Learning Linux can be difficult man. Even after using Linux as my daily driver for a couple years, I still feel like I know nothing man.
Real talk, start with dead simple stuff and go from there. Install a package from a package manager, update your system, make a file with terminal.
You dont have to be a wizzard man, docker shit is still over my head.
I don’t have many Linux friendly plugins that i can share unfortunately. When I tried running reaper on Linux, most things I tried either didn’t run at all or crashed.
Best I had working was decent sampler. And even that didn’t work great for me:
https://www.decentsamples.com/product/decent-sampler-plugin/
Really cool project though, and lots of fun instruments to try on pianobook.
Tldr, I recommend sticking with Windows or using two separate machines, one for music production running Windows, the other for running everything else with Linux.
Music production isnt great on Linux in my experience at least right now. If you use any paid plugins that are windows only, there’s a good chance they won’t run. I haven’t used ableton or cakewalk but I use reaper which has a native Linux version, and even that had a lot of issues. Anything with ilok is a no go, even plugins that dont, I had a hard time getting working or if they did work, they crashed A LOT.
Gaming and other general use has been fine for me, ive even done video and photo editing on Linux and been happy with it.
If you want the easiest experience, I typically recommend Fedora KDE spin or kubuntu. KDE is a desktop environment that is very similar to windows and highly customizable. You’d likely feel at home on it. Immutable distro might also be a good option if you really want the “IDC just do the update” path. Harder to break, easier to manage from what ive heard but I haven’t used them personally so maybe others that have can chime in.
I made a windows only box for music production and use Linux on my main PC. It runs windows 10 and is rarely connected to the internet except when I need it to be. If you wanna run Linux and make music, it can be done, but I had a terrible time with it and have given up for now.
So make a separate machine for music production and run Linux on your main pc or just run Windows is my advice. So far, this has been the best setup for me. I don’t worry about my privacy, I can make music when I want, and I don’t have to worry about incompatible plugins, crashes, stupid nonsense that gets in my way when i wanna make music.
I found this very entertaining lol. And it also confirms I made the right choice not using Nix as my daily driver. This sounds like a headache.
Anything to help a fellow Linux user my dude. I’m not as skilled as some of the other folks on here but I try when I can.
I think I saw someone mention hyperland which may be up your alley but you also mentioned you’d like to stay away from Arch so not sure if that’d work in this case.
KDE has changed quite a bit, you might like it better now. I think the recent changes have been good but I guess I dont change it as much as you might want.
TL:DR, Kubuntu or Fedora with KDE
Everyone will have their own opinions on this. Just speaking for overall desktop environments, KDE is my top pick. Pretty easy to pick up and change. Works well, feels like Windows but actually good and very customizable. And extensible.
As for the distro behind it, pick your poison. I think either Fedora or Ubuntu. KDE spin would be Kubuntu which is what I currently use. Both are pretty popular and supported well.
Some people dont really care for Ubuntu but coming from Fedora with KDE, its been a much smoother experience personally. Yes, I’m not a fan of snaps, but they can be turned off. In all, I’m using Linux, I’m much better off on Ubuntu than Windows privacy and security wise which are the main things I care about aside from being able to change whatever I god damn please.
I struggle less with shit not working on kubuntu. Fedora for the most part was very solid but there were more than a few times Steam for whatever reason gave me issues on Fedora. I’d consider steam a pretty easy thing to install and use but I had lots of issues with it just not starting or crashing, hanging when downloading updates. Really annoying.
Could be im just better at using linux now than I was back then as Fedora with KDE was my first real jump to Linux from Windows.
Despite my issues with Music production, I’m still glad I switched to Linux. I don’t have to worry about my PC shutting off randomly to do updates, I can install whatever software I want, no one spies on me, I’m loving it for all those reasons.
I am giving up on making music in Linux, but aside from that, everything else will be done on my main machine. I’m making an offline only Windows box specifically for music production and nothing else. No internet access. It will only access my local network for file transfer.
In short, totally agree, but I paid money for Windows only VSTs years ago before i switched and they sound too good man. Also Reaper keeps crashing with native linux VSTs so really not here for that.
If you can do everything on Linux, that’s great. Its just less stable and polished for creative work IMO.
That makes sense, was thinking of buying a new KVM so that’s likely the path I’ll take.
Much appreciated.
Unfortunately its a no name KVM I bought used off eBay so no specs I can find, but I think you and Blue_Morpho hit the nail on the head.
