Choose Linux

33: Hiatus Apr 09, 2020

Choose Linux enters indefinite hiatus.

32: Windows as a Linux User + Sway Window Manager Apr 02, 2020

Ell tells us about her first ever experience with Windows 10 and how it compares with Linux. Plus Drew has been using a Wayland-based i3-like tiling window manager called Sway.

Links:

Windows 10
Linux Unplugged 344: Our Week with Windows
Sway — Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager for X11.
Choose Linux 12: Regolith

31: Solus + Visual Studio Code Mar 19, 2020

We try out Solus and are all impressed by this independent distro. Then Ell and Drew sing the praises of Visual Studio Code - a text editor that's packed full of features.

Links:

Solus — Solus is an operating system that is designed for home computing. Every tweak enables us to deliver a cohesive computing experience.
Visual Studio Code — Code editing. Redefined. Free. Built on open source. Runs everywhere.

30: Project Catch Up Mar 05, 2020

We revisit some of the projects we have covered in previous episodes to see what we've stuck with and what we haven't.

Qubes OS and Tails, a handy Android app, building websites, easy Arch, the cloud, hardware hacking, and more.

Links:

29: Linux Console + Boutique Distros Feb 20, 2020

A confusing experience in Distrohoppers which raises deeper questions about the value and viability of smaller distros.

Links:

28: What We Love About Linux Feb 06, 2020

Valentine's Day is nearly here so it's time to talk about why we love Linux and open source. Nothing is perfect though, so we also touch on a few areas that we feel could be improved.

27: GhostBSD + Freedom vs Pragmatism Jan 23, 2020

Distrohoppers serves up something very different in the form of desktop BSD, and we reveal how important freedom is to us all.

Links:

GhostBSD — A simple, elegant desktop BSD Operating System
Share wireless Internet connection through ethernet

26: Explaining Linux and Open Source as Concepts Jan 09, 2020

Trying to explain what Linux and open source are can be tricky. We discuss our various approaches, and how they differ depending on the experience of who we are explaining them to.

25: Tails + Virtualization Dec 26, 2019

Ultimate privacy in Distrohoppers, and the best ways to run other operating systems within your current Linux distro.

Links:

Tails — Tails is a live operating system that you can start on almost any computer from a USB stick or a DVD. It aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity.
Installing KVM on Ubuntu
Virtual machine manager — The virt-manager application is a desktop user interface for managing virtual machines through libvirt.
Boxes — Boxes is an application that gives you access to virtual machines, running locally or remotely. It also allows you to connect to the display of a remote computer.
LINUX Unplugged episode about virtualization — Our crew walks you through their PCI Passthrough setups that let them run Windows, macOS, and distro-hop all from one Linux machine.

24: What We Wish We'd Known Earlier Dec 12, 2019

All three of us have different levels of experience with Linux but there are tons of things that we wish we'd learned earlier in our journey.

From gatekeeping to community culture, command line tricks to backups, and more.

Links:

explainshell — Write down a command-line to see the help text that matches each argument
Arch Linux — A simple, lightweight distribution
EndeavourOS — An Arch-based distro with a dynamic and friendly community at its core.
Regular expression — A regular expression is a sequence of characters that define a search pattern.
Samba — Samba is the standard Windows interoperability suite of programs for Linux and Unix.
Nextcloud — The self-hosted productivity platform that keeps you in contro

23: Void Linux + Contributing to Open Source Nov 28, 2019

A chance to learn some Linux fundamentals in Distrohoppers, and the numerous ways we can all contribute to Linux and open source.

Links:

Void Linux — Void is a general purpose operating system, based on the monolithic Linux® kernel.
Mozilla bug report writing guidelines — This page assumes you'd like to contribute to the Mozilla project by collecting enough information to enter a useful bug report in Bugzilla, the Mozilla bug tracking system.
Reporting bugs in Ubuntu — A quick introduction to reporting bugs in Ubuntu. This is just a very brief rough guide. Not final.
#100DaysOfCode — The Official Website for the Challenge
Write the Docs — Write the Docs is a global community of people who care about documentation.
Operation Safe Escape — Ell and Wes talk to Chris Cox, the executive director of Operation Safe Escape about battling stalking and technology-based abuse.

