Got my best friend into linux and now hes falling down the rabbithole

So my friend ive had since highschool has had a desktop gaming pc thats about 13 years old that after buying a gaming laptop that he just uses for YouTube and 3d printing stuff. Well his windows install corrupted and he thought the computer was just dead.

I told him id take a look at it and see if I could get it working while we were hanging out since we usually treat his house as a nerd cave and work on projects and radios and stuff there anyway.

He had an ssd he never used in the computer befause he thought it was messed up but it just wasn't properly partitioned. I taught him how partitioning works and ended up installing mint on his computer.

So I did all the setup for him and got him setup with a browser of his choice, got bambu studio installed (that was actually more of a pain that I expected), then for fun I customized his boot screen ti a fallout theme, installed cool retro term, and a fallout terminal emulator for his terminal. I also just added a few widgets to his desktop and changed his icons and wallpaper to a fallout theme.

He was intimidated by the terminal at first but I made it fun for him with cool retro term and then let him have at it as I told him how to install stuff through terminal and showed him the package manager.

NOW HES OBSESSED. So many times ive heard him complain about windows and bloat and everything and hes never seen his computer run as clean as it does now. I told him about the man command so he can rtfm and now he prefers doing things with the terminal anytime he can because he likes the retro terminal theme and it makes him feel like a hacker in a 2000s movie haha

So tldr; helped my buddy install Linux on his old pc and helped him make it unique to him and made it fun for him now hes got more terminal commands memorized than me

https://redd.it/1meoqy7
@r_linux

Started an open-source project that lets you use your android device as an external monitor for your linux system.

Hi everyone!

I've been using Lubuntu for about 6-7 months now. Professionally I'm a full-stack engineer, mostly working with typenoscript. I play with Linux, VimScript and bash for my entertainment and whenever I get bored with writing and debugging the same old javanoscript and typenoscript codes.

I had a samsung tablet and I decided to use it as an external monitor, so that I can keep running my backend server logs on a separate screen while looking at the code or testing the product. When I had windows, extended screen was fairly easy but I tried to look for similar options for linux; ended up trying Deskscreen, Virtscreen, Weyelus etc, but mostt of them had limitations and requried extensive configuration to be used a proper extended display. I once even ended up crashing my boot while trying to configure xrandr as I added a noscript that would start on boot. (fixed it by removing the noscript from GRUB menu).

After a lot of trial and error (and AI, ofcourse) I finally found a decent setup which worked exactly how I wanted. With this I was able to drag my mouse, application windows, keyboard shortcuts and everything to my tablet, with no lag, no wires and just by using a VNC viewer application on my device (I use RealVNC Viewer Play Store Link )

So now I've polished it further and created an open source project via which any (most of the distros right now, not all) Linux system can connect to any android device and use it as a secondary/extended display:

GITHUB REPO

How it works:

Uses `xrandr` to create virtual displays
VNC for streaming the extended area only
Works with any VNC viewer app on Android
Supports custom resolutions and positioning (left/right/above/below)
Compatible with Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and most major distros

This started as a personal tooling project, but I think it could benefit the entire Linux community. I'm pretty new to bash and developing things for linux ecosystem (if this even counts in that), so I just wanted to let it out in the community; maybe this can help someone; or someone can help this project and take it to the next step.

I had a few questions as I kept planning out the plausible next steps for this, and would love the opinion of people who are more familiar to the ecosystem than I am:

I'm looking for help with:

Packaging & Distribution:

Arch Linux AUR package
openSUSE RPM packaging
Snap/Flatpak packages
Ubuntu PPA setup

Features:

GUI configuration tool (probably Qt or GTK)
iOS support (might be challenging due to VNC limitations)
Multi-tablet support
Auto-discovery of tablets on network
Performance optimizations

Testing:

Different desktop environments (KDE, GNOME, XFCE, etc.)
Various hardware configurations
Different Android devices/VNC clients

Documentation:

Better setup guides with screenshots
Video tutorials
Troubleshooting wiki

I'm not completely (or correctly) aware of the possibilities of these but would love if people will try this out and contribute to it.

https://redd.it/1meq75h
@r_linux

Is there a Linux operation software for gaming, editing and programming for beginners?

