How are events generated/received/interpreted to turn on laptop keyboard's LED?

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this because it is part support help and part how does a subsystem work. The first seems like it shouldn't be here, but the second does. Regardless I'll ask the question:

I have a new Dell XPS 13 9310 running debian 11/testing/bullseye on a custom kernel compiled at 5.11.0-rc7. I've run it for about a week and up until now whenever I touched the mouse or keyboard the keyboard would light up. It has suddenly stopped doing it and I have no idea why. This also made me realize I have no idea how this sort of thing is controlled in the first place. Here is walk-through of my changing the keyboard LED manually (which also shows that it actually does work):

# pwd
/sys/devices/platform/dell-laptop/leds/dell::kbdbacklight
# ls
brightness brightnesshwchanged device maxbrightness power starttriggers stoptimeout subsystem trigger uevent
# echo 2 > brightness # This set's the keyboard LED to high and does work
# echo 1 > brightness # This set's the keyboard LED to low and doeswork
# echo 0 > brightness # This turns off the keyboard LED and doeswork
# cat starttriggers
+keyboard +touchpad
# cat stoptimeout
10s

Given that it works and that the start_triggers and stop_timeout files seem to make sense, I'm not really sure why this suddenly stopped working. Does anyone here have any wisdom? What part of my OS determines this sort of thing? Where is a good place for me to look? Thanks a lot for any help!

https://redd.it/lgit0n
@r_linux

links, shortcuts and maybe screensavers

so I'm just getting back to Linux after a 6-year break and I want to make it my daily driver but I have run it to a slight issue I can't use links and shortcuts in pop os is there any way to make them work I have tried opening .URL files with brave on my Linux system and it just tries to download them again it seems like a very basic thing to be missing from what is otherwise a future rich os also screen savers are missing for some reason which means features have been actively removed

https://redd.it/lgfun9
@r_linux

Why are there no generic VGA mode-setting driver in the kernel

A while back I mistakenly asked why there were no generic mode-setting *VESA* drivers, and I got lots of interesting answers about Real Mode. While very informative, Thinking back what I meant was VGA (or maybe even SVGA) not VESA.

I'm not asking for this as a support request, I have modesetting on all my hardware, and my QEMU VMs.

But there probably are obscure cards that don't have a kernel mode setting driver out there, as well as possibly some VM platforms. Weston and other Wayland based display servers need a /dev/dri/card0 in order to be able to run, as they all require mode setting. (Some do run on framebuffer devices, but not many login managers support falling back to use framebuffers) This could also it make it difficult to kill CONFIG_VT, as you'll likely need kernel mode setting to for a kmscon like terminal to be able to start.


VirtualBox's card used to be one of the the ones where there was no modesetting support, until very recently, no /dev/dri/card0, there was framebuffer support if you passed a vga= boot option. (and can anyone verify if HyperV has modesetting support)

Why is there no generic driver that presents a /dev/dri/card0 for obscurer hardware? Is there some limitation as to why?

https://redd.it/lglxh5
@r_linux

So I'm installing Linux Mint from a Multiboot USB, is this normal?

https://redd.it/lgi94j
@r_linux

Using jq coomand

accountName="demo$RANDOM"
storage=$(az storage account create \
--name ${accountName} \
--resource-group $(echo $group | jq .name -r) \
--location $(echo $group | jq.location -r) \
--sku Standar_LRS \
)

bash: jq.location: command not found error. I'm also using the Azure CLI. This is for a terraform process

https://redd.it/lgo5w3
@r_linux

Why Twitch and Youtube consume a lot of CPU?

I have Debian 10 and Windows 10 on same pc. On Windows it takes 5-10% cpu when i watch Youtube or Twitch in 1080p through browser. On Debian it takes 30-50% for same activities. And it is always like this, even on other computers that i use.

https://redd.it/lgd6pa
@r_linux

Impressions after trying plasma wayland

Since I've been getting accused of not having tried out wayland in a long time and having out of date information, I quickly tried plasma wayland.

1. Software that remember where I last placed it on the screen no longer remembers it and needs to be resized each and every time.
2. Middle click paste still does not work across software running with X and native wayland software.
3. Animations are choppier (I use an Intel card).