22: Finding Your Community Nov 14, 2019

We talk about the best ways to get involved in open source communities, finding like-minded people, conference strategies, community hubs, and what happened to all the LUGs.

21: KaOS + How We Install Software Oct 31, 2019

There are numerous ways to install software on a modern Linux system and we each have a different approach.

Plus a lean and focused KDE experience in DistroHoppers.

Links:

KaOS — KaOS is an independent distribution focused on Qt and KDE.
KaOS Sponsors — A FOSS project like KaOS really need that some companies and individuals are willing to sponsor through donating mirror space, hardware and other vital infrastructure.
Flatpak — Flatpak is a next-generation technology for building and distributing desktop applications on Linux.
Snapcraft — Publish your app for Linux users — for desktop, cloud, and Internet of Things.
AppImage — Linux apps that run anywhere.

20: Single Board Computers Oct 17, 2019

We are joined by special guest Chz who is a long-time user of single board computers to talk about how we use boards like the Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, and ROCKPro64.

Special Guest: chzbacon.

Links:

19: Android-x86 + First Steps into the Cloud Oct 03, 2019

We have three different approaches to using the cloud, so we discuss various ways to expand your Linux knowledge beyond the desktop.

Plus Distrohoppers delivers a mobile-like experience that splits opinion.

Links:

Android-x86 — This is a project to port Android open source project to x86 platform
AWS Free Tier — Gain free, hands-on experience with the AWS platform, products, and services
Amazon Lightsail — Lightsail is an easy-to-use cloud platform that offers you everything needed to build an application or website
OpenStack — Open source software for creating private and public clouds.
DigitalOcean Marketplace — Discover and deploy preconfigured 1-Click Applications
Linode — High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs.
Amazon Lightsail Deep Dive — This course aims to teach the skills essential to get the most from Lightsail.

18: Introducing New People to Linux Sep 19, 2019

There's lots to consider when setting someone up with Linux for the first time. User needs and expectations, distro choice, hardware, and so much more.

We discuss our experiences, and ask some fundamental questions.

17: Hardware hacking basics, Slackel + OSCAR Sep 05, 2019

Getting into hardware hacking with Arduino, and analysing sleep data from CPAP machines.

Plus a glimpse into the past in Distrohoppers.

Links:

Arduino software
Getting started with Badgy IoT
Smart RGB LED strips with Home Assistant
Slackel — Slackel is a Linux distribution based on Slackware and Salix.
OSCAR — Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter

16: PCLinuxOS + Hugo Aug 22, 2019

We check out a great tool for learning web development basics, and Distrohoppers brings us mixed experiences.

Plus which of the 10 commandments for Linux users we agree with.

Links:

Ell's Trip to Hacker Summer Camp — The whole Choose Linux crew talk about Ell's recent trip to Black Hat, B-sides, DEF CON, and more at Hacker Summer Camp.
PCLinuxOS — PCLinuxOS is a free easy to use Linux-based Operating System for x86_64 desktops or laptops.
The 10 commandments for Linux users — Ten commandments for PCLinuxOS users
Hugo — With its amazing speed and flexibility, Hugo makes building websites fun again.

15: OBS Studio + Endless OS Aug 08, 2019

Distrohoppers delivers a distro that divides us, and we check out the video streaming and recording software OBS Studio.

Plus a handy audio recorder that's as simple as it gets.

Links:

OBS Studio — Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.
SoundRecorder — A simple and modern sound recorder
Endless OS — The operating system that comes with everything your family needs.

14: Endeavour OS + Pisi Linux Jul 25, 2019

We take a look at the continuation of Antergos called Endeavour OS and are pretty impressed, and Distrohoppers delivers an interesting distro that's obsessed with cats.

Plus the only way to watch YouTube videos on Android.

Links:

Endeavour OS — An Arch-based distro with a friendly community
NewPipe — Lightweight YouTube frontend
Pisi Linux — Pisi Linux is a GNU/Linux distribution based on the old Pardus Linux with its famous PiSi package management system.

