I'm reinstalling linux and thinking of switching distros.
I've been on Mint for years and it's ok but feels a bit bloated and like too many choices have been made for me to a lowest common denominator.
I'm someone who does a lot of work using a computer, but whose work is not computers. I want the computer to just work. I'm not afraid of the terminal but also I have no interest in memorizing all the commands I would need to make using it for everything convenient.
I tried installing Arch yesterday, and although I eventually succeeded I will never do it again and have no interest in maintaining that level of knowledge, really having to install NetworkManager and grub myself was a step too far especially as I don't know enough to choose alternatives.
Also vital software for me is only available on Arch through the AUR, which I guess might be ok.
Thinking of trying plain Debian with xfce or sticking with Cinnamon, or maybe Manjaro, again with xfce or Cinnamon.
So I (literally) dusted off an old #netbook, ca 2012, and installed #Debian 13.3. Which worked! okay, it cannot seem to talk to my wifi, but #ethernet is preferred anyway.
Batteries, of course, are dead and need replacing. Booted fine on power supply, but I want it fixed 'cuz:
I thought it might be fun to share the current Terminal Tilt workload and the state of things for February 2026.
We recently crossed 1000 subscribers (currently at 1033) and 100,000 views since starting the channel in December. That is pretty amazing and it shows there is a thirst for honest #NoAI Linux based videos that explore all things technology (especially privacy).
The "Sovereign Authentication" Series Video 0 of the hardware security key series is already live (published Feb 9!). Today was a heavy production day, I recorded the voiceovers for 3 of the 4 remaining videos. I have one more VO to capture, and then the heavy lifting begins in Kdenlive.
Each video usually takes me between 2 and 8 hours to edit. I’ve already finished the thumbnails, so once that final recording is done (hopefully tomorrow, depending on life in general), I’m jumping straight into the timeline.
Once the security series wraps, I am looking at my 4-year-old Keychron Q1 V2. I have heavily modified it, lubed Gateron Ink v2 Blacks, custom padding, and keycaps. That video will serve as a primer for future keyboard reviews, followed immediately by a look at the Epomaker TH99 Pro currently sitting in the box next to my desk.
In the future, I am also working on:
A look at the Divoom Pixoo 64 (pixel art display) and the Fanttik E2 Ultra electric screwdriver.
A giant overview of ~50 Debian-based (non-Ubuntu) distros. I have had requests for "shiny" trend chasing distros like CachyOS, but I am resisting chasing the views.
I am researching Linux-friendly networking equipment for future reviews, probably going to look at a few switches.
I am also exploring the potential of doing live streaming. I have concerns about doing it on YouTube as their algorithm can penalize your long-form videos when you post VODs from past streams. I might just start streaming on Twitch, but that audience doesn't seem to fit what we are building. OwnCast would be ideal but I don't think my homelab is ideal for that setup. I could stream on PeerTube but I am also worried about filling up my allotted storage with VODs on my instance.
Some ideas I have had for a live streaming are things like maintenance of my Thinkpad by cleaning and reapplying thermal paste, or we could do "Sysadmin Sundays Mornings" where I update and maintain all of the systems I am responsible for, or even blindly exploring obscure and unique distros together. We could also just do some Linux Gaming. We will see, no promises.
I have a .md file overflowing with ideas, so there is plenty more to come. Thanks for following the journey!
@itsfoss#debian . Never used it as a daily driver. But as the ultimate failsafe, reliable rocksolid, no frills distro it has served me on countless projects.
Other distro appeal to me but appeal at a certain point wears off.
If I need to use a distro for the rest of my life, let it be without appeal, but instead bulletproof.
Is there a safe and sane way to install #PHP 8.3 on #Debian Buster, or is my blog just gonna have to deal with being stuck on 7.4? Cos I couldn't figure it out.
Je suis un #libriste convaincu, j'administre des serveurs. J'utilise #debian depuis très longtemps. Je chante dans une #chorale, et j'apprends le #piano. Je regarde beaucoup de #SF. Je suis #autiste#gay et #TDAH.
Ma photo de profil, c'est Nao, notre petit chat écaille de tortue.
I've been looking for a clean, #NoAI Markdown editor to replace Logseq. Logseq is great but has a lot of bloat that I don't need for simple writing (like my scripts). I tried MarkText and I enjoy it, but I just learned that it hasn't been updated in over a year with little to no activity on their github, which is a concern for security and longevity.
What are you all using for distraction free writing, especially for markdown?
Been over a decade since I've used Debian. I normally use Ubuntu.
Needed to download Bullseye for something. Grabbed "standard". Didn't realize (or forgot?) that in Debian-speak, that's the equivalent of the server edition.
The edition people would normally use for their desktop is either KDE or Gnome. #Debian
I'm in the process of putting together a real home server for the first time. In the past, I've used repurposed hardware, but this time I have a 4 port NAS on which I plan to install Debian.
I'm planning to run Docker so that I can run:
pi-hole for DNS based network-level ad-blocking and stop-shit-that-thinks-it-is-smart-from-calling-home (migrated from different hardware)
calibre-web for ebook management and sharing
immich for photo and video management
ssh, stfp, and rsync for general file storage
plex for media (though it may be a while before I do anything useful with this)
Are there any other (self-hosted) services I should look into, especially since I will have serious storage space for the first time?
My FOSDEM schedule is mostly-unplanned, actually. Arrive friday afternoon, find out if there are #KDE people somewhere, then on the weekend flit between KDE, #FreeBSD and #Debian stands. I'll probably look in at Energy and RISC-V and Legal.
There's a chance that waffles and beer will get involved, also.
Either I am going crazy, or akonadi_imap_resource on Debian 13 requires NetworkManager to be running, and if it is not running it crashes with "invalid nullptr parameter".
Because you know, that kind of hard dependency would make perfect sense, right?
Linux newbie advice on choosing a distribution
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