What linux distributions is everyone using? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 12:23:13 am
content: I have a fairly elaborate home network of computers. Two servers running Ubuntu acting as nfs and samba storages (one backs up the other), Windows 10, and 11 workstations, Mac workstations, and Linux workstations.My question is about Linux. Ubuntu used to be small and nimble. But I'm not so sure about the latest version, 22.0.4. It seems bloated, and I am even having stability issues. Samba disconnects periodically and randomly. ntp service fed by gpsd simply doesn't recognize the GPS device (worked on 20.0.4). Plainly put, it feels it's coming closer to how Windows used to be.I'm not trying to find the best, as it really is a matter of opinion and use case. But I am curious what Linux distributions everyone is using for server and workstation duties. Would guys mind sharing that information with short descriptions on why?Thanks in advance.

author: sokoloff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 12:38:31 am
content: Mostly Ubuntu. I switched from fedora years ago, for a variety of minor reasons that I can no longer enumerate.I do like apt better than yum, but I doubt that was a major driver.

author: Pbtz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 12:52:53 am
content: I use artix linux, which is like arch without system d. I run it in my fairly outdated thinkpad and it's great.I've been experimenting with dwm and dwmblocks as my tiling window manager/user interface and it's great for tinkering due to how easy it is to interface it with custom scrips/programs.There's a installation script (https://larbs.xyz) from Luke Smith (somewhat famous linux youtube guy) that installs it and a lot of neat dotfiles on a bare arch/artix install. I recommend everyone interested in linux installing it in a older unused laptop to start playing with it.

author: ferdieCX
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 01:17:16 am
content: I dropped CentOs in December and installed Debian. I am very satisfied with it.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 01:24:12 am
content: Linux Mint on two PCs using Ryzen 7 1700s.One of them runs 24/7 for Einstein@home. The other PC I use in the evenings to keep in touch (like this forum) while also running Einstein@home. Seems to be a very reliable system for the last few years I've been using it.

author: rodcastler
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 02:20:27 am
content: I run Debian on my home media and file server and just moved over to Elementary for desktop duties after years on Ubuntu, mainly for the same reasons the OP exposed. Very happy with it.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 02:45:18 am
content: Ubuntu when I can, but anything Debian-based will do.I run Ubuntu server (i.e. no GUI) on everything from under $10 Arm and RISC-V boards (Pine64 Ox64 is cool) to a 64 core 2 GHz OoO SG2042 RISC-V board, AWS Graviton 3 in the cloud, VMs/docker on my M1 Mac. Oh, and yeah, on a few x86 machines as well :-)The certainty of knowing that everything from shell scripts to C++ code is going to Just Work across all those devices without worrying about whether X utility is available or Y option is supported on tar or ps or whether a system header file is incompatible is just about magical. Just put Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (ok 22.04 soon) and be happy.

author: BradC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 04:43:03 am
content: Devuan on everything. I've always used Debian or Ubuntu and I just don't seem to get on with systemd.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 04:47:49 am
content: I use Arch on all machines I've installed Linux on, including SBCs (using archlinux arm), except my NAS which runs on CentOS (but I wouldn't use CentOS these days, I just don't see any benefit of reinstalling it as it's been running smoothly for years.) My next install is going to be migrating my main workstation from Windows to Linux, and it's going to be Arch as well.

author: thermistor-guy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 05:04:23 am
content: Mint xfce on a few PCs. Debian on an Udoo Bolt Gear.Thinking of moving to Debian on the PCs, when the LTS expires.

author: JoeRoy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 05:05:06 am
content: +I++777+ OS: EndeavourOS rolling rolling+77777++ Kernel: x86_64 Linux 6.1.29-1-lts+7777777++ Uptime: 3d 5h 8m+7777777777++ Packages: 4565++7777777777777++ Shell: bash 5.1.16++777777777777777+++ Resolution: 1920x1080++77777777777777777++++ DE: Xfce4++7777777777777777777++++ WM: Xfwm4+++777777777777777777777++++ WM Theme: Materia-dark-compact++++7777777777777777777777+++++ GTK Theme: Materia-dark-compact ++++77777777777777777777777+++++ Icon Theme: Adwaita+++++777777777777777777777777+++++ Font: Noto Sans 10+++++++7777777777777777++++++ Disk: 268G / 938G (31%)+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H @ 12x 4.1GHz [59.0°C]+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060RAM: 12154MiB / 31951MiB+ OS: Arch Linux x86_64# Hostname: pc### Kernel Release: 6.1.29-1-lts##### Uptime: 3 days, 5:08###### WM: Xfwm; #####; DE: Xfce+##.##### Packages: 4565+########## RAM: 9340 MB / 31951 MB#############; Processor Type: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz###############+ $EDITOR: /usr/bin/vim####### ####### Root: 268G / 937G (28%) (ext4).######; ;###;`"..#######; ;#####.#########. .########`######' '######;#### ####;##' '###' `#

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 08:31:19 am
content: Arch Linux on all my private machines. Ubuntu on my mother’s laptop, though I will certainly replace it with something else in the future.

author: gjvdheiden
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 09:31:28 am
content: I use Ubuntu only (except from docker) for Linux distro. I have used it for many years on my work (mainly Java software engineer) computer. At home I use Mac as my desktop computer, it's got a zsh shell I can use.I don't want to fuzz with compiling stuff I actually need. I can get very annoyed (don't come near is the advice) when tools don't work, and I definitely consider the OS as one of my tools.I also run Ubuntu 23.04 on my PI, which runs SMB just fine. The PI is runs my KNX (wired home automation) to HomeKit. Very critical little machine that is.On my machines, I always use them as being easily replaceable. E.g. code and KiCad drawings are in git, documents are safely stored / backed up, SMB config has a backup etc. Kinda like docker images.Also I don't mock around with my own newest compiled stuff on machines I work on. I only use repeatable installs via package management. (One of things I like about Linux distros in general). Or use a virtual machine to test something out if I really need / want to.Keeps it clean, everything is "stock". If you search something for Ubuntu, you get loads of stuff. But that is no different to other distros.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 10:33:44 am
content: Ubuntu IS the windows of linux, has been for some years now, and if i had to choose between the two i would grab windows 100% of the time.Long gone are the days in which ubuntu (or almost any functional distro) would fit in 300-400MB (the first distro i installed was actually ubuntu, which came on a neat CD for free from canonical. At that time nobody but internet cafes had DSL, at it would cost an arm and a leg. we all ran 56k dialup)I found my comfort zone in debian. Easy to install, easy to install packages, fairly good support, embedded linux support. XFCE as a window manager, light on the CPU and polished.

author: mapleLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 10:43:34 am
content: Desktop use - UbuntuFor containerization its a mixed bag but I usually default to Debian.

author: mapleLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 10:50:58 am
content: Quote from: tkamiya on May 25, 2023, 12:23:13 amYou might consider moving to TrueNAS and do your smb shares there. IMO you should run Proxmox and virtualize everything and pick 1 desktop OS, I did and it's been a good change.Quote from: BradC on May 25, 2023, 04:43:03 amAs mentioned, I use Proxmox and avoid Docker which in no time will become a money grubber company, you see all the signals already. Another Sonos, Synology, Ubuquiti clone company.

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 05:30:48 pm
content: Thanks everyone for input. Unexpectedly, it came in all over the map, but Debian or its cousins were the majority. I will give it more thought as this is a good chance to rearchitect my home system.Thanks again.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 05:38:26 pm
content: OpenSuSE Leap (@ work & @ home)

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 05:40:25 pm
content: Yes, is my answer.More seriously: Gentoo, Arch, Alpine, Debian, (K)Ubuntu. The latter is shortly going to burn in the fires of he- I mean get replaced with something not using snap.I use Gentoo for my main workstation and for various VMs, it's flexible and generally doesn't get in my way (just mind the compile times).Alpine for most containers doing odd jobs, it's tiny, fast, and easy to manage.Arch where Alpine won't work due to silly, silly non-portable software.Debian for the same reason, where Arch won't work. Possibly going to just replace Arch with it, because pacman is a little clumsy.(K)Ubuntu was an experiment on my laptop to remove the maintenance burden - instead made it more annoying, because snap is awful and hilariously overcomplicated for the simple task of package management.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 06:47:12 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 26, 2023, 05:40:25 pmgenerally doesn't get in your way for x86, for other architectures (especially MIPS) is a different storyDo you have any personal Overlay?

