Linux which Distro ?

[tomcatrr]

I've been trying MX Linux 23.1 current with Fluxbox...from USB sticks.
Using the LibreWolf browser (based on Firefox)..as its quite small.
On both my iMacs 5,1 and 10,1.

It has three menu systems and with one of them appearing with a right click on the desktop, I've cleared everything off for a clean look..with a pop up dock if required.

It has a range of conky options ..one of which displays the Airflow 1 (TA0P) temperature. Linux seems somewhat lacking for my iMacs fan control but there is Sensor built in for a fuller check on temps and fan speeds.

The USB stick maker will include any additional software or docs if one doesn't use a MX iso..giving the choice of making a stick with a copy of your current set up or having a default clean setup by using a iso...which is neat as I can experiment with system adjustments and easily get back to default if I muck or clutter things up.

I'm still trying to find a solution that works on my iMacs for fan control..want to speed up the minimum speeds of cpu, HDD and optical drive fans to prevent the GPU getting too hot.

For the Fans, try

Introduction | Fan Control for Macs running Linux

Introduction to fan controlling for Macs

datcu-andrei-2.gitbook.io

 

[DCBassman]

For the Fans, try

Introduction | Fan Control for Macs running Linux

Introduction to fan controlling for Macs

datcu-andrei-2.gitbook.io

Thanks for that. It's one of the things I'd failed to discover while looking for ways to run Linux on iMacs and MacBooks.

 

[mortlocli]

For the Fans, try

Introduction | Fan Control for Macs running Linux

Introduction to fan controlling for Macs

datcu-andrei-2.gitbook.io

Yes..thanks from me too. It seems some models of macs are trickier re. the fan factor with Linux.

 

[mortlocli]

I have, after tried many, many, many distros (including, but not limited to, YellowDog, Fedora, SUSE, Manjaro, PopOS!, Kubuntu, Elementary, Solus, PeppermintOS and others that didn't stick around long enough for me to remember), settled on Linux Mint Cinnamon and Ubuntu Mate.

The latter gives me a bit better performance (I can even run it off a normal HDD) but LMCinnamon gives me a somewhat more pleasant experience.

This is on my late 2015 27" iMac. All Linux distros are on external SSDs.

For my Raspberry Pi 400 (the keyboard model) I have been using RPi OS (64-bit), Ubuntu Mate and Ubuntu Budgie. Interestingly, for the RPis, its native OS (Raspberry Pi OS) gives a bit better performance than the other two, but running off SSDs, none of them suck, and the differences are very marginal.

For all versions of Linux, I put the Panel (aka Task Bar) along the top and run Plank docking app along the bottom. That way everything (Mac, Linux, RPi) has a similar working experience.

I've the Rpi 400 too, was fun running Windows on that. I've a Rpi 2 as well and did try Diet OS..it's practical but not appealing. (But I may go back to that.)

MX Linux did a Rpi OS..which is no longer supported (I think). Tried to download it but was taking too long.

For my 400, think I'll just stay with the Rpi OS.

​

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

I've the Rpi 400 too, was fun running Windows on that. I've a Rpi 2 as well and did try Diet OS..it's practical but not appealing. (But I may go back to that.)

MX Linux did a Rpi OS..which is no longer supported (I think). Tried to download it but was taking too long.

For my 400, think I'll just stay with the Rpi OS.

​

The latest version of RPi OS, based on Debian 12 Bookworm, has just dropped.

It uses Wayland instead of X11, which has consequences. Some of the software I use to make the RPi look nice, like the docks Plank and Cairo-Dock, Variety wallpaper changer and Gkrellm monitor program, don't work under Wayland.

However, some software works under Bookworm that didn't work under Bullseye, such as Zettlr 3. Also I can compile and install the latest versions of some packages like Ghostwriter.

Also, if I want to dock the navigation pane in LibreOffice Writer, I have to switch to X11, run Mutter, open LibreOffice Writer and dock the pane, then I can switch back to Wayland and the navigation pane stays docked. This applies to LibreOffice 7.5 (installed under Bookworm) and 7.6 (installed via Flatpak).

The development team have gone to a lot of work to make the RPi OS Bookworm look just like RPi OS Bullseye.

