Bunsenlabs - A "RECOMMENDED" Openbox Distro

I rarely recommend a distro, but with Bunsenlabs I've made an exception.
This is an outstanding Openbox distro that is suitable for everyone,
whether you are a new user or an old hack like me.
It comes with a sensible selection of applications pre-installed, a very nice interactive welcome screen, and of course the stability and rock solid
character that is Debian 10.
I'm aware that this video is a little on the long side but that's because I didn't want you to miss anything.
Bottom Line? Take this for a spin. If it doesn't convince you of how good window managers can be, nothing will.
I hope you enjoy the video :-)
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Ramble On!

[@vandervice4787]

I recently installed it after I couldn't get archcraft to work and I love it so much. It meets all of my needs and I'm glad to see another person making a video about it

[@ryanhines293]

Crunchbang Linux (#!) was still my all time favorite distro of all time. It taught me so much more about using Linux than any other distro and got me to fall in love with using the terminal. I guess have #!++ still ftw.

[@krazykat64]

Thanks for covering this distro! I was a big fan of Crunchbang back when (ran it on an Asus Eee PC) and was devastated when it was discontinued. I always meant to get back to it when the spin off projects got their feet under them but never did. You reminded me of just how great Openbox is, especially when it's this well done, and it motivated me to back up my home folder and install this over my stock Debian install. Ah, the nostalgia! Love it!

[@OldTechBloke]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@punkrockllama]

CrunchBang got me loving openbox. I know BunsenLabs came from their ashes. I thought Bunsen was gone already too, nice to see it's still around.

[@OldTechBloke]

Same here!

[@ms77grz]

I've just installed on my KVM and it's fantastic!

[@brianfabrizio4676]

After this video I started playing around with Bunsenlabs in Gnome Boxes VM. This distro is a blast. Having a ton of fun learning how to config the JGMenu. Love how fast it is overall too.

[@uMalice]

I have revisited BL because of this review. I have found it stable, simple to use and quick. I have switched my server and dev box to it and I love it! Thanks for an excellent review !

[@jscottupton]

What I love about Bunsen is that it is SUPER lightweight and doesn't seem to have any problems when installing it to a hard drive. I couldn't get Puppy to work.

[@barend63]

Old Crunchbang. Great distro. Not for noobs though.

[@peterjansen4826]

If any of the developers of Bunsenlabs reads this (which surprisingly is far less unlikely than that people might think, distro-developers like to get feedback...), my main advice is to have a higher contrast between the font of the Conky and the wallpaper. It really is not a problem to use some brighter colors when the background is dark, most popular dark themes use bright colors. We need that contrast. I am sure that the aggressive KZbin compression makes it worse but I honestly struggled to read it while watching it fullscreen on a 27'' 2560x1440p monitor. I am only mildly nearsighted (and I was not wearing my glasses). Another advice which I can not resist to not give: please use gnome-calculator instead of galculator. Anyone who needs to do anything serious with a calculator can't use galculator. The difference in file-size is negligible (few MB) and even for antique computers the required resources are trivial. I use the calculator a lot (mathematics, physics), I thoroughly hate galculator (I also hate the KDE one) and gnome-calculator is my favorite.

[@OldTechBloke]

I’m sure they’ll see this Peter

[@mitchelvalentino1569]

Overall, BunsenLabs is fantastic, a true gem of a distro, yet I second these suggestions.

[@peterjansen4826]

OTB, Debian and Openbox. I am sitting ready.

[@rmcellig]

Another fantastic video Steve. I LOVE bunsenlabs! I really believe it is one of the top three debian based distros. It's so easy to use and looks beautiful. All the best with the cabin!!😀

[@OldTechBloke]

Thanks mate

[@tonywise198]

Resources or not, I'd recommend everyone to give this Distro a whirl.

[@taidee]

This distro is very likeable, in fact I think I’ll install it on a new ssd and have myself a Debian based system alongside Arch. Thank you OTB for making us aware of this great work of a distro.