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 06:48:20 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 26, 2023, 06:47:12 pmYes, ancient dead-end architectures receive very little attention.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 07:12:29 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 26, 2023, 06:48:20 pmthat software - compiled from sources - should be architecture-independent, but in reality, it is not.that's why I am supporting personal overlays and personal stages. If I don't receive attention, I fix stuff myself.You have to spend a lot of time committing bugs, and if it's not x86 you will receive little/zero attention.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 08:28:30 pm
content: I prefer Gentoo first, and then Debian second because of its packages system.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 10:33:34 pm
content: I'm on stock Fedora with the KDE environment installed over the stock GNOME environment.I'm not quite at the point of recommending it to anyone, only for the fact that I want to see if there's any long term issues with upgrades.I was able to upgrade from F37 to F38 with no issues. The KDE is probably the most problematic thing of the installation, but nothing has been a fatal problem. Sometimes updates will result in a number of bugs with all the associated environment plugins and processes, but they are usually fixed fairly quickly.

author: bsfeechannel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 11:58:32 pm
content: Lubuntu.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2023, 10:32:26 pm
content: Quote from: tkamiya on May 25, 2023, 12:23:13 amThat is one question with a million answers. If you are already familiar with Ubuntu, then Debian is a logical choice because the package system is the same. Basically Ubuntu tries to have the latest & greatest which might be broken. Debian OTOH tends to lag behind due to thourough testing but what is there, works. I have been using Debian for 25 years or so.

author: JeremyC
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 04:00:08 am
content: Every day use: Debian (SLS -> Slackware -> Debian).Clients site: Oracle Linux (Free!)

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 06:22:39 am
content: For family: Linux mint. It's basically Ubuntu minus the crapware (I think it uses the same mirrors too). I have been running them on it happily since at least 2017. The default Cinnamon desktop is traditional and well behaved.For personal devices: Void linux. I used to use Arch many years back, but systemd bit me too many times and Void's runit implementation is very simple (much simpler than systemd unit files and definitely better than traditional initscript messes).For servers: varies, a bit of everything. If it's in an existing environment then I copy the distro choice of its comrades. For small or high-reliability stuff I use Alpine (it's ability to store changes to disk in RAM and only have them committed manually is magic) and for routers typically Openwrt (comes with a convenient GUI and firewall ruleset system).

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 07:21:15 am
content: Started with Redhat before Fedora was even born. Been using Fedora ever since on desktops. Debian and Redhat varieties on servers.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 08:41:07 am
content: distro made yourself: anyone?

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 11:24:13 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 30, 2023, 08:41:07 amI did it for a few years about two decades ago for some servers I maintained, during which I was somewhat active atLinux From Scratchand Beyond LFS.It's too much effort for anything besides dedicated appliances or one-off purposes (like learning how to do it).Even most dedicated appliances are better off built on top of minimal Debian or OpenWRT, rather than building all of it from pure sources. That way you can leverage the know-how of others, and can find out about fixes and bugs before they bite you.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 12:27:20 pm
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on May 30, 2023, 11:24:13 amedit: better quotefrom things like Yocto, meta-builders

author: bsfeechannel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 03:53:27 pm
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on May 30, 2023, 11:24:13 amI've always suspected that you're Linus Torvalds in disguise.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 04:06:08 pm
content: Quote from: bsfeechannel on May 30, 2023, 03:53:27 pmNope. Although the early time scale matches, I was in the Physics department; Linus was in the Computer Science department, or "käpistely". I did meet him a couple of times.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 04:18:08 pm
content: Mint xfce has served me well for almost a decade.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 08:30:00 pm
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on May 30, 2023, 04:06:08 pmThanks, I learned a finnish word today.https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/k%C3%A4pistely

author: mwb1100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 09:29:04 pm
content: Moved to Mint when Ubuntu made Unity the default desktop. I've never seen a reason to move back. Since Mint is based on Ubuntu nearly all of the huge trove of troubleshooting help on the web that targets Ubuntu applies just was well to Mint.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 09:42:23 pm
content: yet another ubuntu user here,been using it as my main os since it was a hedgehogQuotecame close to changing,but found how to restore the calmness of the classic look so stuck with it.

author: sokoloff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 01:01:44 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 30, 2023, 08:41:07 amI threatened a security team with that as a response when they said"You MUST apply all patches [not just all security patches] that your OS vendor publishes within X days of them being published"."OK, I SHALL become my own OS vendor and I assure you that I will apply all patches that the vendor of my OS publishes in an incredibly timely fashion..."

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 04:24:39 am
content: And they did not report you for that kind of an answer? Just silently accepted it? I must admit somebody there is not doing their job right.The reasons, all patches must be applied, are:The vulnerability may be published not under the full disclosure, but responsible disclosure regime, in which case the patch is not released as a security fix. Even worse, some software vendors mislead the users and never reveal critical security vulnerabilities. Of course one may argue it would be best to avoid such companies, but there is no way to identify them until they are caught lying.Non-security patches may inadvertently fix vulnerabilities, leading to the latter never being announced in the first place. In a similar fashion, security patches may assume presence of a non-security patch.That of course applies to users, not actual projects maintaining distros. But it’s clear from your statement, you are the former.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 05:13:00 am
content: Ed is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 06:50:24 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 30, 2023, 08:41:07 amAlways. I don't like any of the bloated rubbish distros.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 08:41:50 am
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on May 31, 2023, 06:50:24 amWhat do you use as meta-builder? OE? Catalyst? Yocto? ...

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 09:01:35 am
content: I am happy user of MX linux.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 09:18:51 am
content: Quote from: Ed.Kloonk on May 31, 2023, 05:13:00 am

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 09:19:49 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 31, 2023, 08:41:50 amNone of these. I use the LFS build system to start the core build and then fork to my custom build about 3/4 through to include other tools and packages I require on hosts.I have both BIOS boot systems for older devices and UEFI boot systems for the newer devices.

author: sokoloff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 10:31:17 am
content: Quote from: golden_labels on May 31, 2023, 04:24:39 amThis was in the context of debating what policy we should have. It resulted in an amicable change of policy as they realized they couldn’t define what an OS vendor was in the case of an open-source OS, which was my point. (This was an error stemming from a “there are only two vendors of OS” mindset, not an actual disagreement on whether one should apply patches.)

author: audiotubes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 11:02:45 am
content: Quote from: tkamiya on May 25, 2023, 12:23:13 amTL;DRNot Linux but:Solaris 10 because of the ZFS filesystem (huge management feature set and top reliability), professional, complete doc and great compilers including Fortran.NetBSD because it has the best package management system I have seen, and saved me a long time ago when a machine was dying and nothing else would run on it.OpenBSD because it's thin, light, and the devs care about correctness and safety/security. Lots and lots of innovations.Linux:Slackware because it's a good blend of letting you set up your box how you want, giving you a fair shot at eliminating bloat, while also offering a lot of packages.Fedora Workstation (with a bunch of package groups removed) since I got tired of playing home sysadmin. Works great, have never had a problem.--Longer version:I have a bunch of boxes in two locations running various OS including some Linux.Desktop machine has been Fedora for the last 4 or 5 years, before that I ran Slackware for 10 years or so. While I really liked that a couple of guys wrote packaging tools so I could make my own packages, it started to be too time-consuming and my priorities changed, so in the end I went with a packaged-managed distro (Fedora, as mentioned) and I'm completely happy with it. Nothing ever breaks. Also have a laptop from hell running Fedora. And I use Fedora for WSL on my Windows 10 Pro boxes. I don't like Windows, but WSL has made me dislike it a lot less... and I need Windows for work sometimes.Main desktop lately has been Win 10 Pro. Without WSL I would not have done that.I run OpenBSD on some Fuloong boxes which are file servers and emulation hosts.I run FreeBSD on a Xeon box as a NAS, Samba, minidlna. I have another Xeon box running Fedora which I use as a backup box. Both of these boxes are also emulation hosts.I have a bunch of Sun rack servers running Solaris 10, with S8 and S9 in zones. I have made accounts on these boxes available in the past for a couple of open source projects that I follow/followed.I have DietPi on some RPI boxes, and NetBSD on Odroid.Solaris 10 is my favorite do-everything OS, but for various reasons I don't use it as a desktop anymore although I did for a few years. 11 has been out for a long time, 10 isn't being developed anymore, the source for patches I had for S10 dried up. But and I haven't wanted to go to 11. Still useful as a server and development box but not a viable desktop choice unless you like hurting yourself. Sad, because S10 and CDE are so awesome, and nobody does ZFS like Sun did.You could look into OpenBSD, NetBSD, or FreeBSD (in no particular order) if you would consider not using Linux. They're all perfectly good as desktops and servers, I'd choose FreeBSD if server use was more important than desktop, Net or Open if desktop was more important. Not that OpenBSD can't be used to make a great server, it certainly can. But ZFS is very important to me.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 11:27:22 am
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on May 31, 2023, 09:19:49 amdo you use the Debian/Ubuntu package manager? PACman (Arch Linux), Portage(Gentoo), BitBake OE? ... or have you implemented your own package manager with a dependency resolver?and do you use "recipes" and/or "ebuilds" from other distros?I am going to replace "emerge" with something written in C, able to also use "recipes", and based on a true database.# mypac> db import /var/db/pkg> db save(how it will import from the Gentoo text-based packages database)I don't like Python-based tools, and I need to support EAPI from 1 to 8. Two years ago Gentoo dropped all the support for EAPI<5.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 11:32:14 am
content: Quote from: audiotubes on May 31, 2023, 11:02:45 amoh, arch/mips/loongson64 -> ~MIPS64/LE

