Debian updated its site!
It’s spiffy.
It also reminded me that I once traced the history of a bunch of distro sites through screenshots.
The Debian web updates its homepage and prepares for a major renewal | Bits from Debian
Desktop Linux for Everyone
Debian updated its site!
It’s spiffy.
It also reminded me that I once traced the history of a bunch of distro sites through screenshots.
The Debian web updates its homepage and prepares for a major renewal | Bits from Debian
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kris uses Linux (Linux Lite):
Having used Microsoft Windows for a long time, I find Linux operating systems to be remarkably better, even more so because they are free to download and install. Furthermore, Linux operating systems do not steal your personal data and do not try to lock you in, like the newest operating systems from both Microsoft and Apple do. That said, even with Linux, obsolescence cannot be ruled out. For example, Linux Lite will stop its support for 32-bit computers in 2021, which means that I will soon have to look for an alternative operating system, or buy a slightly younger 64-bit laptop.
I feel the 32-bit support. That was part of the reason I needed to upgrade my old laptop, although I’m happy I did.
How and why I stopped buying new laptops | LOW←TECH MAGAZINE
As a desktop Linux user, I haven’t been supper attentive to the CentOS drama. The Rocky Linux FAQ explains the issue well:
Q: What do you mean, "CentOS has shifted direction?"
The CentOS project recently announced a shift in strategy for CentOS. Whereas previously CentOS existed as a downstream build of its upstream vendor (it receives patches and updates after the upstream vendor does), it will be shifting to an upstream build (testing patches and updates before inclusion in the upstream vendor).
Q: So where does Rocky Linux come in?
Rocky Linux aims to function as a downstream build as CentOS had done previously, building releases after they have been added to the upstream vendor, not before.
Rocky Linux is founded by Greg Kurtzer, who also founded CentOS.
The free and open source community always responds to change in smart, impressive ways.
Rocky Linux | GitHub
GIMP turned 25 in November! Which feels amazing given how software comes and goes.
GIMP has also become a pandemic hero for me, since I’m now working with a lot of PDF forms. I’ve gotten really good at using GIMP to edit them.
Here’s to 25 more years! Of GIMP. Not of digital forms.
This is 25 | GIMP
Scott Nesbitt on switching to elementary OS. You can see his 2014 set-up here.
Scott’s post talks about elementary’s own apps, which I’m not sure I knew about. It looks like Quilter, the elementary Markdown editor, is even in the Fedora repositories.
I love that elementary encourages users to pay for apps and I think it’s nice that the price points are reasonable, but also suggested.
Making the Switch to elementary OS | Open Source Musings
Yikes! And just when I had gotten used to telling people printing on Linux isn’t that big a deal…
CUPS Printing System Open-Source Development Has Seemingly Dried Up | Phoronix
As of today, Linux Journal is back, and operating under the ownership of Slashdot Media.
This pretty much summarizes the recent history of Linux Journal:
I hope it works this time!
Linux Journal is Back | Linux Journal
Like so many, but not nearly enough, I’ve been work-from-home since mid-March.
My daily driver is a Dell desktop with Ubuntu 16.04 (the GNOME spin), but it’s in the living room. It’s not the easiest place to work during the day, in that it’s high-traffic. My two-year-old daughter is way too fascinated by video calls! I took to working in the bedroom on my fairly old T420i ThinkPad for chunks of the day. It’s probably around 10 years old, but it’s rock solid, even though it’s 32-bit architecture and 8GB RAM. I ran Linux Mint Cinnamon on it and while it wasn’t blazingly fast, it handled my daily work without any issues. That is, until a Zoom update broke Zoom. Without Zoom, the computer was much less useful. And unfortunately, finding support for Zoom on a 32-bit Linux system isn’t as easy as it sounds.
I realized I needed a new laptop. I looked at new ThinkPads but they were much pricier than I wanted to spend out-of-pocket. I started hanging out in the ThinkPad subreddit, and seeing all of those people doing so well with used ThinkPads. I realized that the whole point of a ThinkPad is the durability. Why not go used? So I used this wonderful guide and started searching ebay, Newegg, TigerDirect, Overstock—anyplace that sold used ThinkPads. I eventually decided against ebay because I wanted some kind of warranty and I wound up finding a great machine at a great pricepoint: a T460 with 16GB RAM and an IPS screen (highly recommended in the subreddit; I’m not quite sure if it matters to me…) for less than $600, including the one-year protection plan, from NewEgg. It happens to be an ultrabook, which is a moot feature since I don’t go anywhere anymore. It also happens to have a fingerprint reader, which works better than one I had 15 years ago, but which feels like a solution in search of a problem.
I put on Ubuntu 20.04 without any drama, and it’s been smooth sailing. Zoom works like a champ. I can easily VPN into my work computer with Cisco’s Linux VPN client and Remmina remote desktop. My older ThinkPad couldn’t run Cisco, so I used openconnect, a command-line tool, that while not quite as simple as Cisco, was pretty darn close.
As I mentioned, I’m using TLP to manage the battery. I use Evolution as my Exchange client (you need to install the EWS plugin, which is in the repositories). And I learned you can bring over a Thunderbird profile, just by copying a folder. It was painless. I keep my files in-sync with pcloud.
I thought I loved Ubuntu 16.04 but GNOME is fast and much better integrated on 20.04. I’ll have to move off 16.04 soon, as support is ending in 2021, but I’m now excited to upgrade my main machine.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with the T420i. It’s usable, but because of its age and architecture, using it requires a certain amount of expertise. My wife is passionate about sustainable technology, so she’s been looking into some programs that might benefit from it. Because I was very lucky to be in the position that I could spend as much money as I did for a second computer. It’s important to acknowledge that privilege because there are lots of people who don’t have the option of working from home, or who have the option, but lack the technological resources. Not everyone has home Internet. Not everyone has a home computer.
I wrote this to remind everyone that while there’s a shortage of new laptops, there are lots of good used options, and Linux breathes new life into older hardware. As the people on the ThinkPad reddit are quick to point out, the more you’re able to fix up a ThinkPad yourself, the more favorable the pricing. I needed something quick and operational, but I’m comfortable with the specs I got for the price.
I’m a ThinkPad nerd. I love them (this is my third) and have had nothing but great experiences with them. But this isn’t about ThinkPads. It’s about affordability and sustainability. My story is a reminder that even if you’re not looking for a fixer-upper, you can still find something used and reliable, that runs Linux, at a good price.
You can follow me on Mastodon here, follow me on Twitter here and subscribe to the feed here.
I learned about this on the ThinkPad reddit. It only works with ThinkPads, but it lets you set battery parameters, so your ThinkPad will stop charging at specific points. So you can configure your laptop to stop charging when it’s 90% charged, which is helpful for people like me who tend to forget to unplug. It seems to add life to your battery, which is a good thing.
I’m excited to see the integrated calendar, not that installing Lightning is such a big deal. I’m a huge Thunderbird fan, though. The interface is sometimes overly complex, but you can always Google around to do what you need to do.
I’m also wondering when this will hit the Ubuntu repos. I might be a ways off from seeing 78 in action! It sort of reminds me of when Gimp added a single-window mode. I was using Sabayon at the time, so I saw the new interface pretty much instantly. But when I went back to Ubuntu, I didn’t see single-window mode for months. It was like time travel.
What’s New in Thunderbird 78 | The Thunderbird Blog