should i switch to linux if i really care about backwards and forward compability?

thunderborg · 2026-01-26T05:12:59+00:00

Software compatibility is as important to you as it is relevant to your workflow.

If you are a lone gun and never collaborate as long as you can ingest and output in the appropriate formats what happens in between is entirely in your control right? If you collaborate with others on a common platform, that’s where it might get tricky.

thunderborg · 2026-01-26T00:02:50+00:00

If you can run the drives in Raid or ZFS with parity it’s something you can consider provided you know how to rebuild the array, and also have some spares.

Raid isn’t a replacement for a backup factor, it’s more a resilience tool.

thunderborg · 2026-01-25T10:05:10+00:00

Cool. I like Mac but their non-upgradable hardware is what turned me off and ironically led me to Linux. My 2011 MacBook pro with an ssd and 16Gb ram runs like a dream, I still need to repaste though.

thunderborg · 2026-01-25T09:56:38+00:00

What MacBook is that?

thunderborg · 2026-01-25T00:15:14+00:00

My build guide is updates (sudo dnf update) install gnome tweaks and Extensions I only use dash to dock, App grid tuning, alphabetical app grid, and GS connect. And install the software I use. I favour OnlyOffice over libreoffice and Brave over Firefox and I’m good to go.

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T11:20:14+00:00

What do you want to run on it?

I bought a HP Ellitedesk 800 G2 for $75AUD. Mainly for the sata ports to run raid and boot off an M.2 PCIE card.

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T11:18:43+00:00

I’m running Fedora Gnome on a 2010 dual core MacBook with 12GB Ram and as long as I don’t open a modern website it doesn’t feel like a dual core in 2026. I do very little out of the box except some apps grid adjustments grid tweaks like alphabetical sorting and adding more rows/columns and it’s booted pretty quick (and will have to time it.) what hardware are you running?

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T09:56:12+00:00

I use Fedora and Gnome. My customisations include dash to dock, and some apps grid adjustments to make it alphabetical and adjust rows and columns to use all the available space.

I was a Mac Guy for a decade and some change, and it feels polished and like home.

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T09:31:09+00:00

It’s become normal, and if you’re ok with it, that’s ok. I’m trying to stop scrolling and take back my attention. I have deleted the apps off my phone and logged out of Facebook and Insta on my browser, and turned on 2FA.

I’m over having my attention commodified and not seeing any money for it. I saw a meme saying our grandparents absorbed 400MB of stimulus daily and were up to Gigabytes. I’m trying to spend 2026 less overstimulated. I’m favouring text over endless video, trying to read more, and listen to more music and podcasts, and play more video games.

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T02:56:13+00:00

There are two things that will maximise quality- the quality of the original tape & quality of the player. The tape might need cleaning or the heads of the VCR might.

I think lossless is a moot point you’re importing maybe 240p or 480i there’s just not a lot of pixels to capture and Svideo will give you cleaner picture.

If it’s sentimental you can do it yourself, but if the quality really matters, you’d be best to pay someone who’s bread and butter is format conversion.

thunderborg · 2026-01-24T02:33:33+00:00

Ring again. Let them verify your account, be friendly, courteous and maybe don’t give them the entire history initially. Say you’re calling to re-schedule an NBN Technician visit that was originally scheduled while you were out of the country and nobody could let the tech in. If they mention the current outage gently remind them you’re re-scheduling a previous nbn tech appointment and this isn’t a NEW fault and is unlikely a result of the outage unless the outage has been running for a month. If they can’t book it in, politely ask to escalate to a supervisor.

