What distro for my 70yr old uncle to run One piece of software on his weedy miniPC?

Title is not a joke. Uncle has a trig key (mini PC) with 3.2 ghz processor and 16gb RAM, he only uses it to run something called REAPER which is music recording software.

When running on windows 11 the thing chuggs and laggs a lot

Soo ideally, would a light weight distro without all the gumpf windows 11 runs in the background solve this? Would still need to have a desktop cos, ya know, the guy is 72.

In my limited experience raspberry PI ps seems to fit? Being build for single board computers

https://redd.it/1iwf7ly
@r_linux

I want to switch to linux but the nvidia driver's is the pain in the ass

Hi, i want to learn linux but before switching to linux i am afraid that are there any fixes for drivers of old nvidia gpus i have a gt710 i have tried installing it before by using guides from here and there can someone help please. Thanks, i want to badly switch to linux windows is getting bullshit generation by generation

https://redd.it/1iwgmwa
@r_linux

I think I will stick with Arch now. I am sick of Distro hopping at my age.

I am not exactly new using Linux in general. I think it was early 90,s when my journey began but back then I was also running a garage and relied somewhat on AutoData for accounts and pricing jobs so I was forced to use MS at that point.
I will be honest since 2005 after i stooped working at the Garage I have done my fair share of Distro hopping, I think I have tried most distros and some were suitable and others were just not for me.
I have always maintained that there is no hard and fast rule to what distro you choose and why you like it or rather why it works for you.
In that case the distro that makes your life easy and is productive is always the one for you.
I thought Debian was my chosen one recently until I bought my new / used laptop
The Dell ( The one I am on now ) did not like Debian on UEFI but would work fine on legacy boot.I was a bit peed of with this and believe me I have tried numerous Bios settings to try and get this working.
This seems its a Dell thing where Debian grub does not speak to the firmware to boot correctly.
Hence ..Can not find boot device. Error.
Anyway I have reverted back to Arch as it is a simple install and simply works.
Installed perfect on this Dell with no issues.
I have installed the basic stuff I need to use and to be honest its running smooth as silk.
I have to admit I missed the up to date programmes available in Arch and the nice sleek KDE Plasma is ringing all my bells.
I am like a kid in a sweet shop again at my old age.
In the past I have broke arch by trying to do sh1t that simply breaks things and should not be done.
Yep I admit its my fault why I use to say arch can break.
I should of said I can break arch.
I am fairly educated on how it works, not a guru like some but I know my way around and what to do and what not to do.
I am hoping to stay with Arch now and just use it sensible for what it is intended for.
Thanks everyone for bits of advice along the way.
What put me off Arch was the RTFM and I use Arch by the way crowd.
It just spoiled it all for me reading how toxic they turn when a new user asks for help instead of simply helping and passing on a little knowledge to help them on the Journey with Arch.
Now I dismiss all that crap....Its only another distro. No more and no less.
But it is a good distro.
Cheers

https://preview.redd.it/4h9l5ud7kxke1.jpg?width=817&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20c353fef3bbfdabd1bebf9278b28e90427a1684



https://redd.it/1iwghx3
@r_linux

I Dual Boot for School

I swapped to Linux fully a couple weeks ago. I didn't play anything that required kernal level anti-cheat except occasionally Rust. I mostly play other games. I have to swap back to Windows when I take my online proctored exams and online certifications(CompTIA, Windows, etc). They require some hefty permissions that Linux won't grant. Until I'm out of school, I'll have to keep Windows alive. With how far Linux has come, I don't see a reason to keep Windows around anymore. I've always used open source because I'm too cheap anyway.

https://redd.it/1iwjlih
@r_linux

Budget Friendly Gaming Laptop

Hi all! I’m looking to buy a budget friendly gaming laptop for my husband for his birthday. He uses Linux on all his devices but I’m not super familiar with it yet. My only experience so far has been my steam deck & he has stated he doesn’t want one at this time. However, his laptop is ancient & we’d still like the portability of gaming when going on vacation.

I’m looking for recommendations for laptops he can put Linux on & that can run FFXIV (his favorite game we currently play). He doesn’t really play anything more intensive so I don’t think the hardware specifications need to be too crazy. I’m looking to spend under 1000 & if possible somewhere between 400-600.

https://redd.it/1iwkfdc
@r_linux

9 Most Stable Linux "Rolling Release" Distributions
https://linuxblog.io/linux-rolling-release-distros/

https://redd.it/1iwluru
@r_linux

Gentoo Linux Announces Official QCOW2 Images For Cloud VMs
https://www.gentoo.org/news/2025/02/20/gentoo-qcow2-images.html

https://redd.it/1iwlu1c
@r_linux

Resources for learning to use OpenSUSE as a user of mainly Debian-based distros

Hi all,

I'm interested in trying OpenSUSE because I've heard a lot of good things about it. I'm starting on Leap because I value stability over having the latest-and-greatest stuff. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on resources or documentations geared at learning the basics of OpenSUSE use and administration, apart from the official docs on their website.

Specifically, I've pretty much always used Debian or other Debian-based distros (Ubuntu, Mint, etc) and while I know tools like apt like the back of my hand, I'm totally lost when it comes to using an RPM-based distro. The last one I used regularly was Red Hat Linux 7 (not RHEL) as a teenager.

Has anyone put together a document outlining what the equivalent commands are to administer an OpenSUSE system compared to Debian?