13: Qubes OS + Plex vs Kodi Jul 11, 2019

Distrohoppers brings us up a fascinating distro where every application runs in its own VM. Plus Drew and Joe disagree on the best media solution.

Links:

Qubes OS — Qubes OS is a security-oriented operating system
Qubes OS video tour — Talk from the Circle of HOPE (2018) hacker conference:
Plex — Your favorite movies, TV, music, web shows, podcasts, and more, all streamed to your favorite screens.
Girens — Girens is a Plex GTK client for playing movies, TV shows and music from your Plex library. Project badge
Kodi — Kodi puts your smart TV to shame.

12: Regolith, Rosa, and Antsy Alien Attack Jun 27, 2019

Two new hosts join Joe to talk about a nice i3 implementation and an amazing arcade game written in Bash.

Plus a new segment called Distrohoppers, and a useful hidden feature of GNOME.

Links:

Regolith Linux — Regolith Linux is a distro for people that prefer a spartan interface with polished and consistent system management. It brings together a trifecta of Ubuntu’s ubiquity, i3-wm’s efficient and productive interface, and Gnome’s system configuration features.
Regolith Linux is the i3 Ubuntu Spin You’ve Been Waiting For — Regolith is two things: it’s an Ubuntu-based Linux distro and it’s an installable desktop session. Both approaches share the same aim: make it (a bit) easier to get started with i3 on Ubuntu.
Rosa Linux — ROSA Desktop is a Linux distribution featuring a highly customised KDE desktop and a number of modifications designed to enhance the user-friendliness of the working environment.
Antsy Alien Attack! — A game, written in Bash, that is a somewhat retro-a-like shoot 'em up. Hopefully.
QJoyPad — A simple Linux/QT program that lets you use your gaming devices where you want them: in your games!
Ubuntu Podcast S12E10.5 @ FOSS Talk Live 2019 — Mark, Alan and Martin from Ubuntu Podcast have each been working on a secret coding challenge. All is revealed before a live audience at FOSS Talk Live 2019!
How to use Gnome shell’s secret screen recorder — In this article, we will see how to use a Gnome shell’s secret screen recorder.

11: Zorin OS 15 + LineageOS Jun 13, 2019

Zorin OS is described as “a powerful desktop you already know how to use.” It’s elegant, beginner-friendly and looks beautiful, too. Should we be paying more attention to it?

Then in another first, Jason installs his first alternative mobile OS, and Joe gives advice on getting the most out of LineageOS.

Unfortunately we end the episode by saying goodbye to Jason as he moves on to pursue several independent projects, but the show will go on with the same spirit of discovery and newness!

Links:

Zorin OS — Zorin OS is the alternative to Windows and macOS designed to make your computer faster, more powerful, secure, and privacy respecting.
It's Time To Pay Attention To Zorin OS 15 — Zorin OS is the best desktop Linux distribution you’ve never heard of.
LineageOS — A free and open-source operating system for various devices, based on the Android mobile platform.
LineageOS Device Guides
Magisk — Magisk manager is a magic mask to alter system systemless-ly.

10: BTW, I Installed Arch May 30, 2019

He didn't stop at Xfce. Jason became that Arch Linux guy. Is it as challenging to install as we’ve been told? We discuss the hard way, and then the easier way.

Then we take the mighty Oryx Pro laptop from System76 for a first impressions test drive!

Links:

Arch Linux — A simple, lightweight distribution
Arch Linux Install Script — Arch Linux Install Script (alis) installs unattended, automated and customized Arch Linux system.
Boot-Repair — Boot-Repair lets you fix these issues with a simple click, which (generally reinstalls GRUB and) restores access to the operating systems you had installed before the issue.
System76 Oryx Pro — This engineering feat squeezes a high-performance H-class Intel CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-Series GPU into an impressively thin laptop body.

9: Intel’s Clear Linux + The FOSS Contribution Project May 16, 2019

Practically overnight, Intel’s Clear Linux OS has turned into a distribution worth paying attention to. But is it ready for regular desktop Linux users?

