Tool for a fast reboot from Windows to Linux

[https://github.com/Toxblh/WinToLinux](https://github.com/Toxblh/WinToLinux) I created the tool, for the easiest way how to reboot in Linux without any strobing keys at the start of a system for open UEFI menu of startup options. This tool just changes UEFI order for the next start of a system. That is fully resolving my problem, when need remote to reboot a system to another OS.

[WinToLinux](https://preview.redd.it/maxzir8hlfa41.png?width=267&format=png&auto=webp&s=8db7dfe9b9c3c1d805ac2972be9bbb05f717a0a8)

https://redd.it/envdvq
@r_linux

Tips for accessing USB ports through WINE
https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20200113#qa

https://redd.it/enw1fm
@r_linux

TIL There was a X11 System Tray called Docker, now the name we associate with Containers
http://icculus.org/openbox/2/docker/

https://redd.it/enwpbd
@r_linux

Battle testing data integrity verification with ZFS, Btrfs and mdadm+dm-integrity
http://www.unixsheikh.com/articles/battle-testing-data-integrity-verification-with-zfs-btrfs-and-mdadm-dm-integrity.html

https://redd.it/enw7wu
@r_linux

TIL: fediverse.space gives you a visualization of how the entire Fediverse network looks like. You can see which instances federate with who. This looks astonishing!
https://redd.it/envlgr
@r_linux

Linux Experiences/Rants or Education/Certifications thread - January 13, 2020

Welcome to r/linux rants and experiences! This megathread is also to hear opinions from anyone just starting out with Linux or those that have used Linux (GNU or otherwise) for a long time.

Let us know what's annoying you, whats making you happy, or something that you want to get out to r/linux but didn't make the cut into a full post of it's own.

For those looking for certifications please use this megathread to ask about how to get certified whether it's for the business world or for your own satisfaction. Be sure to check out r/linuxadmin for more discussion in the SysAdmin world!

_Please keep questions in r/linuxquestions, r/linux4noobs, or the Wednesday automod thread._

https://redd.it/enyyns
@r_linux

Ubuntu Touch photography, Camera output in Ubuntu Touch
https://ubports.com/blog/ubports-blog-1/post/ubuntu-touch-photography-259

https://redd.it/enzjj3
@r_linux

Remembering Redirect Operators

\>, >>, 2>, 2>>, &>, <, <<, <>


I did a quick search on google, and a quick search on this sub reddit. For those of you who are testing on LPIC or daily system administrators. What way did you come up remembering on which Operator does what exactly?

https://redd.it/enziv2
@r_linux

Master Your Network With Unix Command Line Tools
https://medium.com/@lewispfairweather/master-your-network-with-unix-command-line-tools-790bdd3b3b87?source=friends_link&sk=fb0e2724b013320662dcf7e6b2e0bed0

https://redd.it/enutqv
@r_linux

Simple power manager daemon?

Does anyone know of a simple and customizable daemon that could:
- manage power settings
- automatically lock the screen after a timer
- suspend/hibernate on battery level
...?

I'm running dwm and would like something simple without dependencies on gnome, kde or xfce subsystems.

For instance, xfce4-power-manager seems simple enough but you have to run the xfconfd daemon too and it seems like you need to run the full session to be able to customize the lock command :(

I've had no luck so far so I wonder what you guys use :)

https://redd.it/eo18na
@r_linux

Linuxbuild for old laptops

Morning all.

I work in a school and like most schools around the world, we dont have enough money to buy new stuff ever so often.

Our kids often work online, Google Drive and a lot of educational pages that we use.

Im looking for a way to make old windows laptops work better and faster online - and I heard that Linux is the way to go.

I looked into Linux (I have never worked with Linux before) and the amount of different Linux-builds is staggering...

I need a build that is easy to install, has a nice UI (small kids) and can handle online pages that use Flash, WebGL and whatever else is out there.

I would potensially have to install it onto 20-30 old pc´s, so the easier the install, the better :)

Can anyone here give me a solid tip as to what build to go for?

&#x200B;

Regards

Ramsing

https://redd.it/eo1toc
@r_linux

Minimal Xorg on early 'rescue' boot

Has anyone attempted a project like this?

1) User holds down shift.
2) User chooses Rescue Mode (Graphical, Network)
3) Xorg with default DE loads with a generic graphics driver (in case it's a graphics driver issue)
4) DE has tools for: disk repairs, rolling back 'snapshots' of recent system upgrades, A graphical package manager for the distro, Other tools that may be needed for a rescue (such as full disk backup and restore).

Use Cases:

Example 1: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (I believe it was? It was definitely an LTS release) on Threadripper 1950X does not boot after you do an apt-get upgrade due to a borked kernel. In order to fix this you needed to grab a newer kernel from Ubuntu's PPA. You can do this from the terminal and I have, however, having a 'new user friendly' way of rolling back updates would help. Note that Ubuntu may or may not have fixed this issue. Note that this particularly issue killed my desire to ever work with Ubuntu again. I've had fewer issues with Arch Linux than I have ever had with any other distro.

