Now there’s an idea.

I’ve never had to deal with Broadcom drivers or pinned the kernel, so I can’t tell you anything about that. The LTS kernel (currently 6.6.32-1) still updates regularly, albeit not nearly as often as the stock Arch kernel, so that means fewer updates that require a reboot.

Just install linux-lts and linux-lts-headers via pacman, and you’re good to go.

Interesting. Do you know if it works with an existing LUKS-encrypted installation?

I do not like the frequency of reboots necessitated by kernel upgrades. I know that I could mask it, but IME that eventually causes problems with packages than make .ko kernel modules; it’s just more things to fail, and it makes me really wish Linus would have just based Linux on MINIX.

Here’s a tip that you might not be aware of: Arch has an LTS kernel. It may seem counter intuitive to run Arch and not have the latest, bleeding edge kernel, but the upside is that you get a stabler, less breakage-prone system.

Same. Two years and counting.

Nice list.

Depending on your package manager, there are very handy snapper plugins that do automated pre/post snapshots for package installation/removal.

For Arch-based systems it’s snap-pac, and Fedora has one too (although I can’t remember the name).

OnlyOffice is the main alternative to Libre these days.

I personally prefer it because offers better compatibility with the Microsoft 365 documents I need for work.

Tela icons.

(if you look at the night theme shot, there are other details of the setup in the terminal output)

If anyone is wondering, you can download the .jxl files from here:

https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-backgrounds/-/tree/main/backgrounds?ref_type=heads

Yeah, the customization might not be as extensive as Plasma, but you can certainly add a ton of extra functionality with extensions.

Yeah, so Gnome has an extension called Night Theme Switcher which automatically changes your background, icons, theme, cursor etc. based on a user-defined day/night schedule. It works great.

Arc Menu is another extension which gives Gnome a standard start menu (since it doesn’t come with one by default) in the top lefthand corner. It also comes with a KRunner-like app launcher that pops up in the middle of the screen instead of using the default Gnome Overview UI.

Both these extensions make Gnome feel a little more natural for desktop use, IMO.

Gnome + Dash to Dock + Arc Menu. Nothing too crazy.

My bad, thanks for the correction.

I haven’t had much luck installing via wine or bottles at all. Hasn’t ever worked properly for me. I’m not bothered enough to install the Snap either, lol.

I have a Windows VM that I run it in instead, please deadbeef is good enough for my Linux system.

Tell me about it.

I also use deadbeef because of the plug-in support, although I haven’t experienced much lag myself.

The media library management definitely doesn’t come anywhere close to FB2K, though, sadly.

Yep. A couple of years ago they released the 2.0 version, which supports 64-bit architecture and allows for dark mode support as well.

Foobar2000.

By far the best, most customizable local music player app ever. Plus it’s open source free.

No worries.

Nice work.

I’d suggest adding

Material Files (File Manager) looks more stock android than Amaze and even includes an FTP server function.

Kvaesisto (Launcher) is a non-traditional launcher but it’s easily the most polished FOSS android launcher IMO, and is still actively being maintained.

Noice (Uncategorized?) is a very good calming background noise app that allows you to create custom combinations of sounds.

Also, I spotted one small typo - Public Transport is an uncountable noun, so shouldn’t have an ‘s’ on the end.

Ah, ok.

As far as DE-hopping, it does come with some problems. At the very least, you will have a ton of different apps installed, as each DE will want its own file manager, terminal, etc. At worst, you will get conflicts and it can end up a right mess.

I would personally keep a separate virtual machine or Ventoy USB separate from your main machine, as it will give you the freedom to mess around with different desktops to your heart’s content. If that isn’t an option for whatever reason, then at the very least make sure you create a separate user account for each separate WM/DE you install so that shit doesn’t break.