Really ? I will check that, thanks.

The fairphone 5 official ROM is bloated with about all the google app you can imagine. While it is possible to use it without google account, you will need one to install applications from the official google play store.

You can still use an Alternative store, like the aurora store (download it with f-droid) that can connect to the play store with anonymous token.

If you consider not using google account, I recommand you to install one of the following :

• /e/OS, that has an ad/tracker blocker (that uses the VPN spot), micro G installed and configured (open source version of google framework) and a store that more or less is a fusion between aurora store and fdroid.
• iodéOS : it has an ad/tracker blocker (that uses the VPN spot ) + microG configured.
• CalyxOS, that will let you choose if you want micro G or not. It comes with the aurora store and fdroid installed.
• lineageOS, you can choose if you want to have the google apps, micro G or nothing depending on the version you download.

If you choose an alternative ROM, you’ll probably want to download a Gcam app to improve the pictures quality.

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Listen to “lady of the dark” from Sabaton, you’ll automatically create a woman character named Milunka whatever gender you are.

You’ll be fully immersed and you’ll feel Serbian even if you’re from another country !

I have a fairphone 5.

I tried installing iodeOS, the installation was quite difficult as their tool let me down during the installation. Impossible to complete the installation, after multiple tries. So I had to install lineage OS and sideload iode OS on top.

Then I tried CalyxOS, the installation was seamless. I added TrackerControl to limit the tracking of some apps from the aurora store and a Gcam port. This combination is the best phone experience I’ver ever had !

Edit : I used to have a oneplus 7 on /e/OS before the fairphone. Their trackerblocker is really nice. Their app store is an aurora store able to search on fdroid (but you can not add repos). Their privacy related notation system for the applications is a nice touch.

I had some trouble with their store this past few months, so I had to install the aurora store to update my apps.

Their services were down during a few weeks/months I guess, but it seems to work again.

What I love the most from bazzite team, is their work with distrobox . Install the distribution you love, follow their tutorial, boom, you get access to the AUR, and it has a minimal impact on your system.

Bazzite felt great to me, but too slow on my computer to enjoy it, so I hopped. But still, I love what they do.

7 months distro hopping sober here ! All thanks to CachyOS.

The installation is seamless thanks to calamares, there are some graphic tools that can help for beginners on arch. Their kernel might be one of the most optimised one to have a smooth experience while gaming. I do not play ressources hungry games, so I can not really tell.

After setting snapshots, I decided to experience it totally blind folded, just to see how long I can last on it. I update the system around 2 times a week, never read any changelog, just like any of the other distro I used… And for now, I’ve never had any trouble.

My system seems to be way smoother and more responsive than with fedora or tumbleweed.

I use my computer mostly for steam, heroic, librewolf and LibreOffice.

I use lawnchair as a replacement of the launcher from /e/OS. It is fast and customisable and has a more android type look. Fossify could be another option, maybe lighter than lawnchair.

The original one is smooth, but I do not like IOS launcher and icons type.

I use /e/OS on my OP7.

• Their tracker/ad blocker is great.
• Their app store has a rating about privacy/tracker for each apps.
• They implemented tor in the OS, and you can choose if you want to activate it and for which application.
• They have a mock location feature.
• I get monthly update, and it works smoothly.
• You do not need to use murena account to use the OS

For the drawbacks :

• They have an app store that can install both applications from the play store and from Fdroid, but it isn’t very convenient as you can’t add Fdroid repos, nor uninstall applications with it. (and I’m unable to use it to install applications from the play store for more than a month, I’ve installed the aurora store )
• Most of their system applications are open sources applications available from Fdroid but with a different icon and name.
• Their navigation application named “Maps” is a rebrand of magic earth.

It’s all I have in mind at this moment.

When I’ll change for a fairphone, before turning to /e/OS, I’ll probably try iodé OS. It seems they have similar privacy /anti-ad features but the OS might be less bloated and the system app are not rebranded, they keep their original name and icons.

Vanilla gnome isn’t for me so I used to install some extensions when I used it.

After a few hopping, I stopped using Gnome, because I find that painful to :

• install the extension app (the one that allow you to download and manage the extensions, and that is usually not the one installed, it might have changed, as I stopped using Gnome for a year or even more)
• install the extensions I want
• configure the extensions

On KDE, I just have to set it as I need it.

