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[ META ] What is the community's opinion of Pop!_OS?
  • I really like it. I tried several distros for my first dedicated desktop Linux machine and pop was the one that clicked. I like that it's not trying to mimick windows UI, and only sorta behaves like macOS. Everyone else was too close to win10. Which I understand is a selling point, so to speak, but I'm so sick of windows that I wanted it to look and act differently.

  • Multifunction Laser Printer and Linux
  • I would normally agree but then I saw how cool Paperless-NGX is and had a mighty need to self host and get organized. Or at least that's how I'm justifying it to myself....

  • Multifunction Laser Printer and Linux

    My faithful Brother laser printer just poo'd itself. And since I've not purchased a new printer with additional features since I switched to full-time Linux, I thought I'd better ask around to make sure the document scanning, copy, fax (maybe once a year if that), and other features will work correctly.

    The printer I have no worked without issue with Pop!_OS. Very straight forward plug in play other than a weird quirk with scaling when printing from Firefox built-in PDF handler vs the Document Viewer that ships with Pop.

    Does anyone have any advice on potential pitfalls to avoid? I'd like to stick with brother because they seem to be the least evil of the printer corps, but I'm open to other suggestions.

    29
    How to sync local and remote calibre servers
  • I guess I never thought of this sort of option. I run Calibre in a docker container on my unraid server. Any books I add are sent over via FTP from whatever device I'm on at the time. I do still have to go into the Calibre instance and add the book. I believe there's a way to have it watch a folder for new items but not sure.

  • Fastmail vs Proton Mail
  • That and not being shown ads in my damn inbox is what lead me to the hunt for a better provider than Gmail. Another I just remembered about Proton that I didn't care for (and there may be a way to opt out) is the amount of promotional notifications/emails I'd get for their other services. Not as bad as NordVPN, but then again I don't think anyone is as bad as them regarding self-promotion. I'm happy to pay for a service if it means retaining some more privacy but mostly get rid of ads but the constant need to upsell was getting to me.

  • Fastmail vs Proton Mail
  • It does seem snappier. But damn, I've come to love Fastmail's all-in-one app. Having calendar, notes, contacts and files all in the email app is something I didn't realize I'd care about but not sure I can do without now.

  • Raspberry PI Retropie or Batocera images?
  • Where do you like to find them? I looked at the Megathread, but couldn't really find a retro-centric source.

  • Raspberry PI Retropie or Batocera images?
  • I love Vimm's Lair and have used it a bunch. Only reason I didn't start there this time is I want a new build for a Pi 5 and boy, Vimm's is slooooooow. Great project and service offered though.

  • Raspberry PI Retropie or Batocera images?
  • I was mostly worried about coming across some junk roms that won't play, etc. But that's probably not so common.

  • Raspberry PI Retropie or Batocera images?
  • Good point. I think you're right. I suppose that way I can cut out some of the junk roms I'll never play. Good call.

  • Resticity - a cross-platform frontend for restic
  • That looks nice! I tried to my brain wrapped around Restic CLI (and others) and just didn't click for my smooth brain. I'll have to try this.

  • Fastmail vs Proton Mail
  • I did hear about that. But haven't tried it yet. I'll check it out, thanks!

  • Fastmail vs Proton Mail
  • I tried both. Proton email client on Android at least was awful. Super sluggish to navigate. In fact I have a chunk of credit with them because I cancelled too late to get a refund. No idea what I'm going to do with that. I already have a VPN and a Pwd manager...

    Fastmail has been snappy and I like that the app has a notes section for quick jotting of ideas. I also like that Rclone can attach directly to Fastmail files. They just recently added Proton Drive support too though.

  • Android app to trace photos that supports SVG export
  • See? This is why I asked. I figured if nothing else, someone would have a better idea than what I've been trying! That totally works! I'll have to try it more to see if it can do what I want. Thanks!

    EDIT: yep, this idea works!

  • Android app to trace photos that supports SVG export
  • That looks promising! Thank you.

  • Raspberry PI Retropie or Batocera images?

