I have tried to learn Linux for ages, and have experimented with installing Arch and Ubuntu. Usually something goes wrong when I try to set up a desktop environment after installing Arch in VirtualBox. KDE gave me a problem where I couldn’t log in after getting to the point where my username was displayed in a similar format to how it is for Windows. My end use case is to help keep my workflow more organized than haphazardly throwing files somewhere on my desktop or in a folder nested somewhere that I’ll just inevitably lose :(

Somehow after all this time, I feel like I actually understand less about my computer and what I need to understand regarding its facets. Is it an unrealistic goal to want to eventually run a computer with coreboot and a more cybersecurity heavy emphasis? I’m still a noob at this and any advice would be appreciated!

  • @fuboEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    I’ve been using GNU/Linux and similar systems on-and-off since the late '90s. I have no patience for debugging driver problems or anything else anymore.

    I’m typing this on a desktop running Pop!_OS … where I have spent exactly no time debugging driver problems or anything else.

    It just freakin’ works.

    Mind you, my use case is pretty straightforward. The software I use is pretty much:

    • A web browser (currently Chrome)
    • A terminal, in which I run vim, a MUD client, coding tools for Python and Go, etc.
    • Signal Desktop
    • Steam, including Windows games via Proton & WINE
    • Transmission and VLC for “arrr” purposes.

    Full-disk encryption just works out of the box. Steam games are sometimes a little hinky and I have to pull out my old Unix knowledge and run commands like killall pressure-vessel to shut down borked Steam stuff.

    Here are some things I never do:

    • Compile my own kernel (or any other code I’m not working on personally — I compile my own keyboard firmware, but that’s because I build my own keyboards)
    • Read system logs
    • Care about which desktop environment, window manager, etc. I’m using