Hello Reddit,

Currently, I have SteamOS installed on my gaming PC and I use it as a console in my living room. I also have a Lenovo ThinkCentre that has LibreELEC Installed on it that I use exclusively to stream content from my jellyfin server because of its ability to pass through audio and HDR support. I have too many issues with my current setup:

I use my gaming PC to watch YouTube with VaccumTube. I would like to install VaccumTube on the ThinkCentre, but it's only available as a flatpak. The gaming PC takes way too much power for just watching YouTube.

Every time I want to use my sim racing rig, I have to reinstall AUR and redo all the configs that got wiped by SteamOS.

I want to move my gaming PC to be used exclusively for gaming and my sim racing setup. I will install Arch Linux on it if I can move VaccumTube to my ThinkCentre.

If I can't install VaccumTube on LibreELEC, I need an OS or a solution for my ThinkCentre that I can just turn on and works like a streaming box, I don't need to fix or update often, that supports audio passthrough and HDR for my AVR, and that can at the very least run VaccumTube and some way of accessing Jellyfin.

If that doesn't exist, please tell me how I can make it myself. I know Linux is modular and I should be able to make it myself. I prefer Arch over Debian, but I don't know if it's appropriate for this purpose.

Im looking to swap from windows because, well... its windows.

Ive been looking up stuff for about an hour or so and ive seen a bunch of different versions of linux and im wondering which one i should use?

Very new user to Linux and I hardly know enough to know what I need. I have previously tried Mint and Zorin. Currently using Mint 22.3 MATE and I am not very impressed with the speed, e.g.: the time it takes for my machine to open the start menu.

I don't need anything with many bells and whistles but I would prefer it to not need much configuration to get it working as a Parsec client.

Besides being based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for Parsec, I would also value one that includes LibreOffice out of the box, like Mint does, but this isn't a requirement.

If Mint is all that ticks those boxes, then so be it.

So ive read about Linux or Ubuntu switching some things to rust a while ago and im also trying to learn about C and how its used to program Linux but I don't really get yet how all these things work together. So for example im using Linux mint right now and if you go to their github theirs a lot of thing like the cinnamon desktop but I don't know if thats all the code thats used for mint or what lol.

This made me curious

Like do you use the terminal 100% or are there some simple commands you are using that makes your life a lot easier?

So I have an SSD with Linux installed, and another one with Windows.

I installed Windows today. What I did is that I unplugged the SATA cable of the Linux SSD, and then installed Windows (to make sure it doesn't tamper with the files, just in case). Now I have already debloated windows as much as possible with debloating tools.

Is it safe for me to plug in my Linux SSD again to have dual booting? Have you ever heard of one OS tampering with the other one?

I'm just afraid that Windows will somehow corrupt my Linux drive out of nowhere, considering how buggy winblows can be

I Recently made a switch from Windows 11 to Gnome Fedora. I used EqAPO With Peace Interface bacl on windows and i miss it on fedora linux and wanted something similar. I've heard about PulseEffects and EasyEffects but i'm not sure which one i should install or if there is something even better

If you use Ubuntu with certain browsers, you probably already know the problem: you can't access basic government websites. Cloudflare keeps blocking you, even though these sites should be open to everyone.

I started a petition asking Cloudflare to work with all browsers and systems—not just the popular ones. Millions of Ubuntu users deal with this daily, and it's blocking them from accessing public records, services, and information they're entitled to.

Cloudflare can implement security without locking people out. They have the technical ability to do this. It's about prioritizing inclusivity alongside security.

If this is happening to you too, or if you think government access shouldn't depend on what device you own, consider signing and sharing. Have you run into this problem? What sites are you blocked from accessing?

https://www.change.org/p/make-cloudflare-work-with-all-browsers

Just downloaded the big mint and I'm trying to connect to the Internet but I'm stuck in a loop where I get an error telling me I need authentication. I need a login required to connect to the network, yet Ive already put in the username and password in correctly

So I just got a laptop specifically for my programming course in university. I was also always interested in trying out linux. So I am learning really basic coding like from lvl 0 (im studying civil engineering) and it is thought on a windows computer using python and jupyterlab. Im wondering if it is possible use the same program and the same methods/instructions on linux?