Another gotcha is that under Bullseye, you could install other Desktop Environments such as Mate and/or LXQt, and switch between them via a command line instruction. However, under Bookworm, the default greeter is Pi-Greeter, and you can't switch. If you want to have Mate and/or LXQt, you need to install the command-line (Lite) version of the OS, then install Mate and/or LXQt via tasksel. Once you re-boot, you have the Lightdm-Greeter, and can switch between the two. Unfortunately, if you then install LXDE-Pi Desktop Environment, it installs Pi-Greeter, which then irreversibly takes over from Lightdm-Greeter and you are then stuck in the LXDE-Pi DE (aka PiXeL).

Why do I do this? Because I find that the Mate DE is a more pleasant and modern-looking DE than PiXeL. Sorry Raspberry Pi development team, but PiXeL is good for the classroom (which it is aimed at), but looks clunky and dated at home.

 

[mortlocli]

The latest version of RPi OS, based on Debian 12 Bookworm, has just dropped.

It uses Wayland instead of X11, which has consequences. Some of the software I use to make the RPi look nice, like the docks Plank and Cairo-Dock, Variety wallpaper changer and Gkrellm monitor program, don't work under Wayland.

However, some software works under Bookworm that didn't work under Bullseye, such as Zettlr 3. Also I can compile and install the latest versions of some packages like Ghostwriter.

Also, if I want to dock the navigation pane in LibreOffice Writer, I have to switch to X11, run Mutter, open LibreOffice Writer and dock the pane, then I can switch back to Wayland and the navigation pane stays docked. This applies to LibreOffice 7.5 (installed under Bookworm) and 7.6 (installed via Flatpak).

The development team have gone to a lot of work to make the RPi OS Bookworm look just like RPi OS Bullseye.

Another gotcha is that under Bullseye, you could install other Desktop Environments such as Mate and/or LXQt, and switch between them via a command line instruction. However, under Bookworm, the default greeter is Pi-Greeter, and you can't switch. If you want to have Mate and/or LXQt, you need to install the command-line (Lite) version of the OS, then install Mate and/or LXQt via tasksel. Once you re-boot, you have the Lightdm-Greeter, and can switch between the two. Unfortunately, if you then install LXDE-Pi Desktop Environment, it installs Pi-Greeter, which then irreversibly takes over from Lightdm-Greeter and you are then stuck in the LXDE-Pi DE (aka PiXeL).

Why do I do this? Because I find that the Mate DE is a more pleasant and modern-looking DE than PiXeL. Sorry Raspberry Pi development team, but PiXeL is good for the classroom (which it is aimed at), but looks clunky and dated at home.

yes...I must get onto updating my 400 and see wot thats like. Been busy with linux on my iMacs lately.

One thing that I was reminded of with your mention of LibreOffice, is that with my recent discovery of LibreWolf is to see if thats available for the Rpi. The download was lots smaller than the other available browsers.

I find it odd they want to make Bookworm look just like Bullseye - thought theyd want to make it show as being a more uptodate and different OS..but guess theyre trying to keep familiarity to keep users happy.
Youve done lots more 'homework' on DEs than I. Apart from appearances have you noticed any marked speed improvement of one over others?

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

yes...I must get onto updating my 400 and see wot thats like. Been busy with linux on my iMacs lately.

One thing that I was reminded of with your mention of LibreOffice, is that with my recent discovery of LibreWolf is to see if thats available for the Rpi. The download was lots smaller than the other available browsers.

I find it odd they want to make Bookworm look just like Bullseye - thought theyd want to make it show as being a more uptodate and different OS..but guess theyre trying to keep familiarity to keep users happy.
Youve done lots more 'homework' on DEs than I. Apart from appearances have you noticed any marked speed improvement of one over others?

My main test for performance is typing a Markdown document in Visual Studio Code with previewing turned on.

So far, the 'snappiest' Desktop Environments appear to be a clean install of RPi OS Bullseye with PiXeL, and with LXQt. Mate DE is close behind, with Ubuntu Budgie far behind.

I find little difference between a good (i.e. Sandisk Extreme 64 Gbyte V30) SD Card and a good SSD (i.e. Samsung T5 or T7) as far as speed goes. I even have an install of Ubuntu mate on a 3.5" spinning platter HDD, and it works quite well. Interestingly, it only takes 50% longer for the HDD to load a large program like LibreOffice than from a SSD, even though the SSD is 3 to 4 times faster. It has to be a good HDD, though. Mine is a 7200 RPM with 64Mbyte Cache.

