Mageia forum

MakeMKV (http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224) is the only working lossless DVD/BD to MKV converter in Linux. Mkvtoolnix lacks some features like choosing the subtitles and different audio tracks. Other apps don't have that conversion capability at all and OMGrip simply can't (couldn't) do it. And while hard drives are cheap, ripping by Handbrake

1) causes some quality loss,
2) takes much more time,
3) uses all the CPU and causes heat problems and/or produces noise.

MakeMKV rips a DVD in 15 minutes losslessly and can omit some or all the extra audio tracks and subtitles as well as the extra features and the annoying piracy warnings etc.

I can't find the equivalents of these buntu dependencies (except the last one):

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sudo apt-get install build-essential libc6-dev libssl-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libqt4-dev

So I'm not sure if the instructions below are true for Mageia as well (for both source and binary package):

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make -f makefile.linux
sudo make -f makefile.linux install

Well, k9copy beautifully rips a DVD into single mpg file, but MKVtoolnix can't mux it into mkv properly. If it could there would be no need for MakeMKV, at least for KDE users. There are some very fine apps but most lack just one thing or two.

If anyone's dying to know about my mkv mania, using MKVtoolnix I can embed DVD covers and have a functional video library view like iTunes. And only Gnome/Nautilus could show those embedded MKV cover arts which was the sole reason of my imprisonement in Gnome. Then recently the single perfect app in the whole cosmos, VLC, has implemented such a feature in its library view. For the time being you need to put mkv files with the covers inside a folder, but hopefully soon (?) the mkv file alone will do.

TabletHater wrote:I can't find the equivalents of these buntu dependencies (except the last one):

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sudo apt-get install build-essential libc6-dev libssl-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libqt4-dev

That would be (if you have already set up sudo)

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sudo urpmi task-c++-devel openssl-devel mesagl-devel qt4-devel

The other instructions are the same, except for sudo (as already written).

So I can't first "su" and then "urpmi task-c++-devel openssl-devel mesagl-devel qt4-devel"? If not, is it easy for you to give instructions to set up sudo?

Well, no and yes
You can perfectly use su and then use urpmi to install, i just thought you had sudo already setup maybe.

The standard way in all linux distributions (besides most *buntu derivatives) is to use su to change to another user account, mostly root.
BTW: you should always use

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su -

when you want to use su, because that initializes additionally some environment variables
(like PATH and some others) and if you forget this, many graphical programs like editors or file managers can't be run as root, a common problem.

The other way is to use sudo, so you don't need to switch to the root user account, but just supply your user password. Actually this setup
IMHO is really crap and dilutes on one of the core *nix priciples, the strict separation of root and user accounts everywhere.
It makes the system more usable for normal desktop usage cases, and if there's only one user, but in general this is no good solution.
The normal way to use sudo is to just set it up for single commands, like the ability to mount a network share as user or something the like.

Actually sudo is rather easy to setup, install the sudo package and run the visudo editor (a version of vi by default).
You can have a look there for some examples. I'm also using sudo and i kinda like it, but i won't go into
details of my setup because i think this is a great security risk and commonly disregarded but it works for me,
because i need to use it often and i'm the only user for this machine, so no real need to lock it down.

You may want to have a look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo
or https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Sudoers or http://www.linuxhelp.net/guides/sudo/

Thank you Doktor for the detailed explanation. By the way, formerly, after switching from Mac a few months ago, I thought the only usable distros were buntus. Yet ironically, just after my migration, Ubuntu has choosen the Mac way as well, disregarding the user base forcefully tabletizing the DE.

Anyway, Mageia is great. I was an LXDE user, but Mageia almost makes it possible to use and appreciate KDE as well. I wish Mageia gains much more recognition as it's as easy as buntus and stable, besides that's even in Beta release with backports and testing enabled. Now I should restart for the Linux 3.2.9 kernel!

Best regards.

Mageia also supports an installation with LXDE, so you don't have to switch to another desktop environment (but you are certainly invited to experience all the others as well)!

It's always nice to see something new
says wobo while switching his Windows 7 to the new Consumer Preview of Windows 8....

