Techokami

I'm a long-time Linux and BSD (and other things you don't care about) sysadmin and software developer and I've been using Linux as my main desktop OS since the early 2010s. With the absolute state of Windows and macos being what they are, there's plenty of reasons to consider switching to Linux, but I know it can be:

Confusing
A pain in the ass to find good information
An experience full of assholes telling you to RTFM when there is no FM

So! If you have any questions about selecting a distribution or desktop environment, how to get set up with your chosen distro, what software is available and how to get or use it, how to get Windows games (probably) running, or any other questions about getting set up, please shoot me an ask, and I'll answer as I can!

Incidentally, that scene in Jurassic Park is showing off a real-world IRIX program called fsn, which stands for File System Navigator. It was only ever a prototype/demo available for IRIX and, sadly, as far as I know has never been ported to run on Linux or any other modern OS.

#linux

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in reply to @DecayWTF's post:

nys @nys5/27/2024, 5:07 AM

the fsn trivia is like my favorite trivia knowledge.

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/27/2024, 5:09 AM

It's so good

Jeremy @mischif5/27/2024, 5:52 AM

FYI fsn was never ported, but one enterprising nerd wrote his own Linux version https://fsv.sourceforge.net/

Annie D @ann-arcana5/28/2024, 1:57 PM

thank you! I knew this was a thing, but I was struggling to find it, and couldn't recall the name. Apparently some overzealous wiki editor deleted the article on fsn completely, and I think it was either that or some old Debian version where I found it.

Squarre @carre5/27/2024, 1:26 PM

this is not a question for your tech advice, and probably not an original thought, but your helpful attitude reminds me that i sometimes feel open source tech works best when it's more about the community than the tech, as open source tools can't exist or evolve in a usable, spreadable state without communities that care to help other people use it. all the best tools were born from a shared need and the discussions over that need.

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/27/2024, 7:06 PM

It 100% is. Basically none of the problems with either free software or tech in general are technical ones, they're social ones.

Attack and dethrone god! Get into the mecha and wear your SOUL!@Keleth5/27/2024, 2:24 PM

You're a good bean. And I might take you up on that someday!

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/29/2024, 2:41 AM

Yeah, please!

Attack and dethrone god! Get into the mecha and wear your SOUL!@Keleth5/29/2024, 2:01 PM

I got most of my games and apps working, but I wasn't able to figure out wine installations, and unsure if clip studio paint is able to be done or not.

But at least there's alternatives if there's not eh?

What's the best way to discuss shenanigans if it's something to try?

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/30/2024, 12:01 AM

Shoot me an email, probably the best way to get ahold of me off eggbug

@deafhobbit5/28/2024, 8:25 PM

stated in january, overall very happy with the experience, looking for a distro recommendation.

desktop: dual boot windows 11 and linux mint cinnamon. daily driving mint, only use windows for some games.
laptop: dual boot fedora and opensuse tumbleweed, both with gnome as the DE. everything i use regularly is installed as flatpak's at the user level in a home partition, so i flip back and forth between the two as i feel like it.

mint was a good first distro, but there are a lot of little things about it that annoy me. also, i think i've broken some parts of it, and probably should reinstall it anyway. like with my laptop, everything i use regularly is installed as user level flatpak's in a home partition, so before i reinstall mint i'd like to maybe try something else.

i really like stock gnome on a laptop with a touch pad, but i feel like i'd hate it on a desktop, so I'd like something KDE flavored that uses wayland. will be used for gaming, stupid adult shit, general web browsing, and managing my nas.

i'm not asking you to pick the one perfect distro for me. there are just a lot that meet these criteria, and i'm feeling a bit of decision paralysis. just tell me one you think i should try, and i will.

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/29/2024, 2:38 AM

Yeah! So honestly, since you have a little experience and are already using SuSE, as a desktop distro I'd recommend giving SuSE a try with KDE (the default DE for SuSE). It'll be easy to settle into and you'll only have to get used to the desktop environment.

If you want to try something different and a little more nuts and bolts, Manjaro Plasma might be interesting; it's Arch-based so you can use the Arch wiki as a major reference if you want to get stuck in more.

Finally, if you really want a stable gaming desktop: Kubuntu. Ubuntu is sort of the "standard" distribution for Steam, Lutris and a lot of Linux native games so you'll probably have the easiest time with it.

@deafhobbit5/29/2024, 3:01 AM

i'm not loving suse tbh. a lot of general "how to do xxx on linux" documentation doesn't apply to it, and I've had difficulties getting suse specific things to work correctly. i like the idea of it, so i'm keeping it on my laptop, but i'd rather try something else.

i also don't think i'm quite ready to make the jump to Arch yet, so I'll pass on Manjaro for now, but i'll keep it in mind for when i want to try it.

kubuntu it is then.

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF5/29/2024, 3:06 AM

Sounds good! SuSE was my daily driver for years and it's still one of my usual recommendations but Kubuntu is definitely solid.

kyle @-pegasus6/5/2024, 6:19 AM

as an anti-desktop environment weirdo i have nothing to offer new people except to say: stay away from gnome. if you look at an app and there's two versions, and they're called like "fat balls" and "fat balls-qt" pick the one that says qt. i do not have time to explain just trust me

Gay Eminem on 9/11 @DecayWTF6/5/2024, 10:58 PM

Yeah, that.

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