I've been seeing TikToks of Linux and how it's better than windows but it doesn't support some games which I honestly don't mind. I wanted to ask since I've never used Linux if there is one for beginners that you can use for programming, gaming and editing since I do those as a hobby and windows 11 is being a bitch

https://redd.it/1mesc8c
@r_linux

Secure boot certificate rollover is real but probably won't hurt you
https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/72892.html

https://redd.it/1metp47
@r_linux

Pi-hole - Compromised Donor Emails: A post-mortem
https://pi-hole.net/blog/2025/07/30/compromised-donor-emails-a-post-mortem/

https://redd.it/1mev6p1
@r_linux

Linus Torvalds is still using an 8-year-old "same old boring" RX 580 paired with a 5K monitor
https://www.pcguide.com/news/linus-torvalds-is-still-using-an-8-year-old-same-old-boring-rx-580-paired-with-a-5k-monitor/

https://redd.it/1mewo61
@r_linux

win for Lyon
https://redd.it/1mey3k3
@r_linux

Git was never a big thing for me - Linus Torvalds | Do you know Linus Torvalds more for Git or Linux ?
https://redd.it/1mezr3k
@r_linux

Does Linux rising market share has something to do with people having to buy less computers?

There is plethora of devices types. Smartphones are so smart that the need for a computer (desktop/laptop) has decreased, and when they are not sufficient for people's needs, they can even use iPads. I wonder if this is taken into account when we say that Linux is gaining market share.

If people in general use computers less, despite tech savvy people like us continuing to use them, that will change the meaning of the market share data. Since tech savvy people like us need more than Windows for reasons we know very well, what if there is not that much more people running Linux, but instead there is just less people buying and using computers in general, and us as power users running Linux are only statically more visible because general sample size decrease?

If one year there is 200 people using a computer, with 2 of them using Linux, that is 1% of Linux users. If the next year there is now only 100 people using a computer because the other half bought iPads instead, but still 2 Linux users, suddenly there is 2% of Linux users. Just because the sample size changed.

I tried to find answers myself about how this type of variables are controlled, without success. Do not hesitate to share links if you have seen people writing on that. I want to see Linux success as much as I suppose you do. I just want to be sure about how much awesome the Linux market share is right now while knowing how much another variable could amplify the numbers.

(Sorry in case of broken English, I'm not a native speaker.)

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

The Affinity Subreddit now deletes all Posts that mentions Linux
https://redd.it/1mf6kiw
@r_linux

What do you say when someone asks you why Linux?
https://redd.it/1mf7exj
@r_linux

Steam Survey For July Shows Linux Use Approaching 3% - Phoronix
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Steam-Survey-July-2025

https://redd.it/1mfdsq1
@r_linux

EXT4 Shows Wild Gains With Better Block Allocation Scalability In Linux 6.17
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.17-EXT4

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

The XP-Pen Artist 22R Pro works on Linux now
https://redstrate.com/blog/2025/07/the-xp-pen-artist-22r-pro-works-on-linux-now/

https://redd.it/1mfkz24
@r_linux

Intel begins Linux enablement of next-gen Nova Lake series
https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-begins-linux-enablement-of-next-gen-nova-lake-series

https://redd.it/1mfm2wp
@r_linux

Orbitiny Desktop 1.0 Pilot 4 Released

After a short and temporary break due to my CompTIA studies and my successful competition of my CompTIA Linux+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications, it is with great pleasure to be back and announce the 4th test release of Orbitiny Desktop Environment. For people that don't know yet, Orbitiny Desktop Environment is a new, innovative and traditional Qt based desktop environment for Linux. My target audience is anyone who wants a familiar and traditional desktop but at the same time a desktop that offers innovative and additional features not offered by any other desktop and this release brings you yet another innovative feature (this time with the file manager) not seen on any other desktop before.

So what's new in this release?.