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 12:14:12 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 31, 2023, 11:27:22 amNo. I build all upgrades from sources. I resolve dependencies by examining the source build notes and the configure scripts.Since the system I build are very lean there are not that many packages to be concerned with. I've eliminated all the useless bloat that mainstream distros have.The only time I do a full OS rebuild is when there are major updates to gcc, glibc or Linux, as this tends to have an effect on everything.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 12:54:23 pm
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on May 31, 2023, 12:14:12 pmI am talking about that! Gentoo and BitBake both compile stuff from sources unless you need a binary packagee.g. to compile gnat, you first need a binary "bootstrapper", basically a compiler able to compile Adae.g. Java{c,jre} is a binary package, a tarball that contains stuff that will be installed in /opte.g. since Yaboot is broken on PowerMac and nobody (except me) wants to fix it, if you don't want to use Grub2, you can only install Yaboot-staticCode:sys-boot/yaboot <----------------------- it will be compiled from the sourceDescription: PPC Bootloadersys-boot/yaboot-static <----------------------- it's a tarball that contains the binary programDescription: Static yaboot ppc boot loader for machines with open firmwareI always compile stuff from the source, but you still have to consider and resolve dependencies!What has to be compiled, and in which order. Sometimes there are also conflicts, and you have to resolve them.There are also conflicts with user flags! Which features enable which rebuild -> sometimes you have to choose mutually exclusive.The Portage has "slots" to facilitate the tasks. OE has a similar concept, but "recipes" are simpler than "ebuilds".That's the job of the package manager! Plus, it needs to keep information about which file belongs to which package, and how every single package has emerged!

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 06:57:48 pm
content: I like this approach in theory, but it's much too time consuming, unfortunately.The day I might go as far as that, I might as well write my own kernel too. (Something I'd like to experiment with, but too big an endeavour unless sticking to a very very small set of hardware.)

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 07:38:49 pm
content: Mint is good thesedays, MATE version is good if you just want the OS to run and don't care about more modern looking graphics, though some of the default settings are terrible (like a fat ungainly cursor without a sharp indicating point) and need changing right away when you install. Ubuntu is pretty similar to Mint except that with more recent versions Ubuntu is moving in the rather corporate "we'll handle all the settings, don't worry your pretty little head" direction whereas Mint still has menus which let you get at most things easily. Obviously command line gives you yet more control on either distro.

author: audiotubes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 07:43:01 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 31, 2023, 11:32:14 amThey're great little green servers

author: ve7xen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 09:44:25 pm
content: Personal use / preference:Servers - Debian StableDesktops - ArchAt $dayjob:Servers - Mostly Ubuntu Server, some CentOSDesktop - Kubuntu

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 10:26:11 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on May 31, 2023, 12:54:23 pmI've been building my own distro for around 20 years now.The original bootstrap system was an old Fedora/Redhat installation. This was used to build the toolchain required to compile the sources in a chroot environment.These days I just use the existing system to build a new system.I identify the dependencies and install what is needed with just the options that I want on the system. I do this for all packages.I have it well documented and scripted so it's not too time consuming. I have many types of servers running this OS, from Supermicro rack servers to desktop boxes to NUC boxes. Usually all that is needed is the addition of a network driver if there is different network hardware. After booting I can rebuild the kernel with additional support for things like sensors if needed.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2023, 09:10:51 am
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on May 31, 2023, 10:26:11 pmNowadays, whenever I compile stuff from Git or elsewhere, I write a build script capable of pulling the sources from git (unless the directory already exists), running./configureoptions...,makeet cetera, that I keep around even after deleting the actual sources (and binaries). It makes rebuilding stuff much, much easier, since the cognitive load is minimal. (I of course do read the script first, because it can remind me of oddities in particular software projects.)I never liked theAutomated Linux From Scratchapproach of extracting the commands from the XML LFS or BLFS book(s), and instead always preferred to put the commands for each package into a script. Prefixing the script with a three or four-digit order number, you could just execute them in series to compile an entire system.For Debian derivatives, I like that script to build a .deb package, and then install the built package by hand, because it makes system maintenance simpler – especially so if you bother to set the prerequisites/required packages/conflicting packages right. Even when no suitabledebian/exists for a particular package (often one from another derivative works fine; sometimes may need small edits), it is very easy to add yourself; seeGuide for Debian Maintainers, especially chapters 8.3 and 8.2, because they cover the most typical cases.I used to do the same for .rpm packages under RedHat derivatives, but haven't used RHEL/Fedora-derivatives as my workhorse for a few years now. Adding the details to build an RPM package is quite similar process, though; see e.g.RPM Packaging Guide, or the packaging guide for your distribution.

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2023, 10:11:58 am
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on June 01, 2023, 09:10:51 amAgreed. I build my own scripts because I decide on what is needed and what is not needed as options for each package configuration, primarily for security and performance.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2023, 12:23:11 pm
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on June 01, 2023, 10:11:58 amYup; for me a major part was also thorough understanding of how the various parts of a working system interact.Nowadays, few server admins realize that keeping e.g. server configurations in their standard locations is problematic, because it causes new related services to be "enabled" (if that is what distro maintainers have configured it to) by default when installed, and that can conflict with the existing configuration. My favourite example of this is Apache (the HTTP/HTTPS server). Many packages provide "utility" components accessible via the local server, and even in Debian, some of them are enabled by default. Personally, I move its configuration directory elsewhere, and require any new features to be added to the actual configuration by hand by an administrator. (Combined with admin action tracking even across 'sudo su -', this leaves an immutable log of which admin has enabled what additional features.)One can be pleasantly surprised how much better performance one can get from an Apache or Nginx installation, with properly tuned settings and chosen modules. (The related security issues, especially using multiple user accounts per site, with server-side code unable to modify itself or create new server-side executables, is one of mybuttonsI could rant about for hours on end.)It is doubly important when you have a server with multiple sites, and user administrators of various levels (including students) and occasionally across subsites; I developed a well-working local groups based scheme with only a couple of helper utilities needed for that scenario.At the time I maintained my own distro, around the turn of the century, one was a qmail mail server and DNS server/cache and NAT gateway for a subnet, and another was a file and print server for Mac OS (pre-X) and Windows clients, using Mars NWE and Samba, for sharing the same volumes. I did a lot of work around proper file locking (for MS Office users), but I cannot recall whether I got it bullet-proof or not. (It was good enough to not have issues I did not have workarounds for, though.) I had very good relations with the IT dept at that uni, but unfortunately my own stuff worked so well and I didn't advertise it enough that the dept heads had no idea what I did –– they just saw everything working as it should, with no effort... Started my own downfall, that.

author: thermistor-guy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2023, 11:41:51 am
content: Quote from: tkamiya on May 26, 2023, 05:30:48 pmThough I'd add a postscript to this. After trying to find a setup I like for an rpi4, I've just configured one with Debian server (Bookworm) plus XFCE desktop plus tightvncserver, wih good results so far.Haven't tried that setup yet on an rpi3.So I can see Mint or Debian plus XFCE becoming my standard setup for PCs, Udoo boards, rpis and the like. I'll be looking for Debian or Mint compatibility in any future hardware for myhome system.

author: RAPo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2023, 11:46:46 am
content: I use Ubuntu, Debian (both WSL), CasaOs and Zorin Pro.

