Linux

[pierrot]

Update to this post in a more appropriate thread:

I had some other priorities that kept me from really getting through as much of the Linux revolution to my machines as I had intended, and a couple of errors and things that acted as minor setbacks, but weren't really significant issues (mostly a particular USB port on my laptop that apparently won't allow booting from USB, and Secure Boot getting in the way of Kali Linux--more later).

At this point I have my laptop setup with Fedora Workstation 41 as the main OS, and Windows 11 on a resized partition of about 25% of the disk. If I can help it, I'll never boot into that OS again, but I wanted to leave it as a backup just in case I needed it for something. I pretty much just got Fedora installed on it, so it's still pretty stock. I added Lutris, but there's a whole lot of tweaking and configuring I'll need to do (including SELinux).

I basically landed on just Fedora for everything because apparently Scientific Linux was EoL'd last year. I guess CERN has moved over to AlmaLinux, which I thought about for a hot minute, but just felt like it made more sense to stick with Fedora. AlmaLinux is binary compatible with Enterprise Linux too, but, meh.

The main thing I need to do before actually getting rid of Windows 10 and throwing Fedora on my desktop is testing out FFXI and DQX on my laptop. I'm pretty sure, based on running the DQX benchmark in lutris on my SteamDeck that I should be able to play it fine in Fedora, but while FFXI will run on the SteamDeck, I get a really annoying performance issue that makes it virtually unplayable. I think it has to do with the way the steam controller is configured, and expect it to run fine in Fedora, but I kind of just want to be sure first. I spent a fair amount of time switching 'mod managers' for FFXI from Ashita to Windower (which actually adds quite a few useful features at the expense of a couple small conveniences) because the latter can run under WINE, while I'm not sure the former can without a lot more work. It is somewhat important to me that I can play those (along with PSOBB, but that's definitely not an issue) on my desktop under Linux.

Other than that, I got Tails Linux setup on a USB drive, and it seems to work as expected. I mentioned it briefly before, but I can only boot a live instance of Kali Linux with Secure Boot turned off. It seems this is because the Kali Linux packages aren't signed by Microsoft to run with Secure Boot enabled. I don't necessarily care too much about booting it with Secure Boot off, but I figure the easier way to actually use Kali going forward is just to launch an instance through Boxes (VM) in Fedora. That should probably be fine.

I also happened to get a Pixel 8a as a sort of birthday present. Not sure exactly when I'll get to it, but at some point I'll get GrapheneOS set up on it and switch over my service.

One thing that I really enjoy about Fedora so far (and Linux more broadly) is just how paired down it is. There is no bloat from a bunch of services and applications that provide virtually no improvement to usability, and that feels very liberating. It feels very lean, and a lot more functionally usable for it. I also enjoy having the tools to break in under the hood readily available. It's really nice to start really leaving proprietary software infrastructure behind.

[o.pwuaioc]

Congrats on the Fedora installation! I still think this is one of the best distros out there, and since switching to it after Windows 7, I really have not looked back, or elsewhere.

Of course, you'll tweak Fedora to fit your preferences, but I wanted to share a few of mine. I get rid of so much bloatware, so first thing I do is remove:

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sudo dnf remove cheese eog gedit gnome-boxes gnome-calendar gnome-contacts gnome-maps gnome-photos gnome-software rhythmbox simple-scan totem

Personally I hate Gnome Software, and would rather just do everything via the command line. If you're new to Linux, keeping it in for now might be useful. I would investigate whether these apps are to your liking before removing them or if you need, e.g. a scanner or something. As always, YMMV.

I also remove the individual Libre Office apps in favor of the whole shebang all at once.

Make sure you update before installing new apps.

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sudo dnf --best --refresh update

Depending on how free you want your system to be, I also recommend installing the RPMFusion repository:

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sudo dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Then install whatever you want. Here are just a handful of packages I install at the beginning of a fresh install:

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sudo dnf install cabextract dconf-editor dnf-plugin-system-upgrade evolution fdupes foliate gimp gimp-heif-plugin gnome-tweaks gparted gthumb liberation-fonts libreoffice linux-libertine-fonts mousepad neofetch p7zip pavucontrol pinta qimgv simple-mtpfs simplescreenrecorder smartmontools shntool sl telnet tlp transmission vlc youtube-dl

I'm big into music, so these also make the cut:

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audacity cuetools ffmpeg ffmpeg-libs flacon gstreamer1-plugins-ugly gstreamer1-plugins-bad-freeworld gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras id3v2 lollypop kid3-qt quodlibet soundconverter

I don't do a lot with robotics, but a helpful tip I learned is that if you're trying to compile something, and the error message is that you're missing some lib named, say, lib, installing lib-devel is what you're actually looking for.

Don't forget some fun stuff like cmatrix or no-more-secrets!

Finally, this setting is a must for me:

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gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.preferences open-folder-on-dnd-hover false

This prevents a folder from opening when you're hovering an item over it. I always found that annoying, so getting rid of it is a huge priority.