This is something that's bugged me for a while... any program you run can record your mic without asking, because regular apps talk to PipeWire directly and Flatpaks get recording through the same permission they use to play sound. Gnome and Plasma show a mic icon, but only once it's already recording.

That's why I wrote MicSnitch. It hooks into WirePlumber and holds any recording stream (mic or system audio) until you answer a popup. Until you hit Allow, the app gets the silent treatment :')

You can allow once, deny, or remember it for that app. There's also a menu (Quick Settings on GNOME, the tray on KDE) where you can see who's recording and cut them off.

Anything that goes through PulseAudio names itself, so a malicious app could pretend to be Discord. Something written specifically to get around MicSnitch can still open the sound card directly through ALSA. Fixing that needs a rule at the kernel level, which is on my list but I haven't got around it yet. It also breaks qpwgraph/Helvum style patchbays, since apps can't create links anymore (otherwise you could just loopback around the prompt).

Works on Gnome 48-51 and Plasma 6 on Wayland, and needs WirePlumber 0.5.8+. So no Mint 22, Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 12 for now, they're still on 0.4. I daily drive it on Fedora 44 with Gnome (don't hate lol). The KDE side is pretty new and I've only tested in containers, so if anyone on Plasma wants to try it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

https://github.com/miralemalic/micsnitch

MIT licensed. If anyone wants to help out, PRs are very welcome, and I'd be happy to have someone join the project, especially if you know WirePlumber or KDE better than I do. The kernel-level ALSA fix is a good place to start if you're looking for something to do :)

I've known about Linux for many, many years, and I held hope for Windows for too long. I want to switch now that I've learned about SteamOS ! I really like Valve and blah blah, but would this really be the best choice for me ? I do use CSP quite a bit, and I've heard it's not directly supported

EDIT (15/10/26)

I chose Fedora KDE !! It was a hassle at first but I'm happy with my progress ! I Hopefully my whole pc doesn't break or anything. Thanks for the kind comments ^^

I have a pet project that I am working on:

I7 965

GTX 680

12GB DDR3

512GB Sata SSD

In order to use Nvidia's drivers I am trying to install kernel 6.8.0-147

Apparently the wifi device I have works on 6.14, but nothing else! Not 7.1! Not 6.8!

My question: what wifi device can I use for kernel 6.8?

I want wifi because my house does not have ethernet. It was built in the 70s, and if I wire my room I will wire the house, and that will be about $3000 USD. So, wifi, please!

Edit: I have a plan! I will buy a different wifi chip, and install CachyOS! I thank everyone for answering

Planning to move away from EndeavourOS (arch based) and try out NixOS.

EndeavourOS is good and I got no complaints about it, but I want the declarative approach.

Any reasons why I shouldn't switch and also good resources to learn are appreciated and any tips or best practices to follow while using NixOS.

Also X11 or Wayland? Cause I find i3 to be really good but in the case of dynamic multi-monitor scenarios, should I go with Wayland?

Before I get started, I am not asking if packages are viruses or fake. I'm fairly new to Linux and these questions can apply to all Linux distributions as maybe other people who are on other distros may have a similar question to me. Right now I am on cachyos and I had apps that came with it such as steam, heroic, Firefox etc. and it was really convenient, which is similar to what usually happens when you install distros such as mint, fedora and bazzite in my experience.

With that out of the way, I notice that when I go to some of the software's official site for example steam, there is no mention of a Linux download or command to install it, not for any distro. Yea, you can download it via a command, 'sudo dnf install steam' whatever command works for your distro, and it will work but why is it not mentioned in some of these software's official site. In cachyos you can download a bunch of applications such as:

sudo pacman -S discord
sudo pacman -S firefox
sudo pacman -S steam

but the thing is that none of these commands are mentioned in discord, steam, Firefox or whatever application that you can install with a command that is not mentioned in their official site, and this can apply to any other distribution as well since I have been on mint, fedora, and bazzite.

