20 years of Linux on the Desktop
https://ploum.net/2024-10-20-20years-linux-desktop-part1.html

https://redd.it/1m79ujh
@r_linux

Just want to share what I think is a W for Linux usability

So I had a client that needed my help to get a new laptop for work since Windows 10 EOS is coming and Windows 11 wasn’t compatible with their old laptop. They said they had no idea what to look for and when I looked at the specs of their current machine, it wasn’t great. Everything loading slowly, think 5 minutes to boot to Windows 10, I don’t think there were really any programs set to start on boot, and a couple minutes to load any program. Anyway, got them a new laptop, they like it, basically just picked a much newer version of the model they were using since they wanted to stick with Dell.

Anyway, on to the actual thing I think is kinda awesome. I hate letting perfectly usable computers go to waste and they asked if there was anything I could do so they could use the old laptop as their personal one at home. So, I told them I could put Linux on it and upgrade to a faster drive. They agreed to try it, I let them know that it’ll be a little different but they could call and ask if they had any questions. Slapped in an ssd, installed Linux Mint Cinnamon, set their password the same as on Windows, gave it back, told them the password, haven’t received a single call or text about needing help with anything. They even turned down my offer to show them around the OS. So, even going in blind on a new OS, I’m guessing that they’re all good. I do plan on asking them what they think about it when I see them again soon. But like hey, seems like Linux is at a point that an average, non-tech person can use it for basic things without help. Makes me hopeful we could start bringing new life to old PCs with Linux and have average consumers actually buy them instead of sending them to waste and replacing them with more garbage in the form of chromebooks and whatnot.

Thanks for reading my post. What do y’all think? Any chance for Linux to become an actual household OS? Or will people just forever look at purchasing only computers with Windows or MacOS and think Linux is too complicated or they won’t be able to do what they need to on it?

https://redd.it/1m7d93j
@r_linux

No more Windows10 support. Questioning a Linux switch.

So, i just got the Windows Pop-Up that Windows10 support will end in October 2025, and that my hardware limits my PC to download Windows 11. Now im questioning if i should switch to Linux, but i know absolutely nothing about it whatsoever. Will my games run? How can i make it look nice? How am i secure (i always used Windows Defender only)? What do i need to know, i just need a guiding hand and id appreciate yall if you could somehow help.

For people saying just upgrade - i cant im an Apprentice and i dont earn enough money to simply just upgrade.

For people asking what games i play - Roblox, League of Legends (I heard that vanguard will not work on Linux and that it probably never will work) and some Mobile Emulated games for example on LDPlayer9, MuMu Launcher.

Thanks so much already for the help! If someone actually does help. But i heard the Linux community is nice.

https://redd.it/1m7dqyz
@r_linux

How Stacer Simplifies Linux System Maintenance and Optimization
https://fossforce.com/2025/07/how-stacer-simplifies-linux-system-maintenance-and-optimization/

https://redd.it/1m7eerz
@r_linux

Linux on an old netbook
https://redd.it/1m7h8l5
@r_linux

GIthub wants the EU to fund critical open source software, what do you all think about this?
https://github.blog/open-source/maintainers/we-need-a-european-sovereign-tech-fund/

https://redd.it/1m7j3vv
@r_linux

One year in, Debian feels like home
https://www.markpitblado.me/blog/one-year-in-debian-feels-like-home/

https://redd.it/1m7ird9
@r_linux

EeePC 1000HE with Trinity is perfect
https://redd.it/1m7keyh
@r_linux

Don't buy ASUS products

I heard that ASUS had bad customer service, but didn't think think it would be that bad. I am having trouble with my Asus b850m-plus wifi motherboard. Wifi module showed up up at first a few times but since then it just doesn't show up after anything I found software side.

I bought the motherboard 2 months ago so I think it's still on warranty. So I contacted ASUS with two questions:
1) Can they think of anything from software side I missed?
2) The wifi module is behind a large heatsink, and maybe it's not set correctly. Can I open it up somehow to check, and will it waive my warranty?

I said that I am using CachyOS, with latest kernel and linux-firmware, and updated to the latest UEFI.

