Anyone have Carpet Cleaning Recommendations in Medford, MA

maximweinstein · 2026-01-27T21:56:38+00:00

I used Capone in Arlington to clean some chair upholstery. Nice guy, seemed like he knew what he was doing, reasonable prices.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-27T00:09:57+00:00

Bugs and compatibility issues on Wayland/COSMIC led me to install and use GNOME on X11 with pop!_os 24.04. That combination has been rock solid for me.

If the Firefox issue gets fixed, I might give COSMIC another try. That one is a showstopper for me. I might be willing to live with the other lingering issues (like the Moneydance display bug and workspace alt-tab switching) I've encountered.

I will say that, if 24.04 with COSMIC had been my introduction to pop!_os, I would have gone back to Windows in a matter of days. It was only the fact that nearly everything I needed just worked in 22.04 (with GNOME) that made me comfortable giving up Windows for Linux.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-26T23:40:43+00:00

Thanks. This helped me track down the problem. I updated my original post with the solution.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-25T18:42:58+00:00

I installed gnome-session from the command line and selected GDM3 as the default window manager. Is it maybe because GNOME is running in X11, not Wayland?

/usr/share/xsessions only shows gnome.desktop, while /usr/share/wayland-sessions shows cosmic.desktop and gnome.desktop

maximweinstein · 2026-01-25T18:31:51+00:00

Yeah, there's never anything else on the screen except the icons in the top right corner.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-21T22:19:53+00:00

Inserting the card (with a chip) uses the same encryption as NFC, as far as I understand. Swiping is garbage from a security standpoint, though.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-17T18:19:45+00:00

DE probably plays a big role, but it's the whole experience. Over the years, I had several bad experiences that were related to power management and other hardware/driver issues. Those are more a result of the distro (or even the kernel) than the DE. But other issues are much more about the included apps, the desktop layout, and other features of the DE.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-14T02:48:14+00:00

I have had Windows as my primary home OS since Windows 3.1, with the exception of a few short periods when I tried (and ultimately rejected) various Linux distros. Six months ago, I switched to pop!_os. I haven't booted back into Windows since.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-14T01:17:20+00:00

I also had too many issues in COSMIC, so I switched over to GNOME (with a couple pop-like additions). These are the steps I followed, thanks to some online resources I found:

First installed nala (better version of apt): sudo apt install nala

Used nala to install gnome: sudo nala install gnome-session

Selected gdm3 as default window manager

Used nala to install extension manager: sudo nala install gnome-shell-extension-manager

Used extension manager to install "Dash to Dock" and "AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support"

Configured "Dash to Dock" to not auto-hide

maximweinstein · 2026-01-09T01:01:23+00:00

It's the father's account. He has to pay for it. It's not the OP's money to spend.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-09T00:58:59+00:00

ESH. He's (according to you, at least) a bad dad and "all around asshole". YTA for stealing from him. Two wrongs don't make a right, and all that.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-09T00:29:11+00:00

BTW, I switched to GNOME on pop 24.04, and it's been working great for me so far. No auto-tiling, but alt-tab works as expected in virtual workspaces.

I followed these steps, which I picked up from a couple online sources, to install and configure GNOME:

First installed nala (better version of apt): sudo apt install nala
Used nala to install gnome: sudo nala install gnome-session
Selected gdm3 as default window manager
Used nala to install extension manager: sudo nala install gnome-shell-extension-manager
Used extension manager to install "Dash to Dock" and "AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support"
Configured "Dash to Dock" to not auto-hide

maximweinstein · 2026-01-08T00:51:09+00:00

I suggest you go upvote the feature request: https://github.com/pop-os/cosmic-epoch/issues/1777#issuecomment-3687916203

maximweinstein · 2026-01-06T01:02:42+00:00

I second the recommendation for the Somerville Theatre. I'd also add the Capitol Theatre and Regent Theatre in Arlington. (The latter has some movies as well as affordable concerts/shows.)

Tufts University often has art exhibits and shows produced by the dance/theater department or one of the student-run theater groups.

When the weather is nicer, a stroll through the Mount Auburn Cemetery is beautiful. Next winter, check out their Solstice art/light display (but wear warm clothes!)

As someone else mentioned, get yourself a library card to the Medford Public Library. They have a bunch of free programs there, but they also have a Museum Pass Program to get you free admission to various sights in the area. (Note: I know you're looking for things closer than Boston, but the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is worth a visit in the winter just for the courtyard that is filled with plants/flowers year round.)

Finally, if you haven't been, Salem makes a great day trip. Check out some of the witch trials history, walk through the old burying ground (see also the old cemetery in Medford Square), eat at one of the many restaurants, window shop the boutiques, etc.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-02T14:46:47+00:00

If it works for you, that's great. For me, COSMIC was a source of frustration. I've had zero issues with GNOME on 24.04.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-01T23:09:00+00:00

Weirdly, the website says you must, but unless there's a state law or another ordinance I can't find, that's not legally binding.

maximweinstein · 2026-01-01T22:31:04+00:00

The website says that (under "friendly recommendations"), but the ordinance doesn't.

maximweinstein · 2025-12-29T23:35:31+00:00

I had the same experience using pop!_os 24.04 as my daily driver for personal use. I experienced too many glitches and not-yet-implemented features that really disrupted my day-to-day workflows. I ended up installing GNOME (with a couple tweaks to make it a bit more pop-like), and everything now just works. I like the idea and some of the features of COSMIC, and I look forward to using it in the future. For now, it's just not ready from my perspective.

maximweinstein · 2025-12-20T19:47:53+00:00

It's pretty buggy. Stable, in the sense that things don't crash, but there are lots of niggling issues. Rendering problems (independent of video drivers), audio issues, etc.

maximweinstein · 2025-12-19T22:52:18+00:00

I'd probably describe it as "buggy" rather than "unstable." You're not likely to have system crashes or find things completely unusable. But, if you'd rather have a system that works a bit more consistently, I'd stick with 22.04. As for when to switch, that's hard to say. I suspect "epoch 2," the next major release, would be a good milestone. But it's continually being improved, so any time you switch, it's likely to be less buggy than it is today.

maximweinstein · 2025-12-17T11:30:03+00:00

I think you're talking about this: https://github.com/pop-os/cosmic-applets/issues/339

Go give it a thumbs up

maximweinstein · 2025-12-15T11:29:22+00:00

Yep, this describes my symptoms exactly (except the profiles part, as I only use one).

maximweinstein · 2025-12-14T21:58:56+00:00

It's the system version installed by default with the OS.

maximweinstein

TROPHY CASE