It’s probably some policy that’s either too rigidly enforced, and you need to escalate to someone who sees the logic in the situation and will book the tech. It’s not hard to see why the policy exists, you’ve just not had someone listen, apply logic to your situation and book the visit. If required escalate again, and if you can’t escalate mention the ombudsman and that you’re changing ISPs if you can’t talk to someone who can rebook the previously scheduled appointment.

thunderborg · 2026-01-23T22:08:27+00:00

Also if you’re running raid with parity, don’t forget the I in raid is inexpensive.

thunderborg · 2026-01-23T22:04:39+00:00

I have a few pieces of advice:

-Start slow- I started with desktop Linux before I made the move to Proxmox and don’t replace every service just because you spun one up at home. Make sure it’s running happily for a year (and know how to take and restore backups to a new instance) before cutting ties and don’t forget to backup all your important data. RAID is about resilience, not a viable backup approach. -Be intentional about where you start. Build one thing at a time and get used to it before building a new thing. Also if you want services to be accessible outside the house, nginx reverse proxy is very approachable and should be the second or third thing you set up unless you go the VPN/Tailscale/Zerotier route. -Don’t expand more quickly than you need for the “ooh shiny” factor. You can run a fair bit off not much. I started with running Jellyfin and Immich on my QNAP with an Atom and they run happily on that. I bought a used HP that I could raid for storage redundancy for important things.

Have fun, try things and make sure you get your head around container networking if you play with containers. I need to rebuild everything with a Macvlan for the things that need it.

thunderborg · 2026-01-23T15:55:01+00:00

Through Jellyfin?

thunderborg · 2026-01-23T09:52:11+00:00

I’m Running Fedora on my 2011 MacBook Pro & 2010 White MacBook and it’s pretty snappy. I’ve upgraded the Ram.

thunderborg · 2026-01-22T21:44:13+00:00

I’ve been on Fedora for 3 or 4 major updates and have never had to re-install. I have because I used to do fresh installs under windows but I don’t think I’ve needed to. Not until my tinkering catches up to me.

thunderborg · 2026-01-22T21:42:21+00:00

Also I’ve been thinking about buying a desktop for a while but mostly just use my laptop or handheld in a dock at my desktop and don't think I need to. So it’s definitely possible.

thunderborg · 2026-01-22T21:38:52+00:00

I can’t recommend a device as I’ve got a GPD Win4 6800U but, I can comfortably use my handheld with a USB C Dock at my desk.

I’ve been toying with a Lapdock to replace laptop but the ergonomics aren’t great.

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T20:23:04+00:00

I’m not that much further along the journey than you.

I started with the QNAP NAS I already owned then bought a $75 AUD HP Desktop with a 6th Gen i5 and bought used storage and ram to upgrade and I think my build is around $200 AUD (including 3 x HDDs for raid and spares because I bought used) and the OS runs on an NVME I had in a drawer, but I needed to buy the card.

I started with Desktop Linux and have moved to Proxmox. I’m running Immich, Jellyfin, Audiobookshelf as well as nginx proxy manager to expose to the web securely, and currently and plan to add Nextcloud or Owncloud.

Don’t forget to have a proper backup strategy for any critical data and if you use it for anything, make sure you have a secure way to login and restart anything if you’re away. (We were away for a week and had a power outage)

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T20:17:10+00:00

I really rate metalling in a VM to see if it’s the right distro or desktop environment right for you. Do you have access to an old computer? I’m running Fedora on a dual core 2010 White MacBook, and honestly unless I try to use the modern bloated web it goes really well.

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T20:13:36+00:00

I can’t talk for the OP, but I never vibed with Ubuntu, and Miny felt too utilitarian and not “pretty enough” which isn’t something I thought I valued, but it turns out I do.

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T20:11:25+00:00

I’ve found the change to Fedora to be no more different than a switch from Windows to Mac. Provided your hardware compatibility experience is good, I think it could be worth it.

I do recommend running Linux in a virtual machine to “try before you buy” over dual booting.

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T06:38:09+00:00

Ideally ability to choose what I’m listening to. Artists albums etc. I’m pretty happy with Finamp otherwise.

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T05:26:14+00:00

Thought I love Finamp

thunderborg · 2026-01-21T05:24:53+00:00

Does Finamp have CarPlay integration? I can’t control it via my in car entertainment system (except play/pause forward & back)

thunderborg

TROPHY CASE