They got back to me asking if I updated to the latest drivers, and a link to the windows drivers. I responded that I don't think that works in Linux.

Their response? Closed the ticket and said that they can't support Linux.

That's very disappointing. Even if they can't support the software side, they totally ignored the question if I can diagnose it physically.

https://redd.it/1m7jh9u
@r_linux

My second kernel panic ever, pretty interesting imo
https://redd.it/1m7lqoc
@r_linux

Best Linux Apps (personal observations) for some use cases

Making a list based on my own experiences on Linux (may or may not helpful for anyone, as everyone has different use cases). I am not gonna include WPS office btw because urm I don't like it tbh

Microsoft Word Alternative:

1. Libreoffice Writer 25.8 (It's beta rn but it is quite good).
2. Google Docs (It's one of my favourites)
3. OnlyOffice Writer Software (rn some options are kinda lacklustre but overall it's not bad).

Special Mention: If you are comfortable with Latex, TexStudio is also quite good for writing documents.

Microsoft Powerpoint Alternative

1. Libreoffice Impress (Super cool)
2. OnlyOffice Powerpoint Software (It has a presenter function than any alt).
3. Google Slides

Reminders:

1. Planify (Nothing beats this imho)
2. Everything else tbh.

Screenshot:

Gradia (on GNOME) and Spectacle on KDE. If you are on X11, Flameshot works consistently well across all DEs

Image Editing:

1. PhotoGimp
2. Pinta

Note: if you include premium soft, prolly the best one is Photopea (web).

E-book reading:

1. Foliate.
2. Calibre
3. Use Kindle on Waydroid

Free PDF reading/editing:

1. Okular (FOSS, so it's automatically my fav, also it's beyond any other FOSS tool ik for PDF editing)
2. PDFGear on Wine (it runs really well after the necessary mods are made to the wineprefix, number 2 because it's not FOSS, good for PDF signing imho)
3. Papers (If you don't need to make any annotations)

(If you include native/wine paid soft, I would say Master PDF Editor is prolly the best one to use, there is QOPPA's PDF Studio, but that struggles with HiDPi rendering).

Annotation/Hand Written notes Tools:

1. Xournal++, super good for annotating PDFs or other documents
2. RNote, super good for drawing
3. Drawing (It's good for basic stuff)
4. Miro/Excalidraw (It's a good non-FOSS alt, but its a web app unfortunately)
5. Goodnotes on Web (not FOSS, but becoming progressively better and honestly I think it will good for PDF annotating oneday).

Note: Another alt might be to try and use waydroid emulation to do notetaking if you have a touchscreen. Rn trackpad gestures are not supported (so imp things like pinch to zoom via trackpad do not work on waydroid, making it painful to use apps like JNotes).

Notetaking:

1. AppFlowy
2. Obsidian
3. Joplin

Anki can be used as a FOSS software if you like to use flashcards.

Notion is one of the best web apps for this, and despite it not being FOSS, I do see it's value.

https://redd.it/1m7qmnk
@r_linux

I made a noscript that shows the name of and file path to all system daemons, and their affiliated config files and paths

[EDIT\] I'm not sure why the comment structured itself that way, but all that text is meant to be a singular noscript. Just copy it all at once.

\----------

The noscript itself will be the comments.

Let me explain.

I wanted to know where all the daemons were. As far as I could tell, digging through all the systemd files was the only way. Daemons refer to config files. I wanted to know which ones. In figuring this out, I realized that I could not find an efficient way to show all system daemons, locations, all config files they use, and where those files are. As far as I can tell, there is no meaningful or convenient organization of daemons. So I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if I could run a command that shows me all the daemons, where they live, what config files they use, and where those config files are?"

So, my thought process was this:

1. "systemctl list-units --type=service" shows all system daemons.
2. Each unit file shows the file path to the daemon that systemd is starting.
3. Doing "strings | grep conf" at the daemon file shows the config files that daemon uses
4. Doing "find / -name [filename\]" will find the config file

So I vibe-coded (asked an AI to make, and then modified) a noscript that does this and outputs the result like in the attached picture.

