Linux Experiences/Rants or Education/Certifications thread - December 28, 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/kliw3y
@r_linux

coolgreen - a rice dedicated to ease of installation

Allow me to introduce to the community a project I'm currently working on, which I have named coolgreen. Based off of dwm, coolgreen aims to provide a solid window manager while making it easy for newcomers and enjoyable for veterans alike. This project is in the extremely early phases of development, but I hope that some day it can become a viable option for newcomers to the window manager side of Linux. Please, if you have the time, give it a shot and leave some feedback, as I want to make this the best it possibly can be.

​

https://github.com/canada-water/coolgreen

https://redd.it/klijra
@r_linux

Gtk, Qt etc.

I'm confused about gtk.

gtk2, gtk3 and qt. none of the parts make sense to me.

What I like to do, is to install a theme, and icon theme. I would like to configure this. Eg. I want to change the colors and icons.

So first of all, what do I need to install to make my gui apps look good? Should I install a gtk2 or gtk3 theme? and what about qt? I would like to avoid installing a gtk engine, and would like to configure theme and icones, in the gtkrc itself or something similere. I use a tiling wm if it is realevent to know.

https://redd.it/kljnkf
@r_linux

Soundux - Soundboard for linux that outputs to any program that is accepting input without requiring you to switch inputs
https://flathub.org/apps/details/io.github.Soundux

https://redd.it/kkaiwf
@r_linux

Anyone uses Scientific Linux?

Does anyone here uses Scientific Linux on a regular basis? If so, why did you switch for it?

I'm a Windows user that employs Scientific Linux for some specific purposes, so I wanted to know if I should make the change to this distribution. Are there any Linux options for scientists besides Scientific Linux?

Thanks in advance for your help!

https://redd.it/klmg6i
@r_linux

Idea: QR code as a setup instruction for linux installs?

What if you can turn on the camera and read a QR code to load in a series of commands to setup a new PC?

Might be handy in terms of repeatable installs. Or as a way for you to help a random person setup their computer remotely in a hassle free way.

https://redd.it/kln9yk
@r_linux

sync two calendars of two different mail accounts

Hi there, I recently switched to a new mail provider called mailbox.org. It uses CalDav and CardDav for Mails, Contacts and Calendars. However I still have an account at Outlook.com that has a shared calendar with my wife. Unfortunately every supplier has its walls, so it is not possible to share my Outlook calendar with my mailbox.org accound and vice versa.

I have both accounts in my Evolution Mail, so I would like to ask if it is possible to run a sync noscript? Like rsync that syncs the calendar in both accounts. The disadvantage would be my PC, that needs to be turned in, for every synchronization, but that is only a small drawback.

https://redd.it/klnbje
@r_linux

New features in cam_board (turn web cam into black / white board) - link and denoscription in comments

https://redd.it/kloqwc
@r_linux

Encrypted external SSD that works with linux, PC and Mac and decrypts by plugging hardwarekey to host

So I would like to set myself up with something like described in the noscript.
Since my privacy concerns increased lately I started to LUKS encrypt my system and now I use a Yubikey to decrypt the LUKS partition and also to authenticate myself in general when interacting with my system.
That this is overkill since noone has an interest in physically getting access to my computer or getting MY data in general is besides the point and I'd still like to do it this way since it gives me some peace of mind.
Now since I tend to distrohop from time to time and since I tend to "forget" data before installing a new OS I do backups onto an external hard drive. That harddrive is still an HDD and its speed or rather the lack of it is annoying me whenever I have to use it therefore I want to get myself a new external harddrive soonish.
Now I was thinking all that encryping is pretty useless if I keep unencrypted backups laying around...
So I'd like to have an external harddrive that:

1. I can plug in any OS and it will be be detected (e.g. to show photos of the last vacation to the family over the hollidays).
2. That is encrypted
3. That can be decrypted with a hardwarekey


How are encrypted eternal harddrives "set up"? Sometimes you see manufacturers fish for customers with promises like everything is AES encrypted on the harddrive.
I assume the encryption is still handled by the hosts CPU otherwise there would have to be a "cryptochip" in/near the harddrives controller right?
Furthermore I assume you are being prompted by the OS to put in a passphrase (decryption key) for the external harddrive when you plug it in? Is there an API for that?
If so is this uniformal? Or are manufacturers implementing it once for Windows and once for Mac?
I assume this does not support FIDO2.