    Trying to find a ready to go image for a Raspberry Pi 5, either RetroPie or Batocera (or others I'm not aware of) for retro gaming. I know of Arcade Punks, but is there any other resource? Tried downloading a 128GB image from them and its taking forever due to no seeders. I did check megathread but wasn't able to find anything so far.

    10
    Android app to trace photos that supports SVG export
  • I suppose you're right. But I've got this neat tablet here and I wanna use it! That and I want to do this on multiple projects, not just this example.

  • Android app to trace photos that supports SVG export
  • That makes sense, I'll have to try that. It would be a silhouette of said chicken. Thanks!

  • Android app to trace photos that supports SVG export

    I know this might be a bit too specific, but I'll ask anyway.

    Is there any FOSS app for Android that supports tracing photos that can export the trace to SVG? I suppose this means it would have to support layers, and also support the ability to export individual layers instead of the whole project as SVG.

    The intent is to use my Galaxy Tab with S-pen to trace objects in a photo in order create an SVG I can import into an app like Carbide Create (not FOSS either, but it's all I know how to sorta use at the moment) for cutting on a CNC. An example is a photo of one of my chickens. I wanted to turn this photo into a silhouette of said chicken and be able to cut that on a plank of wood. I did try Inkscape, but due to the background elements it would not pick up just the chicken during the "Trace Bitmap" operation. And honestly seems like a shame to not be able to use the S-pen for this type of project.

    I run Linux on my home PC and I'm not sure if it will support using the tablet like a drawing tablet (Wacom type) like Windows can, but I suppose that is an option.

    I looked at Infinite Design (not FOSS) but could not seem to find a free trace tool. There is a "pen" tool, but it wants to constrain it to a line and then you sorta pull the curves out of it. I apologize, I'm not really sure what all of the terms are.

    I also looked at Excalidraw, which while being web app, runs reasonably well on Android. But some of the functions either don't work at all or I'm doing something wrong. I was able to import a photo and trace it, but couldn't find a way to export just the trace outline.

    11
    Recomendation for a note taking app
  • How incredibly timely!

    I'll have to give it a go with a copy of my vault.

  • Recomendation for a note taking app
  • Coming back to this, I just realized I have Seafile syncing my Obsidian vault already. I know you said you're using it for Backup, but have you tried to use it as the only sync solution for Obsidian? I like it so much because of how fast it is, so if it works well, I may just do that once my membership expires.

  • Facebook Marketplace
  • Excellent points. I haven't tried it yet, but the app Hermit has sandboxing as well and creates PWA-type apps out of websites. I've been using it for self hosted services that don't have and Android app component to them. Works reasonably well but I'm not trying to hide info....from myself :)

  • Facebook Marketplace

    I'm guessing the answer is "no", but thought I'd ask for advice here regardless.

    I don't have FB. Haven't for years. I ditched it long before I started giving a shit about Privacy, it's just so toxic and silly.

    That said, I'm a retro gamer constantly on the hunt for holes in my NES/SNES collection and unfortunately the folks in my area seem to be quite a bit more active on FB Marketplace than Craiglist, Offerup, or Nextdoor For Sale pages. In the past I've asked my spouse to message the seller for me and then show up with cash and buy what they're selling. Increasingly, sellers are scared of scams and seem to be less responsive to this type of inquiry.

    Is there anyway to minimize footprint in FB? Or perhaps a way to use Messenger without an account? You can browse the marketplace pages of your community without an account, but they'll pester you the whole time and you can't save your locale without signing in.

    Or am I out of luck entirely? I thought about posting "In Search Of" type posts on Craiglists to bring the buyers to me, but my area has several of those already and I'm not after bulk lots or other platforms other than the old Nintendo stuff.

    I do check Ebay as well and have found a few gems for decent prices and a local shop occasionally has some stuff that hasn't been completely picked over, or i show up right after someone sells their collection and that's rad, but that's rare.

    29
    CRT RGB modding

    I just picked up my second CRT last night. A free 27" Sony Trinitron. It has composite only, just like my flat tube Toshiba. Both seem to be working well.

