Amateur Linux Hour

[Feline Supremacist]

I think I'd like to put linux on an iMac so I can put it on a podium, and hook it to a computer with one of those leaked Chat AI's, with a fancy audio effect when it's "talking"

I tried Void Linux on a G5 iMac with decent specs and it ran fine. A lot of people give them away on freecycle and the like, and you can just ask if anyone has one to donate for development (a lot of boomers think they retained high value and want to make sure you aren't going to re-sell them kek)

 

[Betonhaus]

I tried Void Linux on a G5 iMac with decent specs and it ran fine. A lot of people give them away on freecycle and the like, and you can just ask if anyone has one to donate for development (a lot of boomers think they retained high value and want to make sure you aren't going to re-sell them kek)

yeah no shit, i found this gem:

looking at the sold listings the highest priced imac sold was for $1000cad/ 600usd, and it was advertised as like new in box condition

 

[Cowboy Kim]

For what its worth, somebody made a distro choosing quiz.
I haven't fucked with too many different distros, but have used a few:
If you want things to jut werk with a more "traditional" (i.e, Windows-like) GUI, use Linux Mint. If you want things to jut werk with a more "modern" (i.e, Mac-like) GUI, Pop_OS is pretty nice. Both are Ubuntu-based, so they inherit the big advantage of using Ubuntu, which is high compatibility with software vendors. I can especially vouch for Mint's ease of use, as I installed it for a friend who barely knows how to use a computer and they've been going strong since then (but they only really use Brave and an Android emulator, so your results may vary.)
If you want something stable that minimizes headaches while still appealing to a more advanced user (less handholding), Debian is what you want (Devuan is a fork without systemd, which for the average user just means lower resource usage and faster startup.)
If you want the latest everything and don't care about stability, Arch is pretty nice (Artix, which is a version without systemd, offers live cd's with pre-installed Desktop Environments, making it easier than Arch.)
If you want to pretend that you're still using a 1980s UNIX machine and enjoy making life hard for yourself, CRUX is an interesting one.

 

[macrodegenerate]

You people will parrot any retarded meme that comes out of a place like /g/. Compare the process of installing something like CUDA or NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu to a distro like Manjaro. Ubuntu just werks. Also Manjaro is absolutely NOT beginner friendly. It's a rolling release distro and things have a habit of constantly breaking if you aren't careful. Everytime I hear people say things like this they aren't even Linux users themselves.

The Ubuntu repository version of CUDA is outdated by several versions. To get bleeding edge Drivers, CUDA and TensorRT, you need to use Nvidia's official repo. A repo which Ubuntu 22 will prevent you from using without some arcane aptkey knowledge to circumvent key checking. Ubuntu and Debian are stable Linux distros, but make no mistake the way they hold your hand to prevent you from doing something potentially stupid and reckless can be harmful.

 

[std::string]

For those that want a medium difficulty, Endeavor OS has been a dream to use for something arch based.

EndeavourOS is very good, and the default XFCE theming is lit (though I love purple so YMMV.)

There's essentially no reason to use Manjaro anymore. Manjaro's purpose was being Arch but easy to install. Your penalty for ease of installation was that the devs are absolute mongoloids. Endeavour's devs are actually good.

 

[Lone Wandering Courier]

EndeavourOS is very good, and the default XFCE theming is lit (though I love purple so YMMV.)

There's essentially no reason to use Manjaro anymore. Manjaro's purpose was being Arch but easy to install. Your penalty for ease of installation was that the devs are absolute mongoloids. Endeavour's devs are actually good.

Yep, I can recommend EndeavourOS as well. I've been using the kde edition myself and it has been pretty solid.

 

[WhiteNight]

There's essentially no reason to use Manjaro anymore. Manjaro's purpose was being Arch but easy to install. Your penalty for ease of installation was that the devs are absolute mongoloids.

Manjaro also supports keeping multiple kernels by version number. Arch does not and simply erases the current kernel when it installs a newer one. Manjaro has its own command mhwd-kernel to manage kernels. This has long been a requested feature on Arch, which is always rejected, often rudely.

 

[std::string]

Manjaro also supports keeping multiple kernels by version number. Arch does not and simply erases the current kernel when it installs a newer one. Manjaro has its own command mhwd-kernel to manage kernels. This has long been a requested feature on Arch, which is always rejected, often rudely.