I’m going to do some testing after work and see if I can maybe find specs, maybe a workaround if there is one. Was thinking of buying a new KVM anyways so if all else fails, I’ll just shop around.
Thank you very much for your help.
Wasn’t a fan of mint when I tried it. IMO, I found popOS to be an overall better experience when I first started using Linux and have since switched back to it after having a few issues on Fedora.
You might give that a shot especially if you are using nivida. PopOS hasn’t given me much grief (aside from Gnome but that’s more a personal distaste for it)
Even after being on Linux for a year and considering myself a fairly capable guy in tech, Linux is kind of a pain in the ass if you’re doing more complicated things like in my case music production.
But it sounds like you’ve had an even worse go doing normal things which sucks. I feel for you man. I hope your next go is better.
It took me a few tries and Windows being a privacy nightmare to switch. It can be done but it wasn’t (and still isnt) easy.
This is rough man, I’m really sorry to hear all that. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time for everyone even without all the gifts.
Maybe instead of gifts for your kids like physical things, plan a day with just you and them. Do something fun as a family or with each of them individually. Memories like that they can cherish for a long time after this year and gifts dont have to be material.
Given what you said, it sounds like you could use a day of fun with them.
Oh interesting. I may look into that. Thank you for the suggestion!
Wouldn’t exactly fit my use case because this pc also doubles as my game in bed pc and is what I’m currently using for ai image generation. If i could get big picture mode but still run applications that arent games or for streaming, that’d be ideal. From the recommendations, seems like kodi is a fan favorite but not exactly a DE either. Might work but I’d rather it be a DE than an app i have to run but beggers cant be choosers.
That said, I have 2 chunky servers that my buddy gave me recently and I’m planning on self hosting a lot of things with them which likely include jellyfin.
I will say that im slowly getting the internet to a decent spot at least for streaming, generally as long as my connection is fast enough between starlink and my lte connection (using failover with pfsense) i can usually stream ok. Though with one tower in my area and trees surrounding my place, its never gonna be great.
My desktop pc runs Fedora with Wayland currently and it works really well. I like wayland a lot and was trying to use it on my media pc as well but it wasnt playing well with Firefox for video playback. Not sure if this was fixed yet or if it was even a bug but it was not good when i tried it on kubuntu. Haven’t tried it om popos yet but it might just be an issue with gnome. Ive never been a fan of gnome ever since i started messing around with linux.
Love kde plasma though, its def the best DE ive found so far. Coming from Windows and all the customization it has, its so nice.
I mostly use this pc as a streaming box for online content like youtube or crunchyroll so not really sure kodi would fit that anyways. Will probably have jellyfin up again at some point so might use kodi for that? Idk, mot something im doing anytime soon.
Rn im using the default for PopOS and like you, scaled the ui. Its fine, but not quite right yknow? Ui scaling in Linux hasnt ever felt quite right to me especially when I’m using a tv.
I also use this pc to do other things so its not just a media PC all the time which is another reason why i was looking for a desktop environment rather than a whole new os.
Is mate pretty good for scaling well? I havent used it before but a small gripe is that the default for pop doesnt scale well when the taskbar always shows. Applications get cut off at the bottom. Pretty annoying.
My advice is start slow and dont hurt yourself in the name of fitness. Its better to take a day off if your legs really hurt so that your body has time to heal rather than “work through the pain”.
And eat enough to fuel the new cardio. Doesnt do you much good if you arent giving your body enough to work with. If your trying to lose weight, slight calorie deficit of about 200 calories is typically recommended.
And listen to some music that pumps you up! Always made me love running. Good luck! You got this :)
I bought a dehumidifier off amazon that was “rated” for 800 sq ft.
Not only did it not live up to that promise, but it also served as the worlds shittiest ice maker. Ice formed on the radiator inside and stoped it from dehumidifying the air.
Thats right, you too can have a ice maker that makes ice in the shape of a radiator while ineffectively dehumidifying your home!
Best part was they reached out after I left a one star review and what they could do to change my rating.
I said “Nothing. Make a better product”
I actually kind of vibe with this. I don’t think its depressing, sounds uplifting to me.
I could be wrong but no remote refs refers to not finding a repo for what you are trying to install, so either the flathub repo isnt added which it sounds like it is, or the app you want isnt in that repo.
So you may need to add the repo for that app: https://fcitx-im.org/wiki/Install_Fcitx_5