[@OldTechBloke]

You’re welcome. This is openbox how it should be done

[@folksurvival]

I tried it out on a live USB a few weeks ago, it's a very nice distro. They did a great job on their openbox set up.

[@TheBailinator07]

Just want it to be on record that I'm here as of 10k subs. Keep going OTB, you're doing great man!

[@OldTechBloke]

Thanks mate

[@redrobbosworkshop]

Nice walk-through. BL used to be my distro of choice and I'm still very fond of it. The problem for me is the release cycle as it's only just released about 18 months after Debian 10. They are a small team so this isn't a moan because they do a wonderful job, just be aware that often the distro will have problems with new hardware unless you update the 4.19 kernel. I'd rather it came default with the Openbox menu for authenticity and ease of upgrade from older versions but that's no big deal.

[@peterjansen4826]

OTB, you inspired me to make a video of my own. Working on it at the moment. Your enthusiasm is inspiring and you will get tenths of thousands of subs in the future. I am not kissing your ass, praise like that is rare from me. I am making the first video with my voice on it will be a long one, a full Linux install with the best setup for gamers in 2020. Making it easy, but with Arch because I think that it is the best foundation for gaming on Linux. It is not so special on itself but I will make it simple for anyone and I will consider all scenarios. The editing will take a lot of time though. I don't expect many views but there is one Techtuber (>200k) who has shown interest. He really likes my comments (he remembered me after months of not having reacted) and he has told me that he wanted to dive into Linux for quite some time but doesn't know where to start. I hope that I can get him started.

[@OldTechBloke]

Hi Peter, that’s great news. When you do it send me the link. I think, if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy making the video itself but find the editing part the frustrating element

[@symbianflo]

After 12/14 hours a day in TTY ( ok ok wit fbterm , fbv and screen twiks..) I have to confess I rather aprecciate ,big time, a plasma5 wit everything that kde5 can offer and do not give a crap about resources involved, even if latest plasma eat very little more than your beloved mate... :D , so windows manager instead of a full desktop has no meaning AFIC... If you think at productivity , go for tty, period... Of course , again, WE CAN CHOOSE, and this is awesome... Congrats another great video. PS: when a tutorial only TTY ? Kinda dare ya....of course tty tutorial won't bring you more likes than a normal review,even worse, I would say much less... but hey you can ignore it , but you can not deny it...

[@OldTechBloke]

Lol, a TTY review? Well, it's an interesting idea. I have a friend who lives in a TTY so I may need to seek advice :-)

[@symbianflo]

@@OldTechBloke your friend is mine kinda people... :D it's challenging at the begining , then boring so you have to spice it up... at this point you start with fbv for background , then a player, then a image viewer, and web browser....and so on....but I guess ,this days few people will apperciate fbterm, fbv,screen,moc, and so on , everybody seek easy handle... so if do it get ready to lower your likes...sadly...

[@BrucesWorldofStuff]

Nice, that is quite snappy! Love the color theming too! Be worth looking at... :- ) Glad to hear that the Cabin is getting along! Take care and thanks for the video OTB! LLAP

[@OldTechBloke]

Cheers Bruce

[@primaflash2219]

Fantastic minimalist and polished distro... only waiting for a devuan version...

[@PhayzinOut]

Just do a minimal Devuan install with openbox

[@NickDyers]

@@PhayzinOut 2nd to this, I've conducted a little experiment on Debian & Devuan: Debian (systemd) : i3wm + terminator + pcmanfm + 2tabbed chromium (no ytube) = 88 processes, 980mb RAM Devuan (sysV) : i3wm + terminator + pcmanfm + 2tabbed chromium (no ytube) = 56 processes, 550mb RAM

[@johanb.7869]

Looks nice, but so does my Peppermint and it uses even less memory after boot up: 350mb. Seen a lot of video's about different distro's, but none of them makes me want to leave Peppermint and install one of them.

