Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- linux [2026/03/22 22:10] – particles
+++ linux [2026/05/29 00:18] (current) – [Distros, kernels, and updates] particles
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
     - Everyone swears by Flameshot, but that doesn't record the screen either.
   - Okular is a great alternative to Preview.app, but it doesn't support many of the same PDF editing tricks that Preview.app supports. This largely comes down to Quartz lineage. I secretly suspect that Apple hates paying Adobe for real Acrobat, so they want Preview.app to do as much as possible.
+    - Ignoring editing for a second, Okular is great for browsing PDFs with highlights and selection. It is more reliable than Preview for general document browsing. It has bookmarks! Okular is lovely.
+    - I mostly miss the ability to combine PDF documents with Preview on KDE. Again, esoteric features.
+  - You can’t hide windows with KWin. If you use Command + Option + H a lot, this workflow will break.
 A great way to experience Linux is to just install KDE and use the KDE default apps for whatever you want to do.
+I think KDE offers one of the most compelling user experiences on Linux, because many things work just as they do on macOS. For example, you can drag and drop from Dolphin to file pickers, and like on macOS, this will take the file picker directly to the destination. This type of experience only really exists on KDE.
+==== A mini-love letter to KDE ====
+KDE Plasma includes many features that I find lovely compared to other Linux desktop environments, but also Windows and macOS.
+[[https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/macos-finder-still-bad-network-file-copies/|Compared to Finder]], Dolphin has no problems copying files to-and-from SMB destinations. SFTP works great.
+Like on macOS, and unlike on Windows, you can usually drag a file from Dolphin to a file upload picker or similar file picker in Firefox or other apps, and Dolphin will navigate immediately to that file. macOS users will appreciate that Finder is matched here.
+Without resorting to config file changes, the default System Settings app provides a lovely way to customize keyboard and mouse functionality. This meets what you can do on macOS Settings.app. For some reason, Magic Trackpad also “just works” in KDE. As a user who has both a Magic Trackpad and a mouse connected to each system, I appreciate this.
+Unlike Finder and like Windows, Dolphin provides lovely file copy speed graphs.
+With the erosion of both Spotlight and Windows, I shudder to say that KDE’s default file search experience is now better than both platforms.
+KDE's panel system is fully customizable, and unlike macOS and Windows, offers a wide variety of features for removal or replacement of system components at your leisure. It is possible to fully replicate macOS and Windows experiences in Plasma. As a good example, you can add a "global menu bar" to fully replicate the macOS menu bar in KDE! Not all applications support this, but many do.
 ===== X and Wayland and Xwayland =====
@@ Line 87: / Line 108: @@
 I find it very difficult sometimes to reason about hardware purchases, because in my mind, unless you're already a Linux user, you need to have pre-decided that you want to go down this path to buy hardware, otherwise it's just an expensive hobby. For example, nvidia makes the best GPUs. But if you want to use Linux, by far an AMD GPU will be better. And if you've already purchased nvidia, you don't really have the "experience" of knowing that it is actually better.
-==== Distros and kernels ====
+These days, you can buy reasonable Linux hardware from vendors like Framework. If you have existing hardware though, it can be difficult to know if it will all work well. To some, the benefits of switching will outweigh the drawbacks.
+==== Distros, kernels, and updates ====
 Newer hardware needs newer kernels to support it. The problem is that if you get new hardware and you've picked the wrong distro, you will not be able to use that hardware.
-I think the best advice I would give someone today is to use CachyOS or Bazzite. I personally picked CachyOS, but Bazzite is probably the friendlier option for most newcomers. Outside of gaming, Fedora or Debian.
+I think the best advice I would give someone today is to use CachyOS or Bazzite. I personally picked CachyOS, but Bazzite is probably the friendlier option for most newcomers. If you absolutely don't like updated software, use Debian.
+I don’t think anyone should run Linux Mint, or Ubuntu in modern times. If you can stand some command line tinkering, being updated is worth it over a distribution that lags behind the bleeding edge. Distributions like Debian provide an analogous experience to what you get with a major Windows update or a major macOS update.
+The main problem with "classic distributions" -- especially in modern times -- is just a distinct lack of updates. No updates mean no new features and no new bug fixes. Firefox and Chrome get more than one release per year for a reason. If you pick the wrong distribution, you're stuck out-of-date for a long time. This is really suboptimal, not only from a security perspective, but from a general "things aren't full of bugs" perspective.
+**If you pointed a gun at me and told you what to use, use Bazzite or CachyOS**.
+**Do not use Ubuntu, anything that ships with GNOME, Linux Mint, anything that involves colored hats, whatever the hell ZorinOS is, elementaryOS, etc.** If it's not listed, don't use it((At this point, Arch Linux and Gentoo Linux users are asking questions. If you, dear Arch Linux or Gentoo user, want to use these, feel free! Most newcomers should not.)).
+**[[https://マリウス.com/a-word-on-omarchy/|Do not use Omarchy]]. Do not use Omakub((Omakub is made by the same person who made Omarchy and no it's not even his focus right now, so you shouldn't try it.)).**
+=== What's going on over at Fedora's house? ===
+Fedora has some interesting governance issues, like missing updates for GNOME products and a seemingly [[https://lwn.net/Articles/1070006/|broken and incoherent stance on bug reporting to GNOME]], among other things. Bugs are not monitored when reported to Fedora, nor are they reported upstream. The official policy is to not direct users upstream, Fedora doesn't look at those bugs either.
+Seemingly it's fine if you're using KDE, but this fundamental policy/governance issue is worth avoiding if you're picking a new distro from scratch.
+[[https://lwn.net/Articles/1071949/|Friction in Fedora over AI developer desktop initiative]] is also another reason to not pick Fedora, if you care about it.
 ===== Does this not suck? =====
@@ Line 104: / Line 143: @@
 As of March 22, 2026, I've been using Linux full time for my desktop + personal laptop since ~December with no problems, and I quite enjoy it!
+On March 29, 2026, I even played Cyberpunk 2077 with not much effort! I will admit that I'm surprised that GOG Galaxy didn't install correctly under Wine (it kind of crashes a lot?) but it's perfectly fine to login via Lutris and install games that way.