Slint64-14.2.1.2 will come soon. Translations of the new messages in it requested.
 

Hello,

Slint64-14.2.1.2 is coming.

A testing ISO is available. The "slint-testing" repository is here:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/

Must read:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...EADME-14.2.1.2
I won't elaborate on all the changes, they are listed here:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/doc/New

Most added software will benefit mostly to blind and visually impaired users, some of them can be of interest for sighted and Slackware users.

Slint64-14.2.1.2 staying fully compatible with Slackware64-14.2, the only caveat is the dependencies. They are fully documented though in:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...g/PACKAGES.TXT
and of course slapt-get users can just add a SOURCE line with a link to the slint-testing repository mentioned above to install them.

If some of you want to contribute to SBo some SlackBuilds not found there yet, you'll find all sources of the packages that I have built for Slint here:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/source/

In some cases (mostly rebuilds of Slackware packages or borrows to SBo) you'll find SlackBuilds there, else SLKBUILDS (as in Salix), but you get the idea.

Among the changes are enhancements of the installer that I will list below, as maybe some of them could be of interest to Slackware:

• It includes a 4.19 kernel and all modules, xz compressed. That makes a huge initrd but it can still be uncompressed in 600M of RAM (at least 1G is recommended though). This guarantees that video and audio work as in an installed system, which is very important for our blind users.
• Now, thanks to the new kernel the hardware speech synthesizers work, just including the parameter speakup.synth=<model> in the kernel command line. Eventually, after all these years...
• Speech and Braille are available during installation as previously and in addition the sound cards are probed to output speech on one that works. The good setting is recorded in the installed system.
• A new script, 'auto' (attached), is available in the installer to auto-partition a device if dedicated to Slint and big enough. The user can still modify its layout with the usual tools before running setup.
• Now probing the partitions in SeTEFI rely on the UEFI specification (already adopted in the installer of Slackware-current) and in SeTDOS on the file system type only: IMO there is no point including in /etc/fstab a partition that mount can't handle, additionally this will be easier to maintain as we don't care anymore about new kinds of devices or partition types.
• Speaking about /etc/fstab, now 'native' as 'dos' partitions are named by UUID, the initial /dev/someting name being mentioned in a comment.
• Last, only grub is provided as boot manager and loader for the installed system. This will help users wanting multi-boot.

"In cauda venenum": all this represents more work for the Slint translators. I have posted a request to translate the new messages (mostly in 'rc.S' and 'auto' in the installer, and the script /sbin/grubconfig in the installed system (attached), initially written by Salix contributors and heavily modified) in the Slint mailing list and in Transifex, but in case that didn't reach every translator I forward it below, even though some have already done the job, thanks to them.

Have fun!

-- Forwarded message --

Hello dear translators,

The Slint64-4.2.1.2t2 ISO (testing #2) is now uploaded, cf.:
http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/

I have reviewed the localization of shell scripts included in its installer, generated a new slint.pot, created a new resource here:
https://www.transifex.com/didier_spa...nt/slint-1421/
in which I have uploaded the new slint.pot as well as the existing translations, including the new and updated messages in English.

I have completed the French translation, it took me around two hours.

Translations need to be completed in following locales:

Dutch
German
Greek
Italian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Portugal)
Russian
Spanish (Latin America)
Swedish
Turkish
Ukrainian

The information in the pages Contributors and Tools of the archived website:
http://slint.fr/old/en/slint.html
are still valid, but the links as only the new resource:
https://www.transifex.com/didier_spa...nt/slint-1421/
includes translations that need to be taken care of.

I wish to be able to include in the official release of Slint64-14.2.1.2 as many updated translations as possible, please let me know if I should try to hire new translators (or do it yourself if you can and need to).

Do not hesitate to bring any issue to my attention and thanks in advance.

Yours friendly,

Didier

PS:
1. bear in mind that the parameters written like this: ${SOMETHING} should not be translated.
2. Keep as is the \n on top or bottom of the messages case occurring.

There are two new items
Does it mean that user cannot change the mind and has no chance to change SOURCE or TARGET with reexecute these menu items?
If so, as for me, it isn't very good decision.

Hello Serg,

Thanks for your input.

I introduced this change following a remark of Peter Vágner on the Orca mailing list, quoted below:I answered in this message, that I will also quote below:To clarify a bit the last sentence, a user wanting to redo one of the CONFIGURE steps after installation can perform the TARGET (not formatting it again!) and SOURCE steps, then begin the INSTALL step but do not confirm wanting to install the packages, then from the main menu go to the CONFIGURE step. Maybe I should document that somewhere...

I attach the current setup file.

You are right that with this workflow, a user wanting to change the SOURCE or TARGET has to redo the installation from start. However nobody complained since this change was implemented one year ago. Thoughts?

Best,

PS: Oh I almost forgot; thanks for finishing the translation into Russian!
Thanks also to Giovanni Sora aka giogio (Italian), Ingemar Karlsson (Swedish), George Vlahavas aka gapan (Greek).

IMHO, may be something like

You have already ...
Press 1, then ENTER to <redo this step (or another good wording for this)>.
Else just press ENTER.

But perhaps this is too much.... Your money your decisions :twocents:

Maybe, yes. But later, as I would have to carefully consider all the consequences, like the need to umount the target partition, review the future /etc/fstab, umount the source media (which could be remote) and other things that should be taken care of but do not come to my mind right now. All this of course needs careful testing.

Later doesn't mean necessarily "not before the next major version" though but rather "not before the next minor version associated with a new ISO (like we had an ISO labeled 14.2.1.1 and we will soon release a 14.2.1.2 ISO, while making easy for current users to update their system).

PS: The translation into Dutch is now complete. Thanks, Dik Leenheer!

The translation into Portuguese (Portugal) is complete. Thanks, Hugo Carvalho!

When is the final version expected to come out?

Hello,

Next week, but with no guarantee of any kind. At the moment I am trying to get sound initialization in the installer as good as in a Debian testing's installer, borrowing and adapting some code snippets. This is roughly done but needs some more testing, I will upload a mini-ISO for that. Also some translators can contribute only during the week end, and I'd like that we can ship the upcoming 3.32 release of Orca if possible. But we won't wait for the upcoming release of Grub 2.04 that Vladimir 'phcoder' Serbinenko just announced to be expected in March ;)

Short answer: when it'll be ready (as usual).

Best,

The translation into German is comp!ete, thanks Christian Ruesch! Thanks also to Joannes Georgi for proofreading.

A special thanks to Daniele Moriya Martins de Souza (A.K.A. Aiyumi) who completed the translation into Portugal (Brazil). She is blind so did it without using the usual applications that are not enough accessible. As an aside, Aiyumi was, I think, the first to bring speech to Slackware in a graphical environment, then helped a lot to provide this feature to Slint.

Other than that Polish, Spanish (Latin America) Turkish and Ukrainian translations are not complete. Anyone?

Polish is complete, thanks to Lukasz Golonka, new (and also blind) translator.

Norwegian is complete, thanks to Dan-Simon Myrland.

Slint64-14.2.1.2 will be released tomorrow if all goes well.