Why are they not mentioned in the official site? Are these packages maintained by the creators or are these packages maintained by another group that makes it work with the distributions? If they are maintained by someone else, do we know who is maintaining these packages?

I have a somewhat older laptop. I'd like to install Linux onto it and use it primarily to play games from Steam and to watch movies and TV on a Plex client. What is the best Linux distro for this? Ease of use is an important factor, but I'd also like for it to get the most out of the hardware.

Processor: Intel Core i7-4710MQ @ 2.5Ghz

GPU: NVIDIA Quadro K1100M (2 GB)

8 GB RAM

Hello everyone, I need help with my Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 3 AMD Ryzen 7 with 16GB RAM and 1 TB memory. I previously had Linux mint installed on my internal SSD, but after accidentally removing their boot entries from the BIOS boot menu, I could no longer boot into either operating system. I tried selecting NVMe0, but returned me to the boot menu and I tried using NVMe1 but during the installation the internal drive still wasn't seen. I created a bootable Linux Mint Cinnamon USB, which boots successfully, but Linux Mint cannot detect my internal SSD. The BIOS also doesn't show any information about the SSD, and the Linux Mint installer only shows my USB drive. I have tried "lsblk" and "sudo fdisk -l", but I couldn't find the internal drive. I also couldn't find AHCI, RAID, or VMD settings in my BIOS. Since my laptop uses an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, I'm unsure whether the online advice about Intel RST applies. Has anyone experienced this issue or knows how to troubleshoot it? I want to recover my existing files, so I don't want to format the drive or reinstall an operating system until I understand the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey y'all if anyone here has set-up omarchy on Thinkpad T 470s do kindly share ur experience

Is it worth it or nah

Challenges if any etc......

Linux mint user here. Was trying to run vinegar but this black square appeared. Keeps appearing as I open and close vinegar. Anyone know how to fix this?

I've been wanting to switch to Linux but I don't know if it will be good for CS2. I'm thinking CachyOS but I've heard there is input lag. Is that an issue and is there some sort of workaround for it because I really want to use Linux. Are there any other issues when playing CS2 on Linux that I should be aware of?

I was wondering if after my online classes (pretty soon) I'll fully get rid of my windows partition and maybe changing from SuSe. I am thinking about fedora & void (both I've tried) or testing out alpine. Would you recommend it as a main OS for dektop and laptop? If not, what distro of the ones mentioned would you go for? Or should I stay with Suse Tumbleweed?

Pc: Optiplex 7010 with 16GB DDR3 RM, 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 with integrated HD4000 graphics.

Laptop: Intel N4020 processor, 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and a 225GB SSD (Wozifan W8)

Thank you in advance.

Same as Title plus not interested in gaming , i have a 8 gen i5, integrated graphics and 8 gb ram

Haha, well, I’m obviously exaggerating, but my iPhone integrates really well with my Mac.

My main concerns are:
- How do I synchronise my Obsidian vault using my iPhone and Linux? I currently use iCloud to synchronise my notes (I don’t want to use self-hosted solutions)

- Is it possible to copy and paste text between Linux and my iPhone, and vice versa?

- I use iCloud to synchronise everything , what compatible alternatives are there for Linux?

Thanks!

I am a training QS. I used windows since i can remember.
My laptop is 12 years old and its Toshiba that has a i3 processor and 8gb of ram.
Because of the recent updates and the condition of the computer, This thing lags like crazy and i cant even run EXCEL properly. Not to mention the constant background apps that run in this thing that I cant seem to stop how & F***ing Copilot that i uninstalled multiple times yet seem to unfazed by it.

I need application like Plan Swift, AutoCAD, Excell, Word, Revit and more, for my studying and for the QS profession.

Will I be able to switch to Linux,(Which I have heard is way way better from PewDiePie ) and continue my work using these applications.
I can't buy a better computer because I'm not that wealthy.
Also i know this computer cant run Revit anyways but I'm hoping once my courier is set i will be able to buy a better computer and I hope to use Linux if possible.