author: uktony
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2023, 11:01:46 am
content: Former Sysadmin here (20+ years experience in 3rd line support), so my experiences related below primary relate to server rather than desktop usage.For several years, RedHat (prior to Fedora) and CentOS were my favourites, but then I started running into package dependency issues.I ran into stability issues with Fedora so switched to Debian, which I have used almost exclusively for the past 10 years or so.I rarely ever used Linux on the desktop (I used to manage mixed environments so needed the Windows tools) however I note that most of the software developers I provided support for favoured Ubuntu and CentOS with a tiny percentage liking Linux mint.More recently (and having developed a dislike for Systemd) I have been using Void Linux which uses runit instead of systemd (although I note that runit is now available in Debian).I have also had brief encounters with Slackware (I find the package management a bit clunky) and Gentoo (also found managing packages a bit tedious), although in fairness I think both of these have improved in recent years. I've not tried them for a long while.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2023, 06:25:44 pm
content: Quote from: uktony on July 13, 2023, 11:01:46 amIt's a long time ago since Redhat and the most common derivatives had dependency issues. The repositories are rock solid nowadays and testing and quality control is top class. Where you can get some hiccups, is with third party repositories that don't have the same quality control. Even Fedora that has a fast development pace with latest versions of everything, doesn't have any issues nowadays. I would say around 10 years ago or so, there were sometimes issues with Fedora. Nowadays it's a solid desktop distribution. I wouldn't use it on a server, though. Even CentOS Stream would be easier to maintain. (Written from a Fedora desktop).

author: Veteran68
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2023, 06:56:49 pm
content: I started with Slackware and then RedHat in the early/mid 90's. I still have a commercial boxed copy of RH 3.0 (on 3.5" floppies) on the shelf. I still remember installing from FTP servers. When RedHat split the distro between RHEL and Fedora, I started looking at others. I've dabbled in several, but have mostly landed on Debian and Ubuntu LTS distros. I do some desktop work but it's primarily server and CLI based development work, so I don't need a Linux GUI. When I need a GUI then I'm typically needing MacOS or Windows.

author: metebalci
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2023, 05:23:50 pm
content: Ubuntu since 6.06 (2006) is my daily and go-to distro. I install others only if needed for a particular reason.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 01:28:07 pm
content: I have been using Linux Mint for quite some years now and I am very happy with it on the whole. I do miss some things from Windows like the Device Manager and mint still has some bugs that bother me but, on the whole, I am happy and would not go back to Windows. I absolutely refuse the concept of the software as a service and the "telemetry" spying, etc. No way.Linux Mint requires much less in resources and will run efficiently in machines that would choke on Windows 10. When Covid arrived I installed Mint on a bunch of old laptops so the kids could attend remote classes. Those laptops were older dual cores that would choke on Windows.Mint has some bugs that bother me and I do not understand why they are not fixed. One is the desktop icons not behaving, moving, etc. It seems so basic.I am running Linux Mint and then Win XP SP3 Pro as a virtual machine with VMWare.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 01:51:27 pm
content: Too lazy for Gentooso it's Arch even though it sucks massive donkey ballsDebian derivatives I can't stand, their package managers are weird and have crap UX.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 02:01:13 pm
content: I am experimenting with fedora for the first time. Previously, I used MX Linux. The reason for fedora is simple - Framework 13 laptop. However, I am not friends with Gnome. It is weird but some say one gets used to it.

author: Veteran68
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 02:10:28 pm
content: Quote from: magic on September 26, 2023, 01:51:27 pmLOL I'm the opposite. I love me some apt! Everytime I have to use a non-apt based distro I curse as much as I type. It's become second nature to me. I came from RedHat back in the 90's when RPM was state of the art over building from tarballs, though dependency management was still hell. Yum was just gaining ground on RH-based distros when I shifted to Debian-based builds. Yum is okay but I'm far more proficient with apt.If you're referring to the GUI UX, then I can't speak to that as I rarely use it. I do all of my sysadmin stuff from the CLI.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 02:15:02 pm
content: No, I'm talking all the apt-* dpkg-* stuff.A million executables with a billion subcommands, no single man page, IIRC some of them are only usable after fetching additional data which are not downloaded by "apt-get update",I presume one can get used to it and become proficient, but I'm not there yet.

author: BrokenYugo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 02:53:18 pm
content: Debian, minimal on the little print server I made from a junk netbook, whatever the default desktop is on the desktop machine (meh, it works well enough I haven't bothered to change, yet).

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2023, 03:11:19 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on September 26, 2023, 02:01:13 pmI think what most people who are happily running Fedora get used to is you select one of the other desktops, like Mate or XFCE, as you install it. Fedora has them all packaged up nicely, so they install just as smoothly as Gnome. Gnome took a weird turn at version 3, that they won't retreat from.I've used Fedora and RedHat before that for the last 25 years. However, recent changes to Fedora have finally made me seriously experiment with Debian. I haven't been finding any issues I can't live with, although the apt world seems clunkier than the rpm+dnf world.

author: Fredderic
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 04:04:05 am
content: Quote from: coppice on September 26, 2023, 03:11:19 pmWhat actually, did they do? Gnome 2 was great. But I landed up in a Windows world just as G3 was getting substantial enough to consider transitioning.

author: freda
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 04:33:52 am
content: Quote from: Fredderic on September 27, 2023, 04:04:05 amits quite fine if all your gonna click on the desktop is a few apps, its the desktop to give to your mum, big icons, all staring right at you, can't get confused about that?.For anyone else its insanely inadequate. And please, doing a search to get at all your special apps,its WTF?

author: metebalci
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 05:04:44 am
content: There are many alternative window managers on Linux, it is not like Win or Mac. I think it doesnt matter much with which one the distribution comes with.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 05:08:53 am
content: People are really divided about Gnome 3 (now Gnome 4x), some love it, but many despise it.I have used it a bit on my laptop at some point, and for some light use on the go on a laptop, it was ok. But for any serious desktop use, I would trash it in an instant, I find it unbearable.Windows had already tried something like this with the infamous Metro start screen of Win 8, which basically looked like the Activities screen of Gnome 4x, just admittedly that Gnome looks better.Windows 11 is trying to steer back in the same direction with their new "start menu", although you can still use desktop icons.Gnome can become remotely usable if you install a number of extensions, unfortunately extensions tend to break at every Gnome update due to how the extension subsystem is architectured, so that bites immensely.But for people who dig Android-like UIs, that probably works fine.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 11:26:09 am
content: Quote from: metebalci on September 27, 2023, 05:04:44 amHere is the thing. PC is a tool for me. A tool to browse the web, watch youtube, design PCBs, run simulations, etc. I am annoyed when I need to babysit it. From my experience, when you start "tweaking" something, you break things and introduce bugs. It may work at the first glance but two weeks later you find out that something does not work***. It steals my precious free time.For all my devices, I try to keep as default configuration as possible. This is the configuration that is likely most tested. I also like to use all software in English.Even fedora has things that bug meTouchPad palm rejectionDPI scaling (high-res internal LCD on laptop + external 21:9 ultra-wide screen)From what I understood, Gnome DE is probably the best DE to get reasonable experience when docking with monitors that have different DPI. I like my Framework 13 laptop. The manufacturer and the community is very Linux-friendly. However, still you need to do "this and that" to make it running. And sometimes it does not work anyways. I hate to say that but I always end up using Windows 11 again. (no problems with battery, hibernation, etc.)What I am afraid is that when I take Fedora and change the desktop environment, I spend hours to make it reasonable and the next update kills it again. Once again, I don't want to babysit my computer. I don't babysit my pliers and wrenches in the workshop either. I expect them work 24/7.*** had it some time ago, I solved audio but HDMI stopped working. I found out when desperately needed to connect my PC to the TV...

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 01:21:17 pm
content: what I really need at the moment is a C well written and coherent tiling window manager.I don't need any file-manager, desktop-manager, session manager.

author: metebalci
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 02:23:22 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on September 27, 2023, 11:26:09 amI dont think this can be called tweaking, as it is pretty well defined and the well known window managers are pretty stable, but I totally understand your point.

author: eleguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 02:26:39 pm
content: Debian and now for 20 years almost. Very stable and still (some?) possibility to get somewhat "latest" packages if needed. I think it is not about distribution it is about your selections that make this or that heavy/light/or so. I have now used i3 tiling thingy with some "extensions" for very long and would not go back to resizing "float" windows (not talking os now) hazzle. I3 comes with multiple desktops but is not the most easy to start with. However still pretty much easier than awesome for example. Whatever you take (specially ubuntu / debian or derivant) don't install everything and specially not with all "recommends".

author: YurkshireLad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 04:50:54 pm
content: I installed Debian 12 at home a couple of weeks ago, for s/w development. I started out using XFCE but I switched to Cinnamon after a few days. So far it's all working well.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 08:14:31 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on September 27, 2023, 01:21:17 pmDon't 'awesome' or 'i3' fit the bill?