Thanks in advance for any help.

https://redd.it/1iwo1h0
@r_linux

First announced here, my Open-Source "Internet OS" Just Hit 2,000,000 user!
https://github.com/HeyPuter/puter/

https://redd.it/1iwpyem
@r_linux

Southern California Linux Expo

Just a reminder that the Southern California Linux Expo (SCaLE) is in less than 2 weeks in Pasadena.

There’s also lots of colocated events for devops days, cloud native days, and more.

It’s a completely community run event and reasonable ticket prices.

I’m a long time attendee and now part of the planning committee. AMA

https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/22x

https://redd.it/1iwo7lp
@r_linux

Windows 8's Metro UI for Linux?

Is there a way to make my OS look like Windows 8? I mean, the fullscreen Start menu with tiles, Metro-like theme for Qt, etc.

I googled but found nothing...

Now I'm using openSUSE Leap 15.6 with KDE

https://redd.it/1iwtc92
@r_linux

AI as a guide

This may be controversial but AI is a good guide.
Everyone hates on AI when it comes to installation and configuration of your system. I think it is absolutely incredible and i will die on this hill. Now, don’t copy+paste every command it gives you because it will break something. Instead if you know what you are doing, ask the AI about your situation and what you want to do, with further research and proper knowledge this is the most effective way to find what you need. Forget the forum post from 2009, forget the guides and forum posts where it’s generic or even worse, not for your system. Ask AI, rtfm and understand what the commands/code you execute/write do.

DISCLAIMER: Don’t blindly follow AI and don’t take me for an expert. Do your research.


https://redd.it/1iwzgbp
@r_linux

Soar – Distro Agnostic Package Manager, HomeBrew (LinuxBrew) Done Right
https://github.com/pkgforge/soar

https://redd.it/1ix0tzs
@r_linux

GNOME Compose key sequence cheat sheet
https://redd.it/1ix1k2s
@r_linux

Linux's libinput Input Library Finally Supports 3-Finger Dragging
https://www.phoronix.com/news/libinput-3-Finger-Dragging

https://redd.it/1ix1tuz
@r_linux

Video streaming software?

Hello all - I don't know if this is out of scope for this sub, but I have a somewhat unique problem to solve. I have a closed environment that currently uses multicast to push video stream feeds to computers within the closed environment. I've been working on a project to get the video out of that network for sharing to a remote site but it has had its own set of challenges.


What I'm trying to find now is if there is a server software that will allow me to ingest the existing multicast streams, then provide a webpage/GUI where an external party can log in and view the streams individually (or, ideally, in some form of multiviewer) rather than trying to force the video stream itself out of the network. If anyone knows a software like this that would work, I'd greatly appreciate the information! Also, I need a software that can run on a virtual machine, as we don't have the space to allow for new hardware. Thank you so much to anyone that can help! (Crossposting as well)

https://redd.it/1ix7m4f
@r_linux

Joining the gang
https://redd.it/1ixaon5
@r_linux

Linux Mint XFCE on a 3gb ram Notebook
https://redd.it/1ixc6cv
@r_linux

Arch Vs Mint

Hi, I want to change my OS to either Linux Arch or Mint but cant fully decide yet..

I'v been watching a lot of videos and reading a lot of people opinions about arch / mint, advantages and disadvantages but cant decide..

I have experience with slackware linux server, I'v installed and used on it php, mail, ftp, dns, web and more.

i wanna know how hard will it be for me to use arch linux as someone with experience on slackware linux.

mint installation is gui mostly if im not mistaken so its shouldnt be a problem at all, but arch is more freedom as people say but also people say it can just brake in a middle of nowhere thats why i cant decide which one to install as my main OS.

im planning to game, watch videos, use apps like discord / spotify / netflix and etc, based basically.

i wanna know your thoughts and opinions about either arch or mint. thanks for all the answers!

https://redd.it/1ixdfls
@r_linux

Second monitor in kiosk mode?

There's some inexpensive monitors that are on the cusp between raspberry pis and PC accessories. For the latter it's mostly system status - temperatures, network traffic, etc. I know at least one of these screens has a windows app that provides this information.

This should be easy to do on a Linux desktop, right? Alas I was a novice X-mage in my youth and could (and did) set up multiple independent sessions at the time with the introduction of DBus and Wayland all of those skills are now moot.

So the question is how can I set up a separate Wayland session? (Or separate X and Wayland sessions). It's fine for it to be in kiosk mode and locked to a browser - I don't want to raise my X/Motif skills from the dead!

I can immediately rule out the obvious solution - simply adding this monitor to my set of displays. I tried that but the system got very confused with three displays - in fact it would only show two until I explicitly added the third. I have a 4-port video card and I will use 3 displays sometimes but it requires some care-and-feeding. With two displays I'll often drop from "join" to "mirror" after an idle period but everything is predictable. With three displays it seemed to shuffle the content in unpredictable ways.

(This may be due to this being a pretty old video card, probably dates to shortly after 4k/30s was first available.)

In the worst case I can use a dedicate RPi - and may need to do that anyway if I can't have the video card support separate Wayland/X sessions - but I would prefer to just hang it off my desktop if possible.


Eyoyo 7 inch mini monitor 1024x600

wisecoco 8.8 inch cpu temperature monitor with casing 1920x480 LCD Display

https://redd.it/1ixhn4b
@r_linux

What linux distro best for thinkpads?

Hey folks, ive been a long time user of ubuntu (xfce or kde) which ran on thinkpads mostly, i always had issues with my video drivers (nvidia) and constantly had to mess with reinstalling drivers once in a blue moon either one or both external screens would refuze to connect; was wondering what distro folks could suggest that just works?
Assume its an nvidia card.


https://redd.it/1ixi26u
@r_linux