A little helper in Linux called Dia!

Let me tell you a little story about a quiet helper I’ve used for years on Linux. It’s called Dia. At first glance, it looks like just another diagram editor. But stick with it and there's more to this little gem than meets the eye.

Yes, you can draw with Dia. Proper flowcharts. Network diagrams. Timelines. Process maps. It’s great at all that.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

Dia handles layers. You can paste a calendar behind your diagram and sketch your week out visually. Drop in your TaskJuggler Gantt chart or project export, and annotate right over it. Planning becomes visual and fun. You can even slap a screenshot into the canvas and start drawing arrows, notes, or little reminders like a digital whiteboard that’s always yours.

No cloud. No logins. No surprise updates. It just runs. Even in Wayland, thanks to XWayland. And it saves everything locally, so your thoughts are always within reach.

Over the years, I’ve tested slick project tools, polished image annotators, and web-based whiteboards. Some were powerful. Some were pretty. But somehow, I always end up back with Dia.

It’s not flashy. It’s not modern. But it’s calm, it’s fast, and it respects your space. I use it for everything from sketching quick ideas to laying out serious plans.

If that sounds like your kind of tool, give it a try:
https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Dia

(This is not an Ad but an underappreciated use case that empowers Linux users)





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

Working on a Linux installer for Windows that doesn't require a USB stick
https://rltvty.net/installlinux.html

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

How do I set application priorities with KDE System Monitor?

Hello there, I use KDE on Arch and I was just wondering how I set priorities through the system monitor? The option is greyed out which is rather annoying and I cant seem to find out how to enable/use it. I know how to set system priorities with nice and renice, but being able to quickly chance with the system monitor would make my life quite a bit easier.

Thanks

https://redd.it/1lri8j8
@r_linux

Missing apple music on linux

I have an apple music account and i used it on my phone but now i wanna use it on my linux mint machine, i saw cider, but it costs 3.50$, I cannot pay that as that's a lot of money for me, So is there a crack available for that? or any other good software alternative???

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

AWS Bottlerocket's Linux Has a Unique Boot Security Architecture
https://molnett.com/blog/25-06-30-trusting-the-boot-process

https://redd.it/1lrkfo5
@r_linux

Follow up: DE Free Arch on Surface Go
https://redd.it/1lrm9xa
@r_linux

Remember when the only way to have a GUI was to compile your own kernel modules and edit the xorg config by hand?

I'm feeling old this week, some younger folk asking about GPU support in linux is causing me to remember the "good old days" from the before times, back when slackware was bleeding edge and it was perfectly normal to compile your own kernel.

Who else is feeling the years this week?

https://redd.it/1lrne7k
@r_linux

AerynOS: Initial KDE Plasma session
https://redd.it/1lrmu0m
@r_linux

Evince was replaced by Papers as the default Document Viewer app for the upcoming GNOME 49
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/merge_requests/3611

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

Kdenlive 25.04.2 released
https://kdenlive.org/news/releases/25.04.2/

https://redd.it/1lrmok1
@r_linux

AUR package: Image to ascii converter
https://github.com/Hugana/p2ascii

https://redd.it/1lrso5w
@r_linux

A wrapper over runit to enable disable and start services easily

runit is a really small but at the same time functional and lightning fast init. for reference on a usb drive 3.0 with void linux installed on it gets me to the login screen under 7sec and if from ssd under 5sec. it is very simple to enable services like ln -s /etc/sv/Foo /var/services or on artix linux ln -s /etc/sv/Foo /run/runit/services.

but everyone doesn't wants to run this long command ppl like me coming from openrc and dinit find it a bit confusing although it is very simple but muscle memory says to do something like runitctl enable or runitctl disable. second thing is that there is no difference between starting a service and enabling a service. if you symlink a service to start it it will also be enabled at boot. although for normal ppl that is not a big deal but for ppl like me this can be.

to address these very niche but existing problems I created a noscript in sh(POSIX) tested on Void Linux and artix linux runit to enable disable and start a service. and if a service is started it is not enabled meaning it will not start on the next boot.