    I've been reading up on how to do the RGB mods and which models are supported. As well as the dangers of working in and around the guts of these monsters. I have a good soldering iron, but I'm not so good at it. I've looked around locally to see if there are any folks I could hire to do it for me and I'm having no luck. I'd rather not mail a boat anchor if I can help it.

    Months ago I found a directory of modding services all over the country with a focus on console mods. I cannot for the life of me find that again to check and see if any of those folks are near me and do CRT work at all.

    Failing all that, how hard is it assuming I take all necessary safety precautions? From pics and videos, the components look to be much larger than some I've tried in the past so I'm not sure if that'll help or hurt me if I just YOLO and try it.

    The Sony is for sure a well documented RGB mod and I've found several resources for it. I can't find any info on the specific Toshiba yet and it has a VCR/DVD player built in, if that makes a difference.

    6
    Nextcloud Tasks & Tasks.org?

    Does anyone here use both Tasks.org and have it synced to Nextcloud? I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong of expecting behavior that doesn't exist or what.

    I have Tasks.org installed on Android phone and tablet and signed into my NC instance that I have. If I create a task in NC Tasks, it will sync down to the Android devices in Tasks.org. But it won't go the other way (tasks.org ->NC Tasks). I have a heap of reoccurring tasks in my phone app but it doesn't show up in the web portal of NC Tasks. But if I mark a NC Task complete on my phone, it will reflect that change in NC Tasks.

    To further muddy the waters: I found a Linux app called Errands that I signed into NC in order to Sync. If I create a task in Errands, it does indeed show up in the NC Tasks list. It's like Tasks.org has a weird one way sync or something. I've scoured the settings and looked through open issues on Github but I'm not seeing anything that would 'fix' this, so I'm reaching out to my homies on Lemmy to see if anyone has suggestions.

    Side NOTE: Errands is pretty neat, if you want a minimalist Tasks/Todo list app for Linux desktop.

    5
    VPN to home network options

    I currently have a server running Unraid as the OS, which has some WireGuard integration built in. Which I've enabled and been using to remotely access services hosted on that server. But as I've expanded to include things like Octopi running on a Pi3 and NextcloudPi running on a Pi4 (along with AdGuardHome), I'm trying to determine the best way to VPN to my home network with the goal of reaching services I'm hosting, and do it safely of course.

    I have a Netgear Nighthawk that has some VPN functionality built in that uses a OpenVPN account. Is that ok or would it be advisable to come in a different way?

    27
    Habit tracking with ability to mark past success easily?

    I've been using HabitNow since February and it's a nice app. But I'd much prefer a FOSS alternative. The problem is that I'd like to keep my streak from HabitNow and apps either don't let you mark in the past or they require multiple clicks.

    So far I've tried Loop Habit and Habit builder. These both fall in the "multiple clicks" camp.

    Are there any other options to consider or should I just start clicking away at the 250+ days I've succeeded?

    EDIT: habit builder does have a reasonably easy way to tap previous days that I missed. But has no reminders or notifications that I can find.

    8
    Cross platform terminal emulator?

    Is Termius the only cross platform emulator that includes Android as one of the platforms? It is quite good, in my limited experience, but too expensive for a hobbiest. I like that I can use my Linux desktop, MacOS laptop, and Android tablet/phone and the UX is the same across them all. The sync (trial for free, then charge) is great. But I'd be fine if it was something where I could DIY a sync method with something like Syncthing.

    I'm aware of the likes of Alacritty, but no mobile app. And of course Termux is great for mobile, but no desktop versions.

    It all boils down to wanting some sort of sync function either DIY or otherwise that includes hosts and SSH keys and while not as important, I do like the consistent UX between platforms. Is there something else to consider?

    30
    Thoughts on selfprivacy.org?

    SelfPrivacy is in "Open beta" and promises to make setup and use of email, messager, password management, video chat and other services simple by leveraging the likes of Hetzner, Cloudflare, and Backblaze.

