Frater Mus

Why do you use the distro you use?

I’ve used many distros over the years (and test spin up many in virtuals to see what they are like) but keep coming back to Debian. I also like vanilla ice cream.

The US govt has done worse (cf. Phil Zimmerman)

press the down arrow to select it and then shift + backspace to delete its memory of that suggestion

Bless you, kind lemming.

90% of the time I use web interfaces, but I often have spotty connectivity while boondocking. So I need a client that can get/send gmail POP3 in narrow windows of connectivity.

I started with thunderbird but something (can’t remember what) wasn’t working well. Ended up with Evolution. It also syncs well to google calendar and google tasks.

How often do you downgrade Firefox versions

I don’t remember ever downgrading a browser (started out on NCSA Mosaic).

Having switched to Zen Browser

Recently tried Zen – I think it’s pretty and shows promise but has a few dealbreakers that preclude my using it as a daily driver. TL;DR: “I slightly prefer the zen UI but not enough to overcome the annoyances. I’ll check back on the project next year if it’s still active.”

What do you guys use for Windows to Linux remote access?

Putty

I want to see desktop

Some kind of VNC setup

I generally only reboot for stuff like kernel updates.

Saw the .de domain and my first thought was this was about using a potato ricer to make spätzle. I may not be normal.

Why the Christian Right Demonizes Discourse

I mean, kids might be led down the dark path of Reason & Evidence

source: grew up in a fundie household.

keywords have some rules
need to use the Booles
that’s the way I type it baby
I don’t want to scroll forever

(search fu up-grades)
(search fu up-grades)

What tips/ideas do you have for getting better at navigating the terminal, and getting a better understanding of how the os works

Running an OS as a virtual is liberating. Dive in, make mistakes, fix them (or not and have to reinstall or redo from the last save). No real consequences for exploring.

distrohoped

This should be a word. It would mean “trying yet another flavor because it might be The One”

My father switched to linux (Mint, I think) in his 70s. I was in another state so he did it solo. He had a few questions but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

Traditionally I’ve been running lighter desktops like opebox, xfce, or lmde. Last couple of years I’ve been using MATE with good results.

In my country that would cost me 20 dollars

The first RAM I bought (SIPP for a 386-16 IIRC) was $50/MB. Jay-sus.

nowadays Mint is Ubuntu with sane default settings that will run out of the box

There’s also an official version of Mint based on Debian (LMDE)

What’s on your “Everyday Carry” USB stick?

• scans of my DL and other licenses
• scan of my DD214
• system rescue ISO
• a TEMP dir with random things I need in the short term
• portable apps versions of putty, WinSCP, etc.

Do normal people who don’t do this stuff for a living use Linux now, outside handheld gaming devices?

I run into folks using linux fairly often in tech hobbies. Ham operators, DIY solar folk, people dorking around with a RasPi, etc. And some Normals who want a lighter experience than Win.

Last dedicated windows box I ran at home was Windows NT 4, IIRC. Last time I had to use it at work was Win7 (?) before I retired. I do have a Win7 virtual somewhere around here I spin up every couple years to run something obscure I can’t get to run in WINE.

Was it mainly a hobbyist thing at the time

Yes, I’d say so. Lots of tech geeks were playing with it but no Normals. Getting audio running was not always pleasant…

When I was in the army the S1 desk jockeys were using dedicated word processors with 8" floppies. Get off my lawn! :-)