Linux
- Thread starter Dason
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- Tags computation computers linux operating system
I do like gnome-shell but it's been giving me some issues with locking up recently. I've been thinking about giving KDE another try now that it seems that plasma has stabilized a bit (and all of the applications that I like / are essential in KDE have been ported). Is anybody else running KDE these days?
I kind of like KDE now. Plasma is pretty nice. The only issue I have is that the themes seem to be a bit messy. I just want a nice dark theme and I have to change like 6 different things and it turns out that the icon sets provided don't play nice with the dark themes... The themes on gnome-shell were a lot easier to deal with and seemed to be more nicely integrated. Oh well. At least I haven't had a freeze yet and KWin is really flexible.
He guys,
I just wanted to place this little trick here for emacs. One painful thing is when using emacs speaks statistics and running heavy computational scripts is that the entire editor freezes.
I've been avoiding this by running these scripts on a server, using (emacs package) tramp. You run M-X shell, and the ssh to your remote origin and run M-x ess-remote and your ready.
However, today I was a little sleepy and forgot to ssh to my server, and run tramp locally with a heavy script... turns out that worked fine and I could continue in emacs normally.
In hindsight this makes perfect sense, but I just had never thought of doing this - needless to say this is a great solution that removes the only real problem I had with using emacs + R.
If you want to do this then just enable tramp in your init file.
Run M-x shell, type R and run M-x ess-remote ... or key bind the lot in one key stroke!
Cheers,
TE
I just wanted to place this little trick here for emacs. One painful thing is when using emacs speaks statistics and running heavy computational scripts is that the entire editor freezes.
I've been avoiding this by running these scripts on a server, using (emacs package) tramp. You run M-X shell, and the ssh to your remote origin and run M-x ess-remote and your ready.
However, today I was a little sleepy and forgot to ssh to my server, and run tramp locally with a heavy script... turns out that worked fine and I could continue in emacs normally.
In hindsight this makes perfect sense, but I just had never thought of doing this - needless to say this is a great solution that removes the only real problem I had with using emacs + R.
If you want to do this then just enable tramp in your init file.
Code:
(require 'tramp)Cheers,
TE
Just checking in really. Since we are in a new year, just curious to know what distro people are using right now?
Im still using Linux Mint 17 LTS with MATE DE and my main machine, but I just installed Manjaro with Gnome 3 on a VM and I have a fresh install of Arch with XFCE on another. I didnt like XFCE the last time I installed it so I thought I would try again. I really like Manjaro as a kind of cheats Arch, but I still think Arch is amazing. One day I'll sort myself out and use it as my system.
Anyone tried awesome? Any other recommendations for cool window managers?
Im still using Linux Mint 17 LTS with MATE DE and my main machine, but I just installed Manjaro with Gnome 3 on a VM and I have a fresh install of Arch with XFCE on another. I didnt like XFCE the last time I installed it so I thought I would try again. I really like Manjaro as a kind of cheats Arch, but I still think Arch is amazing. One day I'll sort myself out and use it as my system.
Anyone tried awesome? Any other recommendations for cool window managers?
Hi Bugman,
Thanks for the check in. What's your favourite at this moment? I've never used Mint, but I see you have stuck with it for some years now - would you recommend me giving it a try? What are the features that make you stick with it?
I'm using Ubuntu again now, just for ease of use (quick install, easy install of VM) but with the i3 window manager. I really love tiling window managers, wont move back anytime soon. I've got a XFCE with i3 setup on an old machine and an Ubuntu server setup and running as well. Stared using tmux on the server, and I like it.
Thanks for the check in. What's your favourite at this moment? I've never used Mint, but I see you have stuck with it for some years now - would you recommend me giving it a try? What are the features that make you stick with it?
I'm using Ubuntu again now, just for ease of use (quick install, easy install of VM) but with the i3 window manager. I really love tiling window managers, wont move back anytime soon. I've got a XFCE with i3 setup on an old machine and an Ubuntu server setup and running as well. Stared using tmux on the server, and I like it.