this is a simple example

rntctl start <service>     # Run service once (no boot enable)
rntctl enable <service>    # Enable service (symlink to /var/service)
rntctl disable <service>   # Disable service (remove symlink)
rntctl status <service>    # Show if enabled + running status

do reply if you liked this project and tell me your reviews on here as I am not very experienced in tracking issues at git. although the noscript is too small to even contain issues.

more explanation on github and if you like it please give it a star 🌟

the project link

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

Can I get a "Hell no"?
https://redd.it/1ls0q27
@r_linux

This Week in Plasma: chugging along
https://blogs.kde.org/2025/07/05/this-week-in-plasma-chugging-along/

https://redd.it/1ls33mh
@r_linux

"Known exploited" vulnerability in Chrome and Chromium. Be sure to update, when you can.
https://redd.it/1ls4bfr
@r_linux

Turned my old Asus laptop into a Linux server for Docker instead of overloading my MacBook Air

My MacBook only has 8 GB of RAM, and while it’s still great and fast for everyday tasks, it can struggle a bit when I have multiple Docker containers running. So I decided to breathe new life into my old Asus laptop that was just gathering dust and was actually super slow.

I installed Linux (went with Ubuntu Server) and set it up as a home server. It’s headless now, tucked away in a corner, and I SSH into it from my Mac. 

No more maxing out my MacBook’s RAM for my projects. Plus, I’m learning more about Linux, which is a bonus.

Anyone else doing something similar with old hardware?

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

How many Linux machines are in your menagerie?

I realized that I have an absurdly-large number of Linux machines in my personal fleet... how many do you have? Here's my list:

1. Daily driver: A Linux workstation
2. Laptop: A Lenovo machine running Linux
3. Living room computer
4. Raspberry Pi 4: Mail server, asterisk server, etc.
5. Pi zero #1: KVM access to #4 via serial console
6. Pi zero #2: Bedroom clock (with LED matrix display)
7. Pi 3: Living room weather display
8. Pi 4 #2: Security camera
9. ASUS Tinkerboard: Monitors my basement UPS
10. Pi 4 #3 at my sister's place: Off-site backup
11. Pi zero #3 at my sister's place: KVM access to #10 via serial console
12. Linux KVM instance: Runs my personal web site and is my MX host
13. Linux KVM instance #2: Backup for #12

https://redd.it/1lsc5rf
@r_linux

Linux Gifts?

Hey folks,

I’m putting together a Linux Beginner Survival Box as a birthday gift for a good friend of mine. She’s relatively new to Linux and will soon be working more independently with it at her job – likely managing some basic sysadmin tasks, working on the CLI, etc.

So I figured: let’s make a fun, slightly silly but also useful gift box to prepare her for the ups and downs of life at the terminal. Here’s what I’ve got so far:



A CLI Cheat Sheet poster

A VIM Cheat Sheet mousepad

The O'Reilly book “Linux in a Nutshell”

A bootable USB stick (Ventoy + various Live ISOs)

An Ubuntu mug + cold brew tea (she's not into coffee)

A plush Tux

A T-shirt that says “Sysadmin – because even developers need heroes”

A pack of candy penguins

And lots of penguin stickers

Now I’d love to hear from you all:
Any ideas for small, funny, practical or nerdy items to add?
Things that helped you early on?
Or just anything that would make a new Linux user smile during a rough day at the terminal?

Thanks in advance!

~#>


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

Is windows actually better at never breaking user space?

I remember linus saying there's really only one rule in the kernel, which is "don't break user space", everything else being a "guideline", even "not doing dumb shit". It does frequently happen, however, at least to me, that linux has a bunch of software that gets regularly broke and stops working, e.g. when a braile driver on ubuntu cause arduino ide to malfunction in my machine.

It seems that linux is very temperamental with compatibility issues in general, while Windows is always just "plug in and it works". Does that mean microsoft is better at not breaking user space than linux kernel devs? Or was linus talking about something even more specific about the kernel? And if so, how are the kernel devs better than Microsoft at that?

https://redd.it/1lsf1bn
@r_linux

Unprecedented Linux Growth in Europe

https://blazetrends.com/unprecedented-linux-growth-in-europe-amid-windows-10-end-of-life/?fsp\_sid=61142

https://redd.it/1lske0x
@r_linux

A gui for linux-wallpaperengine
https://redd.it/1lskj1x
@r_linux