I love seeing how other people tweak their systems, so do share what you've done once you start customizing it. Good luck!

[pierrot]

Thanks for the recs! I'll dig through them in time. I don't know how much I mind the gnome apps, but I have found it's kind of six in one, half-dozen in the other for me between nano and the gnome text editor app for ease of use.

I've actually gotten myself into some trouble where I've had to try to go a bit power-user before quite being ready to because I don't seem to have Vulkan installed by default. So I ended up trying to install Nvidia drivers, which is so much more complicated than I assumed it would be at this point considering they actually have open-source drivers now. It's felt a little bit like a fighting game where I've realized I have to know everything about my character's move list (Fedora) and the move lists of every other character (other Linux distros) to decipher a lot of the information. (eg. realizing dnf is a package manager like apt but for Fedora (Dandified YUM is a pretty great name), finding out that Fedora actually deactivated the root user for me by default so I didn't need to do it manually, etc.) I'm kind of stuck at the point of not really wanting to deal with signing the Nvidia kernel for Secure Boot, but I've already been through the sudoers file, installed a bunch of dependencies and (I think) disabled Nouveau. So I'm struggling a little with sunk cost fallacy, feeling like I should just get the Nvidia drivers set up while at the same time wanting to just step back and simplify things.

I think it might be less of a pain in the ass to get Nvidia drivers set up on my desktop, since I'm not intending to leave a Windows partition on it, and could just leave Secure Boot off. I also found out about Fedora Everything, which would have been nice for installing on my laptop, but will be nice for setting up Fedora on my desktop, at least.

Will update as I get farther into the process.

[o.pwuaioc]

So I ended up trying to install Nvidia drivers, which is so much more complicated than I assumed it would be at this point considering they actually have open-source drivers now.

I switched from Nvidia to AMD when I built my PC. My laptop has dinky Intel graphics now, but yeah, Nvidia was a pain. You could also try out Nouveau. I haven't used it in a few years, so I don't know how it's progressed since then.

It's felt a little bit like a fighting game where I've realized I have to know everything about my character's move list (Fedora) and the move lists of every other character (other Linux distros) to decipher a lot of the information. (eg. realizing dnf is a package manager like apt but for Fedora (Dandified YUM is a pretty great name), finding out that Fedora actually deactivated the root user for me by default so I didn't need to do it manually, etc.) I'm kind of stuck at the point of not really wanting to deal with signing the Nvidia kernel for Secure Boot, but I've already been through the sudoers file, installed a bunch of dependencies and (I think) disabled Nouveau. So I'm struggling a little with sunk cost fallacy, feeling like I should just get the Nvidia drivers set up while at the same time wanting to just step back and simplify things.

It can be tricky to disentangle everything if it's still unfamiliar. If you have questions as you go through this, feel free to shoot me a PM.

[pierrot]

On my laptop I have AMD integrated graphics with dedicated Nvidia graphics. Fedora seemed to have Nouveau installed by default, and it looked like I could launch programs on the dedicated graphics on a per app basis, but I was running into some issues with libraries in Lutris that prompted me to look at what I had going on for drivers. If I had just stuck to trying to install the libraries, I probably would have been fine, but I started with the RPM guide on Nvidia drivers, got a little confused, then started a process of installing manually. Had massive flashbacks to my roommate in college complaining about graphics on Linux as he was getting started with Arch--.

I'll holler if I get into a broken system situation, thanks! (Or just if I think of something that I could use some help with.)

BTW, what's wrong with Boxes, and do you use something else for VMs?

[o.pwuaioc]

BTW, what's wrong with Boxes, and do you use something else for VMs?

Good eye! The rest I have alternatives for, but I just don't have any use for a VM. I have no issue with Boxes, and it would be what I would use if I needed a VM. I just haven't personally needed a VM for anything I do, including coding.

[pierrot]

Ah, cool. Good to know.

So I may have gone a little bit crazy. I think I actually rolled back most of what I had done to try to install Nvidia drivers, and then I just ended up reinstalling from scratch with Fedora Everything. I feel pretty good about that, though, because I feel like I can just get more efficiently to a well configured system by applying some of the learning from the first pass on a clean slate. Fedora Everything is a pretty nice way to tailor the install process a little more a-la-carte (option for VLC install, for instance). One really nice surprise was finding a Hardware Engineering software package option in there which basically seems to have loaded me up with a software suite of just about everything I could need: KiCad, Julia, gerber viewers, calculators, simulation tools, smith chart tool, maybe even a VLSI layout tool. I haven't really tried any of them out yet, but I am curious what the circuit simulation tools are like. I kind of would have expected to see LTSpice in the group, but it wasn't. I'm also thinking I should check the versions on them, because I don't feel all too confident I really know how these packages are being maintained on my system. Part of me wonders if it's sort of an 'abandoned' Labs spin.

