http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/jupiter/

Now one at a time, (ignoring the ticks) highlight those lines and Click the "Remove" button.

Once they're gone .. close Synaptic.

Open a terminal and run:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get remove --purge jupiter

(that command may fail if it's not installed, but that's fine .. just carry on below)
then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get clean

then

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sudo mv -v /var/lib/apt/lists /var/lib/apt/lists.old2

then

Code: [Select]

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/apt/lists/partial

then

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update

Now if there were NO errors .. run these commands:

Code: [Select]

mkdir ~/jupiter-install

then

Code: [Select]

cd ~/jupiter-install

then

Code: [Select]

wget [url]https://launchpad.net/~webupd8team/+archive/jupiter/+files/jupiter_0.1.9-1%7Ewebupd8%7E0%7Enatty_all.deb[/url]

then

Code: [Select]

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Now just to  be sure there are still no errors, run:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update

again .. any errors let me know

Then REBOOT to test Jupiter autostarts.

.