Thanks wobo. Yes, I would install LXDE, but couldn't see such an option during Beta 2 installation. Though I have an eye on Razor-Qt and the only non-Qt apps I use are LibreOffice and Firefox, I would like to know the logic behind the wish to produce an only-Qt DE. Is it lighter, more stable? As for the looks, my Qt apps in Lubuntu looked better than the GTK ones, maybe because I've installed Qt developer tools to install some Qt apps?

By the way, what I dislike about KDE mainly are:

1. Its heavy resource usage. In my experience it was impossible to remove Akonadi and Nepomuk (in Kubuntu and Sabayon). I could remove Akonadi and KDepim almost completely in Mageia.
2. It was impossible to make panel transparent, a feauter just a couple of very intuitive click away in LXDE and Xfce. And impossible to change the clock/date applet to such a readable format: "Sun 16 Feb 13:45". (Haven't tried these in Mageia.)

TabletHater wrote:Thanks wobo. Yes, I would install LXDE, but couldn't see such an option during Beta 2 installation.

During installation you select "Custom" in the screen where you select your desktop environment. In the following package group selection you remove marks from KDE and Gnome and mark the LXDE option.

Thank you.

TabletHater wrote:Thank you Doktor for the detailed explanation. By the way, formerly, after switching from Mac a few months ago, I thought the only usable distros were buntus. Yet ironically, just after my migration, Ubuntu has choosen the Mac way as well, disregarding the user base forcefully tabletizing the DE.

Well a big part of the disadvantages of *buntu is GNOME, plain and simple. It takes away choices from the user, which may be a good thing,
but if you're forced into something that's never the right way. But meh, KDE isn't that much of a difference in some regards nowadays.
But for me it's still the lesser of two evils.

BTW: There are no backports for Cauldron, and testing contains mostly no packages

For the clock in KDE, it displays "18:23 Fr, 2 Mar" here, isn't that the same what you want?
Also KDE's ressource usage can be trimmed down considerably, i know people with netbooks and 512MB RAM who use KDE4.
Also you can't currently have a pure QT-only DE, as the drakxtools are GTK-based, also many other programs use GNOME/GTK libraries,
and IMHO there's also not much to be gained from that.

doktor5000 wrote:

TabletHater wrote:Thank you Doktor for the detailed explanation. By the way, formerly, after switching from Mac a few months ago, I thought the only usable distros were buntus. Yet ironically, just after my migration, Ubuntu has choosen the Mac way as well, disregarding the user base forcefully tabletizing the DE.

Well a big part of the disadvantages of *buntu is GNOME, plain and simple. It takes away choices from the user, which may be a good thing,
but if you're forced into something that's never the right way. But meh, KDE isn't that much of a difference in some regards nowadays.
But for me it's still the lesser of two evils.

You write like a poet! Exactly what I think.

Some time after I've enabled backports and testing a torrent updates have accumulated and I thought it was because of them.

I've already disabled some things and will experiment with others. Can I remove that Activities thingy? Does it help as well?

Clock/date, yes, like yours, but not in two lines with its ridiculously big clock numbers and ridiculously small date text.

TabletHater wrote:I've already disabled some things and will experiment with others. Can I remove that Activities thingy? Does it help as well?

Uhmm, help with what? Getting KDE ressource usage down?

TabletHater wrote:Clock/date, yes, like yours, but not in two lines with its ridiculously big clock numbers and ridiculously small date text.

Ahh, ok, just click on the cashew of the control bar and change the height and watch how it rescales. IMHO if you have the clock display big and readable
you use too much space for the window list, also the launcher icons use too much space then.

Uhmm, help with what? Getting KDE ressource usage down?

Yes.

Ahh, ok, just click on the cashew of the control bar and change the height and watch how it rescales. IMHO if you have the clock display big and readable
you use too much space for the window list, also the launcher icons use too much space then.

You're right, but (in a 27" display) narrowing the height of the panel only eliminates part of the problem: clock and date are in a single line now. The other problem remains unchanged: the text of the date is too small. Seems I just won't be able to see it from 1m away! I'll learn to live with that.

Doktor, another issue is about to come your way: sensors!

Just add an additional huge clock applet to your desktop, then

About the ressource usage, as i have just reinstalled Mageia 1 onto an SSD, i think i could do a write-up
about what to do to reduce ressource usage and make KDE snappier, but will take some time.
If i don't get back at you in the next say 1 or 2 weeks, feel free to ping me again about this.

Great. Thanks Doktor.