this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Ok, when I googled it earlier I saw "containers and roll back to previous version" and I made a note to do more reading

Your write up was good, much clearer than what's on fedora and Wikipedia. And the fact you pitched immutable OS's in general first caught my attention... The concept is a no brainer. Decouple the os and the rest of the software, and don't bother digging into one of a kind conflicts when updating things - just make it rebuildable and create it fresh. You never know when the wrong bit will flip

Nix's "learn this one thing, configure it once, and you're done" stuck in my head. And after a different distros, a couple lines installed Nvidia, Nvidia's docker package and docker

But then I had to configure WiFi and spend half an hour learning why I couldn't mount an external drive and how to manage it... I still have no regrets, I've got a USB that should start converting my friends and family's old PCs into a self organizing AI/self hosting cluster... Hopefully it works next month lol

But not what I want in a daily driver. I want something that'll quickly do what I tell it and gracefully handle the fact I have 6 versions of Java and no idea why I need a version from 2018 specifically. And that I'm going to add a repo to install something and instantly forget what I did if it seems like the best path forward at the time

You've sold that pretty well - my takeaway was that atomic fedora is very modular and low side effect and also an interchangable foundation I can swap out and roll back easily... At this point, if it can run containers and the drivers I need, it sounds like a great option.

I used to use VMs so every 6-12 months I could start clean with the latest and run setup scripts for my dependencies... It was just easier than debugging some conflict. This sounds even cleaner - I swap out the base at will, and the stuff I've built on it should stay intact. Plus it sounds much more testable

So my main concern is will it run on an HP omen - it has zero Linux support and a bunch of concerning driver needs, but it does have a second m2 slot... What's the worst that can happen? Except apparently some models forget they have fans in Linux and I just know the iGPU-GPU switch will cause some problem with sleeping... But Windows is only going to get worse

Now that you've convinced me this might be the best course (I only see less problems than other distros would have), and I've talked myself into giving it a go, is there any recommended reading or key concepts I should look into? Any particular flavor(s) you'd point me to first?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Now that you've convinced me this might be the best course (I only see less problems than other distros would have)

Sometimes, software, especially install scripts for something, are less common for Silverblue, but executing those is very risky anyway and I never felt the need for it.

And, as I said, some things just work differently. But NixOS is one million times worse than that in that regard, so don't worry about it. You shouldn't have many issues.

any recommended reading or key concepts I should look into? Any particular flavor(s) you'd point me to first?

I don't know. In my opinion, my post should cover most stuff concepts and differences.

Don't worry about it, you'll use Flatpak anyway most of the time, and it updates itself automatically, so the package manager (rpm-ostree) doesn't matter much for you.
You can still use your prefered package manager (apt, dnf, etc.) in Distrobox.

Other than that, just don't worry and use your laptop for whatever you want to do.

And about flavor choice, there are a few options:

  • Bazzite is mainly if you game a lot
  • Bluefin and Aurora are the same, just in Gnome or KDE. It's basically Bazzite without gaming stuff
  • Secureblue, which features security hardening tweaks
  • Wayblue, which is with River, Wayland, and more
  • And of course all different DE-spins, e.g. Sway, Budgie, etc.

Just go to the uBlue homepage and see for yourself what appeals to you :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Well hey listen, I appreciate it. I would've spent who knows how long waffling between distos that I don't feel drawn to, and even if I came across an atomic flavor, I probably would've just assumed it was marketing fluff

Good ideas need advocates, and this is a good idea... It's a promise of an OS I want, not just running from one I don't

I'm probably going to look at bazzite first. If I have containers that can run LLMs on my GPU, that checks off everything on my wish list except gaming. I'll read up on it though, you've given me the context I need to care about learning more