Qutiny File Manager - New: Added the associated device name to the caption of a mounted directory's file icon. E.g: If /dev/sdc1 is mounted on "/mnt/my\_point" and you navigate to /mnt, Qutiny file manager will append "(/dev/sdc1)" to the mounted directory's icon caption. So, for example, instead of seeing a file icon named "my\_mount\_point" when browsing to /mnt, you will see "my\_mount\_point (/dev/sdc1)" if "my\_mount\_point" was associated with /dev/sdc1. Not only that, it also shows a different icon. This gives you a visual indication that the directory you are looking at is a mount point and that the mounted directory's associated device is /dev/sdc1. See screenshot for more details. So, you don't have to use a terminal to find out what the associated device of a specific mount point is. This works anywhere in the file system with any mount point anywhere in the filesystem.
Qutiny File Manager - New: Added designated icons to mount points. This way, you can easily distinguish mount points from normal directories (see above).
File Properties Dialog - New: Added a "File Hashes" tab along with an option to compare an existing hash against the ones shown in the File Properties dialog to check for a match.
Qutiny File Manager - New: If you browse to an empty directory and you press the "Delete" key, you will be prompted to move the directory to Trash.
Qutiny File Manager - New: Added a "Disk Media" shortcut to the "Primary" category in the sidebar. Clicking this navigates to /media/$USER
Qutiny File Manager - New: Added a new toolbar button called "Mount Points". It reads the output of /etc/mtab and displays all mounted directories in a popup menu so that you can just click and navigate to that directory.
Qutiny File Manager \- New: If you've navigated to a directory and that directory stops existing (moved to Trash or gets deleted), you will be automatically navigated to $HOME.
"Move to Trash" Confirmation Dialog - New: Now it also shows the path of the file(s) to be deleted.
File Properties Dialog - New: Added a "File Owner" field, it tells you who owns the file
Qutiny File Manager - BugFix: Fixed an issue causing the file manager to start ignoring navigation requests after a "move to trash" confirmation dialog is shown on the screen and a "no" is selected
Qutiny File Manager - BugFix: Fixed an intermittent and annoying crash
Orbitiny Desktop Window - BugFix: Fixed a rare and intermittent desktop crash occuring when a device file is attached or removed to the computer
Context Menus - BugFix: Fixed a graphical glitch with the context menu causing menu items with long captions not to be shown in full
Improved the graphical appearance of the Rename File dialog. Looks much more professional now compared to the original dull looking version.

Orbitiny Desktop 1.0 Pilot 4

Also, as of recently, Orbitiny can run either as a standalone independent desktop or a portable application (think of it as an extracted AppImage) which you can carry on a USB

flash drive and run it on virtually any live or installed Linux distribution. The standalone mode however does need a separate window manager. The standalone mode instructions are included in the standalone-run directory.

As for the source code, I am back on Gitea: https://gitea.com/sasko.usinov/orbitiny-desktop however binary downloads are available on SourceForge.net as is the case with some very reputable and famous Linux projects. I own http://orbitiny.org, http://orbitiny.com, and http://orbitiny.net but due to lack of donations ($0.00) so far, I haven't paid for hosting and built a website yet, hence, I use SourceForge.net. Once donations start coming (if ever), I will pay for hosting, build a professional website like other desktop environment projects have.

To anyone testing Orbitiny Desktop and finding things not working, please tell me. You need to let me know so that I can fix it. If you don't tell me there is an issue, it will never get fixed. Maintaining a desktop environment all by myself isn't an easy task but I appreciate every and each report received.

Initially, I built this DE for myself as when I switched to Linux in late 2014, I wasn't happy with the available desktops so I decided to build my own but later on, it reached a useful point and I decided to release the project for other people to use.

Here is more info about me. I am the developer of SkyiDE (Windows only) developed with Borland C++ Builder: https://fileforum.com/detail/SkyIDE/1158829578/1 and I took part in DonationCoder's 2007 C++ contest where I won a first prize along with another 2 programmers. So, there were 3 first prize winners and I was one of those 3. SkyIDE was a free integrated development environment for C++, Java, Digital Mars D, Free Pascal and other languages. The version linked is v2 and was developed with Embarcadero's C++ Builder but the initial version was developed with Borland's C++ Builder. As a top prized winner, I was awarded a copy of Embarcadero's C++ Builder \- with the lot. So yeah, initially I was a C++ Builder guy.

