For embedded development and testing, lxde is proved to be lightweight and configurable desktop environment. Let’s see how to install a minimal lxde desktop on an ARM emulator setup.
Steps to perform
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Download ubuntu 12.04 core image from link
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Now extract the core file system to some directory by issuing following command
sudo tar -xvpzhf /tmp/ubuntu-core-12.04.1-core-armhf.tar.gz
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chroot into the directory with the help of qemu-arm-static and update /etc/apt/sources.list
with universe & multiverse repositories, a sample content is as followsdeb http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ precise main universe multiverse restricted deb-src http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ precise main universe multiverse restricted
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Now do apt-get update and followed by installation of following packages
apt-get install vim.tiny sudo ssh net-tools ethtool wireless-tools lxde xinit xorg \ network-manager iputils-ping rsyslog alsa-utils
That’s it. You have successfully installed core minimal lxde without any overheads of lubuntu.
The entire setup should not take more than 400MB.