[@paulwratt]

BLOB theme manager = BunsenLabs OpenBox theme manager - just my guess

[@Blessed2bFresh]

Such a great distro and openbox is a great way to look under the hood

[@gimcrack555]

I love Window Managers. I started with openbox as well. I try many and like many of them. openbox, JWM, pekwm and Fluxbox. Now for Tiling Window Managers, I started out using i3. Then I look at others. bspwm, herbstluftwm and spectrwm. I'm a Debian Stable base user, so I'm currently using MX, Xfce as my DE and Fluxbox as my window manager. Love Bunsenlabs, which is keeping Crunchbang image alive.

[@brianfabrizio4676]

Yep, very cool Distro.

[@peppe540]

Since I got a new mini-PC I was reinstalling Arch etc but also gave Bunsenlabs a go. As you might remember I am a big Openbox fan also. Immediately liked the styling and decided to give this at least a month-long try-out. Haven't used real Debian before either, so another notch on my guitar with that also ;-)

[@peppe540]

@Dhyan Jay BL is a great distro, very light. Works smooth out of the box. It is easily configured. It helps if you have experience with OpenBox (for tweaking). Only attention point: in some cases (like with keyboard file or when renaming some app) did the makers choose their own way instead of the standard Openbox way. Good, but you'll have to figure that out.And I since it is based on Debian the distro still uses kernel 4.19, which can be a problem with newer hardware.

[@yorik9845]

Hi OTB, I think the purpose of lightweight WM is not just to be able to handle old hardware but to be minimalistic, distraction free and productivity oriented. In fact, I m running void+bspwm with as many rust applications as possible on a pretty recent system.

[@OldTechBloke]

I agree completely

[@emptytune]

As one of the BL devs, thanks for the encouraging review! Can I add a note about the bl-something application names? These are aliases which can be changed by the user, so bl-file-manager is not just another name for Thunar, but can be set via the Debian alternatives system (or via GUI galternatives) to any file manager. In fact, if the other f.m. is one of "caja nautilus pcmanfm spacefm xfe" then the change will happen automatically. EG install pcmanfm, remove thunar, and keybind Super+W will now bring up pcmanfm. Likewise, menu items and any user scripts calling bl-file-manager will go on working without editing.

[@OldTechBloke]

Thanks for the tip, great distro by the way

[@emptytune]

@@OldTechBloke Thanks!

[@sang9107]

Thanks for BL

[@RickRomig]

I just put Lithium on a 13-year-old laptop and it's running well. I'm new to window managers but I'll get the hang of it.

[@OldTechBloke]

Just give yourself a bit of time

[@lloritoovidexequield.8609]

The only thing I do not like about Bunsenlabs is that they don't have an installer in the live desktop. Debian, and its other derivatives did it, why can't the Bunsenlabs team do it, too?

[@OldTechBloke]

No technical reason and would be good to see

[@lloritoovidexequield.8609]

@@OldTechBloke Can you take a look at Crunchbang++ (or Plus Plus) too? I hear that's the original successor toe Crunchbang. =)

[@barrytafe5309]

Hi, i have been learning / using this bunsenlabs lithium since its release in august and of today done a complete new install on a new ssd, on an intel 6 year old desktop computer, my main computer runs MXLinux 19.2 XFCE this comes with Fluxbox window manager both are Debian Buster based, highly recommended. thank you for your video / coverage.Barry.