Example 2: You install a new graphics driver version (or install graphics drivers period) and on the next reboot Xorg won't load. Load into the same mode mentioned earlier and perform a rollback.

Example 3: Having graphical internet access for other troubleshooting methodologies. If you are having other system issues that are causing it not to boot, a graphical web browser does wonders. No more having to look on your phone.

Example 4: Possibly a method of downloading an enterprise level global configuration that will set the appropriate policies, download needed configuration and applications, etc. This would be helpful for enterprise users, as you don't need to customize the installation routine or doing manual configuration to each machine.

Example 5: We could get really crazy here and do what Apple does. Recent-ish Macbooks actually have a basic GUI embedded in their firmware, and can download a basic installer and utilities and allow you to set up your system from scratch. Imagine having your system be able to do THAT. Note that this may be able to be accomplished without firmware support, depending on the UEFI and whether or not you have a spare internal drive of some kind.

If you guys know of any projects that have made an attempt at doing this, please feel free to link them. If not, I may investigate what would be needed to take on such a project. While my efforts will be KDE oriented, the underlying work should be universal. Feel free to throw in your thoughts, but try to think about this from a casual user perspective vs 'I do everything from the terminal'. We can all do 'everything' from the terminal. However, the goal is to make a more accessible DE.

Note: This is part of one of several areas in which I think that the desktop experience of Linux can be improved.

https://redd.it/eo2c6v
@r_linux

Finding the right Ubuntu flavor for my oldest computer

After several attempts I have finally figured out which flavor of Ubuntu works best on my 11 year old computer! It took a long time for me to find the right one. My computer has been running so much faster since i switched away from windows. And I finally got to the one that will give me the best performance out of all the ones I tried!

I decided to settle on Lubuntu 18.04.3 as it ran the fastest when I was trying it out before installing. It has been such a smooth transition away from windows. I am glad that I decided to give Linux a shot. I love the ease of getting new applications. Along with all the cool customization's I can make.

I used to love windows since it is what I have used since I was in elementary school. However with windows updates breaking stuff all the time I knew it was a matter of time until it caused me to lose important files. I am so glad that the process of switching all of my computers to Linux is now over.

https://redd.it/eo2hx9
@r_linux

Thunderbird security update 68.4.1 available

I just saw that Mozilla released a security update for Thunderbird, possibly tied to the recent Firefox fixes:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2020-04/

While it's still the standard e-mail client on many distros, I haven't seen the update in any package management systems, yet. The Ubuntu repository seems to be on 68.2.2 still, however the official website supplies the latest update.

If anybody's a heavy user, maybe it's a good idea to update.

https://redd.it/eo38e7
@r_linux

What's the best Linux distro for kids? (that's also still in support)

I've got an old laptop - 4gb ram, i5.

I tried turning it into a chromebook with Cloudready but something doesn't play nice and it keeps black screening with a white cursor, sometimes after login and sometimes a few minutes after logging in and running some websites (doesn't matter which ones). I've tried reinstalling cloudready a bunch of times but it keeps doing the same thing so I give up.

I would like to try to install some Linux distro on it, but I know that unity may be a bit heavy handed for this old thing and I know you can get ready-made kids distros with inbuilt parental controls and some kid-friendly apps. This is inticing to me over installing something vanilla and locking it down (also something lightweight sounds nice).

Ultimately I'm after the most stable kid's distro anyone can recommend, I've tried googling it but each website seems to recommend a different distro, and the ones that keep popping up are often out of support, and I've found little to no reviews from real world people who've actually used these distros, only the articles recommending them.


Any advice is appreciated (or if anyone knows wtf is wrong with my neverware neverworking)

https://redd.it/eo34a5
@r_linux

Linux without Linus

Hello,

I comme to you with a question. As i understand, every updates are review and confirme by Linus.
A day ,Linus will be out of the game. How will the update process move with that fact ?

https://redd.it/eo4s5p
@r_linux

Suggestions for Google syncing and OS Backup for new users

I have a couple of recommendations/suggestions -

These may be particularly relevant to new Linux and particularly Ubuntu/Gnome users -

First is Google Drive synchronization and GUI - I am using Insync, there URL is [https://www.insynchq.com/](https://www.insynchq.com/)

The product is not free - but it's inexpensive and for something as important (to me) being able to keep my more volatile data backed up, insync, and available everywhere it's wll worth the cost. Insync also handles MSft's OneDrive but for a product that works, is reliable and has excellent support

Kudos to Mia and Gregory

The other is for backups - I checked/tried a good number of products, and I found that the one that works the best was right in front of me as a part of Gnome. It's GUI is superior to Google's specifically in the area of determining what files you do want to be available 'offline'/locally.

