Quirky6 "first taste"

The original concept of Quirky is introduced here:
http://bkhome.org/quirky

Quirky 5.99 is a "first taste" of the "6.x" series, with a host of radical new concepts, introduced here:
http://bkhome.org/news/?viewDetailed=00007
http://bkhome.org/news/?viewDetailed=00011
http://bkhome.org/news/?viewDetailed=00013

By "first taste", I mean this is a pre-release for those who are eager to find out what this Quirky6 is all about. Yes, the download is only 93MB, and yes, it has a full suite of applications, tools and drivers (and I mean full). Quirky6 is forked from Puppy Linux, and as-of-now has a lot of "Puppy stuff" that is inappropriate. Also this first-taste has some apps that don't work.
5.99 is an unofficial upload for enthusiasts -- the first public release will be 6.0, which may still have issues, which may be fixed in 6.0.1, etc.

Important: Quirky is my fun project to explore new ideas, and I will not get into heavy support. Nor will there be alpha/beta/RC releases before a "final". Enthusiasts are encouraged to setup their own support network, perhaps a forum (or forum thread?)

Download and install

Quirky 5.99 is deployed as a compressed image for an 8GB Flash drive. To install, just download and write it to the Flash drive. Here are the steps (you must be running Linux or Unix):

Download four files: gdisk.gz, quirky6-5.99-8gb.img.xz, sha1sums.txt, write-quirky-image-to-drive.gz
Verify download. Open a terminal window where you have downloaded the files, and execute this:
```
# sha1sum *
```
...check against contents of sha1sums.txt

Expand these two files only:

# gunzip gdisk.gz
# gunzip write-quirky-image-to-drive.gz
# chmod 755 gdisk
# chmod 755 write-quirky-image-to-drive

...don't forget that "chmod" step!
Run script to install. Plug in a spare 8GB (or greater) Flash drive (so far I have only tested a USB stick, but I expect other types such as SD-card to work):
```
# ./write-quirky-image-to-drive
```
...this script will ask questions, then write the image to the drive.

The future

Please go to my News blog page for progress reports and announcements of future releases:
http://bkhome.org/news/
Please do not post bug reports! I know there are bugs! General feedback and suggestions though, are most welcome.

Development

If you feel motivated to compile apps for Quirky6, go for it! Important though, there is no 'mesa' or 'dbus'. Note, any of these could be added, for example, 'mesa' could be compiled (I recommend version 8.0.5 for maximum compatibility with older PCs), and 'xorg-server' recompiled (see sources link below) to support openGL, and the Xorg upgrade made available as a PET.

How to setup Quirky6 for compiling

Bootup Quirky 5.99 from the Flash drive, connect to Internet. Then:

Download devx_quirky_5.99.sfs.
Check the integrity against sha1sums.txt:
```
# sha1sum devx_quirky_5.99.sfs
```
Install SFS.
Just click on the SFS file in the window manager, choose to view contents,
open a terminal, copy the contents to the Flash drive:
```
# cp -a -f --remove-destination * /
```

...that's it, you are ready to compile!

Note, Quirky6 does not have a layered filesystem like Puppy Linux, so SFS files cannot be installed as is done in Puppy. The above-described method is a permanent installation.

Sources

Quirky was compiled in T2 (http://t2-project.org). All of the sources are here:
http://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/quirky6/sources/

Legal

Disclaimer: I have created Quirky6 and documentation in good faith, however usage and consequences thereof are entirely your responsibility. I do not accept any responsibility for issues arising, and you use Quirky6 with this understanding.
Licences: Quirky6 is under various GPL licences, mostly GPL2 and GPL3. There is some non-GPL but free to use, such as driver firmware and Adobe Flash player.
Ownership: I have copyright where ever stated, and claim where ever there is no other ownership statement. The name "Quirky" in relation to a Linux distribution is copyrighted to me under common-law. The Quirky logo may only be used to represent Quirky, not for any personal or other purpose.

Regards,
Barry Kauler
December 8, 2013