Plus, Jason goes down yet another awesome rabbit hole with a new project on GitHub aimed at giving back to the Linux and open source community.

Links:

It's Time To Pay Attention To Intel's Clear Linux OS Project — Intel's Clear Linux Project has been on my radar for months, mainly because of its sheer dominance over traditional Linux distributions -- and often Windows -- when it comes to performance.
8 Ways To Contribute To The Desktop Linux Community, Without Knowing A Single Line Of Code — Have you ever felt the urge to give back to the Linux community? To help out the developers who spend a significant amount of their (typically unpaid) free time creating the distro, software, or desktop environment that you enjoy on a daily basis? Maybe you just have no clue where to start. That's exactly the predicament I found myself in, so I started asking questions.
Let's Build A Wiki For Contributing To The Linux And FOSS Community — Since starting my Linux adventure last summer, I've wanted to contribute back to this awesome community. After all, it's this community that has embraced my journey, and provided me with endless amounts of positive feedback, encouragement and knowledge. But I can't write code. I don't fully understand the nuts-and-bolts of the kernel. So I started asking some questions.
Contributing To The Linux And FOSS Community — The Wiki will include exhaustive links to various "Get Involved" pages of all Linux distributions and open source software projects of all sizes.

8: Ubuntu MATE on the Pi + The Linux Community May 02, 2019

We take Ubuntu MATE 18.04 for a test drive on the Raspberry Pi 3. How does it compare to Raspbian? After that, a fascinating discussion about the Linux community.

What are the high points and low points? What’s that magic ingredient that makes it feel so different from other tech communities?

Links:

Ubuntu MATE for the Raspberry Pi Model B 2, 3 and 3+ — Ubuntu MATE 18.04.2 is available for Raspberry Pi Model B 2, 3 and 3+ with separate images for armhf (ARMv7 32-bit) and arm64 (ARMv8 64-bit).

7: The Xfce Surprise + Entroware Ares Review Apr 18, 2019

Jason leaves the warm embrace of GNOME and finally tries Xfce for 24 hours. What happened took him by surprise!

Then we dive into some hardware talk about the latest All-In-One Linux PC from Entroware, which packs in a lot of quality for the price. But are there any downsides?

Links:

Xfce Desktop Environment — Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly.
Manjaro — Manjaro is an operating system, suitable as a free replacement to Windows or MacOS.
Xubuntu — Xubuntu is an elegant and easy to use operating system.
Entroware Ares

6: Manjaro 18 + Starting Your Journey Apr 04, 2019

The Linux Gaming Report rolls forward as Jason throws Manjaro 18 on the test bench and walks away shocked.

Then we offer some best practices and tips for, well, choosing Linux! How to pick the right hardware for your needs, where to discover your perfect distribution, and how to best enjoy your new journey.

Links:

Manjaro — Manjaro is an operating system, suitable as a free replacement to Windows or MacOS. It has different editions, they all use the same base but provide a different experience, based on the diversity of desktop environments available.
LibreHunt — Safe, private, and secure. Choose Linux today.
Distrochooser — This test will help you to choose a suitable Linux distribution for you.
Ubuntu Desktop certified hardware — The certification chart below highlights OEM partner PCs available preloaded with Ubuntu.
Standard notes — Standard Notes is a safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work.
Syncthing — Syncthing replaces proprietary sync and cloud services with something open, trustworthy and decentralized.
Kodi — Kodi is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub that can be installed on Linux, OSX, Windows, iOS and Android

5: Linux Gaming Report and Purism Librem 15 Mar 21, 2019

Jason goes deeper down the rabbit hole by exploring the state of Steam gaming on 9 different Linux distributions. Find out how Fedora compares to Pop!_OS.

Plus, first impressions of Purism’s brand new Librem 15 v4 laptop.

Links:

4: Fedora Challenge And NextCloudPi Mar 07, 2019

The distro challenges roll on with Fedora Workstation. Jason shares his thoughts on getting it up and running, feeling at home with vanilla Gnome, and why Fedora may be perfect place for his Magic the Gathering addiction.