I've used Mint + xfce for some years, but currently have Mint + Cinnamon. I'm due to upgrade when I'm not lazy, and I plan to go back to Mint + xfce next time. Things I like of this setup
- Super easy Ubuntu repo management
- Lightweight xfce desktop environment that is easy to configure, with a few perks, but not all the bells and whistles
Cons: Ubuntu repo management (can get pretty dated; at least official repos). Also not everything "fits" into xfce naturally, which can be annoying in rare cases (e.g., some notification icon not appearing).
- Super easy Ubuntu repo management
- Lightweight xfce desktop environment that is easy to configure, with a few perks, but not all the bells and whistles
Cons: Ubuntu repo management (can get pretty dated; at least official repos). Also not everything "fits" into xfce naturally, which can be annoying in rare cases (e.g., some notification icon not appearing).
On my laptop I'm running Arch + i3/xfce (depending on my mood and what I'm doing). I love Arch and my laptop is pretty terrible so it's one of the only distros I can get to run well since I can keep it lightweight.
On my desktop I'm running Ubuntu 14.04. As much as I love Arch my desktop has some issues with video drivers or something that just work with Ubuntu and I can't figure out with Arch. It's not a bad thing to have a more 'supported' distro either. I use it to run a plex server.
On my desktop I'm running Ubuntu 14.04. As much as I love Arch my desktop has some issues with video drivers or something that just work with Ubuntu and I can't figure out with Arch. It's not a bad thing to have a more 'supported' distro either. I use it to run a plex server.
TE - my favorate right now is Arch or Manjaro with xfce. I moved straight from windows to Ubuntu, but hated unity so I used Mint with Gnome 2 then MATE and havent relaly changed since (been using Mint since Mint 10). This has mainly been becasue I share the desktop at home with other non-computer savvy people and everyone seems to find it really easy and intuative. I also like its stability. So its a combination of convienience and laziness that I have stuck with it, but I have always had one or two others on VM to tinker with.
If I was the only user - I would have Arch with xfce as my main system for sure.
I would definately recommend that you give Mint a try, but given you are a long time user, you might find it a little boring.
On a side note, I REALLY love the new Arc Theme with Vertex icons - this is soooo slick looking, but the problem is it doesnt work properly on Linux Mint 17.
Bryan - have you tried Arch?
Dason - If you had a the latest and greatest wizz bang laptop - what distro / configurtation would you install?
If I was the only user - I would have Arch with xfce as my main system for sure.
I would definately recommend that you give Mint a try, but given you are a long time user, you might find it a little boring.
On a side note, I REALLY love the new Arc Theme with Vertex icons - this is soooo slick looking, but the problem is it doesnt work properly on Linux Mint 17.
Bryan - have you tried Arch?
Dason - If you had a the latest and greatest wizz bang laptop - what distro / configurtation would you install?
Yeah, I tried Arch on a VM at work to run servers for myself (e.g., mongodb). Installation was not that fun, but I eventually got it working. While it's package management may be more cutting edge, I don't see it being as plug-and-play as Debian-based systems. In fact, I've thought about trying Debian just to see how nice it is to have Ubuntu and Mint that package it up better. I've thought about exploring community versions of RedHat and SUSE, because they hold a place in my heart (first distros to learn on back in the day when Linux sucked for n00bs). I just don't think they're ideal for desktops/home computing, but I could be wrong. I haven't seen much alternatives from my common setup. Maybe get a KDE based Fedora or see how nice the "control panel" is for SUSE (yast).
Ugh 
Is it still like running a Mac? That drove me nuts, because I don't use Apple. I don't like the UI at all. I kept hitting the run close button and lost my mind. I've never been right since!
I lie. Part of the Mint+xfce I use is that it uses just enough Gnome to get some nice user-friendly features out-of-the-box, while still being lightweight that xfce provides. Unity (though I heard it has gotten better) and Cinnamon are just way too flashy for me. All wizz bang for no buck to me. I like that I can run a Linux desktop for under a GB and then have a Windows VM in the background and another VM (I have 16 GB of RAM now) running a server for me, and I'm still barely taking a hit.
Is it still like running a Mac? That drove me nuts, because I don't use Apple. I don't like the UI at all. I kept hitting the run close button and lost my mind. I've never been right since!
