Sorry if I am repeating something (tried a thread search!). How exactly is that nested x session working with IceWM here? I want to have the same thing for XFCE. I have been able to get it replacing my Hildon desktop by accident after killalling the existing desktop, but I can't for the life of me get it to exist inside of a window.

Could we get a login manager to appear in an xnest, which I believe would make choosing desktop environments (and their respective window managers) super easy? For example, Ubuntu has a default menu item for "New Login in a Window", which runs gdmflexiserver --xnest.

I've answered that question several times, most recently in this thread. If my answer over there isn't good enough, join in the discussion over there 'till you get it working.

Well. I've recently added some interesting things into my installer for Deblet. First off, an installer that runs on tablet with an actual GUI for most questions and stuff (using zenity).

During the last nights I've implemented another interesting thing, which i'll just write as the steps it's done in the installer..:

* Utilities->Install Deblet (icon, woo)
* Select Deblet environment to install - it would be possible to have specific chroot environments where you could "upgrade" to bootable by apt-get install nit-env-stskeeps for instance
* Select Debian mirror
* Where would you like to install Deblet to?
* Simple but slow - A file on one of my FAT filesystem memory cards
* Advanced but fast (recommended) - To a partition on one of my memory cards

What's interesting is obviously the Simple but slow option

Next steps:

* Which MMC would you like to place the image file on? (select mmc1, mmc2)
* Do you already have a file /media/mmcX/deblet.img?
* Yes, don't create an image file
* No, please create an image file

If yes:
* How big would you like the image file to be? (choices 1024,1536,2048,3072,4096mb)

* Would you like to:
* Mount the file /media/mmcX/deblet.img as ext2
* Make a ext2 filesystem in /media/mmcX/deblet.img
* Mount the file /media/mmcX/deblet.img as ext3
* Make a ext3 filesystem in /media/mmcX/deblet.img

* Standard procedure from here on, where would you like to get Deblet packages from.. debootstrapping, installing environment..

At finish, which is the interesting part:

* Making /media/mmcX/deblet.img.linuxrc - wait, what's this? It's a boot script that boot menu (my latest patches towards fanoush's bootmenu with lbt's bootmenu.d idea, linuxrc and loopback device in /dev) can boot. It'll go in, mount the deblet.img file loopback and just start up the traditional deblet boot phase - like it was run off a partition!

* Copy in a busybox_mount (newest version that actually does loopback compared to initfs one....) to /media/mmcX. I know this is a noexec filesystem (since it's vfat)

* Set up a bootmenu.d boot item, that inserts Deblet-in-a-file on mmcblkXp1 item in bootmenu. It mounts mmcblkXp1 as vfat, without noexec, so we can run busybox_mount in deblet.img.linuxrc (linuxrc also makes sure it is mount -o remount,noexec afterwards). It also tells boot menu to load ext2/ext3 modules depending on which image type was selected

* Like with normal install, refresh_bootmenu.d, and reboot. Voila, Deblet-in-a-file.

So, how is this interesting for Easy Debian?

Well, obviously this process can have default answers so it's maybe a 1-2 step process (select debian mirror, select MMC to install to).

What's also interesting is that we can have a simple way to insert scripts in Maemo that allows for chrooted Deblet easily - both in file and partition. And if a user wants to boot into "real" Deblet with same setup, it's a matter of rebooting and using the bootmenu item that points to the same Deblet image as he's chrooting into. It being Deblet, also gives us the infrastructure to add specific packages supporting chroot environments and easy installation.

Current problems with installer:
* Restricted to vfat when it's deblet-in-a-file - and I'm not sure when booted that it's possible to access the files on the MMC "outside" the .img file
* Should also be possible to install into a directory on a ext2/ext3 partition with same way of having a two-stage linuxrc like deblet-in-a-file has it

Future ideas:

* Something alike Personal Menu in Maemo that retrieves Debian menu items and automatically has them with wrappers to run them in the chroot and show in Maemo.

Any comments are welcome.

Interest in the Easy Debian project has definitely waned; I'll probably do one more release of the .deb file with fixed-up scripts before the Maemo Summit, and, along with the .deb, one more version of the big image file with all the results of peoples' feedback put into it so that it will be the best install I can make. Hopefully after that, Stskeeps and co. will smoothly transition everyone over to deblet.

Have you considered uploading Easy-Debian to Maemo-Extras? Ok, it may not be the most polished software around, but it's not that experimental. I'm sure you'd get a lot more interest that way...

Well, it's not a case of "polished" so much as it isn't something you just click on in App Manager to "give it a whirl" ... You have to know what you're getting into... On the other hand, with no dependencies anymore, perhaps I should add it to Extras and let people vote with their downloads...?

Sounds like prudent thing to do. It can't hurt.

Definitely put it into the extras. I for one just got on board with it & haven't had a problem yet. Would hate to see it go away ;(

I don't think it's "going away" so much as merging with Deblet.. The Deblet project is making it's installer slowly allow the same kinds of options as Qole's as far as the Image File is concerned.. Qole needs to keep a package around that installs the Chroot scripts though.. those are vital.

Also need some way for Qole to add the 1 required debian script (xpice) into deblet where ever it gets installed to.. (maybe prompt the user, qole?).

Qole's easy debian is unbelievably useful.. if anything is lacking in the debian side I can always boot into Diablo; and fireup debian over the top of it.. and just use maemo for the missing pieces. But at the same time.. maintaining two different debian images seems a little redundant.

I have been tested Gnome with both deblet and easy-debian (using ext2 partitions)

When i was using Gnome Deblet i had 90-110 mb swap, and it kept lagging and rebooting all the time. But with Easy Debian I was able to use Gnome and KDE 4.1 without loosing my mind. And i did not even have a SWAP. Why? Does anybody know why easy debian is so much faster?