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 08:33:28 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on September 27, 2023, 08:14:31 pmUnfortunately no.

author: BradC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 11:03:26 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on September 27, 2023, 01:21:17 pmHave you tried Xmonad?

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2023, 11:05:45 pm
content: Quote from: BradC on September 27, 2023, 11:03:26 pmyes, but it's written in Haskell, and I have serious problem supporting a Haskell compiler for { MIPS-I, MIPS-IV, MIPS32, HPPA2 }.

author: eleguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2023, 05:13:48 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on September 27, 2023, 08:33:28 pmI am interested to hear why not?

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2023, 09:24:34 am
content: Quote from: eleguy on September 28, 2023, 05:13:48 amNot C well written and not coherent.To make it support what I need I have to hack it heavily.

author: thephil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 02:07:59 pm
content: I have been using Debian for both servers and desktop for decades and I'm very happy with it. I only had a very brief period of running Ubuntu on a new laptop because of a hardware support problem but returned to Debian immediately once that was sorted out. I have used several Desktop environments over the years (KDE, XFCE, Gnome) but have pretty much settled on i3 now.I have a virtual Windows machine on my laptop for the odd cases when I really need it.I even converted my in-laws to Debian+XFCE when they started having problems with Windows changing on them al the time and they are pretty happy with it for their needs (web surfing, email, writing stuff, managing their pictures and a game of solitaire every ow and then). The switch has made my life a lot easier as I can now easily maintain their computers remotely via ssh without them having to do anything beyond turning it on.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 07:11:27 pm
content: Quote from: thephil on September 30, 2023, 02:07:59 pmDo your in-laws have a static IP address, or how do you solve this?I too need to (and want to) babysit my father's PC.

author: tridac
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 07:16:41 pm
content: Most sytems here are FreeBSD, far more lightweight and clean than current Linux, which I mainly dropped after the systemd debacle. Suse or Debian otherwise, but Suse always sems just that bit more polished and feature rich than even Debian, which used to be the stock install for years here...

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 07:19:14 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on September 30, 2023, 07:11:27 pmI maintain remotely a bunch of computers running Linux Mint and I use Anydesk. Years ago I used Teamviewer but they became very obnoxious demanding payment saying they detected professional use. i switched to Anydesk and I am very satisfied.

author: thephil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2023, 09:28:30 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on September 30, 2023, 07:11:27 pmNo – they don't. I'm using a dynamic DNS service. There are plenty out there (dynDNS, No-IP, ...). As they are behind a NAT router, I also configured their router to forward different external ports to port 22 (ssh) on the respective computers so I can connect. E.g. 22222 -> 22 on computer 1 and 22223 -> 22 on computer 2.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2023, 06:28:15 am
content: In the past I had a similar situation with my mother’s laptop. I installed Ubuntu for her. She’s behind a non-configurable NAT with no static IP address.While the setup is no longer in place, it had an SSH tunnel configured to connect to my computer (which has a full internet connection). This way I could access ports on her machine. That does require coöperation from both ends: I must enable the service, she must enable the laptop and click a button. But for the intended purpose of sporadic or emergency maintenance it was fine.Another often overlooked option is running SSH as an onion service in the Tor network. The downside is having two layers of encryption and authentication: one from Tor, one from SSH. But for terminal sessions it’s not particularly painful. A small advantage is lower exposure, because addresses can’t be enumerated and are expensive to discover.

author: ve7xen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2023, 11:47:23 pm
content: The 'easy' solution to the remote access issue is to set up Tailscale on the device. NAT traversal etc. is handled for you.I tend to just use Chrome Remote Desktop for one-off support, though.

author: mapleLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 02:13:46 pm
content: Just a PSAGROK3 is pretty incredible at solving Linux issues. Really surprised at how detailed and tailored debugging help is to the flavor of linux.I stood up a LXC container in Proxmox, within 4 hours I had a working Rundeck install, python, everything, and then GROK helping me produce scripts and workflows. It would have taken 2 days to get a hello world working judging by my past work in Linux, so the acceleration here is great.I can workflow, schedule and automate anything Python can do now.Oh, ask GROK to tighten down your security, worked for me.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 03:38:34 pm
content: FreeBSD with Linux binary compatibility? Anyone?AMD64/x86-only?Just asking ...

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 10:29:36 pm
content: I'm not surprised, GROK is probably trained on stackoverflow answers to your questions. If you ask it about a problem less common then it will likely struggle to understand your true problems, and give similar-sounding solutions instead.LLMs are interpolation machines. They are great at giving answers very close to their training data, poor at answers further afield.Quote from: mapleLC on March 12, 2025, 02:13:46 pmUh... how do you know it worked? And didn't just get you to do a bunch of stuff that people claim works online? Security is complicated, running some random commands without fully understanding their impacts typically doesn't help you much.I take it that GROK was very confident in its answers?

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 12:21:56 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 12, 2025, 03:38:34 pmI think I played with it very briefly (as in for less than a day) just to see what FreeBSD feels like nowadays a few years ago, but not truly used it.Quote from: DiTBho on March 12, 2025, 03:38:34 pmNo, thethe handbooksaysx86, x86-64, and Aarch64are supported. TheFreeBSD Wikidoesn't mention supported arches.As you can get basically the same userspace tooling in FreeBSD as in Linux, I wouldn't bother, though –– except for closed-source binaries. Just like Wine, I'd only use such compatibility layers to run closed-source stuff that cannot be properly ported. You can see a list of tested applications and their status at the FreeBSD WikiLinuxAppspage.If we compare to say Windows WSL2, my opinion stands: if you want to do development in Linux, better use either native or virtualized real Linux environment (I recommend Debian and Debian derivatives like Mint), than deal with the corner cases where the compatibility layers aren't perfect. For just running stuff, these compat layers are fine, as long as one remembers that if something bugs out, it is most likely the compatibility layer. And my opinion is definitely symmetric on this: I wouldn't want to try developing Windows code in Wine, either –– well, maybe for the simplest things, but definitely would need to test on proper Windows versions, perhaps in virtual machines. Exact same applies to Linuxulator and Wine, IMO.FreeBSD does support virtualization just fine (even on Aarch64), as long as the hardware supports it.For non-nativeemulation, I do warmly recommendQEMU. It isn't perfect either, but it is darn good. For example, you could use QEMU to run x86/x86-64 binaries on Aarch64 in an emulated environment, for example.

author: mapleLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 12:39:35 am
content: Quote from: Whales on March 12, 2025, 10:29:36 pmWell treaded areas of the masses that an individual is not skilled in is an ideal use case for an AI like this, and it worked. I had been avoiding most use cases with AI because I felt it was still hype.I think the inflection point is here where a year ago it was not close to this competent. My son tried to sell me on ChatGPT a while back and I thought it was mindless. This is close to chatting with an expert now.Quote from: Whales on March 12, 2025, 10:29:36 pmI was simplistic in that comment. I asked for a few specific things such as helping make sure the main admin account had no connection to the app installed in the container. I asked it specifically for a routine to check, and it seemed competent to me. I've done stuff like this before, it just seemed efficient to get there. 10 x 10 min searches instead of one 20 min instruction set and a couple of follow up questions. It reminded me of watching a YouTube vid when it has theexactsame problem you have and you get that 'tailor made' illusion.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 05:55:51 am
content: last evening i finally got fed up with OSX not acting nice with non genuine parts and installed Debian on my old MacbookFells like i gave another 4-5 years to the 2012 machine