Because this is not how Arch works.

In Arch the basic assumption is that you are, at all times, fully updated. You cannot pin packages with pacman for obvious reasons. The more you diverge from their assumption the more breakage will occur. If you run into a regression just switch to the LTS kernel. If both the current kernel and the LTS kernel are broken for your hardware well fuck you I guess?

Arch is heavily opinionated about doing this. It is what it is.

 

[Betonhaus]

I remember hearing about Elementary OS and i think the brother-in-law who's wife I don't speak to uses it. Is that one any good? it does have a more mac like interface though which i don't care for.

 

[Stoneheart]

So has anybody tried gaming? there is a red number ticking down in my steam and no way that i will get windows 10 or 11.

 

[Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus]

So has anybody tried gaming? there is a red number ticking down in my steam and no way that i will get windows 10 or 11.

Better than it was, still worse than you'd want. The work Valve has been doing with Proton/Wine and SteamOS/Steam Decks have brought it a long ways from where it was even 5-10 years of "try with Wine, hope for the best" but it's still not great. ProtonDB has a decent list of things that work either without issue or with some tweaking.

 

[Lone Wandering Courier]

So has anybody tried gaming? there is a red number ticking down in my steam and no way that i will get windows 10 or 11.

Gaming on linux works pretty damn well. Some stuff may require some tweaking, but generally things are smooth. The most troublesome game for me is insurgency sandstorm. The fault mainly lies on the devs or publisher but EAC doesn't update itself so you have to verify game files to reset the install script every so often. Vermintide 2 works online if you are the host.

 

[Stoneheart]

Better than it was, still worse than you'd want. The work Valve has been doing with Proton/Wine and SteamOS/Steam Decks have brought it a long ways from where it was even 5-10 years of "try with Wine, hope for the best" but it's still not great. ProtonDB has a decent list of things that work either without issue or with some tweaking.

i have my doubts with that list, some of the games they list as gold dont even run on windows 7 without tweaking, and they were made for old windows.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

i have my doubts with that list, some of the games they list as gold dont even run on windows 7 without tweaking, and they were made for old windows.

Like youtube videos, best way to double check is to see what the most recent comments says about playability.

 

[Betonhaus]

i have my doubts with that list, some of the games they list as gold dont even run on windows 7 without tweaking, and they were made for old windows.

Pretty sure it's easier to spin up an older compatibility layer in Linux then to get windows to work with older games

 

[seri0us]

I wish I had the money to do that, but alas, more computers are expensive, and the ones that tend to be cheap and useful are almost never anything but x86-64!

The real price would be the power bill, however during winter it might start to pay for itself. There's a reason Apple never made a G5 laptop ;')

 

[Stoneheart]

Like youtube videos, best way to double check is to see what the most recent comments says about playability.

yeah but the issue is a tiny player base so not many fresh comments....

Pretty sure it's easier to spin up an older compatibility layer in Linux then to get windows to work with older games

thats why i use windows 7. pretty much all games can run on that, even gothic....

 

[Pee Cola]

The real price would be the power bill, however during winter it might start to pay for itself. There's a reason Apple never made a G5 laptop ;')

laughs in Athlon64

 

[Feline Supremacist]

yeah no shit, i found this gem:

Found one in the trash last year but uh, not a fan. Took the parts and dumped it.

laughs in Athlon64

Speak of the devil-last night/early this morning I found a dual G5 like mine on the sidewalk, so ofc I opened it up and took the RAM/video card, but the poor thing was filthy, as if it had never been cleaned, so all it may have needed was some TLC. Again, you can probably pick up a free one if you try.

If I had a shop or garage I would have taken it to see it worked but I have enough computer junk, like the HP with the Athlon64 X2 that got thrown away because it couldn't install XP SP3, which was due to the fact Microsoft dun goofed.

 

[残念。]

Speaking of computer/heater combo units, the pentium d was always a fun one. Fastest computers in the school back then.

I fell for the "beginners should use Manjaro" meme a while back, that was ass pain. Made it work for a shitty emulation box, but it was just constant wiki browsing while trying to get it working right on my old laptop. I'm now a mint user, and I don't have to bat an eye at it. Now that I've put it on a laptop, just need to make the jump on desktop.