I lie. Part of the Mint+xfce I use is that it uses just enough Gnome to get some nice user-friendly features out-of-the-box, while still being lightweight that xfce provides. Unity (though I heard it has gotten better) and Cinnamon are just way too flashy for me. All wizz bang for no buck to me. I like that I can run a Linux desktop for under a GB and then have a Windows VM in the background and another VM (I have 16 GB of RAM now) running a server for me, and I'm still barely taking a hit.
Just recently reinstalled arch linux and decided to re-visit Gnome-3. I gave it a good shot, but have to say that I hate it. It was unintuitive and I found that customisation was not as easy as I had thought. It just didn't gel with me.
Anyway, three nights ago I installed my old foe - xcfe - and have to say that not I have looked at it more closely, I love it. Light, fast and highly customisable and seems to be a really good match with arch... thinking about installing this set-up on my desktop in place of Mint / MATE.
Anyway, three nights ago I installed my old foe - xcfe - and have to say that not I have looked at it more closely, I love it. Light, fast and highly customisable and seems to be a really good match with arch... thinking about installing this set-up on my desktop in place of Mint / MATE.
Anyone been trying different distros of wm or other cool things in linux lately?
I have benn playing aroung with open box and have looked at bunsenlabs linux, which is pretty nice. I have also played about with budgie DE, which is also prettty slick.
Despite what I have said about XFCE in the past, I love it now and have it on my laptop with Arch and on my desk with Mint. I have also stumbed upon some cool apps (which people may or may not know about): neofetch (alternative to screenfetch which amongst other things, allows pictures to be displayed in the terminal and QOwnNotes - a markdown notetaker and to-do list app. I really like this one.
Anyway, if others have anything else to share, I'd be keen to hear about it.
I have benn playing aroung with open box and have looked at bunsenlabs linux, which is pretty nice. I have also played about with budgie DE, which is also prettty slick.
Despite what I have said about XFCE in the past, I love it now and have it on my laptop with Arch and on my desk with Mint. I have also stumbed upon some cool apps (which people may or may not know about): neofetch (alternative to screenfetch which amongst other things, allows pictures to be displayed in the terminal and QOwnNotes - a markdown notetaker and to-do list app. I really like this one.
Anyway, if others have anything else to share, I'd be keen to hear about it.
Humble Bundle has a nice little selection of open source / linux books in a bundle right now. Check it out if that sounds interesting to you. I think I might pay enough to get through the second tier - the highest tier doesn't interest me too much.
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/linux-book-bundle
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/linux-book-bundle
ATTENTION EVERYBODY. I HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT LINUX DISTRO AND THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
http://hannahmontana.sourceforge.net/index.html
enjoy?
http://hannahmontana.sourceforge.net/index.html
enjoy?
Today I screwed up. I updated my Arch and decided I'd clean up the .pacnew files. I accidentally selected "overwrite" for my /etc/shadow file and then later restarted the computer. None of the passwords would work. I couldn't log in as my user account, I couldn't log in with root, and I was feeling like I was screwed. But I realized what happened eventually and figured if I could get into the system I could get /etc/shadow rebuilt from /etc/passwd and at least then I wouldn't be locked out of the root account and could build things back up again.
Did some digging and found out how to get in from grub and the rest was history.
I don't think I would have been able to figure out the issue and fix it nearly as easily on a different distro. Then again I wouldn't have had that exact issue on a different distro but hey - this is the first thing that has gotten 'messed up' for me on any of my Arch builds which is a lot more than I could say for any of the Ubuntu based builds I've used.
TLDR: I shot myself in the foot but realized I could just grow a new foot real quick.
Did some digging and found out how to get in from grub and the rest was history.
I don't think I would have been able to figure out the issue and fix it nearly as easily on a different distro. Then again I wouldn't have had that exact issue on a different distro but hey - this is the first thing that has gotten 'messed up' for me on any of my Arch builds which is a lot more than I could say for any of the Ubuntu based builds I've used.
TLDR: I shot myself in the foot but realized I could just grow a new foot real quick.