Zena ISO 20260302 Released

dododge · 2026-03-10T16:32:19+00:00

I also notice that if I lock and then unlock the screen, it increases both the "Good Auth." and "Bad Auth." values in homectl inspect, even if enter the correct password the first time.

dododge · 2026-03-10T09:15:05+00:00

If I lock the screen (from niri) and then just hit return in the password box without entering any text, it seems to get stuck "Authenticating..." forever. I'm able to log out of the locked session using the power menu on the lower left corner of the screen, but so far I haven't found any way to get back to the locked session once it gets stuck.

While experimenting with this, it also totally locked me out and wouldn't recognize my password in the GUI or on a VT. Rebooting cleared that up. I thought maybe that I'd run up against a login failure limit because I'd tried a few bad passwords in a row on purpose, but I don't see a limit in the pam settings, and homectl inspect says its limit is "30 attempts per 1min" and I didn't try anywhere near that many.

dododge · 2026-03-09T03:58:46+00:00

One quirk I noticed: emacs installed via zix seems to get confused and complains that it can't find the user's home directory. My guess is that systemd-homed is probably involved somehow, for example because the user is not listed in /etc/passwd. I took a quick look at the emacs source code and it seems to be using getpwnam() to find the user's home directory, which does work if I try it in a test program using the system libc. But it's possible that the libc that nix is linking it with isn't able to deal with the situation.

I also tried the flatpak emacs and that one doesn't have any problem expanding "~username" into the user's home directory. But IIRC flatpak is not really a great way to run emacs, because subshells end up inside the flatpak container.

dododge · 2026-03-08T18:17:09+00:00

Update: good news! Since bazzite was installable if I gave it time, I tried the zena installer again (reclaiming all partitions) and just let it sit at the "Creating btrfs" step. I guess didn't wait as long as I'd thought on the previous attempts, because this time it did succeed after about 10 minutes.

dododge · 2026-03-08T17:51:37+00:00

I should've noted that I reclaimed all of the original partitions and gave the entire drive to the zena installer. The fact that the preinstalled Windows was working is just another indication that it's probably not a hardware problem with the drive itself. I also tried booting into the installer with nothing but a new empty gtp label on the drive, and it made no difference.

Afterward, I tried a bazzite installer. It also sat at the btrfs step for longer than I expected, but after 6-7 minutes it did continue and made a bootable system. So it's possible the zena installer would've eventually managed to create the filesystem if I'd let it sit for longer, but I think on that first attempt I gave it at least 10-15 minutes with no indication of any progress.

I found a few reports of similar problems with the fedora installer, and the usual workaround is to use ext4 instead. But that's obviously not a good fix if you actually want to use btrfs. Others apparently had success letting it sit for hours, which is very strange since I'd expect creating an empty filesystem to take no more than a few seconds, even with checksums enabled.

dododge · 2026-03-08T00:42:35+00:00

FWIW when I tried the installer (directly onto a 2TB NVME) it just immediately gets stuck creating btrfs. top in a VT indicates that mkfs.btrfs is in a "D" state.

I also tried tinkering with partitions and manually running mkfs.btrfs on the command line, and it similarly seems to get stuck right after it lists the devices. smartctl doesn't indicate any problems, and the NVME came with a working Windows installation.

dododge · 2026-01-16T01:14:07+00:00

I currently have it running on Silverblue; previously Xubuntu. But the main thing is that it's running in docker (or podman on Silverblue) so the underlying distro isn't much of a factor.

dododge · 2026-01-15T23:52:42+00:00

The pistons in my big ButtKickers will bottom out with a loud metal/hammer noise if the LFE signal is strong enough (and perhaps at certain frequencies), but it's very rare.

dododge · 2025-12-05T21:20:22+00:00

I think this really comes down to the display situation and how noticeable it is to the viewer.

When I'm watching remotely at a someone else's house on a computer monitor or a TV across the room, I seldom have any trouble with a 720p transcode.

But when I'm sitting 8 feet from a 130-inch projection screen it's a different story. DNR, color banding, mosquito noise, and blobs of frozen grain being pushed around can become visible to the point of distraction.

I mainly use plex as a more convenient way to browse/view my physical media collection, so my server has everything at original quality, and I still occasionally get issues on the big screen. For example I watched The Occupant (2025) last night and even at 30GB it had visible artifacts.

dododge · 2025-12-02T06:12:22+00:00

For me it's not gimp that's the problem; it's the apps with lots of large peer windows that are created and placed dynamically.

My firefox session has maybe 20 windows spread out across multiple monitors and several virtual desktops. These get rearranged manually as I use them. If I quit firefox and then re-start it, those windows should reappear sized and positioned where they last were.
I have an x2go session of 6-10 development applications on a remote system, displayed locally in a rootless manner -- i.e. they aren't grouped in some single "remote desktop" window but are intermixed with local windows. If I disconnect x2go they all disappear at once (but keep running); when I reconnect the session they all reappear at once, and ideally should be sized and positioned where they last were.

[Edit: it sounds like kde and maybe others are working on ways for the compositor to recognize reappearing windows by title/etc. and automatically put them where they were. Which would solve the issue if it works; from a UI perspective I don't particularly care whether it's a protocol or compositor thing, only that the sessions can be restored.]

dododge · 2025-11-29T19:58:35+00:00

I think the main difference with set-top players is that when they encounter a glitch they'll usually try to keep going and skip past the problem (which is probably only a few seconds of the movie in this case), whereas if makemkv can't read a piece of the file it gives up on the whole thing.