    I stumbled on the app while browsing the F-droid app "store" and had never heard of them. I think the proposition is neat and while I'm comfortable hosting most of these services myself, my curiosity has been piqued. Searching for it elsewhere on the web as far as privacy rating, reviews, etc has left me empty handed. I dont' know if they're just too new or not. So I'm curious if anyone has tried them out or looked into it further.

    10
    Third party apps that sync with Nextcloud

    I searched quite a bit and wasn't able to find a conclusive list of available third party apps that can sync with Nextcloud. So I thought I'd start one for folks who might be interested. Feel free to chime in with any you've used!

    Notes

    --- macOS:

    Linux:

    • Iotas - minimalist markdown notes app in the same vein as IA Writer.

    Android:

    • Quillpad - Google Keep clone that supports Markdown. Fork of Quillnotes. There are some quirks with this one. For example, if you create a task list from NC WebUI version of Notes, the checkboxes will show up in Quillnotes, but you cannot check them off as complete. Has a promising roadmap.

    • Carnet - another Google Keep clone. This one has an app in the NC app store, so it has a web based counterpart unlike Quillpad. The Android app is weirdly slow to open. I'll need to test this one more.

    Tasks/ToDo

    --- Android:

    • Tasks.org - excellent Task app. Supports subtasks, categories, reminders, recurring events. It can also sync with Google but ewwww.

    Handwritten Notes:

    --- All:

    • Saber - Cross platform notes app. Akin to Samsung notes. This one is rough in my experience so far. But it has potential and I will be following to watch how it updates.

    2FA:

    --- Android:

    • Aegis - excellent 2FA app. I just recently migrated out of Google and Microsoft's versions and am very happy. To be honest though, I'm not exactly sure how the NC integration works on this one, but it is mentioned on their site:

    > If your cloud provider supports the Storage Access Framework of Android (like Nextcloud does), it can even create automatic backups to the cloud.

    There are others I've tested, but not long enough to make any comments on. Les Pas being one of them. I'm happy with Immich, so didn't give this one a fair shake.

    20
    Raspberry Pi 1 B projects?

    I have an old Pi hanging around doing nothing. When I originally got it it had the latest Pi OS with desktop loaded and ran like garbage, not surprisingly. So I messed with it headless for a bit, then found RISCOS as an option in Pi imager utility and that is just a neat OS. Fun to play around with for sure. But now I'm wondering what else I could use the old thing for. I see folks run Pihole on it, but I've already got 2 instances of Adguard Home running.

    Could this handle Syncthing? Or would the data transfer be so bad it's not worth it? Wouldn't mind having an off-site backup device at my parents house if it would work.

    Anyone else got one in their homelab?

    54
    Samsung Notes alternative?

    Key features:

    • PDF annotation
    • S-pen/stylus support
    • Sync (preferably NOT just via Nextcloud...looking at you, Saber)
    • Handwriting recognition is a plus, but not required

    As mention above, Saber fits the criteria well, but I don't use Nextcloud and that is the only sync available in that app (unless something has changed in the last couple of weeks). I have a Galaxy phone and tablet that both support S-pen and Samsung Notes is excellent, and free, but they're not exactly privacy concious, so I'm looking elsewhere. I had considered the Excalidraw plugin for Obsidian, but I'm not sure if that works on the Android version of the app.

    19
    Syncthing instead of Steam Cloud saves?

    I have seen several mentions and articles about using this app to sync game saves for non-steam games. But I have yet to see anyone mention using it instead of Steam's own cloud based save game solution.

    The reason I ask is I've been having so many sync errors between the deck and my Linux gaming PC and it's driving me crazy. For example, I just started Cyberpunk2077 for the first time now that 2.0 and Phantom Liberty are out. Put a few hours in from the desktop, then later wanted to play on the couch so I grabbed the SD and fired it up. Only one save had synchronized and it was very early in the prologue. So i went back to the desktop and tried the resync and same thing, will not sync. I read about how too many saves can cause a problem, but I literally just installed and started this game. Maybe 3 or 4 at the time? Up to 6 I think now. So this should be well within any arbitrary sync limits I would think. It's not just this game either. Starfield and Dave the Diver are two others having repeated issues with cloud saving.

