Linux while a student

Hi there, I’m still trying to get the hang of linux so forgive me if this is a daft question.

I just got a thinkpad and I’ve been wanting to use it as my main laptop for university, and I really want to run linux on it. It just looks really fun, and I would like to break away from Microsoft.

The only thing I’m worried about, is that my uni uses many Microsoft applications and runs almost entirely off Moodle. Sorry if this is daft but can I still access all that while running Linux?

Thank you!

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X11 / Xorg Logo spotted in Italy !!?
https://redd.it/1o0mhw8
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Jami: Manifesto 2025: the freedom to communicate belongs to all of us

jami.net/manifesto-2025

Never has humanity had more tools to speak. Yet communicating freely has rarely been harder. Mass surveillance is
expanding, laws that widen intrusive powers are multiplying, and wars redraw the boundaries of what can be said, often
making room for censorship.

Why Jami is necessary today: a practical response

The market is dominated by a handful of centralized platforms. Rather than one more platform, we need a different
approach. That’s the alternative Jami is building.

Thanks to its distributed architecture, devices connect directly to one another (peer-to-peer), without a central server,
which limits metadata capture, reduces choke points, and makes blocking harder. Jami end-to-end encryption provides
persistent confidentiality, and the app requires no phone number and no personal data. By design, neither the developers
nor Savoir-faire Linux can access your data: it stays on your devices.

As a GNU package (GPLv3+), developed under the stewardship of the Free Software Foundation, Jami is part of the digital
commons. It guarantees code that is open, verifiable, modifiable, and reproducible.

Our mission is to offer everyone, wherever they are, a direct, private, and resilient space for conversation. We don’t
rely on perfect laws; we shrink the surveillance and monetization surface by design. When networks go down or platforms
obey opaque orders, peer-to-peer communication keeps working.

Founded in 1999 in Montreal and also present in France, Savoir-faire Linux designs and integrates open-source solutions
for public and private organizations. It has incubated and developed Jami since 2015, under the GNU project umbrella
since 2016. In 2023, GNU Jami received the FSF’s Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit.

https://redd.it/1o0l9ym
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Linux 6.17 changelog (late!): includes a new of selecting CPU bug mitigations; new file_{get,set}attr syscalls; more secure core dumping; initial priority inheritance support; unconditional compilation of the task scheduler with SMP support; new fallocate(2) flag for more efficient writing of zeroes
https://kernelnewbies.org/Linux_6.17

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Qt 6.10 Released!
https://www.qt.io/blog/qt-6.10-released

https://redd.it/1o0s740
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The month of the Linux desktop was in Antartica, July 2014
https://redd.it/1o0tg6m
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Jetbrains Rider now free for non-commercial use

Well it's not really Linux, but it has a Linux version,

and it's not FOSS, but it's free for use in creating FOSS software.

Just figured there might be some around here who would want to know. I had a year's subnoscription a while back and only came across this news by chance.

https://blog.jetbrains.com/blog/2024/10/24/webstorm-and-rider-are-now-free-for-non-commercial-use/

https://redd.it/1o0v0h8
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FuriOS a Linux phone that works

https://youtu.be/BqlsWF3LmP8?si=XiHoiAzoe3v_o7Vg

Saw this phone (the newest one not this one, old promo video).

Wish I knew about it sooner.

It runs android apps, is built on debian, and comes with docker.

Looks dope. Has anyone used one?

https://redd.it/1o0ylc5
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I donated to KDE's non-profit organization! Pretty wholesome and good process I think. Are you a KDE Plasma user?
https://redd.it/1o0zo3g
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Schleswig-Holstein's e-mail systems converted to open source
https://www.heise.de/en/news/Schleswig-Holstein-s-e-mail-systems-converted-to-open-source-10733737.html

https://redd.it/1o13zy2
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I want to switch to Linux

I am using a Dell Precision 7530 Laptop with an NVIDIA Quadro P2000 GPU. I am also a law student so tech is not my "field", but I love to discuss about it from time to time especially since I love gaming. I'm pretty much tired of Windows how slow it is. I don't want to quit gaming and I was always told (at least in the past) that gaming on Linux is horrendous. Recently however it seems that this "idea" has changed significantly especially due to Valve/Steam launching steamdeck and promoting games to be allowed on SteamOS which is also Linux.

And that's the thing. I am someone who likes to try various stuff like maybe Blender, Unity etc, but more importantly I like to game and write a lot since that is part of the legal profession (And yes somehow just using Microsoft Word has been a painful experience for me). Knowing all that, should I migrate? And to which distro? Is it possible to do so without losing data or any games I have installed? (I have a horrendously slow wifi so reinstalling everything is gonna take time. Of course its just laziness speaking but it'd be a great help).

https://redd.it/1o1aaqz
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Unlimited access to Docker Hardened Images: Because security should be affordable, always
https://www.docker.com/blog/unlimited-access-to-docker-hardened-images-because-security-should-be-affordable-always/

https://redd.it/1o1digh
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Seergdb v2.6 released for Linux.

