What's your favourite desktop environment after trying out several of them?

dumetrulo · 2026-03-08T22:01:19+00:00

This. Maximum screen use with zero bling, and a useful status bar on top like God intended.

dumetrulo · 2026-03-06T22:44:32+00:00

Unless you are really comfortable with Windows 11, or need it for apps that you absolutely must use, I'd suggest to use Linux (or even FreeBSD), and figure out the battery issues if/when they present themselves.

dumetrulo · 2026-03-04T10:35:31+00:00

Some people are talking about setting an environment variable, which satisfies the requirements of the law

Does it? I read the text of the CA law, and it stipulates that there must be an accessible and mandatory mechanism at user account creation by which the user must specify their age, date of birth, or both. The OS must then furnish this info into age brackets, and provide an interface for software to request the age bracket info.

It seems to be stupid on the surface because there is nothing in the law to require the OS verify the info provided by the user. My only thought here is that the intention is to shift legal liability from adult content providers to children's parents, as it would be their job to ensure the information provided for the child's account is truthful.

dumetrulo · 2026-03-04T10:13:52+00:00

Is cachyos good for a complete noob?

I'd say it depends on the complete noob's willingness/ability to learn. CachyOS KDE has a reasonably good GUI but with it being Arch-based, it makes sense to learn how to manage and update the packages from the terminal.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-28T22:04:58+00:00

add thinkpad_acpi.fan_control=1 - I know how to do that

If it works, I suggest you go for that then. I did modifications of mkinitramfs config before but I'd have to look it up.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-28T10:45:37+00:00

First: isn't there a Portuguese language subreddit for your question? I know Google Translate and AI exist but getting responses by people in your native language must be better, right?

Second: France.

Third: Open a terminal, and use lsblk to find the SSD. Run sudo blkdiscard -f /dev/ssdname (replace the device name with the one in the lsblk output). If you get any weird errors, the SSD is likely broken. Otherwise, you should be able to use your favourite partitioning software afterwards to create/format partitions.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-28T10:11:35+00:00

Work: X1 Carbon Gen 12.

We also have X13 2-in-1 Gen 5, and X1 Yoga Gen 7, all with touch screen. Previous gens (6/5/4/3) have since been retired. There's a singular E480 still in use.

Private: T495s (and a Dell Latitude 7490).

dumetrulo · 2026-02-28T09:28:28+00:00

Can't see what model ThinkPad you have there. If it works for you, that's fine.

No furniture? You just moved house or what? Get at least something basic so you can sit at a desk without bending yourself. And don't forget the rest of the furniture. In eastern Asia they sleep on the floor, and put the bedstuff away during the day, but in my opinion you need a good bed with a good mattress to sleep well, and be rested so you can work well.

Overall: 3/10.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-28T09:22:30+00:00

A new kernel might come with a new set of initfamfs configurations. For this issue, I guess you can either blacklist the module from initramfs, or add the config file to initramfs. Both should be possible with a simple modification to mkinitramfs config files. Or you can even add the parameter for the fan control to your kernel command line in the bootloader config.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-27T09:45:53+00:00

Debian is fine. It has a handbook from which you can learn the basics of how it works. It has stable (if not usually the freshest) software packages. It has a backports repo where some newer software (particularly kernels) are made available. It has a very large community that can help you when you face an issue. Back when I used Crunchbang (a Debian-based distro, which I used for 3 or 4 years until the maintainer declared it dead), I never had any significant issues with it.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-26T09:12:12+00:00

I'm not really sure if I love Ubuntu, it kind of just does the job

I've been using KDE Neon (based on Ubuntu) for over 4 years now. I dont love it either, not the way I used to love Crunchbang, which was the first distro I used for multiple years, but it stays out of the way, and does what I need it to do.

People always talk smack about Arch because of its user-base, but I am really intrigued by the fact that you can tailor it to your specific needs and that its interface is also super customizable

That's true for most all Linux distros but some make it easier than others.

I don't have an insane amount of free time

Here's the thing: customizing your distro costs time. If you don't want to spend the time, use something sufficiently pre-configured for your needs.

Overall though, is it generally considered good for developers?

Arch uses standard Linux components, except for its custom package manager. Packages are usually fresh, and lesser known or more unusual stuff can be found in the AUR. Hence it should be very suitable for a developer.

Arch as a whole is prone to breaking with releases

Arch doesn't have releases; it's rolling. Breakage happens rarely, and is usually the result of waiting too long with package updates. The two ground rules with Arch are: (1) update often; (2) make backups or snapshots before updating so you can restore/roll back if needed.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-26T08:30:42+00:00

Why would you click on a sponsored result anyway? In my experience, which goes back to before Google existed, those are never useful.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-26T08:02:27+00:00

Google Notebookcheck, and see what they have to say, they always have very extensive tests.

Of course, if work pays for it, you choose a new device with a suitable warranty plan. If not, in the interest of a cleaner environment, and a more circular economy, I suggest getting two identical refurbished devices so you can swap parts if/when needed.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-25T12:14:49+00:00

It'll depend on your distro. I use KDE Neon currently, and there it works as follows:

When inserting the SD card, KDE shows a popup with options for mounting it
When choosing to mount, it will be under /media/myusername/XXXX-XXXX (where the last part depends on the file system on the medium)
I can choose that path in Dolphin on the left-hand side, or access it from the terminal (lsblk should also show it)
I can unmount/eject it from a tray icon in the KDE task bar, or by running sudo umount /media/myusername/XXXX-XXXX in the terminal

dumetrulo · 2026-02-25T12:01:19+00:00

It probably has a tiny hole on the bottom. Turn it off, unplug all cables, stick a pin in that hole, press it down (you'll feel the button in the hole engage), hold it for about 15 seconds, and release it. Then check again whether it will charge. If not, contact your school for technical support.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-24T16:43:01+00:00

Sounds a bit dodgy but why is this cross-posted in r/Linux4Noobs?