I fear points 1 and 3 exclude each other, at least for now, if so my priority would be on points 2 & 3.

I'm not an expert on this stuff and often my knowledge is partial, by any means please correct me if misphrased something/misunderstood something.

https://redd.it/kloynd
@r_linux

Microsoft's and Apple's move to ARM is a wake up call for PC manufacturers

I believe that Apple's and soon Microsoft's move to ARM is a wake up call for PC OEMs like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and so on...

Microsoft entering the CPU market is the worst thing that could've happened from a business standpoint for OEMs. Assuming Microsoft wont just abandon selling Windows for OEMs which they probably wont, they would either have to sell CPUs and Windows or just Windows while selling their own devices.

This could mean that Windows could be optimized for Microsoft's CPU's on their own devices while its x86 counterparts on Intel based devices made by other OEMs would work like crap thus undermining their business models and killing off the competition.

It makes no sense for Microsoft to have other competitors... they don't want Windows to have a negative association when being compared to macOS on ARM so there is no reason for Microsoft to let other OEMs possibly ruin the experience of Windows by selling them CPU's which is why I believe they will only keep selling Windows while making their own ARM devices that will probably work much better.

This could very possibly be the one and only chance for Linux to step in and stop this degradation, If OEMs have at least some sense in business they can't allow Apple and Microsoft to cut their sales and become subpar PC manufactures... If they haven't learned anything from what Apple did to Intel we are doomed to a duopoly of locked ARM devices from Apple and Microsoft while the competition will fade away into nothing.

OEMs could embrace Linux and possibly RISCV to block this move by Apple and Microsoft otherwise they will become dependent on their direct competitors for business and that's going to be a death blow both for them and the x86 platform.

What are your thoughts? are we doomed? could OEMs possibly embrace Linux to save themselves from what looks like an ARM apocalypse?

https://redd.it/klpma2
@r_linux

notcurses 2.1.2 employs sexblitter by default where supported, multithreaded nclsm

hello there, penguinistas! i've posted here about my Notcurses project (github) before, and if you're uninterested in the Local Group's most powerful TUI/character graphics library, go ahead and move on. otherwise, azaelia and i hope you enjoy the 2.1.2 hype video, showcasing my new Unicode 13-based "sexblitter":

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clockwise from upper left: ASCII, halfblocks, sexblitter, quadblitter

sexblitter uses the Symbols for Legacy Computing introduced in Unicode 13 to map a 3x2 pixel region to a single ccharacter cell. the improvement in resolution is noticeable, especially over the halfblock solution used by e.g. mpv's TCT output driver and viu and even over notcurses's own quadblitter. if you're not looking for a full-screen render, sexblitter still improves image quality in whatever portion of the screen you use, or allows a smaller region for images which fit wholly within the screen.

of course, notcurses is a TUI library, not just a flashy image/video renderer, and 2.1.2 introduces a new progress bar widget, accelerates rasterization via use of the `hpa` control sequence, and introduces a multithreaded `ncls` that must be seen to be believed:

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1471 images rendered with the highest quality. Video is not accelerated. w00t!

take a look at one of the growing number of tools making use of notcurses, or better yet go write your own! available under the Apache-2.0 license.

notcurses 2.1.2: release notes, demo video, man pages and other useful links

not bad for a year's work, if i do say so myself =\]. happy 2021, hax0rs!

