Nice! The outdated kernel was one of the main reasons why I never recommended using Mint. Now, if they can do something about their other outdated packages like Mesa - and switch to Wayland - I’d be happy to recommend Mint.
I’ll start using Mint… heck, any version of Linux… as soon as they introduce a proper UI for a plethora of system settings. If I ever have to use a command line for anything but THE most esoteric, potentially system-damaging scenarios, the O/s has failed in my book. (Windows user since 3.1, never lasted more than a day with Linux)
Windows settings are notoriously confusing, and absolute majority of things can currently be resolved in various Linux environments via GUI.
I honestly don’t remember when I last opened the terminal. Using Manjaro KDE on my main machine right now.
They are confusing, but I can at least find them eventually. I can’t remember exactly what it was that the problem was with my last Linux install… I think my secondary monitor was stuck at 640x480 resolution or something, and I couldn’t find a way to fix it that didn’t involve the command line
I do remember facing that issue in my early Linux days, so fair enough. Hopefully, now it’s super rare and it was able to fix in a single command.
Bull fucking shit if you used windows in the old days you must have had a foot stuck up MSDOS 's 16bit ass
If I ever have to use a command line for anything but THE most esoteric, potentially system-damaging scenarios
But you don’t have to though, at least if you’re running a sensible distro and have Linux-friendly hardware. My elderly parents for instance have been running Linux for over a decade now (Xubuntu first, now Zorin) - on bog standard Dell machines - and never once had to touch the command-line. I think I intervened a couple of times a maybe 4 or 5+ years ago, but haven’t had to any major tech support or CLI intervention in the few years.
Linux has come a long way. If you’ve got compatible hardware and don’t have any specific proprietary sofeare requirements (like Adobe etc), then I’d recommend giving it a try. If you’re open-minded that is.
I no longer use Linux Mint, but I really enjoyed the decade I spent on it. The kernel change seems like a good move considering Mint is targeted towards desktop users.
So what made you switch after so long?
Haha Mint was my first distro! I wiped Windows 7 and installed Mint, then quickly learned that a tarball is in fact more work than an exe. Good times and a great learning experience! Back then it was the only thing not slow, ugly, or wildly unfamiliar.
They didnt use Pipewire before??
was not ready you had to use a PPA to make it work well.
Lolz
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/DefaultPipeWire
I know that Fedora does breaking changes and basically beta tests, but Pipewire “just works” since at least 2 years
Mint 21 is based on an LTS from two years ago so that tracks.
yeah it worked for most people back then as well, not well as today, and it has been my to tool for audio before the 1.0 release they fixed a lot of issues, and part of the Linux DE Stack had to make a lot of changes as well, the core for Linux Mint is older then 2 years.
Fedora is a Developers OS after all, it would need to pull stuff like that in before most do.
Yes, they did. I’m using Mint 21.2 Xfce with Pipewire “factory” installed.
Are these rolling out to LMDE?
LMDE is already on pipewire as far as I can tell. I have a process running by that name, as well as one called
pipewire-pulsewhich I assume is providing some or all of the old pulseaudio functionality for whatever might be expecting it.No problems I’m aware of. I thought I was having problems early last month, but that turned out to be hardware failure.
That’s great to hear! Thanks
I would expect all these changes get to LMDE except the kernel, which is based on Ubuntu.
Absolutely
Why except the kernel? Of all the things, that’s the easiest to get custom.
Sure, you still can customize the kernel, it’s just not the same default kernel for LMDE. Kernels move differently in Debian but you can always install something like the Liquorix kernel if you need the newest, and Ubuntu still uses the HWE model IIRC.
What I mean is that it’s about the easiest package for the Mint team to package a custom version of. No dependencies to worry about. Or they can pull the HWE from Ubuntu and ship it with LMDE.