I'm sure I'd find a much longer list of things that don't work if I tried for longer than 5 minutes.

https://redd.it/lgf58j
@r_linux

Failing to see any remarkable advantage Linux has over Windows

Linux is definitely way more FUN because you get to customize everything and overall the structure of the system is simpler than Windows. However, in practice and when both systems are put to use, how does Linux have an advantage? People told me it would be faster, but it's not and I've been looking at CPU/RAM usage.

I recently discovered Linux distro's/environment and have tried out a bunch of them. Yes, I JUST realized that there are operating systems other than Windows lol. I've tried Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, KDE Neon, OpenSuse, Manjaro, Linux Mint - Cinnamon, MXLinux, Fedora and sort of Arch Linux (quit after I saw the install instructions). This is what I noticed about these systems:

Manjaro is objectively the highest quality and best. The attention to detail is impressive. I wish it didn't use the Arch command system, because there's much less documentation online. Also, it has a really detracting issue involving the graphics driver where it shows a black screen 2/3 of the time after it starts. There's no solution except restarting and trying again.
Ubuntu has a lot of documentation online and is by far the easiest to start with. It generally works fine until you encounter an annoying bug. Kubuntu could potentially replace Windows.
Gnome 3 environment is so mediocre. I think half the shell extensions don't work; the website desperately needs to be redone.
KDE Plasma beats every other environment by a significant margin.
The Cinnamon environment takes up way too much system resources to justify itself.
You'll spend A LOT of time debugging. For example, every time I started Manjaro, the screen would say, "Kernel Panic... unable to mount root". (This is a totally different problem from the graphics driver.) Everything online pointed to Grub and something called initramfs. So I followed a lot of the commands online, tried remounting root drive with a disk partitioner, tried Grub Customizer and moving that partition up, tried some Boot Repair program... nothing worked. I finally figured out manually, by comparing documents, that the path the the .img file for the kernel was incorrect. The program had written too many folders before the file name. I removed the extra folder names in the grub.conf file, and it worked.
Overall, the Linux system would be improved if they all used the same system of commands. I have no idea why you need three (or more) different systems.
But the bigger question is why people prefer these systems over Windows? Almost everything you do in Linux you can do in Windows.

https://redd.it/lgge2k
@r_linux

what was your first distro?

mine was debian 6 in 2011. my school have me a netbook that came with dual boot using grub. first option was windows 7 and second option was gnu/linux. i remember the my teacher told us not to use it for whatever reason. i was in fifth grade of elementary at the time.
to this day i still like debian based distros.
(i don't know if i should add a flair to this post)

https://redd.it/lgr88b
@r_linux

Super Bombinhas live streams!

Hi all,

My platformer game Super Bombinhas has been receiving updates (current version is 1.2.0) and there's also a streamer playing it on twitch - the two first sessions are available on YouTube:

Part 1

Part 2

Check out the game or the source code.

Thanks and have fun!

https://redd.it/lgrsrj
@r_linux

Does Linux limit the user?

Hello redditors, I want to get into programming and hacking, I'm currently running windows 10, but I have heard that linux is much better for stuff like this, so I was wondering if I switched to linux would I limit myself? Meaning is there anything I can't do on linux that I can do on windows (talking purely about coding and hacking, I don't play games and stuff like that)

https://redd.it/lfyzmi
@r_linux

What VPN is the easiest to setup on Linux?

I am using Linux mint. I want a good VPN that has a proper GUI that works on Linux out of the box.

I also prefer VPNs that accept Skrill is one of the methods of payment. PayPal is not available here in Pakistan.

https://redd.it/lgtr25
@r_linux

Clipcat 0.5.0 is Released
https://github.com/xrelkd/clipcat/releases/tag/v0.5.0

https://redd.it/lgto52
@r_linux

The FOSS honor culture – Adventures in Linux and KDE
https://pointieststick.com/2021/02/07/the-foss-honor-culture/

https://redd.it/leyqe2
@r_linux

Extracted media files from Red Star OS and uploaded them onto Git Hub!