    Does anyone else use this instead of or in conjunction with steam cloud saves?

    EDIT: I already replied to @Molecular0079 below, but behold my shame!

    ---

    So....you're gonna love this.... It was my effin' AdguardHome instances blocking some domain required for the Cloud backup to work. Found that by accident while having my Linux desktop connected via NordVPN, which as you may know has no UI so I just plan forgot to disconnect. Played the game, realized it saved, but went to try to play on SD, but nope. Still won't pull the latest save. So i disabled my primary and secondary AGH instances, tried again, and everything is sunshine and lollypops.

    So I added the following to AGH custom filtering rules in order to allow all of these: @@||steampowered.com^ @@||steamcommunity.com^ @@||steamgames.com^ @@||steamusercontent.com^ @@||steamcontent.com^ @@||steamstatic.com^ @@||akamaihd.net^ I feel a bit dumb now....

    17
    [Question] Am I the only dummy who likes Seafile?

    Its stupid fast, reliable, and rarely has any conflicts. If it does it seems to work them out without intervention. I've tried Nextcloud including the AIO image and its just so clunky and slow. I was getting sync errors just on the simple Notes apps. Repeatedly. I mean I get why people like it, it can do way more than Seafile. But for a pure Dropbox replacement, I love it.

    The fact I can reach any file on any device from any other device without syncing EVERYTHING is fantastic. I know Syncthing is also popular, but seems to require more manual settings if you want to be selective on what syncs.

    I will say, I've tried and failed numerous times to get Collabora CODE and S3 storage integration to work with Seafile and that is a nightmare, at least for me. I cannot get my head around it. But standing Seafile up itself was fairly easy.

    Does anyone else use it? If so, have you tried the CODE and/or multiple storage backend integrations?

    28
    Drive/local volume weirdness (Pop!_OS)

    Hi there! Just put together my first gaming machine that runs Linux. The motherboard has three M.2 slots. Two of which are populated:

    1. 1TB Western Digital Black (boot)
    2. 2TB Samsung Evo (storage/backup)

    I currently have Timeshift backing up to successfully to drive 2. However, I was going to try out Deja Dupe as a more granular backup solution and realized that I can't see the 2nd drive when viewed through Files>Other Locations. GParted sees both:

    1. /dev/nvme1n1
    2. /dev/nvme0n1p1

    In Deja Dupe I was able to manually type the backup destination in and it appears to have worked on initial backup. But I can't see the drive via Files in order to verify.

    Does Timeshift highjack the volume entirely for it's own backup purposes? I couldn't find anything anything that indicated that was the case. I did see some threads on that other site referencing a potential bug if it did NOT show up in GParted. But not what to do if it does.

    Additionally, I built this machine in a Fractal Terra case and it has a USB C and a USB A port on the front of the case. I have a Lexar thumbdrive that has both plugs on it, one on each side. Occasionally I can get it recognized via A or C port, but most of the time the C port doesn't work, period. The A port I just tried again and it doesn't work. But I have the Logitech Unifying Receiver plugged into the same port right now that is communicating to my mouse and kb. The ports on the back are also now not working (they were before). I tested this same thumb drive on a Macbook Pro and it is recognized. In fact, this is the same drive I installed Pop from when I built the thing. I also used it to try out EndeavorOS.

    For thoroughness I tried an external SSD I have via USB A and that is also not recognized. I'm not familiar enough with how Linux handles storage to understand what is happening. But it seems at least the internal NMVE is "working" but not visible outside of the automated Timeshift backup.

    Any help would be appreciated. Or a log I can start looking at?

    Oh, and I don't know if it helps but Neofetch shows all the hardware correctly.

    7
    Missing Starfield photo gallery

    I'm guessing the answer is "no", but has anyone else found the in-game pics you can take? The function works in that it makes the camera shutter sound and you can manipulate the various settings using the photo mode. But the photo gallery (accessible from pause menu) is empty and I can't find anywhere on my system that they might be stored. I made sure to check the Steam Local install folder as well as the Proton version of the "C" drive. Windows version stores it in Documents/MyGames/Textures and I don't have a MyGames under the C:\Users\Steamuser section.