In my case, I just selected all and put it 'out of mind'

That is BackInTime - which under the covers uses the 'standard' and reliable rsync.

I use it to backup the core system/OS, it's fast, does incremental, schedules and is easy to set up.

Because I rely on the cloud for all non-OS data between Google Drive and Google Photos, I exclude Google Drive (which would be by far the larger part of the backup)

Cheers!

https://redd.it/eo4ybb
@r_linux

Linus Torvalds says “Don’t use ZFS”—but doesn’t seem to understand it
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/01/linus-torvalds-zfs-statements-arent-right-heres-the-straight-dope/

https://redd.it/eo5425
@r_linux

Distro/DE recommendations are wildly misinformed for low-end hardware

I was recently asked to install Linux for someone's specific personal needs on an underpowered machine, and being not very familiar with distros that target outdated hardware, I was really shocked by the amount of misinformation and bad recommendations from reputable sources.

KDE is among the lightest desktop environments around (low CPU and less than 500MB RAM), but it was being completely ignored by everyone who was instead strangely obsessing with XFCE and LXQt, which are in reality on the same level with KDE (less than 200MB difference in RAM usage between the three). And where was Cinnamon and MATE? These are ALSO on the same level (maybe an extra 100 MB or so).

Basically, what I found is that when you start looking for something that can perform with around half a gig of memory, the choices are *vast*, but so are the differences in what you get. In particular, there seems to be too much effort in these guides to point users at *visually* simplistic DEs with rarely any regard for actual performance. This makes these guides and recommendations a complete waste of time and a complete disservice to their audience.

You even see the same kind of thing written by the creators of the actual distributions (like Ubuntu and Manjaro), who have wildly misleading denoscriptions for their different editions/flavors.

Anyway, this is just a rant, because I wasted an entire day looking at all these "off-brand" and *supposedly* specialized tools, when something like KDE, MATE, or Cinnamon works just as well with a metric ton of more polish and support than the *visually* simplistic alternatives.

https://redd.it/eo6x17
@r_linux

Fairly exhaustive guide to freeing up space on your Windows partition for dual-boot folks

I wrote this recently. It might prove helpful. I would appreciate feedback.

[https://liam-on-linux.livejournal.com/68495.html](https://liam-on-linux.livejournal.com/68495.html)

https://redd.it/enswb0
@r_linux

Moderation seems a little heavy-handed?

Over the last few months I've noticed that many threads I found interesting and within which the community was having a lively discussion were deleted when I returned to check on them. A couple of times threads have been deleted while I was mid-reply, which is really quite irritating.

They were all discursive threads where people were asked for opinions or to explain something or to justify a commonly held position - that sort of thing.

A few examples, not the *strongest* examples, just the last three which were deleted within the last hour or two.

* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo78yu/lack_of_linux_themes/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6x17/distrode_recommendations_are_wildly_misinformed/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6jtw/what_does_tarball_mean_where_does_it_originate/

The tarball one was removed on the grounds that it's a support request. I get that there's a fine line between a question about Linux culture/history/convention and a support request but this seems more the former than the latter to me. It could've resulted in an interesting discussion.

The other two were removed with a post suggesting the weekly megathreads. Those being:

* Mondays - New to Linux, Linux Experiences/Rants, or Education/Certifications thread
* Wednesdays - Weekly Questions and Hardware Thread
* Fridays through the weekend - Weekend Fluff / Linux in the Wild Thread

None of those seem to me to fit a general but very specific-to-Linux discussion. Unless the view is that *all discussions* that are not about news are fluff.

When the OP of the Distro/DE recommendations thread, /u/SyrioForel [complained](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/eo6x17/distrode_recommendations_are_wildly_misinformed/fe9ghxn/), saying:

>Please consider the fact that more people commented on this one specific submission within the past 15 minutes than have even opened that stickies thread in the past 24 hours.

Which is a solid point. The megathreads see virtually no use and are heavily downvoted. They're clearly unpopular (I'd posit: because they're utterly useless).

A mod responded with:

>This isn't news related so it's not appropriate here. Please follow the rules and use the stickied threads as stated clearly in the rules.

I've read [the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/about/rules/) pretty thoroughly and it does not say (nor does it even imply) that /r/linux is only for "news related" posts.

The only rule that really comes close to describing what /r/linux *is* about rather than just describing what is prohibited is rule 5, which says:

>Posts should follow what the community likes: GNU/Linux, Linux kernel itself, the developers of the kernel or open source applications, any application on Linux, and more.

It's pretty open to interpretation but my reading of that is that discussion of things of interest to the community have a place here.

Has a decision been taken somewhere that /r/linux is *only* for news?

Personally I don't come here for the news - I can get that in a million other places. I come here for the discussions (about the news, sure, but also about general Linux culture/practises/history etc.).

I'm posting this to get a sense of how the rest of the community feels about this. Assuming this doesn't get deleted too, like.

https://redd.it/eo8gpn
@r_linux