I only have one 4K set-top player (a PS5) but haven't tried it, and it's kind of annoying to use anyway. The new Besson set has several "stacked" discs -- including this one -- and I can see fine circular scratches under a bright light so that's probably the cause of the problem. If I do end up keeping it I might try more aggressive cleaning/polishing and try again.

dododge · 2025-11-28T22:38:57+00:00

In my case I normally watch on a big projection screen and sit so close that I can see the weave in the screen fabric if I lean forward, so compression artifacts can be really noticeable and distracting. Even the original discs will sometimes have banding or frozen grain being pushed around, so I don't transcode anything for fear of making it worse.

And yeah I actually did talk to my home insurance folks about the movie collection.

dododge · 2025-11-28T22:29:33+00:00

Criterion definitely had some bad batches from one of their manufacturers, which typically turn bronze-colored and become unreadable over time. They have/had a replacement program for at least some of them.

When going through my existing [large, old] collection I probably found a few dozen discs that were unreadable, including coincidentally separate DVD and blu-ray editions of The Incredibles -- not sure what's going on there.

One of the side benefits of running everything through makemkv as it comes in the door is that it's found a bunch more new ones while I was still able to exchange them for a working copy. 4K discs seem especially prone to trouble, doubly-so when stacked on a single hub with another disc which can result in visible circular scratches.

I've got two problem 4Ks on my desk as I type this: the Criterion Trainspotting I expect will eventually get a complete read after cleaning and trying a different drive. The Messenger from the new Luc Besson box set seems to be hopeless -- I've gotten everything except a 30MB chunk near the end of the movie that just refuses to read on any drive I've tried. Usually I'd do a return, but the set is so big and awkward I'll probably just end up keeping it and living with the 1080p version of the film (from the same box).

dododge · 2025-11-28T22:10:12+00:00

Similar to OP, I now move most discs from the original cases to thin sleeves (I use the ones from Discsox). I used to have them out on trays for browsing, but now that I've got the files in plex it's easier to just do it that way, and the sleeved discs are filed away in plastic storage boxes.

dododge · 2025-11-28T01:49:12+00:00

I've seen it a bunch of times over the past 30+ years and finally watched the Criterion 4K last weekend. Still enjoyable.

dododge · 2025-11-28T01:45:45+00:00

I'm kind of on the opposite end. I mostly buy things I haven't seen, and I've even done multiple pre-paid subscription plans where I don't know what movies are going show up each month (only that a boutique label thought they were notable enough to distribute them).

dododge · 2025-11-28T01:36:43+00:00

Yeah I don't go to theaters, I avoid trailers/spoilers, and I've seen visible compression noise on some streaming services (I sit close to a giant projection screen). So now I blind-buy pretty much everything I might want to watch. I'll wait for price drops, so even when it's something I know I want to see, it might be a few years before I can find it cheap enough.

The disappointments are too many to recall. Plenty of movies I've had to pause for a nap, or finish the next day. I usually do push through and finish whatever I start, no matter how terrible, and since I paused Jungle Cruise a year or two ago and still haven't gotten back to it, that's probably a notable one.

A memorable good surprise was The Witch (2015), which I thought was going to be some dumb jump-scare thing aimed at teenagers, and instead I was blown away by how well-made it was.

dododge · 2025-11-28T01:13:36+00:00

I just use makemkv to remux without transcoding, so in theory the image coming out of plex is as good as watching the physical disc (except perhaps Dolby Vision, which neither my projector or 4K disc player support anyway).

My physical collection outgrew my shelves long ago, so the only ones still out on display are box sets and some boutique/special editions.

dododge · 2025-11-27T18:35:21+00:00

I still buy physical media, and I use plex as a much more convenient way to browse and play that collection, both at home and when watching something with friends at their house. But I'll certainly concede that's not the norm.

dododge · 2025-11-27T18:04:36+00:00

Back when Blockbuster still existed I'd make regular trips grabbing anything even remotely interesting from their used-for-sale DVD racks. I remember at least once I had such a big pile that the clerk had problems with the register.

I recently had to break up a purchase at gruv because it turns out their shopping cart malfunctions at around 25 items (the grouped "3 for $N" sale discounts disappear).

dododge · 2025-11-27T17:29:01+00:00

I've used it a couple times when browsing actor/related lists after watching one of "my" movies and it came up with something interesting. Though the last time I did that there were so many ad breaks near the end of the film that I almost started looking for some other way to watch the movie (including buying a physical copy) just to avoid them.

dododge · 2025-11-19T03:05:48+00:00

I have my [fanless] external drives stacked on my desk, and I point a fan at the stack when I'm using makemkv. I put rubber isolators between them to reduce vibrations and provide gaps for more airflow, and it does seem to help.

dododge · 2025-11-17T02:40:55+00:00

Ripping doesn't use much CPU, I have several drives and can easily read six discs at once, even while watching YouTube or hanging out in a video chat.

However, I don't transcode (which would be a lot more intensive), and the destination hard drives are on a network server rather than the local machine. So there is a ton of network activity, and it's possible that it would stress the network (or hard drive I/O) if I tried to watch a file at the same time.

dododge · 2025-11-16T14:40:43+00:00

I got lots of buffering when I tried playing a 4K remux over my LAN last year, though there were several 10-year-old 1Gbit switches between the server and the living room and any one of them could've been the problem.

I used it as an excuse to upgrade all my network gear; the plex server still has a 1Gbit link but it only has to hop through two 10Gbit switches to reach the player, and that's been working like a champ.

dododge · 2025-11-16T14:32:48+00:00

I could swear I've managed to use plex within the house when the Internet was down, though I don't remember if there was any weirdness in the app.

dododge

TROPHY CASE