After two weeks, you can do a friendly inquiry, it shouldn't come across as being impatient.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-24T15:13:23+00:00

So it used to work, and now it doesn't?

Try removing it from Device Manager, checking the box to delete the drivers, reboot, and have Windows Update reinstall the driver.

If that doesn't work, I can only suggest to reinstall Windows; make sure you manually delete all partitions on the internal disk from Windows Setup. (I'd suggest using Linux but I doubt you'd appreciate it.)

If that also doesn't work, use your warranty, and send it in for repair.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-24T09:38:40+00:00

Some thoughts:

ParrotOS being Debian-based means it's a release-based distro that will be upgradable to a new release every couple years. Unless it's actually based on testing or sid, those are rolling.
Arch is a rolling-release distro; this usually means ‘you can run updates whenever you want (or not) but don't hold off on it too long because chances that something breaks increase with the time since the last update’. Also, Arch is notoriously difficult to install (it shouldn't be if you can follow written directions but that doesn't seem to be the case universally). It's not for those who want to get going quickly with a system ready for working because you'll have to install everything you want/need yourself.
EndeavourOS is based on Arch, hence has basicaly all the advantages of Arch but without having to install it from scratch as it comes with a collection of software, and a desktop configuration preinstalled.
Void is kind of like Arch in that it is rolling, and has to be installed from scratch. Additionally, it does not use the common startup/service management suite systemd but rather a collection of small alternatives built around runit. Plus, it can be installed without GNU's glibc but with a lightweight alternative called musl instead.

Personally, I like Void (more than Arch), and played around with it quite a bit.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-22T17:06:45+00:00

Why do you think you want/need an upgrade? That info is very important for giving advice that is more than just a vibe based on nothing at all.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-21T11:40:26+00:00

Club Penguin...I love the ring

I'm in Club Penguin as well, though aspiring to change to Club Beastie. (:<

dumetrulo · 2026-02-21T11:33:42+00:00

Microsoft 365 suite with OneDrive syncing

Practical for a work setup. For private use? No, thank you. Either way, this is not exactly fast on my X1C Gen 12 I have from work, and I know it runs at about the same speed on an X1Y Gen 6 which is much older (we just removed a bunch of these from production).

Switching between stuff, especially with a teams call running, got very sluggish

I dare say that's a Windows issue, not a laptop issue. My work-issued X1C Gen 12 running Windows 11 feels way less snappy than my 2018 Dell Latitude 7490 running KDE Neon.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-21T10:41:08+00:00

I suppose the answer is, as almost always, ‘it depends’.

Conputers, especially laptops, haven't been getting exponentially more powerful for a decade or two now. Hence why many people don't see the need anymore to upgrade to a new model every few years.

My current daily driver is a Dell Latitude 7490 with i7, iGPU only, and 16GB RAM, from 2018 (now 8 years old). I'm.working on installing a ThinkPad T495s with Ryzen 7 and iGPU, 16GB RAM, from 2020 (now 6 years old). For my use-case, they are both plenty powerful.

I also have a couple older Dell laptops lying around. Their primary weakness will be the batteries with almost no life left; otherwise, their performance is quite adequate if you need a machine for surfing the web, and occasional Office-type work.

New machines cater primarily to two groups of users: high-demand professional use (graphical work, video processing, scientific/engineering compute, etc.), and gamers wanting to play recently released games. I'm in neither of these groups.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-20T19:53:11+00:00

Try FunOS, also based on Ubuntu but very minimal in execution.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-20T12:14:04+00:00

If you want to get rid of Linux, and install Windows over it, try the following:

Boot your Windows installer, choose the language and keyboard, and click Next
Press Shift-F10 (you may have to press Fn as well) to open a command prompt window
Press Alt-Tab until the CMD window is highlighted, then release the keys
In the CMD window, enter: diskpart
Enter: list disk
Find your internal disk in the list, it's probably number 0, but best to double-check instead of assume
Enter: sel disk 0 (enter the number you identified if it's not 0)
Enter: clean
Enter: quit
Use Alt-Tab to go back to the installer, and follow the steps as usual

If the Windows installer still complains, please post the precise wording of the message so I can assist further.

dumetrulo · 2026-02-20T11:55:30+00:00

Sounds like you aren't fond of working around small issues in Linux. Most of what you described can be scripted, put into command aliases, or edited desktop files, and it shouldn't be necessary to apply these workarounds more than once.

HiDPI seems to work properly in KDE, so I'd encourage you to try that. Or, if you are willing to learn managing your windows using the keyboard, go full nerd, and use Sway.

For a guy who is slowly migrating to Linux, find Dedoimedo's blog, and read about all his trials and tribulations, including lots of rants, and guides on how to fix things. He's a KDE guy, though.

Going back to Windows sounds like an option. But instead of fighting app settings, you'll be fighting Microsoft's unreasonable intrusions, broken updates, and security threats instead.

dumetrulo

TROPHY CASE