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 06:21:03 am
content: Quote from: Whales on March 12, 2025, 10:29:36 pmThat's all true, but ... I just tried an exercise.Here are my prompts, and very abbreviated excerpts from its responses. It actually wrote a many different version of strllen, strcpy, strcmp as we went:If you wanted to add a new instruction to the scalar part of an existing ISA such as MIPS to speed up C string handling e.g. strlen, strcpy, strcmp, what would you suggest?> The key bottleneck in string operations is the sequential scan of bytes, often one per cycle, limited by memory alignment and the need to check for the null terminator or character differences. A single instruction that processes multiple bytes at once, detects the null terminator, or compares strings efficiently would be ideal.>One effective approach would be to introduce a "string scan" instruction that processes a word (4 bytes in MIPS32) or double-word (8 bytes in MIPS64) at a time, detecting the null terminator and returning its position.> Proposed Instruction: strscan Reads a word (4 bytes) from the address in rs1. Scans the word for the first null byte (\0). Writes to rd the offset (0–3) of the null byte within the word, or 4 if no null byte is found. Updates rs1 to point to the next word (auto-increment).I see some problems with strscan. Loading from memory and then doing arithmetic on it violates RISC principles. Also for strcpy or strcmp it requires a second load instruction for the same data.> Revised Proposal: zdetw rd, rs1 (Zero Detect Word) Writes to rd the offset (0–3) of the first null byte, or 4 if no null byte is found.strcpy writing the dst past the null is a serious bug, violating the strcpy spec, which must do precise insertion> New Instruction: zdetwm (Zero Detect Word with Mask) Sets rd to the offset (0–3) of the null, or 4 if none. Sets rs2 to a mask: 1s for bytes up to (but not including) the null, 0s afterThis masking is good, but this zdetwm instruction violates r2w1 design.> Revised Proposal: zdetw rd, rs1 Writes to rd a byte mask: 1s for bytes up to (but not including) the first null, 0s after> {code using ctz in the loop}Making all zeros after the first null is good for strcpy but reduces the chances of using it for other things. It is also not a pure SIMD operation but has dependency within bytes, which could slow the instruction on larger words sizes e.g. 64 bits. Also there is no need to know the exact position of a null in the main copy loop but only whether one is present or not> Revised Proposal: zchk rd, rs1 (Zero Check) Writes rd = 0 if any byte is \0, rd = 1 if no bytes are \0.Good, but I still like the byte by byte mask, not a single bit 0 or 1 output> New Proposal: zmask rd, rs1 (Zero Mask) For each byte in rs1, sets corresponding byte in rd to: 0xFF if the byte is non-zero. 0x00 if the byte is zero.{a few cycles trying to hint that it had missed that ctz counts bits not bytes in the last chunk (with the null in it)Good .. but please check what you are returning from strlenIt seems like you don't understand what ctz returns> {notices that MIPS is BE so ctz won't work, switched to byte by byte compares for the tail}Not really the fix I was looking for. Let's either use clz instead of ctz, or else assume a LE MIPS system and continue with ctz> {produces almost correct BE and LE versions, using clz or ctz as appropriate. FINALLY adds srl 3 to convert bit count to byte count in both versions}ok good. Let's stick with LE. Can we keep the loop in the loop, so there is only one taken branch in a normal loop, and final bytes are handled after the loop? Also we can subtract pointers after the loop to determine the 4 bytes per loop counted, not actually have an addi instuction every iteration> {fixes the loop}this is looking great now, except you need to count trailing 1s (non-null bytes) not 0s> {adds nor with zero reg in loop tail before ctz .. all code is now correct and beautiful}Looks great. How does zmask compare to instructions in RISC-V?> {nothing good in base ISA, nothing except ctz in B ext, vmseq.v, vfirst.m do the job in V ext, shows the best we can do in each}Let's ignore RVV and stick to scalar. The B extension was ratified in 2021, it is not draft. Did you consider the orc.b instruction?> {describes orc.b, tries a sample string "abc\0| with both orc.b and our new MIPS zmask}> Holy smokes—they’re identical! I missed this entirely. orc.b does exactly what zmask does, down to the byte-wise non-zero check producing 0xFF or 0x00.> Why I Missed It> I focused on ctz and clz in Zbb, assuming no single instruction matched zmask’s mask generation. orc.b slipped under my radar—its name (“OR-combine”) didn’t scream “string mask” to me, but its behavior is a dead ringer. My bad for not digging deeper into the ratified spec.> Verdict> zmask = orc.b: Functionally, they’re twins. If we’d designed zmask for RISC-V, we’d have reinvented orc.b.> RISC-V Wins: Since orc.b exists, it’s the go-to for scalar string acceleration in RISC-V, no custom instruction needed.> MIPS Context: zmask still makes sense as a MIPS extension, as MIPS lacks an orc.b equivalent in its standard set.> For your original ask—adding a string-handling instruction to MIPS—zmask (or orc.b by another name) is still a great fit, mirroring a proven RISC-V solution. If you were targeting RISC-V instead, you’d just use orc.b off the shelf. Pretty cool convergence! Anything else you want to explore with this?Those RISC-V designers must have been on some strong stuff, eh? But what a wacky name. It seems this pure SIMD instruction works with both LE and BE, while the earlier suggestion to zero all bytes after the first null is inherently BE.> Haha, yeah, the RISC-V folks were definitely cooking with some high-octane creativity when they named orc.b—it sounds like a fantasy spell or a grumpy orc’s battle cry, not a string-handling gem! But you’re spot on: its pure SIMD-like nature makes it endian-agnostic, which is a slick advantage over our earlier ideas. Let’s unpack that and see why orc.b (and thus zmask) shines across both little-endian (LE) and big-endian (BE), while the “zero after first null” approach tied us to BE.> RISC-V’s Strong Stuff> The designers must’ve been sipping some potent open-source espresso—orc.b sneaks in as a bit-manipulation trick but doubles as a string-handling powerhouse. It’s a testament to RISC-V’s “less is more” ethos: one instruction, broad utility. Our zmask journey landed on the same idea, proving great minds (and AIs!) think alike.For MIPS, zmask as an orc.b clone is still a killer addition—endian-flexible and lean. Any other RISC-V scalar tricks you want to pit it against?-----So ... interesting.zmask is a pretty novel instruction. As far as I know, orc.b in RISC-V is the first time anyone has done that instruction in an ISA that also has ctz. Lots of SIMD ISAs can do a "compared each element to 0 and make either a byte mask in a vector register or a bit mask in a mask register" but none of them can then do a ctz on the entire register or mask. The best you can do is compress the MSB of each vector element to an integer register, or transfer a mask register to integer, and then do ctz there.Grok didn't get to zmask by itself, but it got there by prompting relatively general observations about problems with its initial suggestions.There were a couple of bugs that to be honest a human programmer could easily overlook too, and have to debug: forgetting to invert the mask before doing ctz (in the absense of cto), and forgetting to adjust bit count to byte count. In translating from MIPS to RISC-V it hallucinated a "nor, t4, t2, zero" instruction in RISC-V, which I didn't correct -- "xori t4, t2, -1" is available so nbd.There were also a couple of correct but not optimal things. Incrementing the byte count in every loop when it could be calculated after the loop by pointer subtraction. Putting the tail processing physically inside the loop, so having a taken conditional branch and an unconditional branch in each loop iteration. I got that to a non-taken conditional, plus an unconditional branch, with contiguous code for the loop body. I didn't ask it to rotate the loop to only have the conditional branch, and start by jumping into the middle. I think it probably could have done that.Once these problems were pointed out, they didn't recur in later versions of strlen, strcpy, strcmp that used different custom instruction formulations.The whole process was quite fast. Grok3 responded very quickly, with updated versions of all three functions at every prompt, which were at least close to correct. modulo the confusion about the exact input and output of ctz.Reasoning about imaginary instructions, it's obviously not possible for the machine to actually execute the code. Symbolic reasoning is all there is.I think it's useful. You have to supervise it like you would a junior programmer, and prod all the good ideas, but it iterates the mechanics in seconds that a junior would take a day to rewrite. And, within a given session (which you can go back to later) it doesn't make the same mistake again once corrected.

author: BradC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 08:08:36 am
content: Quote from: JPortici on March 13, 2025, 05:55:51 amI recently retired a 2011 iMac that was running Debian. The only reason I retired it was the AMD GPU was failing. I'm still running it on my 2014 Macbook and can't see any reason to "upgrade".Intel Macs run Linux perfectly well and I've got to say this Macbook is better than, and has lasted longer than any other Intel based Laptop I've ever owned.I've not run MacOS on them however.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2025, 12:36:46 am
content: My main machine is triple booting Debian 12, Windows 10, and Slackware 14.2.My ThinkPad T420 just single boots Windows 7 at the moment, but it did run Slackware 14.2 nicely a few years ago so I think I'll put some Linux on it at some point.