 

[mortlocli]

My main test for performance is typing a Markdown document in Visual Studio Code with previewing turned on.

So far, the 'snappiest' Desktop Environments appear to be a clean install of RPi OS Bullseye with PiXeL, and with LXQt. Mate DE is close behind, with Ubuntu Budgie far behind.

I find little difference between a good (i.e. Sandisk Extreme 64 Gbyte V30) SD Card and a good SSD (i.e. Samsung T5 or T7) as far as speed goes. I even have an install of Ubuntu mate on a 3.5" spinning platter HDD, and it works quite well. Interestingly, it only takes 50% longer for the HDD to load a large program like LibreOffice than from a SSD, even though the SSD is 3 to 4 times faster. It has to be a good HDD, though. Mine is a 7200 RPM with 64Mbyte Cache.

Ive got a small collection of SD cards.. and I need to sort out which are the better ones.
Ive got older model Toshiba external SSDs that work great out of the box with both my iMacs. I also have a Toshiba external SSD that is problematic (to say the least) with my iMacs but works rather well with my Rpi 400 and had Windows 10 running on that..

In your exploration..did you take a look at dietpi OS?

Lightweight justice for your SBC!

Optimised | Simplified | For everyone - Backed by community, DietPi is a minimal OS image for SBCs - Raspberry Pi, Odroid, PINE64 etc. Install software optimised for you!

dietpi.com

..just curious wot you thought of it.

 

[mortlocli]

For the Fans, try

Introduction | Fan Control for Macs running Linux

Introduction to fan controlling for Macs

datcu-andrei-2.gitbook.io

Ive had a try at mbpfan ..first one on the list on my iMac 10,1
That link has wot must be the best instructions Ive read for a while. (The author assumes the reader knows very little, and writes accordingly.) So every thing worked according to the instruction..(oh except for something that was already sorted..so not really a fault.)

However the limitation the limitation is still there.. At the final stage one can access the bpfan.config file and set the fan speeds accordingly. But on my iMac,10 I get this:
----------------------------
"# see https://ineed.coffee/3838/a-beginners-tutorial-for-mbpfan-under-ubuntu for the values
#
# mbpfan will load the max / min speed of from the files produced by the applesmc driver. If these files are not found it will set all fans to the default of min_speed = 2000 and max_speed = 6200
# by setting the values for the speeds in this config it will override whatever it finds in:
# /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/fan*_min
# /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/fan*_max
# or the defaults.
#
# multiple fans can be configured by using the config key of min_fan*_speed and max_fan*_speed
# the number used will correlate to the file number of the fan in the applesmc driver that are used to control the fan speed.
#
#min_fan1_speed = 2000 # put the *lowest* value of "cat /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/fan*_min"
#max_fan1_speed = 6200 # put the *highest* value of "cat /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/fan*_max"

# temperature units in celcius
low_temp = 53 # if temperature is below this, fans will run at minimum speed
high_temp = 56 # if temperature is above this, fan speed will gradually increase
max_temp = 76 # if temperature is above this, fans will run at maximum speed
polling_interval = 1 # default is 1 seconds"

(Note: Ive lowered those temps already by 10degrees.)

I do not get anything like this included:

[general]
min_fan_speed = 1299 # default is 2000
max_fan_speed = 6199 # default is 6200

..where one can change the fan speed setting..so not an option on my iMac 10,1. Have yet to try on my iMac 5,1 (but even less likely.)

By the way - that tutorial gives a good explanation about changing the settings:

Redirecting…

I will try doing this again...in case I missed an important step.
There is also another option to try in your link,Tomcatrr - so big THANKS for that!!

 

[mortlocli]

can't say Ive noticed any improvement with mbpfan working, so went onto try another option: MacLinuxUtils. Installed Java ok but when I run the MacLinuxUtil sh, I get :
Running MacLinuxUtils...
You may close the terminal window.
Error: Unable to access jarfile light.jar

Ive got Catfish File Search looking for it...but not found so far..

