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opa
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Re: Linux

by opa Sat Jul 30, 2022 6:44 pm

Lately I've been using lubuntu lqxt. Pretty easy to use and quick on my low-end desktop.
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Ziggy587
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Re: Linux

by Ziggy587 Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:51 pm

So I have my old desktop that I built in 2009. When I built a new desktop a few years ago, the 2009 desktop was repurposed. It still has solid specs. Intel Core i7 965 (3.2Ghz) CPU, 18 GB RAM (it's triple channel, if that total seems odd to you), a Samsung SSD, and I recently replaced the PSU since the old one was used heavily for over 10 years. These specs are still perfect for a lot of tasks. The problem is Microsoft decided to make those annoying requirements for Windows 11. Right now I have 10 on it. I think I've seen some work arounds to get 11 installed on an older computer that doesn't have the CPU and UEFI requirements, but I can't be bothered with that (no telling what Microsoft might do down the road). 10 has another 3 years of support, which may be extended, but I figured let me start looking into Linux options for this desktop instead of worrying about all that.

My main goal with this desktop was to do audio recording and mixing. Annoying, my current Tascam audio interface does not have Windows 10 drivers and it's super unreliable. I was thinking about getting a new interface, one that will work with Windows now but then also with Linux down the road when/if I switch. From what I'm reading, any class compliant USB audio device will work with Linux simply by plugging it in. And then there's JACK, which seems like it's the go-to way to get low latency audio and MIDI in Linux.

I was looking at Ubuntu and noticed it has officially supported flavors now, with Ubuntu Studio being one of them. It has pre-installed software, like JACK, a DAW, Audacity, and some other crap. But I'm wondering... If I just got vanilla Ubuntu, couldn't I just install those softwares myself? It's neat that you can get these flavors with pre-installed software for a specific purpose... But is that all the flavors are? Just packages of pre-installed software?

Are there any distros that are better for gaming? Or does it not really matter? I know I have some Linux compatible games in my Steam and GoG libraries, so I guess the option to play those if I wish to would be nice.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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opa
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Re: Linux

by opa Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:38 am

When you are doing an Ubuntu installation, you're given the option to do a minimal install which just comes with firefox and your basic utilities (no libre office, or any other crap you don't want). You can always install whatever you need afterwards.

The other flavors also have different gui's and may run faster/slower depending on the system and have different pre-packaged software. KDE/Plasma is generally Windows-like. Xubuntu/Lubuntu are pretty lightweight on the hardware.

I've never used Studio. I'm not really into audo/video editing. The most I do is use Audacity and OBS studio for personal projects. No heavy edits. Maybe you could try it out and tell us about it!

Emulation for anything is fine however I've had mixed luck on gog/steam. If a game won't run you're going to the forums to look for fixes. Now I'm not playing triple-A titles that get (potentially) better support so maybe that's my issue. For example, I couldn't get Hotline Miami to run in linux (it's missing 32-bit libraries). Rather than going through the long list of libraries to install, I said eff it and rebooted to my Windows installation to play my games where they're already working. Maybe someone else can chime in with their experiences 'cause I hate spending my free time troubleshooting. LOL

So if I were at square one with a system like you, I'd back up my important stuff and then play around with Ubuntu in a live usb. See if you like it and that it plays nice with your hardware. Then if you decide to install, I'd leave Windows alone and dual boot (that way you have access to Windows-stuff and can do gaming there).

Hopefully I answered some of your questions well enough. If you need help just post or shoot me a message and I'll try to help as best I can.
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Re: Linux

by Ziggy587 Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:14 pm

So I was poking around the Ubuntu Studio site some more and read that it "is configured for best performance for various purposes: Audio, Graphics, Video, Photography and Publishing." So that answers my one question, there IS more to it than just including various apps. But it doesn't explain HOW it's configured differently than vanilla Ubuntu lol. I've found on the Wikipedia page for Ubuntu Studio that it uses a low latency kernel, which sounds really helpful for audio production. Apparently it's easier to maintain than a real-time kernel, and has other benefits like being able to use the same app repository.

I'll probably start with Ubuntu Studio, if only because it seems to be one of the most popular ones right now. I would hate to use some fork that ends up disappearing, gone are the days that I have endless time to tinker around with stuff. I'd like to set something up and then not have to worry about it for a long while.

As an aside, while Ubuntu Studio sounds good, I'm not sure how good regular old Ubuntu is right now. It seems OK, in general. But I was just reading a few things that make it sound like they are concentrating more on enterprise and sever editions and the desktop version is falling by the wayside. Apparently Ubuntu isn't running as fast as other distros.

When I set up my old desktop with Win10 on an SSD, I set aside 80 GB of unpartitioned space. I was always planning to use it for another OS, such as Linux. But I was thinking about getting another SSD instead. I've dual booted Windows and Linux many times in the past, usually of little consequence on spare computers. But I can remember it being a pain in the ass to fix boot loaders when I change things up. Not sure if that's still the case. But I figured if I get another SSD I could keep Windows on one and Linux on the other. Then I don't have to worry about ever fucking anything up, I can switch or reinstall my Window or Linux OS without fear of messing up the other. The tower for this PC has 5 external 5.25" bays, so I could just get one of those swapable HDD deals.




edit: I just messed around a little with Ubuntu Studio on a USB stick. It seems OK. I never saw much point on booting the live environment from optical or USB media though, aside from verifying what hardware works out of the box. I guess it's neat for a first time Linux user, as a way to reel them in. But otherwise there isn't much you can really do with it until you do a proper install. Aside from checking out the GUI.

That said, Ubuntu Studio GUI is nice. Not unlike Mint MATE. It seems more stripped down, so when you click the start button your focus is the studio based apps. Which, if that is your sole use of the computer, then that's great. Everything else is there, but a little more hidden then usual.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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opa
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Re: Linux

by opa Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:25 pm

Well it's easier to install from a usb drive as optical drives fall out of favor.
Also, a live usb can be implemented to recover data from a problematic system.

I hope studio works for you!
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Ziggy587
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Re: Linux

by Ziggy587 Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:21 pm

Ah, right, I suppose installing from USB is faster than optical disc. And I always forget that a Linux Live CD can help fix problems with PCs. But I was really just referring to how you sometimes hear to "try Linux" this way.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Re: Linux

by Limewater Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:00 am

I wouldn't recommend it for audio recording directly, but another good way to get a little deeper into trying out various linux distributions is to set up a Virtual Machine.

IIRC, VirtualBox is pretty easy to use, and your usage would fall under personal use, so you wouldn't have to pay for it.

It's a little cumbersome, and you take a performance hit, but it's WAY quicker and easier than dual-booting.

I mostly only play old games, and I've generally had pretty good luck getting stuff working using WINE. I've played several TellTale games and Leisure Suit Larry 7 using WINE.
Systems: TI-99/4a, Commodore Vic-20, Atari 2600, NES, SMS, GB, Neo Geo MVS (Big Red 4-slot), Genesis, SNES, 3DO, PS1, N64, DC, PS2, GBA, GCN, NDSi, Wii
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Re: Linux

by Anapan Tue Aug 23, 2022 10:05 pm

Guys! Guys...
UwUntu
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opa
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Re: Linux

by opa Wed Sep 07, 2022 6:15 pm

at least it comes with vlc LOL
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Ziggy587
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Re: Linux

by Ziggy587 Wed Sep 07, 2022 10:03 pm

Does anyone have an opinion on light weight Linux distros for older hardware? I've Googled already, so I know what the top X distros are. I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience with them and could recommend one. I've been running Mint on an old desktop and it's OK, but it could definitely be snappier. I think I want to switch to something else.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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