author: designerhans
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 15, 2025, 09:00:08 pm
content: I've been using Debian on servers for its stability and reliability, but for desktop use, I switched to EndeavourOS (Arch-based) a while ago. I like having a rolling release without too much initial setup hassle.That said, I totally get the frustration with Ubuntu becoming more bloated—especially with things like Snap. It feels like it's drifting away from what made it appealing in the first place.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 15, 2025, 09:24:39 pm
content: Soon I will use Fedora Workstation on Gnome just to try it out, wish me luck!If it feels too Apple for me plan B is Debian KDE.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 12:50:15 am
content: Quote from: Zucca on March 15, 2025, 09:24:39 pmTry out GNOME in a virtual machine first if you can. If you prefer KDE, it's probably better to install the KDE spin of Fedora from the beginning.Although you can start with a vanilla GNOME install of Fedora, then install the KDE desktop environment and display manager, it does leave some annoying artefacts, like sometimes programs will open GNOME Nautilus rather than KDE Dolphin as the file manager. Or icon discrepancies.I use KDE on Fedora, and I think KDE is the most full featured for a power user.I also have a Debian machine running some 24/7 services where GNOME is the perfect desktop environment because the screen stays off and I don't have to use GNOME

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2025, 09:30:52 am
content: Quote from: John B on March 16, 2025, 12:50:15 amI think all depends on personal preference and what your goal is with your computer. I consider myself a power user; I learned Linux on the command line and most system administration I do from the terminal. In the past I tried out most desktop environments and distributions (starting 20 years ago). In the end I got tired of tinkering with the desktop and just left Gnome installed in Fedora and now I've been running it for many years on my main workstation (and other desktops and laptops at home). All annoying bugs that I would care about have been fixed a long time ago (at some points I even participated myself and fixed some bugs). I have zero interest nowadays to see or "use" a desktop environment. It should just stay out of the way and let me run my programs.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2025, 06:08:33 am
content: Quote from: designerhans on March 15, 2025, 09:00:08 pmwhich happened i think 15 years ago, around the time of the Gnome 2 -> Gnome 3 switch

author: thermistor-guy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2025, 06:55:10 am
content: Quote from: tkamiya on May 25, 2023, 12:23:13 amRe stable network storage. I have a mixed home network like you. For critical files, I use Synology h/w (for over a decade now). Never had a problem.For large entertainment archives (movies, music, etc) I've been using Unraid on an old PC for a few months now. Drives are WD Red Pro HDDs, always spinning.Working well so far. I don't trust the Unraid tower yet with anything critical - maybe after 12 months I'll reconsider (but maybe not).

author: valcher
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2025, 07:50:51 am
content: I prefer Debian, it has been installed on my home router wrt3200acm for almost 9 years. It has adbbock, dnscrypt-proxy, openvpn, smb and everything else necessary for my network.All configuration is from the command line.

author: InductorX
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2025, 07:57:13 am
content: I don't have a favorite distribution, it depends on the task and also mostly the convenience I think. I run a proxmox server with various vm's that run docker in some form and some LXC as well. Besides that I also run a Truenas server. I have Arch running on a Lenovo laptop, ubuntu server, Debian, SUSE, and I might have forgotten what elseMostly I try to avoid using a GUI, and if I have to, or want to, it's something light weight for sure, no Gnome or KDE.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2025, 08:10:31 am
content: Regarding network storage and servers.I have a Lenovo Tiny M920 PC that I use as a network server and media storage (SSDs). I run Xcp-ng virtualization with a few AlmaLinux servers on it. Great little machine and Xcp-ng is rock stable. I have a separate Qnap NAS backup machine (RAID 1 hard disks) that starts automatically once a week and runs some backup scripts over the network.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 12:10:42 pm
content: Yesterday I found something unique and very odds: have you ever heard about "Corel GNU/Linux"?Two CD-ROMs, for x86/32 and powermac G3. Live-so-you-can-evaluate-before-installing, Booting a 2.4 kernel with a very old version of Gnome, but amazing!Corel? the same guys of CorelDraw? I think so ...

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 01:21:38 pm
content: Argh! last evening I tried to update my macbook from debian bookworm to trixie. I thought it would be as easy as changing the sources list and then apt update / upgrade but of course it fucked up everything and was met with SDDM instead of the usual kde login screen.Of course my macbook trackpad decided to break at the same time and wouldn't click anymore, of course tap to click isn't recognized before logging in, of course SDDM has the eternal can't-hit-return-to-accept-password bug.Because i did literally zero actual work on my macbook after i installed debian, i decided to reinstall trixie from scratch.Quote from: DiTBho on March 27, 2025, 12:10:42 pmThat's what wiki sayshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corel_Linux?useskin=vector

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 01:39:28 pm
content: Quote from: JPortici on March 27, 2025, 01:21:38 pmdiff vs wikiPlatforms IA-32 ----------------------> CD#1 is x86/32 (PC), but CD#2 is PPC/32 (PowerMac)Default user interface CDE (variant of KDE) ----------------------> mine is based on Gnomebut yes, they confirm to be the same guys from CorelDraw

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 01:58:40 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 27, 2025, 01:39:28 pmThat's rotten! The original CDE is an old desktop environment based on Motif and might have inspired KDE. The old SPARCstations running Solaris came with CDE, for example.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 03:50:44 pm
content: Quote from: madires on March 27, 2025, 01:58:40 pmwiki_error=+1now that you mention it, I believe it is the same "CDE" that was on HPUX v10.20 (PA-RISC-1.0)When I daily worked on a HP712@60Mhz at my university computer lab.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 06:39:45 pm
content: Ubuntu Studio recommended by a friend this year for his audio stuff.No horrible bloated flashy animated activities/Unity thing.Dimming of inactive windows now an option.Can turn pretty much all the animations off with KDE plasma and other renamed tools.In my opinion I think they should replace the normal Ubuntu with it.The LibreOffice that comes with it seems to load up fast.There is one issue during install@During copying files, if no mouse input, it toes go to sleep (bloody STUPID they allow this to happen) and when woken lock screen requires a password that is not even set yet and the one it requested doesn't work if I remember correctly.https://askubuntu.com/questions/1438597/live-session-locked-out-ubuntu-studio-22-10If it was on a laptop and was on batteries I could understand but this was not and I was told that this would happen but twice it happened to me when I got carried away with something else at the time.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 07:04:26 pm
content: QuoteTurned all that off ages ago,just the serene calmness of desktops and proper menus of old

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 27, 2025, 07:20:54 pm
content: Seems like System 76 are gonna make quite a splash with their Pop-OS (Ubuntu based) and all new Cosmic desktop written in rust. Just in alpha now but already looking very nice. Wayland only (a good thing).youtube.com/watch?v=q077sf7ymzI

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2025, 09:55:40 am
content: Quote from: DiTBho on March 27, 2025, 03:50:44 pmYep, was a collaboration of HP, IBM, Sun and USL.

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 07:13:56 am
content: I started my mild learning on Linux way back in 2020 with Fedora 32/33 (dual boot with Windows 10) but after the CentOS/RedHat drama I dropped it and started using Rocky Linux (no dual boot) - Now on their Workstation build.Definitely a harder OS since it doesn't have the quality of life that Fedora had in terms de pre installed dependencies and packages. But at the same time it is way cleaner because of that since I only have what I need at the moment.Unfortunately is the same problem as always: Although I'm not going to totally migrate to Linux - my knowledge about Linux is around 4 years against a lifetime (since I was 7/8 years old) of DOS/Windows - I will have to install a bigger drive in this new (to me) laptop to have again dual boot because of applications I don't have alternatives at the same level as in Windows.So I will have to still put up with all the crap Microsoft is doing to his OS in a bet to turn it into a "service" while using ways to edit files and registry and others to remove superfluous crap, while I hope for companies to look at Linux as a viable alternative.Or in a mad world where a version of Windows will be app compatible (including older apps) while using a Linux kernel (you can always dream).

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 09:48:26 am
content: Quote from: Black Phoenix on April 13, 2025, 07:13:56 amThat will not happen because of backwards compatibility in Windows, and the fundamental differences in concepts and their implementation between Windows and POSIXy systems. The decades-long history and current performance limitations ofWineis the proof and record of that.Even with their cloud infrastructure being fully based on Linux nowadays, Microsoft isn't capable of producing that level of interoperability either, as illustrated byWindows Subsystem for Linuxand its compatibility issues. (The reason for this is in MS's internal culture. It just isn't suited for interoperability with others. The internal tug-of-war between the OS and Office units is a good example of this, although MS's contracts try hard to keep those out from the public view. What makes excellent business sense, can cause severe limitations on real technical capabilities, that's all. I do not see MS as an enemy of FOSS anymore, for example; it was that a couple of decades ago, but not so today – justlimitedbecause of organizational history and structure.)What works, however, is running different OSes in virtual machines, and enabling machine-local file sharing across those virtualized instances. With a bit of help from the host virtualization environment, you can get even clipboard (copy-and-paste) working across OSes.Thus, instead of hoping for unrealistic developments, you should focus on 'encouraging' Microsoft to enhance Windows performance in virtualized containers, including OpenGL/OpenGL ES acceleration (instead of their own proprietary DirectX). This would bring Windows closer to other OSes in virtualized use cases.Whatever opinion one might have about any one operating system, we all benefit from having multiple options. Even though I myself don't use Windows, I am happy it exists. I love that there is FreeBSD and OpenBSD and a couple of other smaller open source OS projects, and that Linux isn't the only option. I much prefer mac OS over Windows, too, although I suspect Apple is overfocusing on iOS features (it being a derivative of their own mac OS), and am not impressed about the last few years' so-called improvements.The same extends to Linux distributions. Although they all use the same Linux kernel and most of the same OS and service layers, the key in open source has been user control (and ownership; licensing only limiting redistribution and creating derivatives, not use), so there are a lot of build-time choices to be made, and the entire system integration to do; and these affect the user interaction and "feel". Multiple choices keeps up competition (for contributors, not so much forusers), and through selection, software evolution.

