Should I switch over to a Linux-Based software for College?

I'm starting my 1st year of undergraduate college, and I've been trying around with the idea of switching my laptop to a Linux based system.

This idea comes from what I've heard about it, the fact that it's basis is one of configuration. This is why I, for example, use Firefox as my main browser since I love just how easy it is to personalize or why I use ObsidianMD for my notes/DMing/writing since there's pretty much an endless fountain of customization for both.

I am also not a complete stranger about Linux, as my previous computer(may he rest in piece), was a chromebook that I may or may not have used to non-school related programs, but for that to work I needed to run .exes, which isn't native to ChromeOS, so that's how I was introduced to Linux through Penguin and used it to use Wine. I have also owned a Steamdeck for a few years now so I'm also a bit used to that version of a Linux software as well.

For any extra info that may be important:
- I am going into Communicative Sciences and Disorders
- I am currently using a fairly dinky Intel laptop running Windows
- My college of choice does have some support for Linux systems

https://redd.it/1miggm8
@r_linux

Was "processor family" option removed from menuconfig in kernel 6.15 and up?

I recently tried to compile kernel with patches to CPU architecture, but on kernel 6.15 and 6.16 I couldn't find the "processor family" option on "processor type and features" menu. I tried it with 6.12 like I did recently and everything was in its place.

https://redd.it/1mim5vk
@r_linux

VM of Choice for running Windows on a Linux host?

I recently asked the community about dual booting Linux + Windows and got a lot of great responses. Many people said they run Windows in a VM for those edge cases that they can't use Linux. That got me thinking... I've tried to get VMs working satisfactorily on my computer several times in the past. I'm always very underwhelmed by the performance, to the point that the issues are best avoided by just dual booting anyway.

So, I'm curious about people using Windows 11 in a VM. What VM software are you using?

I've tried VirtualBox, QEMU, and VMWare with less than stellar performance. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Each VM software I've tried is pretty challenging (or impossible maybe) to get running at sufficient performance levels to justify not just dualbooting. They still consume storage space even when configured as sparse/expandable. And there's exactly zero hardware acceleration, even when trying to get passthrough to work, which only does if the device isn't already being used by the host.

I'm using a 5900X + 6900XT w/ 32G RAM, so I always figured I'd be able to allocate at least 8 cores and 16GB RAM when I need to use a VM. But it just feels slow and wonky.

https://redd.it/1mio4tg
@r_linux

Try Xfce on Wayland with openSUSE Leap 16.0 RC
https://news.opensuse.org/2025/08/04/leap-16-rc/

https://redd.it/1minj1s
@r_linux

StarDict plugins on Debian 13 leak selected X11 text over HTTP to remote servers

StarDict plugins on Debian 13 leak selected X11 text over HTTP to Chinese dictionary services, exposing potentially sensitive data.

I have not seen a lot more about this and am not even sure how much StarDict is even used. But I just wanted people to be aware. This is not my article or site.

https://linuxiac.com/stardict-plugins-in-debian-13-raise-privacy-concerns/



https://redd.it/1mipw7q
@r_linux

Adding Text to Your Ebitengine Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUX3nXdkWBU

https://redd.it/1mit8ks
@r_linux

How to get Zona running?
https://redd.it/1miu1l7
@r_linux

Is the Clear Linux Kernel still worth running?

What it says on the tin. Is the Clear Linux kernel still worth running, or will any potential performance increases by outweighed by the need for kernel feature & security updates?

I noticed Garuda offers it still in their list of kernels, & I thought I'd ask. The machine in question is a Dell Inspiron 5570 with an Intel i3-8130U.

https://redd.it/1mix2u1
@r_linux

Proxmox VE (open source server virtualization management solution based on QEMU/KVM and LXC) 9.0
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Roadmap#Proxmox_VE_9.0

https://redd.it/1mixlh6
@r_linux

Brokefetch revived(ish)

I forked and revived Brokefetch – now on Homebrew 🍺🐧

Hey everyone, I recently forked and revived an old project called Brokefetch — a humorous, minimalist alternative to neofetch that gives you your system info with a healthy dose of existential dread.