If you do not change distributions everyday, then it’s not a big issue I guess.

But it might be troublesome for beginners trying distributions that have vanilla-close gnome to know that extensions exist. My needs are not complicated, so I only used extensions that allow me to have a dock on both of my screens, and to have the minimize button.

Go to settings;

type "build number " in the search bar;

click on the build number until you’re a dev.

Go into developer options;

type “background process limit”;

Choose the maximum number of applications you want to have in background.

Profit

What an horror ! What are you gonna do ? Use your working system ? That’s sad…

Linux has been the biggest rabbit hole I’ve been in. There are too many distribution for me to choose one without testing as much as I can. It made me change what I wanted/needed. I went from “I don’t want to use CLI at all” to “man, GUI is too slow for that”.

I tried many Debian children and grand children distributions, Fedora based ones (Nobara, atomics bases,…), Opensuse, NixOS, Solus, arch based distributions…

Now, I’m on cachyOS, that seems to be the good balance I need (for now), between GUI/already configured and “I can do it the way I want”.

One year after starting using Linux, I’ve switched from a 3060ti to a 6700xt, just because it made hopping easier.

If you exclude me not being able to settle down on a distro, Linux is a funny experience to me. My needs are not that big, as I just play some games, have a light need of an office suite. I can do anything I used to to in windows, but without Microsoft and his friends looking above my shoulder.

KDE : it’s the only DE where I can have 2 identical panels (app pined+ full system tray) on each of my 2 screens without installing extensions.

KDE can do what I want without having to look for extensions. Breeze theme is good enough for me, I don’t need to look for something else. So far it’s the best out of the box experience I had.

I prefer Gnome look, but I distr’hop too often to have the courage to setup the desktop every time.

GNOME with dash to panel. It allow you to clone it I guess. dash to dock allow you to copy the dock, so only the applications, not the systray.

KDE allows you to create panels on every screen, with the systray. You’ll have to replicate them manually (pin the applications or whatever you put on your first panel).

Others DE I tried had flaws for that :

Cinnamon cannot have all the systray on the second panel.

Budgie doesn’t allow you to have a panel on the second screen (but you can clone the panel on the same screen).

Mint is far better, I usually recommand it. But Ubuntu is still more popular.

I didn’t use Manjaro in many years, so I can’t judge it. The biggest problem I see with Manjaro is that it has access to AUR.

Manjaro has its own repos, and they take more time to release packages than Arch, which can be a good thing stability wise. But if you have applications from AUR installed then you might have conflicts with the dependencies needed and the dependencies used by the system.

As I said, I didn’t use Manjaro in a while, so I don’t know if it still a problem. If it is, then it’s a shame that the biggest advantage of Arch, the AUR, become that much a risk for the system.

I’ve seen a video where the guy installed steam on Ubuntu 24.04. Of course it was the snap. The guy usually tests distro to see of it’s easy to game on it. If the drivers are easy to install, etc…

He usually launches steam, then tests Valheim, Overwatch, Tomb Raider and cyberpunk.

Overwatch didn’t launch, cyberpunk neither. Valheim reported that a service didn’t launch. Tomb raider was OK.

Then he uninstalled the steam snap and installed the .deb one. Everything worked.

Enforcing packages is already something that people don’t appreciate on Linux, enforcing packages that don’t work is surprisingly hated.

Ubuntu is supposed to be a distro for beginners, how am I supposed to recommand a distro when I have no confidence the applications will work ?

It is on izzyOnDroid repo :).

It depends on the DE you use. I only know about 3 of them :

KDE can put as many panel as you want with all the system tray you want. You’ll have to pine the applications on each panel individually.

On Gnome, you’ll have to install extensions as dash to panel to have a panel that can be cloned.

On Cinnamon, you’ll be able to create a panel on the second screen, pine applications on it, but not all of system tray can be duplicate. There is a ticket opened for that : https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon/issues/9889

there are a few options to make gog/epic games works with heroic, if it doesn’t work out of the box :

• using proton from steam/GE
• using steam runtime
• using protondb to know what to tweak the launch options or windows component to download via wine tricks
• copy the game in steam.

I’ve seen that a protondb user posted about cyberpunk 2077 working on heroic launcher. I hope you’ll manage to have it too.