Hey everyone! Long time Linux user, first time posting here haha!

I recently decided to get all media files special for Red Star OS and make a repository with them. Inside the repository you will find Wallpapers, Themes and Icons from the OS. I tried getting Themes to work, it seems like it is doable but I'm not an expert on GTK themes, so someone else might need to look into that.

Anyway, let me know what do you think about it, and if I should extract something else from Red Star OS too!

Git Hub Repository

https://redd.it/lgyg8n
@r_linux

A Self Taught Path To Linux Admin

Hi!

Soo im 24 and transitioning from the medical field into IT.

​

Im working on going the self-taught route and have had a love and curiosity for tech since I was a kid.

​

It started with learning video game systems and computer hardware, progressed into learning windows systems, and then progressed to rooting phones.

​

Then I discovered Linux and specifically Ubuntu, when I was 16 and have loved it ever since. Besides the multiple times, I have bricked a hard drive.

​

I know some networking and security and basics but just the very basics. I learned HTML & CSS, Javanoscript was a nightmare. Python I enjoy but haven't taken the time to fully learn, and coding is boring.

​

Over the years, I have distro hopped a ton and learned the basics of Debian as it's the one I enjoy the most through trial and error. Arch is still a nightmare for me but back to what this post is about.

​

Im wanting to pursue a career in IT and, specifically, a role as a Linux Admin eventually. I have excellent soft skills/customer service skills, and knowledge. I currently work as an unemployment claims examiner/help desk, so I know how enterprise systems/databases work (or so I think)


Im familiar with virtualization and setting up VMs but nothing outside the basics.

​

My question is, where really should I look to start if I want a career in Linux?

​

I hear certs are useless and a waste of money, so Im tempted to learn the material and not get the cert, and then another part of me is like, "it's gonna get your foot in the door so get it!!!"

​

Whereas other certs like RHCSA I know can prove, I have practical knowledge, so Im not sure what cert path to go if I did decide to.

​

I also would like some insight regarding job security in regards to someone wanting to specialize in Linux. I mean im guessing it's one of those things that's like, "if you're good, you're good."

​

Long (LONG) term, Id like to work with the cloud and specifically GCP, but I have dabbled in AWS.

Im is sorry if Im all over the place, but I am a bit lost on where to begin this self-taught Linux career path.

https://redd.it/lgyass
@r_linux

I have old Potato Laptop and i want to get advantage of it by turn it to small family server is that possible ? And what us the best OS for that ? And can i connect to the server from my android phone?
https://redd.it/lh0lnt
@r_linux

running binaries off of nfs mounts

New linux user question..I have 2 linux computers that I'm playing with. They both have nfs mount points to my NAS. I read that you should store common applications on the nfs mounts so you can run it from either computer.

Is there a performance impact? How does it work? Are the binaries copied to RAM? on local hard drive?

https://redd.it/lh2t4m
@r_linux

If FreeBSD is so better than Linux why even caring about Linux?

Hello, pretty hot topic here. I was doing some research on the "Linux vs BSD" topic, and for the most part you only find people and articles praising FreeBSD as the best OS avaiable, better than Linux for licences, speed, security, and so on, while Linux just has a bloated kernel, it is slow, too fragmented, etc...
Now, since I'm a human being capable of thinking (I suppose, I'll check it out later) my question is: why aren't we all switching to using FreeBSD (or any other BSD OS), is Linux so bad as they say it is in confront to FreeBSD or are these just based opinions? Is there something Linux does way better than FreeBSD? Basically all sort of questions on "Why choosing one over the other if one looks like Jesus Christ on land?".

PS: If a flame war starts... I'll grab some pop-corn to eat...

https://redd.it/lgy1b3
@r_linux

Most private linux distro that I can install to my drive and can run on my PC.

I'm looking for a Linux Distro that is private and isn't Qubes, Whonix or Tails. Whonix and Tails aren't installed to your drive and Qubes is very resource intensive. If you know a good distro that fits all if the above please tell me.

https://redd.it/lh5g3o
@r_linux

The history of my professor during live course (subnoscriptd)

https://redd.it/lh6p4c
@r_linux