Linux

56466 readers

1338 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 6 years ago

MODERATORS

AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml

nooter692@lemmy.ml

MarcellusDrum@lemmy.ml

cypherpunks@lemmy.ml

cyclohexane@lemmy.ml

d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz

Linux Users- Why? (programming.dev)

submitted 19 hours ago by sounddrill@programming.dev to c/linux@lemmy.ml

55 comments fedilink hide all child comments

(Also extends to people who refuse to use Linux too!)

Every unique Linux Desktop setup tells a story, about the user's journey and their trials. I feel like every decision, ranging from theming to functional choices, is a direct reflection of who we are on the inside.

An open-ended question for the Linux users here: Why do you use what you do? What are the choices you've had to make when planning it out?

I'll go first: I use OpenSUSE Tumbleweed with the Niri Scrolling Compositor(Rofi, Alacritty and Waybar), recently switched from CosmicDE

I run this setup because I keep coming back to use shiny new-ish software on a daily basis.

I prefer this over arch(which I used for 2 years in the covid arc), because it's quite a bit more stable despite being a rolling release distro.

I chose niri because I miss having a dual monitor on the go, and tiling windows isn't good enough for me. Scrolling feels smooth, fancy and just right. The overview menu is very addicting, and I may not be able to go back to Windows after this!

This was my first standalone WM/Compositor setup, so there were many little pains, but no regrets.

Would love to hear more thoughts, perspectives and experiences!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I run Nix but never heard of Hyperland, ghosty, neovim, rofi, waybar? What are those? Extensions or programs?

[–] Xuntari@programming.dev 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Nice :)

Hyprland is a window manager (or actually a Wayland compositor if you want to be pedantic) , alternatives would be i3, dwm Niri, etc. A window manager is a more basic alternative to desktop environments like Gnome and KDE Plasma. It requires you to set up more things yourself, which is what most of the other things solve.

I use Rofi as an application launcher (it can be used for a lot more things as well), it basically does the same job as the Windows startmenu.

Waybar is a statusbar, can be configured to display anything really, but it usually displays the date and time, application tray, active workspace, RAM and CPU usage, battery level, etc. It basically does the same job as the the Windows taskbar.

Ghostty is a terminal, alternatives are Kitty, Alacritty, WezTerm, foot. All operating systems come with a pre-installed terminal like Windows Terminal on Windows and Gnome Terminal on Gnome. But, you can change it out for some improved functionality.

Neovim is a terminal based text editor. New and improved version of the Vi and Vim text editors. Very steep learning curve, but very fun once you learn it. :q to exit the editor, if you ever feel like testing it.

[–] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I see and I'm going to check some of those out. There's so much software in the open source world it's hard to keep up, identify what is used for what.

I use conky for most stats on desktop, the default editor, default cinnamon terminal likely gnome, I'm going to look into the waybar though to see if it fills anything different that conky. I'm unsure why someone would need a window manager instead of tiling or dual monitor. Perhaps I don't fully understand or I'm missing out on something, I've seen a lot of posts recently talking about window managers.

I use my PC fairly traditional. Nixos running cinnamon, I've tweaked it a bit but nothing outrageous as that's when shit breaks or you go error hunting more often than I care too. My moving to nix was graduation from mint looking for even more stability through immutability and cutting out system drift with impermanence. I swap hardware as deals come along, so nix allowed for the most customization and ease of backups. Much more friendly for swapping hardware than a traditional OS.

[–] Xuntari@programming.dev 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I know right. xD I just have to learn things one at a time as they become relevant, otherwise it's too overwhelming.

After a quick search of conky, it seems to me that it solves a different problem than waybar does. Waybar can display stats, but that is not its main purpose. Since you use Cinnamon, I doubt you need waybar or Rofi, as Cinnamon comes with pre-installed alternatives for them.

I should have mentioned before when I talked about window managers, I was mainly thinking about tiling window managers. They are really good for a keyboard centric workflow, so if you like using keyboard shortcuts, they're worth a try. Ideally, you'll spend less time moving windows around with the mouse, and less time trying to find the window you're looking for.

But, we're all different, of course. To each their own. To keep to the trodden path is definitely a good strategy for a stable system :)