A new version of Seergdb (frontend to gdb) has been released for linux.

https://github.com/epasveer/seer
https://github.com/epasveer/seer/releases/tag/v2.6
https://github.com/epasveer/seer/wiki

Give it a try.

Thanks.


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Linux 6.18 RISC-V Default Kernel Builds To Support Front Panel Shutdown/Reboot Buttons
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.18-More-RISC-V

https://redd.it/1o1bbfk
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Resurrecting a 2010 Macbook Pro - with the right CPU governor(s)

I searched around a bit and couldn't find anything specific about old Core 2 Duos working on a modern distro, so I thought I'd leave this here:

To help our kids getting a bit more familiar with PCs, we recently pulled our old Macbook Pro's (one from 2010, one from 2012) from the storage, installed SSDs, upgraded the RAM and the 2010 machine also needed a new battery. I then installed Ubuntu 24.04 on both of them and the 2012 machine pulled it off quite gracefully. Reasonably fast boot times, decent usability and even Minecraft runs quite well (which is obviously the most important thing in the world for our kids).

The 2010 machine I wanted to keep for myself for some light workloads and browsing and that one was a bit of a problem. The old Core 2 Duo really doesn't like the year 2025, or so it seemed. It was constantly pegged at maximum CPU frequency and eating through the new battery like there's no tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, it was still quite impressive how smoothly GNOME's trackpad gestures worked and even modern websites like reddit or youtube render perfectly fine and smooth once javanoscript is done with its most Herculean tasks. Add a few nice GNOME extensions and it's mostly workable - certainly better than the alternative of letting it rot in some dump.

But the pegged CPU was still annoying me, so I tried to figure out why the CPU wouldn't scale down when the system was idle. Changing the Ubuntu power settings from Balanced to Performance and vice versa didn't do a thing. So I tried using cpufrequtils to set it to "powersave" at startup, but that would pin the CPU at it's minimum frequency and render it mostly unusable. Then, setting it back to "ondemand" would put the frequency at maximum again.

The only way I could get proper frequency scaling after some fiddling around was to have the global settings on regular "ondemand" as per Ubuntu "Balanced" without any changes, and then use cpufreq-set to enable the "powersave" governor for the current session. But why would this work and setting it to "powersave" at boot time wouldn't?

Checking with cpufreq-info, I finally found the problem: setting the governor globally with cpufreq-set would actually only change the governor of CPU0 while CPU1 would remain at whatever setting it got from the default settings. And it turns out: in order to have this CPU scale down on idle, you actually need CPU0 to run with the "powersave" governor but CPU1 with the "ondemand" governor. Any other combination and you're either trapped at minimum or maximum frequency.


So in case you ever come across a Core 2 Duo that won't clock down (or up), I recommend the following:

sudo cpufreq-set -c 0 -g powersave
sudo cpufreq-set -c 1 -g ondemand

Wrap it all, e.g., in a nice systemd service, and your 2010 CPU suddenly knows how to catch a break but is still prepared to react to any demands! And thanks to Linux and GNOME, it's actually way snappier and more usable than even back in 2014 when I last ran it on some version of Mac OS.

Now excuse me while I do some light browsing on my 2010 Macbook Pro while my kids are playing Minecraft on the other relic. :)

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Got my first kernel panic
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Proxmox-GitOps: IaC Container Automation (+„75sec to infra stack“ demo video)
https://redd.it/1o1x4nb
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Detailed The philosophy of computers

I deleted my main post talking about the art I saw in computers because it seemed to not make any sense. But coming back online I decided to detail the ideas. "The refined version is gone, but I still have one of the edits"

[undetailed\]

Computers are a manifested life cycle starting with an hourglass holding comsological interconnectedness of impulses. Intangible force of higher reasoning with the organized structure.

It seems quiet as it senses one's mind while it carefully rotates as a saviour called the magnetic absorbant, while slowly orbiting around your fusion energy, if you let it.

Infinite timelines flow through the gates of wind, except for terrestrial gates with rows of parasetic capacitance, formulating an outlook from the elevated phreaks for a generic outlook for the greedy freaks. iBilled out then wormed down the penguin of the free gnu. to become gnu free.




[detailed\]

I deleted it thinking the same. But I reread the last local save of this note again and I think I can make sense out of it:

Computers are a manifested life cycle starting with an hourglass holding comsological interconnectedness of impulses:

Sand symbolizes the passage of time. It is the first thing we walk on and experience live. Sand powers and gives live to CPUs which by then as users and machines are united through the same journey. Hourglass: Ability of a semiconductor made of sand to control time through revisiting the past; archives, posts made in a previous time being held through electric containers, again semiconductors, and revisited. So that is controlling time.

Intangible force of higher reasoning with the organized structure:

Computer's organized structure connecting our thoughts while separating our physical self in mostly idleness.