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 01:58:08 pm
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on April 13, 2025, 09:48:26 amAs I said, in a mad world...

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 02:32:29 pm
content: Oh, mygod, now there are "distro for Containers".I mean, designed (immutable-kind) with the primary goal of running containers X_______X

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 03:09:13 pm
content: Quote from: Black Phoenix on April 13, 2025, 07:13:56 amWine allows running a gigantic number of Windows apps successfully.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 03:30:32 pm
content: It’s not the lack of compatibility, that is the problem. Compatibility is valuable to some level. Beyond that it reduces technological ecosystem diversity and inhibits improvement. I’m not going to tell, where the boundary lies. But a complete compatibility between different operating systems is certainly way beyond it.It is like expecting that wheels of an F1 car and of a Tour de France bicycle should be interchangeable. They’re both state of art technology, but each belong to their own range and such compatibility kills both.We don’t need to go as far as comparing Linux and Windows. Full POSIX compliance is not expected in most Linux distros, even less in practical use. Very few people care about their personal shell scripts being kosher, and most just use bash or zsh features. With some distros more or less explicitly embracing bash as the de facto shell scripts standard. Linux API is the interface of choice for anything needing high performance: nobody sticks to POSIXselect, ifepollmay be used, andmmap& co. are generally modeled after how they behave in Linux, not on other POSIX-ey platforms.IMO problem’s nature is cultural, not technological. Developers(1)demanding power extending way beyond what is reasonably needed to accomplish the task. Where complete compatibility is unrealistic,90% of tasks rely on 10% of features.And maintaining that 10% is quite easy. But for that to work, there has to be the right culture in the society.For a good example, take modern web landscape. To read static plain-text content, now you need to download 5 applications from different servers, operated by multiple vendors. What they do is download that static content and place it on the page, exactly as if it was with a server-generated page.(2)Or a bunch of similar techniques, where the sole purpose is keeping absolute control over the presentation. So something that is supported for 30 years by almost anything that can touch a web server, that works everywhere, that is extremely well tested, now requires using one of 2–3 “blessed” environments. Usually with strong restrictions on how it’s configured, and it still falls apart from time to time even on “supported platforms.”I used the example of webapps, because it’s much more striking. But the same problem exists in all software, and even beyond software. A lot of program compatibility trouble can be resolved by… not requiring software at all. Magic!Disclaimer:I’m aware that reliance on platform-specific features may be needed in some cases. I was a webdev in the 2000s, and I also do understand a lot of people use handicapped devices to browse web. This is why we have progressive enhancement: depend on features, when they’re available or actually required.(1)Both software developers, as people, and companies. Sometimes devs have choices forced upon them by the management, but equally often they go for it themselves.(2)The sometimes brought up rationalization is distributed microservices. Except that virtually none of those pages actually use them, and very often the deployed code has no support for them. It may work for Facebook or YouTube, but for virtually everybody else this is a moot point. Even for Facebook it is a somewhat weak argument, given the only reason they need it (over e.g. anycast) is heating up discussions to increase engagement and keep products on the platform.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 04:08:08 pm
content: Quote from: DiTBho on April 13, 2025, 02:32:29 pm"now"?I'm not sure which distro you are referring to.Alpine is frequently used in containers, but it is also very commonly used in embedded devices for example routers, and it predates the wide use of containers by 8 or 10 years, having been released in 2005.Alpine size on my system:6.57 MB riscv647.83 MB amd648.17 MB arm64This is 1/10th the size of Ubuntu, and 1/20th the size of Fedora.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2025, 04:37:33 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on April 13, 2025, 04:08:08 pmFlatcar Linux, from CoreOS (dead?)

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 22, 2025, 12:39:32 pm
content: Well, with the increasing enshittification of the mainstream Linux distros (hello, Canonical!)I can see a reason for wanting a minimalistic distro dedicated only to manage containers

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 08:55:13 pm
content: I've been using OpenMandriva on a second system since the beginning of the year and I'm very pleased with both the ease of installation and the ease of use.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2025, 11:47:34 pm
content: Quote from: bitwelder on April 22, 2025, 12:39:32 pmThere are many distributions out there that are not one of the enshitified "mainstream" distributions and that are worth considering before rolling your own IMHO, but I can't blame willing to have full control.

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 11:36:44 am
content: OpenRC is too slow, anyway.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2025, 01:35:53 pm
content: Quote from: bitwelder on April 22, 2025, 12:39:32 pmSlackware?

author: bson
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2025, 10:19:13 pm
content: Fedora Workstation, still on 40 but will try upgrading it to 42 once it's had a little more time to mature. The main reason is it's upstream of RHEL and Rocky.I ran SuSE in the 90s - I was on their contributors list, and for quite a number of years they sent me free CDs (later DVDs if I recall) for major releases, at some cadence, so it was natural to reach for what I had on hand.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 08:01:21 am
content: Arch Linux. Few weeks ago, I migrated my Linux system to another machine with other graphics. I couldn't be arsed to faff about with swapping NVIDIA/AMD drivers, so I did a clean install. It was my 2nd time installing Arch and it went a lot quicker this time.The first install took me a few hours, now I got my whole system migrated in 2-3 hours. Desktop software, IDEs, debug tools, VM's, data folders, you name it. Its so nice to have many packages in Arch repo's that just work, any proprietary stuff in AUR, and an amazing wiki that documents every gap inbetween.By 4pm I was testing a few games on Steam to see how well they would run on AMD's Radeon 760M integrated graphics.I've also tried other distros (including Debian), and sure my HTPC runs Linux Mint, but I've never found these distros to be as easy and hands free to use. There seems to be alwayssomethingthat gets broken from the expectation that certain packages/depenndencies work together.. (people complained about Windows' DLL hell, but a bad distro can be FAR worse)My homeserver runs Proxmox and a Ubuntu Server LTS VM for docker containers. That VM is ticking close to 4 yrs now, so I have to decide soon on whether I upgrade or I switch to another distro.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 11:23:52 am
content: I've finally switched to an AMD Radeon graphics card (bought a used Radeon RX 6700 XT) on my home desktop PC after 15+ years on Linux with various Nvidia cards. What a relief! No drivers to install, no kernel modules to update, no kernel command line switches, no fiddling with turning off services before suspend, no nothing. Bump in the card and it just works. I uninstalled 20+ packages with *nvidia* in their name. Proprietary drivers are a plague. I highly recommend an AMD card on Linux.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 12:44:10 pm
content: Quote from: JohanH on May 09, 2025, 11:23:52 amI made the switch 15 years ago and never looked backMy last nvidia card was an AGP slot type and I needed it in order to play Quake III Arena(In the year 2003/2004 playing games with AMD was not an option for Linux)

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2025, 01:07:16 pm
content: Quote from: Karel on May 09, 2025, 12:44:10 pmI did try out the Linux desktop also in early 2000s (besides servers), but I finally ditched Windows on my private computers around 2006. ATI/AMD graphics had various issues in the early days, also on Windows. I remember having an ATI All-in-Wonder graphics card/TV tuner and the Windows drivers/software were so bad I had to do a lot of reinstalling all the time. Now there are finally no issues at all on Linux (as far as I can see). Even VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) works. The RX 6700 XT is twice as fast as the Nvidia 1070 I used before. Playing Fallout 4 on 80-100 fps (1440p). I could even try some modern games for once (but I don't play games often nowadays).

author: fxer82
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 19, 2025, 11:58:28 pm
content: pure OS 10.3 from purism

author: DiTBho
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2025, 10:01:43 am
content: Debian-based on TerMux, running in my Motorola moto go smartphone (<<200 euro cheap phone)