Also, regrettably, I don't think I really like Gnome that much. By default, it's okay in terms of functionality for me, but does feel a little too 'mobile OS.' I know I can add extensions and tweak it with other options, but that doesn't feel ideal to me. I came extremely close to installing the Budgie desktop manager with fedora everything, but I kind of decided to just stick with Gnome for now on my laptop. Once I get to the point of installing Fedora on my desktop, I'm pretty sure at this point I'm just going to install it with KDE instead of Gnome. From there I can debate whether the Gnome design feels preferable enough for use with a trackpad on my laptop over just swapping managers to KDE (or maybe Budgie, if they've actually gotten around to the new version by then). My progress is still a little slow with getting ready to move, but I'm still happy with the process of getting Linux set up.

[o.pwuaioc]

I'm also thinking I should check the versions on them, because I don't feel all too confident I really know how these packages are being maintained on my system. Part of me wonders if it's sort of an 'abandoned' Labs spin.

The spins just come with pre-installed software. Doing an update should make sure that all of them are current. Labs and spins just come with different pre-installed software, but it's all still just Fedora.

(Spins are for different pre-installed DEs, labs are for different pre-installed software bundles.)

Also, regrettably, I don't think I really like Gnome that much. By default, it's okay in terms of functionality for me, but does feel a little too 'mobile OS.' I know I can add extensions and tweak it with other options, but that doesn't feel ideal to me. I came extremely close to installing the Budgie desktop manager with fedora everything, but I kind of decided to just stick with Gnome for now on my laptop. Once I get to the point of installing Fedora on my desktop, I'm pretty sure at this point I'm just going to install it with KDE instead of Gnome. From there I can debate whether the Gnome design feels preferable enough for use with a trackpad on my laptop over just swapping managers to KDE (or maybe Budgie, if they've actually gotten around to the new version by then). My progress is still a little slow with getting ready to move, but I'm still happy with the process of getting Linux set up.

I've never liked KDE, though I can't say why. Gnome 2 was best, and while I originally didn't care for Gnome 3, it has grown on me. I like the eye candy. I was doing Fedora XFCE for the first couple of years, but I dunno, I'm not exactly a convert, but I've been using Gnome solely now.

If Elementary had been better, I might have gone that route instead. But as it is, I've been content having gotten used to Gnome now.

(15 years ago me might have given a more intransigent opinion.)

[pierrot]

The spins just come with pre-installed software. Doing an update should make sure that all of them are current. Labs and spins just come with different pre-installed software, but it's all still just Fedora.

(Spins are for different pre-installed DEs, labs are for different pre-installed software bundles.)

Yeah, I just struggle with calling them "Labs" somehow, since it doesn't feel like it really gets to the idea of, 'It's Fedora Workstation with a curated package of additional software.' In any event, if the Hardware Engineering group of software theoretically exists as a "Lab," it doesn't seem to be anywhere other than the Fedora Everything ISO (no entry in the Labs section of the Fedora Project website, or in the media writer options). The part that gave me pause is, while it's really cool to have Julia installed with it, the Julia project doesn't officially endorse any packages offered through distro repositories, stating that they're regularly included broken or out of date.

(I actually just took a look at the version of Julia installed, and it is a few stable version releases old at this point. Not horribly out of date, but not the latest release, even though I have run updates a couple times since reinstalling Fedora.)

I mean, I just kind of don't really know anything about the status of a lot of the software included in it, or even if some of them remain in active development or not. Updates for them being applied automatically would make sense to me, I'm just not totally sure that I can take that as a given in this case.

I've never liked KDE, though I can't say why. Gnome 2 was best, and while I originally didn't care for Gnome 3, it has grown on me. I like the eye candy. I was doing Fedora XFCE for the first couple of years, but I dunno, I'm not exactly a convert, but I've been using Gnome solely now.

If Elementary had been better, I might have gone that route instead. But as it is, I've been content having gotten used to Gnome now.

(15 years ago me might have given a more intransigent opinion.)

Can't blame you; I don't feel like there's an ultimately perfect choice, just mostly personal preference. I don't think there's really any of the major desktop managers I wouldn't prefer to the Windows/OSX graphical desktop environments regardless, and I could probably get perfectly used to Gnome with time, but I also just kind of feel like KDE is a little more suited to my personal preferences. It's not really something I feel proud of, but KDE just feels like it has more familiar sensibilities to me. I don't feel super strongly about it one way or the other, though.

[o.pwuaioc]

(I actually just took a look at the version of Julia installed, and it is a few stable version releases old at this point. Not horribly out of date, but not the latest release, even though I have run updates a couple times since reinstalling Fedora.)

Ah, I see what you're saying. Yes, software that's maintained by volunteers instead of by the original creators themselves tend to be slightly behind the most current releases. Despite its reputation, Fedora isn't really bleeding edge. Packages are more up-to-date than Ubuntu, but less so than Arch. This is to ensure that no new update will break your system. If you want current Julia, you could always go outside Fedora repositories. It looks like they have an installer that works on Linux, so it shouldn't be difficult to do.

There are a couple of programs I get from outside Fedora's repos, chiefly Slack and Sublime these days.