Just don't bother downloading SkyIDE now, it's old, it's gone and I lost interest in it due to my strong desire to learn and use Linux more and more as time passed. I find Linux so much more flexible than Windows. In late 2014, I switched to Linux 100% but I missed that familiar desktop look and other DEs didin't do it for me so I decided to build my own :)

I decided to work with Qt because there was no C++ Builder for GUI development for Linux (what a shame...), no, I don't do Pascal / Delphi, I've never liked Pascal or Python.

Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/orbitiny-desktop/

https://redd.it/1mfos7t
@r_linux

Finally an easy syncing authenticator!
https://redd.it/1mfrqqe
@r_linux

This Week in Plasma: day/night theme switching
https://blogs.kde.org/2025/08/02/this-week-in-plasma-day/night-theme-switching/

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

My experience daily driving a Linux phone in 2025.

When I first started using Linux (a while back), I began wondering whether it was possible to buy a Linux phone or at least some mobile device—like a tablet—that could run a full Linux OS. Of course, the big names like Pine64 and Purism (Librem) were my first discoveries in the mobile Linux world. However, after researching what they offered and the pricing, I was disappointed. Availability was almost non-existent, and the specs-to-price ratio wasn’t encouraging. (I understand it's harder to make a Linux smartphone than an Android one, but the value still didn’t seem appealing.)

So, I started thinking about what could be used as a Linux-based mobile device and stumbled across a deal on a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet. I installed Arch Linux on it and used it for a while, testing all its features. (The tablet is still with me today and serves as an ideal school device.)

But this story isn't about the tablet—it’s about what came next.

# Discovering PostmarketOS

I found out about PostmarketOS, which immediately caught my attention. I looked at the list of supported devices and decided the best option to test mobile Linux would be the Xiaomi Mi A1. It had decent specs, was affordable, and, most importantly, the bootloader could be unlocked easily with just a single fastboot command (unlike most Xiaomi devices, which I had experience with).

# Setting Up and Testing

I began by installing PostmarketOS and exploring desktop environments. I tested both Plasma Mobile and Phosh, ultimately settling on Phosh.

Then came transferring all the necessary apps and testing the software ecosystem through GNOME Software. In my opinion, the ecosystem is surprisingly good—I found everything I needed. The quality and usability of the apps were hit-or-miss, mostly because many were Electron wrappers, which made the phone feel sluggish.

Once I realized how resource-intensive those apps were, I switched to using Firefox (mobile) for most things. This change dramatically improved performance. Even banking apps, which I was initially worried about, worked fine through their web interfaces.

# Limitations and Workarounds

The only major downside was that I couldn't connect my TicWatch C2+ to the phone. I couldn’t find a way to keep a WearOS app running in the background the way Android does. I also tried Waydroid, which worked, but used too many resources to be useful for daily tasks.

One of the most interesting aspects was convergence. The Xiaomi Mi A1 doesn’t support HDMI over USB, so I couldn't experience “true” convergence (i.e., using the phone as a desktop when connected to a monitor). But I did connect a mouse and keyboard and tried running some desktop apps—and, surprisingly, they worked better than expected. If HDMI output had been possible, it could’ve been a very capable setup for lightweight and even some heavier tasks.

There were a few hardware-related issues. For example, when I received calls, audio wouldn’t automatically switch to the earpiece, so I couldn’t hear the other person. After manually adjusting the audio settings, everything worked fine. The camera was completely unsupported, but again, that’s a hardware issue, not a limitation of Linux itself.

# Final Thoughts

Now, in 2025, I can fairly and confidently say that it is possible to use a Linux-based phone as your daily driver. It may not be as polished or comfortable as Android or iOS, and yes, it still feels like it's in a semi-experimental state—but it’s functional, and with the right setup, quite usable.

Considering that just a few years ago (before 2018), PostmarketOS couldn’t even place calls, the progress is impressive. Support for new devices is improving, and Linux-first phones are slowly gaining traction.

Even now, it's possible to completely drop Android or iOS and rely on Linux alone—if you're willing to accept a few trade-offs. And with the way things are moving, the future for mobile Linux looks

bright.



My next step

I bought a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite on an online auction for 2 USD, and will proceed to setup postmarket os on the new device so I will have a similar performance as on the Mi A1 but a working camera. Then a will proceed to use it as my new daily driver.

https://redd.it/1mfy507
@r_linux