\--rigorously, nick (dank)

https://redd.it/klqot7
@r_linux

Garuda Linux

Anyone here try Garuda Linux? I'm currently giving it a spin and it's pretty freaking awesome! Has to be one of the prettiest looking distros ever, also, I've had absolutely zero issues with it. It seems like no matter what distro I try, theres always an issue with it, weather it be random crashes and stuff not working. Garuda so far has been working perfectly. Highly recommended

https://redd.it/klrjip
@r_linux

Should I switch to a tiling window manager?

I am currently on gnome. I added conky to the startup and I guess that messed something up. I only had access to the terminal until I deleted conky from startup. It was a brief moment, but I considered switching to something like Bspwm or Xmonad and still having that urge sorta thing. Should I consider switching or just keep using gnome?

https://redd.it/klq8s2
@r_linux

OpenZFS 2.0 release unifies Linux, BSD and adds tons of new features
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/12/openzfs-2-0-release-unifies-linux-bsd-and-adds-tons-of-new-features/

https://redd.it/kltcoh
@r_linux

I can't seem to decide if I want to join in

Hi! I've tried multiple times to go into linux in the past. Now it has been 4 years that I haven't touched a linux distro and the only thing that was keeping me of switching to linux was gaming. I was owning to many games that were not supported by linux to go with it. Wierdly, Linux have always been a fun experience for me but it was lacking in the game aspect. Did it change recently. I keep receiving "gaming in linux is now differant" videos on youtube recommendation.

https://redd.it/kkpnjn
@r_linux

🎄 Development release GIMP 2.99.4 is out 🎁
https://www.gimp.org/news/2020/12/25/gimp-2-99-4-released/

https://redd.it/klw0bn
@r_linux

GTK 4 and toolbars?

Anyone knows if is it true thaT GTK 4 won't support toolbars? (Rumor I head that the Gnome team (who basically handle GTK exclusively) consider toolbars "outdated technology that should be removed"). Won't that mean it basically eliminates all GTK DEs except Gnome? Unless Mate / Xfce / Cinnamon decides to fork GTK 3 and stay on it?

https://redd.it/klxrmw
@r_linux

Magic keyboard and Ubuntu

Hi, I work both on mac and linux. I want to pair my magic keyboard on ubuntu and its the keyboard is without numpad, but when i connect it via bluetooth Ubuntu detects layout with numpad and because of that whole mapping is wrong. Do you have any idea how to solve it?

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I tried everything, im desparate

https://redd.it/klwkq2
@r_linux

Linux jobs

Hey I’m an average American who has used multiple Linux distros over the years and troubleshot many problems I think we all have faced. I get that in the eyes of the average older person this would seem like wizardry when to us it’s basically 10 minutes of googling. Wondering if anyone has turned this into any sort of job cause I feel like I know more about Linux than 99% of the population (and that means I’m in the bottom 1% of people on here)

https://redd.it/kkmefs
@r_linux

Unable to Download anything on Linux Mint after a fresh restart. Help

So I’ve had Mint for awhile now and it’s been amazing until recently.

It likes to freeze up from time to time, like twice a week and I have to constantly run (fsck /dev/mapper/etc—vg-root -y) this fixes the issue until
The next time it freezes. Anyways that’s a separate issue that maybe contributes to this one.

Now I’ve just started up and went to download some music. I get an error code as I press download. The code reads,
“could not be saved because disk folder or file is write protected”
It’s almost like I’ve lost access to controlling my files or something.

I’ve read it could be hardware/hard drive related but it’s a powerful asus laptop that runs flawlessly in my opinion. I don’t care to lose any files as I could just transfer them but I really rather avoid that hassle. Hopefully there’s a fix to this that any of you advanced users may know?

https://redd.it/km1i8b
@r_linux

what this $ are used?

Hey guys, I'm starting to study linux at tryhackme, and I got to the third room and last room, and I saw this $ and I don't understand why it is used. Can anyone give me a light?

Ps: Yes, I know that this is learned in the second room, but I didn't understand it, and I wanted some help

https://redd.it/km0ufu
@r_linux