It seems quiet as it senses one's mind while it carefully rotates as a saviour called the magnetic absorbent, while slowly orbiting around your fusion energy, if you let it:

The rotary sensor, mobiles, smart watches, analyzing our behavior, first thought as a watchdog for helping our health and habits, so it acts like a magnetic absorbent for humans. Or it can measure impulsed energy of feelings thoughts. Which then knocks on your mind asking you to pick it up again so it can extract your energy "heat" as an orbiting planet around the sun.

Infinite timelines flow through the gates of wind, except for terrestrial gates with rows of parasetic capacitance, formulating an outlook from the elevated phreaks for a generic outlook for the greedy freaks. iBilled out then wormed down the penguin of the free gnu. to become gnu free.

In an alternate timeline, computers could've been used as a way to express one's self, back to where it all started with phreakers adjusting the invention to their liking, job's blue box and the start of a new world for everyone on this planet, not just cooperations. Then bill showed up as a parasite into apple's place, slowly formulating a plot which would alternate the current universe where the world was run by hackers expression the soul through these devices. Suddenly outlook and spreadsheets and soulless corporate cultures. Then recently wsl and windows. Which I can imagine how that was achieved through the same methods, maybe gnome will honestly explain what happened at some point. So Bill billed out from every possible legality and like a worm it continued straight down the penguin's mind, replacing a traditional GNU/Linux, taking away what's left in their quota.

English isn't my main language but this is what I could've interpreted so far. Maybe it makes a little bit of sense with these details now.



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Security hardening noscripts for Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Debian systems implementing DISA STIG and CIS compliance standards with enhanced error handling, dependency resolution, and desktop environment optimizations. ( Looking for testers ! )

[https://github.com/captainzero93/security\_harden\_linux](https://github.com/captainzero93/security_harden_linux)

Hey, I've just updated my security noscript and am looking for **some help testing / debugging**, I have a larger project in the works but it needs debugging, for this this is attempting to prepare / support 25.10 (Kubunutu / Ubuntu) and previous versions (20+) and Debian.

# Features:

# Core Security

* **Firewall (UFW)** \- Advanced configuration with rate limiting and desktop-friendly exceptions
* **Fail2Ban** \- Intelligent intrusion prevention with customized jail configurations
* **SSH Hardening** \- Key-only authentication, protocol restrictions, session timeouts
* **Audit System (auditd)** \- Comprehensive monitoring of authentication, network changes, and system calls
* **AppArmor** \- Mandatory access control with profile enforcement and complaint mode handling
* **Kernel Hardening** \- 20+ kernel parameters for memory protection, ASLR enhancement, and attack surface reduction
* **Boot Security** \- GRUB hardening with kernel parameter validation and optional password protection
* **Password Policy** \- 12+ character minimum with complexity requirements (PAM pwquality)
* **Rootkit Detection** \- Automated scanning with rkhunter and chkrootkit
* **File Integrity** \- AIDE monitoring with daily check reports
* **Automatic Updates** \- Unattended security updates with kernel package management
* **USB Protection** \- Intelligent logging/blocking based on environment and security level
* **Memory Security** \- Secured shared memory with noexec/nosuid/nodev flags
* **Security Auditing** \- Lynis integration with timestamped reports
* **Antivirus** \- ClamAV with desktop-optimized configuration

# Desktop Environment Support

* **Automatic Detection** \- Recognizes KDE, GNOME, XFCE, MATE, Cinnamon, and more
* **KDE Plasma Optimization** \- Preserves KDE Connect, Bluetooth, and system integration
* **Network Discovery** \- Optional mDNS/Avahi support for network browsing
* **Smart USB Policy** \- Logging on desktops, optional blocking on servers
* **Performance Tuning** \- No impact on GUI responsiveness or gaming performance
* **Service Preservation** \- All desktop features work at moderate security level

# Advanced Features

* **Module Dependency Resolution** \- Automatically resolves and executes prerequisites
* **Backup Verification** \- SHA-256 checksums for backup integrity
* **Execution Tracking** \- Real-time progress and success/failure monitoring
* **Comprehensive Reporting** \- HTML reports with system info, executed modules, and recommendations
* **Flexible Configuration** \- Security levels, module selection, custom configs
* **Dry Run Mode** \- Preview all changes without applying them

https://redd.it/1o20gd3
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Super slow on Y410P

I just installed Fedora Aurora 42, KDE plasma 6.4.5 on an old Thinkpad IdeaPad Y410P (i7-4700MQ 2.4ghz, 8gb, Intel HD graphics 4600) and the performance is terrible.

It was a totally clean/fresh install that went off without any difficulties or challenges.

The wifi is limited to 2.4ghz, but the boot up time is terrible, loading time for firefox is terrible, using firefox time is terrible, even calling up System Setting | About is terrible.

I thought that it would perform much better, even on this old HW. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks.

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Ubuntu 25.10 Released With GNOME 49, Linux 6.17 & Other Upgrades
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-25.10-Released

https://redd.it/1o26n9n
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