I’ve packaged it for Homebrew (macOS/Linux), so now you can install it easily with:

brew tap T1mohtml/brokefetch
brew install brokefetch

Once installed, just run brokefetch in your terminal. It’ll display your system info — OS, kernel, shell, RAM, etc. — but with some dark humor sprinkled in. It’s basically the fetch noscript for when life’s a bit too real. 🥲

Whether you're broke, broken, or just bored, this is a fun little tool to throw in your dotfiles or screenshots.

GitHub: https://github.com/T1mohtml/brokefetch

Let me know what you think!

https://redd.it/1mj0oz1
@r_linux

We should have more of this on the Linux desktop
https://redd.it/1mj0zrp
@r_linux

What is a similar screenshot tool like snag it ?
https://redd.it/1mj2207
@r_linux

Confession: I would switch to Linux immediately, but speaker sound quality on my laptop is keeping me off

I tried several distros already Mint, KDE neon, Fedora, Ubuntu... but I always keep coming back to windows.

I am only a laptop user and my speaker sound is terrible, it´s almost unusable. It´s completely quiet and empty/tiny. I tried everything, there are no drivers, there is no easyeffects presets that would work somewhat properly... nothing else is missing and it might be nitpicking, but it´s really annoying. can´t watch movies, shows, yotube or listen to music.

My laptop is HP Elitebook x360 1030 G2 with Bang&Olufsen speakers if anyone could offer any help on this. Currently no Linux installed.

https://redd.it/1mj14bt
@r_linux

Out of These 5 Linux Tweaks, Only zRAM and Swappiness Felt Like They Made a Real Difference
https://youtu.be/VEh4oqUATHo

https://redd.it/1mj5zxd
@r_linux

RHEL 10/LSA

Hey All;

Does anyone have any tips on how to get the LsiSASH service to start on RHEL 10? I have the most recent version for the card, SAS3408. I've also tried to enable logging using both the normal method, and rsyslog to see why the service fails to start, but in both cases, no logs are created. Anyone have any thoughts/input?

https://redd.it/1mj8fxx
@r_linux

I installed antiX linux on my laptop and facing an issue:

The cpu speed stops at max 0.34Ghz due to some water spillage near the charging port and my option was to either use it as it is or risk repairing the mobo on the condition that it might get dead. On AntiX, my laptop suddenly shuts down or restarts randomly, what might be the reason? i have installed antiX as the primary and sole os on my ssd, havent yet connected to internet. what are all the tweaks and settings I need to do (privacy and low cpu usage priority)? TIA!

https://redd.it/1mjb9xx
@r_linux

What are your most commonly used helpful command line tools that might be lesser known?

Here are some I use:
tldr - usually has the info I'm looking for quickly available instead of reading through the whole man page
bat - cat with syntax highlighting
fuck - I suck at typing

Idk if these are super unheard of but I never really see anyone talk about them. Y'all got any more you'd like to add? I'm interested to see what other people have found useful

https://redd.it/1mjev70
@r_linux

rewindtty - tiny terminal session recorder
https://github.com/rewindtty/rewindtty

https://redd.it/1mjff0b
@r_linux

Opportunity to work with the kernel filesystem, as the maintainer calls for assistance. EXT4 BUG converted to feature
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250806144650.GA778805@mit.edu/

https://redd.it/1mji6sg
@r_linux

whispertux - simple GUI for offline speech-to-text

Hi all - I got tired of typing out prompts while developing so I made a simple python GUI around OpenAI's whisper model.

It uses whisper.cpp which supports running the model locally on a plain x86 laptop without a GPU.

I've tested it on GNOME / Ubuntu. It should be usable in other setups but ymmv.

Here's the link if you're interested - https://github.com/cjams/whispertux

Contributions welcome!

https://redd.it/1mjkgg2
@r_linux

It's always a permissions issue!

My wife asked me to print something from my Arch Linux laptop, and they wouldn't print. We were under a time crunch for an appointment later that day, so she printed it from her phone or Mac, I'm not sure which. I've been so busy with the kids and family life that I don't have time to fiddle with this stuff anymore, at least not lately.

I finally got some time yesterday, and realized my user lost membership in the cups and lp groups. I added those groups, re-enabled the printer, and both jobs printed!

homectl really needs the option like usermod -a for appending to the group list....

https://redd.it/1mjok0u
@r_linux