I don’t think that’s a good idea. Moreover, it would defeat the purpose of using Debian Stable as the base system and their magnificent team of kernel maintainers. If you want the HWE just use plain Linux Mint, if you need a current kernel, go with a rolling release distro, and if you need Debian, try Sid.
pipewire was the smoothest transition ive ever experienced in linux, and fixed most of my grief with the audio subsystem. mint always takes its sweet time and i feel like this should have happened much sooner, but better late than never.
As someone who has pulse just the way they want it, what will this mean for me?
Is it a forced change on a current install?
Is there an equivalent to PulseEffects for PipeWire?
Actually, PulseEffects has been renamed into EasyEffects and is PipeWire only now
Well the PulseEffects version is still alive and well in Ubuntu’s repos and it will be for a while.
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There’s Easyeffects. I don’t know if it is equivalent but it certainly has more features than I could ever hope to be able to use.
There’s a compability layer, generally called
pipewire-pulse. I think it’s not a one-for-one copy, but it works great for desktop applications that expect pulse.Some things that previously were pulseaudio modules, like rtp and raop (airplay), have been reimplemented as native pipewire modules, I believe.
More complicated setups I can’t personally speak to, but since pipewire is also catered towards professional audio workflows (as opposed to just desktop audio), you should at least be able to replicate what you have now.
And, as others have already pointed out, pulseeffects has been long dead, and now lives on as easyeffects.
PulseEffects is still working fine for me is why I was asking. Been using it for the past year after making the switch.
I find Easy effects is much more feature rich easier to import APO files and such
Fuckyeah. I need it, so I had to jump through a couple of hoops to get it running on LM21, but good to know that it’s default next time I need to install.
I switched my Mint install to Pipewire already. Just hope that won’t mess up the upgrade.
In my experience, it probably will. I’ve learned to just leave stuff alone and let the distro people handle it all. They know their own distro way better than me.
Ah well. I guess a reinstall every couple of years or so isn’t such a bad thing.
You can come back to pulseaudio and delete all your pipewire configs before upgrading.
Man just when audio in Linux got decently stable and functional, now we have to switch to some new shit. I run Ubuntu 23.10 that has pipewire and mostly it works but then sometimes it starts crackling, audio turns on and off, skipping, or random muting.
I’m getting so fucking fed up with these stupid Linux desktop pre-alpha software that take a decade to stabilize and by then we’re off to the brand new thing that barely functions.
In my experience, pipewire is leagues ahead of pulseaudio and just works. All the issues I had with pulseaudio are resolved with pipewire and it sounds better as well with the default settings.
It’s kind of funny how I keep reading this exact sentence over and over again
All the issues I had with pulseaudio are resolved with pipewire
just because I had issues with Alsa, and they were all resolved by pulseaudio, which just works for me.
Perhaps I should try PipeWire.
Well…have you filed bugs for your issues?
Most people have had a very smooth transition over to Pipewire. I have 4 Arch machines and Pipewire has been flawless. I am even using one machine for pro-audio usecases (REAPER, Ardour).
Pipewire its cool regarding pulse but the crackling issue its a thing, well known from what I’ve seen.
Pipewire is so much better and it works like a switchboard for audio and even video. It has been stable for a few years now.
Also I’ve never had an issue with Pulseaudio that was a bug. The problem with pulse is that it doesn’t do multiple devices well.
Sounds like a problem specific to your hardware/setup. I’ve never had any issues with pipewire.
This is why I’m no longer upgrading to non-LTS releases. They add the new stuff in those, the good souls that use them test it and by the time it gets to the LTS, things generally work fine. I think PipeWire will replace PulseAudio in 24.04. It’s had a good run while it lasted. 15 years of mainstream use. ☺️👏
That’s something i’ve been occasionally experiencing with my Amerano usb as well. Though it’s a kernel related problem, because switching to pulse does not solve it, booting up a 18Lts iso does.
In fact it’s a bit better on pipewire and you can also experiment with a low latency kernel.
I’m so fed up, I’d rather spend money on the development of something that locks me in instead of spending money on opensource!!!
at the same time
How come opensource is in “pre-alpha” all the time?