 

[mortlocli]

oops..maybe mbpfan is working:
it seemed fanspeed was always constant at ODD999, HDD1198, CPU998
..but now its: 1167, 1366, 1139.

this is on the 17 inch iMac 5,1 2006.

 

[mortlocli]

Ok..got the fans speeded up with mbpfan..so there can be slight fan noise while watching YouTube movies..but the GPU temp remains below 60C..which is so much better than the crazy highs it had before.

I was using sensors to do a cli check but now using psensor to provide a constant desktop display.

 

[garibaldo]

a little suggestion:

 

[Fat_Guy]

What with Apple now fetching out a new OS every year and my Mac Pro being long in the tooth I am thinking of installing
Linux on my 2009 Mac Pro, is it worth it and which distro should I use ? Also can this be installed externally so I can see
how it runs and what it can do ?

I’m not going to read all ten pages, but here is my take.


Most distros can be loaded on a thumb drive with the option to install it in the computer. I have only done this with Ubuntu and Mint. So you can try things out that way.


You can also keep the original OS and the new Linux OS on the same drive. The only problem is that the default is always Linux, but you can set the timer before it loads Linux. I set it for just a few seconds so if someone at border services turns it on he doesn’t get to see my more used Windows OS - but instead sees Ubuntu with terminal on the screen…Ha!



As an aside: On phones Ubuntu Touch is the best but they stopped real development on the Pinephone. KDE is now the go to for me but that “desktop” is nothing like Ubuntu Touch, but the app screen looks normal. KDE also supports 4G unlike Ubuntu Touch which only supports 3G - I believe.


Take this post with a grain of salt because it’s been a couple of years since I really messed with Linux.

 

[Boyd01]

As an aside: On phones Ubuntu Touch is the best but they stopped real development on the Pinephone. KDE is now the go to for me

I assume you're talking about Linux on Android phones? I have a couple inexpensive rugged Android phones just for testing and wanted to install Linux to support an app I'm developing. Did not dig very deep, but it seemed there was a very short list of specific model phones that can run Linux natively and, of course, my phones aren't on the list.

I ended up installing Termux, which gives me the Linux environment I want, but it runs as an Android app so there are limitations. There are also some other methods, such as Linux Deploy but they also just run as apps. Is there something beyond this that I'm missing?

 

[Fat_Guy]

I assume you're talking about Linux on Android phones? I have a couple inexpensive rugged Android phones just for testing and wanted to install Linux to support an app I'm developing. Did not dig very deep, but it seemed there was a very short list of specific model phones that can run Linux natively and, of course, my phones aren't on the list.

I ended up installing Termux, which gives me the Linux environment I want, but it runs as an Android app so there are limitations. There are also some other methods, such as Linux Deploy but they also just run as apps. Is there something beyond this that I'm missing?

The Pinephone is a straight up Linux phone with a linux kernel. Only like 150 bucks USD and up. For me they are barely usable as a phone but I want to support that third alternative!

PINE64

wiki.pine64.org

 

[Boyd01]

Thanks, I do know about the pinephone. But your post implied there were other ways to install Linux on a phone, which I found interesting. Like I said, the list of phones that can do that appears to be very limited, for example

Ubuntu Touch • Linux Phone

Ubuntu Touch is the open source phone that has freedom and privacy in mind. Supported by dozens of devices, with installer for FOSS fans

devices.ubuntu-touch.io

I believe there are one or two other versions of Linux with even shorter lists of compatible devices. I don't even need it to be a "phone" - more like a pocket-sized linux server!

(sorry for taking the thread off-topic...)

 

[Yael-S.]

You can try (all) the easy Unix-like systems.

Easy difficulty
PCLinuxOS -- https://pclosusers.com/communityiso/LXQt/community-pclinuxos64-lxqt-2023.11.iso
ROSA Fresh Desktop -- https://mirror.rosalinux.ru/rosa/ro....12/lxqt/ROSA.FRESH.LXQT.12.4.x86_64.uefi.iso
mageia -- https://www.mageia.org/fr/downloads/
OpenMandriva -- https://www.openmandriva.org
GhostBSD -- https://www.ghostbsd.org
Clear Linux -- https://www.clearlinux.org/downloads.html
Mint -- https://linuxmint.com/download.php
EndeavourOS -- https://endeavouros.com
ALT Linux -- http://nightly.altlinux.org/sisyphus/tested/regular-lxqt-latest-x86_64.iso
nobara -- https://nobaraproject.org

When you have more experience or more skills you will be able to use more dificult systems as well.