Plus, the Raspberry Pi journey continues with NextCloudPi. Is creating a DropBox substitute really this easy?

Links:

The Fedora 29 Linux Community Challenge — By popular demand, we're moving into March by exploring another community-powered distro with a corporate shadow (in Red Hat), and one that people have passionately encouraged me to try: Fedora Workstation.
Fedora Workstation — Fedora Workstation is a reliable, user-friendly, and powerful operating system for your laptop or desktop computer. It supports a wide range of developers, from hobbyists and students to professionals in corporate environments.
Create A Personal Home Backup Server With Raspberry Pi 3 — NextCloudPi is a standalone, self-contained OS that runs on your Raspberry Pi. It lets you sync and manually back up files from practically any device (including your phone and its camera instantly), and serve files to those devices.
NextCloudPi — NextCloudPi is a Nextcloud instance that is preinstalled and preconfigured, and includes a management interface with all the tools you need to self host your private data in a single package. This is an official open source community project that aims at making it easier for everyone to have control over their own data.
Net Scan — Network scanning and discovery along with port scanner.
Wonder Shaper — Wonder Shaper is a script that allow the user to limit the bandwidth of one or more network adapters. It does so by using iproute's tc command, but greatly simplifies its operation.

3: Raspberry Pi and Retro Gaming Feb 21, 2019

Jason finally discovers the bottomless well of potential that is the Raspberry Pi, and talks about his first experience with Raspbian. Then Joe and Jason take a nostalgic deep dive into retro gaming on both the Raspberry Pi and the Pinebook.

Plus some final thoughts on openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap.

Links:

Raspberry Pi — A small and affordable computer that you can use to learn programming
RetroPie — RetroPie allows you to turn your Raspberry Pi, ODroid C1/C2, or PC into a retro-gaming machine
Lakka — Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that transforms a small computer into a full blown retrogaming console.
Pinebook — An Affordable 64-bit ARM based Open Source Notebook
openSUSE — The makers' choice for sysadmins, developers and desktop users.

2: Anyone Can Benchmark + openSUSE Challenge Feb 07, 2019

Episode 2 is all about opposites, such as the major differences between benchmarking graphics cards like Radeon VII on Linux and Windows. Then we dive into the Phoronix Test Suite, a robust tool that isn't just for tech reviewers. Find out why you should be using it too.

Plus, the distro challenges roll on as Jason decides to do a complete 180, jumping from elementary OS to openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Links:

Phoronix Test Suite — Open-Source, Automated Benchmarking
Introducing The Linux Community Challenge #2: openSUSE Tumbleweed — For the second challenge, though, we're going to leave behind that "refreshingly restrictive" nature of elemenatary OS and throw ourselves into the fire with openSUSE Tumbleweed.

1: elementary OS and OpenMediaVault Jan 23, 2019

We kick off a brand new show with a discussion about Jason's elementary OS community challenge. Then we get into the pros and cons of setting up your own NAS with OpenMediaVault.

Plus, find out more about your hosts and what we have in store for future episodes.

Links:

Introducing The Elementary OS 5 Linux Community Challenge — The basic premise of the elementary OS Challenge is simple: ditch Windows, macOS or your current Linux OS of choice and exclusively use elementary OS 5 Juno as your daily driver for two weeks. Explore the curated AppCenter and the bundled software to get all of your working and playing done. For email, for music, for coding, for gaming, for whatever.
Elementary OS Challenge: Let's Talk About Dark Themes — Like every other deliberate choice the elementary OS developers make (such as minimizing windows), the absence of an optional dark mode reflects their clear and unwavering vision of what a desktop experience should be.
The Elementary OS Challenge Telegram group — There we can support each other, learn some new tricks from each other, make some new friends, toss out questions or answers and just generally kick some ass.
openmediavault — openmediavault is the next generation network attached storage (NAS) solution based on Debian Linux. It contains services like SSH, (S)FTP, SMB/CIFS, DAAP media server, RSync, BitTorrent client and many more. Thanks to the modular design of the framework it can be enhanced via plugins.

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