    Shame if it doesn't work, despite the game being pretty mediocre, I've found some cool potential for new wallpapers.

    3
    Cryptpad installation troubles

    I'm trying to stand up an instance of Cryptpad on a VPS. I have followed 3 different articles to try to get my way through it. They all end in the same result, browser errors and I see the Cryptpad logo with "loading" and that's it.

    Browser error is always some variation of this:

    !

    NOTE: Actual error I receive right now, blurring out my domain name

    And I don't know enough of HTML and JS to figure this out beyond it's missing something it's looking for. I did get it to load once, where the icons for the various apps loaded, but clicking on any of them yielded similar errors.

    The tutorials I tried (formatting and reloading the OS between attempts):

    1. Official documentation
    2. How To Forge
    3. Make Tech Easy

    Option 3 was the clearest tutorial by far, but I still ran into issues. I followed each step exactly and still can't seem to figure this out. Does anyone have a second set of eyes and point out what I'm clearly doing wrong? I don't think I missed any steps in my multitude of attempts, but clearly I am.

    I know I can pay someone to host it or use a public instance, but I'd really like to know what I missed so I can learn from it.

    7
    Steam won't launch without help

    I just put together my first dedicated Linux machine. Running Pop!_OS, and I've got a problem with Steam. I've tried installing it from the Pop Shop (i love that name), both the .deb and flatpak versions as well as sudo apt install steam. In both cases, when I open the app it will just blink at me. Like the window is trying to maximize but then minimizes before it can get that far. I made sure that all my drivers look good and was just playing Starfield, so I know it's at least somewhat functional. What's weird is that it launched once for me. Long enough to get signed in. But after a reboot, it will not open unless I type steam --reset from terminal. Then it opens just fine and acts like nothing happened. Of course if I close that terminal window, Steam closes. And if I don't do a reset, it will go right back to flashing at me again.

    I've also noticed that games show "Cloud Status: Unable to sync" in the app. The following games are installed currently:

    • The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition
    • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
    • Starfield Premium edition All of these games show the cloud sync error. But when I checked the first two, the game save I had from my steam deck worked fine. But it still shows the error.

    I tried opting into Beta to see if that might have some bleeding edge fix, nope. I'm still new to Linux and I'll admit I'm not even sure where to look for Steam errors specifically to give more details.

    Hardware (in case it helps):

    • AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
    • 32GB G.Skill Flare
    • Gigabyte B650i Aurous ITX
    • WD Black 1TB boot drive
    • Samsung Evo Plus 2TB storage
    • Cooler Master 850w gold SFX PSU
    • XFX 6700XT 12GB

    Any ideas on what I can try? Or where I can find logs to better understand? I asked in the Linux Gaming sub....lemmy? at least about the cloud sync, but got no traction.

    22
    Steam Cloud save sync issues on some games

    I just built a dedicated Linux gaming machine. Brand new parts and I installed Pop!_OS last night. At first Steam wouldn't load from the Pop Store install. It would quickly flash the app then disapear. Repeatedly until I exited it. So I removed it then installed it via sudo apt install steam and then it worked. I was able to sign in and download Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice edition. After it finished installing I got a notification that there was an issue with cloud saves syncing. The only option is to retry. Each time the issue would repeat. Unable to sync.

    I then downloaded Hammerwatch II and that syncs fine. I confirmed by starting the game and loading my save from my Steam Deck from the cloud. I then tried Warhammer: BoltGun and that will not sync either.

    It's important to note that until last night, all 3 of these games were played only on Steam Deck, so I find it odd that it wouldn't sync with the app also installed on a Linux environment.

    Anyone else run into this? I also just noticed Steam is back to flashing again. But I'll need to gather log info for that before asking for help.

    0
    Father_Redbeard Father_Redbeard @lemmy.ml
    Posts 32
    Comments 381