Intermediate difficulty
openSUSE -- https://www.opensuse.org
Void Linux -- https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/live/current/void-live-x86_64-20230628-xfce.iso
Alpine Linux -- https://www.alpinelinux.org/
OpenBSD -- https://www.openbsd.org
Artix Linux -- https://artixlinux.org/download.php
Devuan -- https://devuan.org

 

[bousozoku]

All this talk of Linux got me to re-start my Steam Deck in Linux desktop mode with KDE Plasma.

Things seem much smoother than the last time I was trying to work with Ubuntu in the mid 2000s, going from the GNOME desktop to Canonical's Unity.

You'd think that it would be good to have a cheap Linux-based laptop computer, instead of ChromeOS in the stores. Seems to me that someone tried that and it didn't go far.

 

[splifingate]

My main test for performance is typing a Markdown document in Visual Studio Code with previewing turned on.

Thank you for this . . . I will soon test such metrics

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I'm back to using Ubuntu LTS. I find it the most stable where things don't break as easily with other distros. You can give it that macOS dock look if you want to straight out of the box.

I recently tried Manjaro 23 on my 2012 Mac mini and WiFi is broken where you have to bring it back. I decided I didn't want to mess with it because it looks similar in style to Ubuntu. I like that Arch distros are light by design but Manjaro at one point not too long ago with release 21 had drivers available for WiFi, now they don't. Manjaro is also known to have things break a lot easier than Ubuntu because Manjaro is a rolling release.

As of now, my only Windows PC's are either for business or gaming rigs. I really got tired of the spam Windows delivers to your desktop and their Edge browser because the OS has become more of a service rather than a retail product.

 

[garibaldo]

it is not the distro , what matters is the desktop environment!!! please watch the movie at post #238...

 

[ozaz]

it is not the distro , what matters is the desktop environment!!! please watch the movie at post #238...

I think its useful to have an understanding that a) you can get the same desktop environment (DE) in different distros and b) you can change the DE without changing distros.

But I don't really agree that features other than DE are unimportant to beginners (an argument made at about 6:40 in the video). As an example, I'm basically a beginner and I'd like to have the ability to encrypt home folders and enable guest user sessions. Different distros make choices about whether or not to support these features out of the box independently of their choice of DE. Yes, these abilities can be added via command line, but for beginners it can be undesirable or beyond their skill set to have to do things via command line.

Home folder encryption and guest user sessions are just examples that are important to me. I suspect there are other DE-independent features that vary between distributions and are important to other beginners.

 

[garibaldo]

basically a beginner and I'd like to have the ability to encrypt home folders and enable guest user sessions

I don´t see this exactly as a beginner feature, but it you could type "encryption" at flathub, or any othe app store in any distro, and check results. Mos popular solution is Veracryprt, and it is a GUI app...
But, honestly, how many Mac, Windows, or Linux beginners or veterans alike use Home folder encryption WITH guest user sessions?
I think the guy at the video have a strong point about DEd, but he insists ignoring Cinnamon, the DE of the far most popular distro , Mint...

 

[ozaz]

I don´t see this exactly as a beginner feature, but it you could type "encryption" at flathub, or any othe app store in any distro, and check results. Mos popular solution is Veracryprt, and it is a GUI app...
But, honestly, how many Mac, Windows, or Linux beginners or veterans alike use Home folder encryption WITH guest user sessions?

In terms of encryption, its more the ability to encrypt on-disk data without the need to enter a password separate from the user login password that interests me. This can be achieved either via a security device (e.g. TPM) to hold disk encryption credentials or via user folder encryption. Encryption via one of these approaches is available (and usually on by default these days) in Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. So I suspect interest would be greater than niche interest.

Guest user feature is enabled by default in ChromeOS and is available in Mac OS and Android, so again there is presumably interest. It also used to be available in Windows. The removal from Windows is actually one of the reasons I'm interested in setting up a Linux machine.

I'm not necessarily saying there would a large number of people who want both, but interest in having access via GUI (beginner friendly) to either feature would require looking into distros rather than desktop environments.