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Gnome blog from 2021 about libadwaita
  • To make it clear, I would still use Linux with GNOME/libadwaita over Windows any day. Yes, some themes are ridiculous and will be a nightmare for any developer to work around. That said, I can't help but be concerned about the coming demise of theming with the way GTK is going.

    What first pushed me to start exploring Linux was when Windows 8 forced the Metro theme down our throats. My time with Linux would have started three years later if M$ had kept Windows 7 theming options - that's how important a customizable, sensible theme is to me.

    I'm glad that I don't have to do that again since there are DE options that do insist on keeping theming alive.

  • What does your todo list / project management / productivity setup look like?
  • On a file share, a notes directory with each category as a subdirectory, and plain text files for each note. Accessible from my computers and phone.

    On my laptop, the launcher for my text editor (Pluma) points to a bash script that creates a blank text file YYYYMMDD_text in ~/.drafts and opens that file with Pluma. If it already exists, YYYYMMDD_text_1, or whatever increment is created. That's mostly to take advantage of Pluma's autosave feature, which only works with already saved documents. Then I save the document to the file share if it's worth keeping.

  • What laptop do you use/recommend?
  • ThinkPad X230 with 9 cell, 16 GB RAM, total 1TB storage, and an Atheros NIC. A bit limiting at times, but I 'outsource' heavier tasks to my much more powerful desktop. I'm quite uncompromising with laptop design and 'ergonomics', so I'm trying to piece together a custom laptop based around the Framework mainboard before the X230 no longer meets my demands.

    For testing stuff on Windows and work stuff that requires it, an X1 Carbon Gen 7 with 16GB RAM and 256 GB storage.

  • Did you choose for Linux for freedom or ...
  • First experimented when Windows 8 took away Aero Glass and other customizations. Committed when I had to fight with Windows 10's twice-yearly feature updates that messed with my settings and wasted space with new programs I didn't ask for. I now keep a separate laptop just to run Windows when I have to.

    Distrohopping was mostly confined to my first year using Linux. Deepin (kept crashing) -> UbuntuDDE (went unmaintained) -> Arch Linux -> Debian. Settled on Debian Stable since it just works, I haven't been using bleeding-edge hardware, and I don't like things changing around too often (see my Chicago95 rice).

  • When did you get your first phone? First computer? What was it?
    • Room phone: A clear 90's phone

    • Cell Phone: Some sort of non-folding T9 phone, it wasn't a Nokia though

    • Smartphone: Knockoff iPhone 6

    • Computer: Pentium III desktop with 256 MB RAM, 30 GB HDD, Windows Me. It was also the family computer. Later upgraded to 1GB RAM and Windows 2000

    • Computer (my own): 10.6" notebook with a 1 GHz Celeron, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD, and Windows XP (later upgraded to 2GB RAM)

  • Anyone not glue the screen back on after a repair?

    Bought a Pixel 4a second hand since it's the last Pixel with a headphone jack that isn't too big for me, and I'm hoping to keep it as long as I can.

    Unfortunately, it's about time for me to replace the battery. I tend not to treat my battery too well (can't be bothered to keep it between 20% and 80%, but it's supposed to be consumable, right?) and I'm not sure if replacement batteries will hold up as well over the years. So I'm wondering if it's fine to just replace the battery and pop the whole thing back into my case without gluing the screen, so future repairs are a bit easier and won't involve the risk of breaking the screen while prying it off.

    For reference, I'm using one of those cases with an interlocking front and back, so it ought to hold itself together and not fly apart if I drop it. (edit) I guess what I'm looking for is experience as to whether the newly introduced slack between the glass and body tends to make make the screen more fragile or put undue strain on flex cables.

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    GRUB on 32-bit UEFI (Nextbook 2-in-1)
  • I also had a netbook with an Atom Z3735F and 2GB RAM, albeit an Ideapad 100s. The 32 bit versions of Debian Stable 11 and 12 worked out of the box for me.

    If you are at the terminal, try running apt install grub-efi-ia32-bin before installing grub.

  • Finally back down to 14 tabs, still too embarrassed to show anyone
  • No shame in that. My phone's at 305 tabs. I'll look random things up throughout the day and sometimes I'll find a longer article that I'd like to read later. But I hate reading on my phone. So it just hangs out until my next tab purge, which is perhaps a yearly event.

  • What does your desktop look like?
  • More or less replicated the desktop layout I had used throughout childhood, sans desktop icons

    • Debian 12 stable
    • XFCE + Chicago95
    • Chicago95 black cursors
    • Helvetica bitmap font
    • Not shown: wdm login and slock screen locker
    • Running on an X230T with classic keyboard mod to complete the look
  • what caused you to get into Linux?
  • Windows 10. When your OS no longer respects your choices and you have to fight it every minute, there is something wrong. The creeping invasions on privacy have only cemented my use of Linux

    Truthfully, I'm not sure if I would have ever switched over if Microsoft kept the Windows 7 paradigm. But I started my search for alternatives when Windows 8 - already too adventurous for me - came with the computer I bought.

    Towards the end of my time using Windows 10 as my primary OS, the realization that the UI is not an inherent component of the OS sealed the deal. As a Windows 2000 fan, I fell in love with the way Chicago95 Debian replicated the look and stability that I had sorely missed.

  • InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)MO
    monovergent @lemmy.ml
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