[@OldTechBloke]

Cheers Barry

[@jeffreyplum5259]

I am looking for an OS for a server. I need a desktop, but the target is a pi 4 with 2gb memory. The nice thing about Linux is ideas cross over. Bunsenlabs has no Arm version, yet I can use their tricks on a pi based Openbox setup. I can run it in VirtualBox and build up a simulation from a minimal Debian or Ubuntu Server installation. I usually run XFCE but I have some machines which are just too low powered for it.. Single cores a run purely for fun, like a Model A Ford.. The P1 FreeDos box is my model T. Thanks

[@ForrestRhoads]

Very nice review. When my 2012 MacMini can no longer run a reasonably current version of macOS, Bunsenlabs may be a candidate for the lobotomy

[@OldTechBloke]

Could be Forrest. I’m going to do something with my 2013 MacBook Air very soon

[@ForrestRhoads]

@@OldTechBloke I have a 2011 MacBook Air that has no memory of that heritage. It now dual boots Ubuntu 20.04 and Linux Mint 20.04, although I usually run Awesome on top of Ubuntu. It is a perhaps a little slow, but serviceable. Apple does make incredible hardware. It still looks nearly new [except for the well-worn keys]. The only hard part about the installation was the NVDIA drivers, which took days to work through :) But I'm an old bloke too, and perhaps am a few cards short of a full deck. Cheers. Thanks for the show. I had never heard of Bunsenlabs, and would likely never have known of it but for you.

[@Dampferfrosch]

MaboxLinux is the new Star as OB - Distro ;-)

[@sonopro1]

J'aime beaucoup ton canal !

[@Prof.SchulzeSternberg]

Awesome video, thanks OTB. I wonder if this distro will run on my still a little exotic AMD Ryzen 4250U. Just keeping in mind that the kernel might be a little older as, let’s say Arch...

[@OldTechBloke]

Give it a try. If you need a newer kernel you can always install the liquorix variants

[@ryanhines293]

Are you still able to right click to bring up the menu anywhere on the desktop?

[@OldTechBloke]

yes

[@akwalek]

I'm too much a fan of the desktop for working with / organising files & folders ; I don't think I could get used to something akin to midnight commander for this. (Although I did use Directory Opus & similar tools back in the Amiga days. :)

[@OldTechBloke]

Just use thunar

[@akwalek]

@@OldTechBloke In which case, I may give this WM business a try. Thanks for the reply :)

[@MoAlarawi]

You provide a wonderful content. Good job.

[@OldTechBloke]

I appreciate that!

[@davidwayne9982]

I checked out the latest one about two hours ago-- LOOKS like something I could DO--- but what is the BEST source for ACCURATE and simple information on how to use and work with it??? There is far too much out there that is confusing and by folks that CAN"T TEACH-- they may KNOW it- but they are NOT good teachers..

[@skylinecyber3538]

I have heard Debian Sid is rolling release and you cant break it, its easy to revert changes once it breaks is it true.

[@OldTechBloke]

I've tried Debian sid in the past and I'm afraid I broke it beyond repair

[@skylinecyber3538]

@@OldTechBloke Saw chris titus tech video he said he couldnt break it. Thanks though, there is a new arch based distro called INSTANT OS try to review it.

[@muteqx]

@@skylinecyber3538 Debian Sid is literally named after Sid from Toy Story, who is the kid who breaks all the toys. It's named this way because it is the untested Debian most likely to break. Running Debian Sid you are almost guaranteed to break your system at some point and have to spend a day fixing it. Which can be fun and is great Linux learnings, but is not for machines you need to get any serious work done on. Even though you can for a while in most cases... Sid breaks and blows things up! ;-)

[@KunalDawn]

snap. 1 hr late for comments. dang it!

[@gorilladev]

loved #!Crunchbang !! very cool little distro.

[@OldTechBloke]

Glad you like it!

[@sinisasinkovic4334]

#!++ may not have this nice BL look out of the box but is lighter on my machine.

[@fredrik2008]

Ah missed that it was based on debian thats why it wont boot on my system, to old software. Didnt even boot with live usb would not even boot with nomodeset.

[@OldTechBloke]

That’s a shame but I suppose it’s one of the downsides of Debian stable

[@rajindermadaher5745]

Couldn't install major on metal

[@rajindermadaher5745]

Mabox brilliant. Must be the eufi.partitions

[@lifefather5958]

..

[@thealmightychuck2038]

_Insert comment about why you would bother using a windows manager blah blah blah_