binkHN

Nice breakdown. I'm new to Linux and didn't know about this:

> Flatpak still uses PulseAudio even if a host system uses PipeWire. The problem with that is that PulseAudio bundles together access to speakers and microphones—you can have access to both, or neither, but not just one. So if an application has access to play sound, it also has access to capture audio

That's a pretty decent sized hole.

Happy to see the mention of Kotlin's memory safety features here; goes a bit beyond Java with its null safety, encouragement of immutability and smart casting.

I have something similar with dmesg spam and a possibly related issue, sadly:

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/3790

> Firefox evolved over years from a single-process to a multi-process browser and while this brought nice improvements to the processing and latency, creating new processes has a cost both in time and in memory. This talk will introduce the solution that is coming to Linux and has already been enabled by default on Nightly for a few months: ForkServer, a process dedicated to making fork().

> I plan to use this opportunity to install Linux on my old PC.

Use this opportunity to install Linux and your NEW PC, and then buckle in!

Give Linux a try. After seeing how ad-centered Windows 11 has become, I made the decision to wipe my drive and go full Linux, and I couldn't be happier. Is it perfect? No. Is it better for my workflow and caters to my more advanced usage? A big resounding yes.

It cannot replace Microsoft Office, but it's getting close. Most people don't use the full functionality of Microsoft Office, so LibreOffice and Google's online suite are good enough, but I still keep a remote Windows Virtual Machine (VM) around for those time I need Windows-specific stuff and RDP into the VM. I look forward to the day Microsoft finally wakes up and ports Microsoft Office to Linux.

> Ctrl+Tab to switch back and forth between tabs instead of cycling them in order (not the default...

I recently started using Firefox, after giving up on Windows, and recently found out about this feature. It's a godsend for productivity, especially in a world where a lot of things are done in a browser.

> Alternatively, can the community come up with some interesting uses for all the machines?

Google has targeted this model with ChromeOS Flex.

> If they aren’t trying things, they would also then be accused of languishing in obscurity.

They are languishing into obscurity not because they aren't trying things, but because their browser functionality is languishing behind the others.

I find it mostly right 70% of the time.

> Enter 2024 with AI. The top 20% of search results are a wall of text from AI...

I'll be the contrarian here and say I actually like Google's AI Overview? For the first time in a long time, I can search for an answer to a question and, instead of getting annoying ads and SEO-optimized uselessness, I actually get an answer.

Google is finally useful again. That said, once Google screws with this and starts making search challenging again, as it has been for years, I'll go elsewhere.

I hate Flatpaks; they're bloated monstrosities and I only run them when I have no other choice. Outside of that, distribution package maintainers tend to do a good job and that is my preferred way of running programs.

You couldn't be more wrong. Windows 11 is the reason I left Windows for Linux, after MANY years, and I was running the Pro version.

> The same is probably not true for physical things such as ... YubiKeys stored in your pocket.

There's nothing preventing you from password-protecting your YubiKeys.

I close the door to keep the noise out, so simply closing the door is not enough.

> You can also use it for running and debugging Python code.

Not limited to Python code.

The title here should probably be:

simdzone: Fast and standards compliant DNS zone parser

From the README:

> BareMetal OS is an exokernel-based operating system crafted entirely in x86-64 assembly and is designed to provide unparalleled levels of flexibility and efficiency.

This is great!

ChromeOS Flex doesn't get enough credit. While I recently migrated from Windows to Linux on my production machine, ChromeOS Flex is my OS of choice for a simple Push Here Dummy (PHD) machine. There is zero maintenance from an OS standpoint and the ChromeOS Flex Certified models list allows me to pick from a variety of quality hardware, not just some cheap Chromebook. I have more than one of these lying around the house and I often take one on personal trips as well.

Why can you not install ChromeOS Flex directly on your hardware?

I guess I have voice dictation to thank for that one. ;)

Surprise no one's figured out a way to package this for permanent hair removal purposes.

> ...had my last laptops (work/home) with amd and it’s much better battery life and performance then my (9th? Gen) intel notebook with nvidia...

It's well known that an integrated GPU will give you a better battery life compared to a discreet GPU.

Nope. FFS2.

> Still using ancient MBR and legacy boot because, well, OpenBSD.

OpenBSD supports UEFI.

A while I'm a fan of OpenBSD where it makes sense, there's also more than one Linux distribution that does not have systemd and the related madness.

Don't wait. Do it now; you'll be happy you did.

Microsoft is going to do more for Linux on the desktop than anyone can. It's blatant annoyances like these that forced me to remove Windows 11 weeks after installing it. The fact the matter is, it was a blessing in disguise and I am thrilled to be using Linux now. Thanks Microsoft.

Maybe it needed to be a cool billion.

> A very artificial arrangement where Google pay "arms length browserco" to maintain [a browser]?

Sounds almost like Firefox.