Now, I'm a crap coder (which is why I asked an AI), and I bet this noscript isn't great, but it works, and I think it's pretty cool that I can now reference this whenever I need to mess with a daemon.

Tell me if you think this is neat, useful, or dumb, and why.

https://preview.redd.it/7f4wfakbnqef1.png?width=395&format=png&auto=webp&s=8da55b12a02487c63f31bf3ba462fad9829fbebd

https://redd.it/1m7t8kd
@r_linux

Linux is the only true upgrade from Windows

Been using Windows for about 3 decades, since the MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 days. I've used every major Windows version (only skipped 8) since then. Though I don't hate Windows (not even Vista or 11), it's not exactly a secret it's been on a downwards trajectory with no signs of recovering. But for all this time I'd never considered any alternatives, just stuck with Windows and accepted it for what it was.

Nearly a month ago, I finally decided to try out Linux, and couldn't be happier with it, like pretty much instantly the moment I got access to the desktop. I was skeptical, thinking I'd probably not like it if I could even get it to work, but everything went way smoother than expected. Everything just kind of works (some things require some extra effort, but the same can be said for doing things on Windows).

Everything is so fast, like continuing from sleep mode, instantly in there. Restarting is like 5x faster than it'd be on Windows. Installing and updating stuff is all done in a flash. Endless customization and freedom, zero bloat. It only does what and when I tell it to. This is the best OS experience I've ever had.

Anyone on Windows still on the fence and somehow reading this, could absolutely recommend giving it a try.

https://redd.it/1m7x3q3
@r_linux

Bash noscripting is addictive, someone stop me

I've tried to learn how to program since 2018, not very actively, but I always wanted to become a developer. I tried Python but it didn't "stick", so I almost gave up as I didn't learn to build anything useful.
Recently, this week, I tried to write some bash noscripts to automate some tasks, and I'm absolutely addicted to it. I can't stop writing random .sh programs. It's incredible how it's integrated with Linux.
I wrote a Arch Linux installation noscript for my personal needs, I wrote a pseudo-declarative APT abstraction layer, a downloader noscript that downloads entire site directories, a noscript that parses through exported Whatsapp conversations and gives some fun insights, I just can't stop.

https://redd.it/1m81ocp
@r_linux

PixiEditor 2.0 a FOSS Universal 2D Graphics Editor launches 30th of July
https://pixieditor.net/blog/2025/07/24/v2-release-date

https://redd.it/1m83pxw
@r_linux

A Brief History of Graphs; My Journey Into Application Development
https://blogs.gnome.org/sstendahl/2025/07/24/a-brief-history-of-graphs-my-journey-into-application-development/

https://redd.it/1m867tl
@r_linux

Kdenlive 25.08 RC ready for testing
https://kdenlive.org/news/2025/2508-rc/

https://redd.it/1m8cpcv
@r_linux

Hardware-encrypting drives test suite -- "We conduct a systematic security study of 24 TCG Opal-compliant drives. . . . Our analysis shows persistent errors and vulnerabilities in SED implementations regarding basic device usage, data encryption, and random data generators."
https://is.muni.cz/th/hy1ai/?lang=en

https://redd.it/1m8dlir
@r_linux

What distro has the most expansive and up to date repository?

I'm currently on Arch as a relatively new linux user and people always say the AUR makes Arch have the largest repository which I guess is technically true but most of those packages if not all are unofficial and for security and stability concerns I'm not sure I want to touch those. I believe Debian is second place in terms of size but Debian is also notorious for old packages. I would imagine Ubuntu or Fedora is somewhere in the middle. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts and perspectives.

Asking so I know what distro to use for my gaming/workstation desktop that I'm currently saving up for. I'm willing to compromise not having every application available on Windows as long as I have a large variety to choose from and they're up to date.

https://redd.it/1m8g0zc
@r_linux

You can finally run Doom and other graphical apps in Android's Linux Terminal
https://www.androidauthority.com/linux-terminal-graphical-apps-3580905/

https://redd.it/1m8jgh1
@r_linux

Looking back on 8 years of distro-hopping and Linux fun
https://l-o-o-s-e-d.net/distro-hopping

https://redd.it/1m8lvhe
@r_linux