Filtering by: linux · clear filter
One of my local volunteer projects is the library's website which I'm updating this morning as Cosmo waits for second breakfast.
Happily using #FreeSoftware: ghostwriter for markdown conversion to html. Then I'll use Kate to edit a couple html files then upload with Filezilla. #GNU #Linux
and the Cinnamon DE. All running on a 2018 #Thinkpad bought for $250 on Ebay.
No need for new/expensive hardware from #apple. No #malware from #Microsoft or #google #UpCycle #FOSS #Tech
That interface and the ads... 😂🤢🤮
I don't ever want to read/hear another Apple fan blather on about the supposed high quality of Apple's OS/app design.
There's never been a better time to switch to #GNU #Linux and #FreeSoftware.
with the Cinnamon desktop and default theme is a nice upgrade from Liquid Ass.
#Apple #enshittification
Aaron gets it. Great post. It's time to move past US-based tech. In fact, it's time to move past US dominance, period. Our world is out of balance and the US has led in the wrong direction.
In regards to tech, we can all do this. There are great solutions right now. But YOU do have to make an effort. Buck-up. Making the world better requires us to put forth effort. Do. The. Work.
1/20/2026, 1 engagement
2025 End of year personal computing check-in
I've written quite a bit over the past 11 months about flipping the table on my personal computing. All very unexpected but what a relief to have done it. And also very satisfying to know that my computing now fits my personal ethics in a way that it did not before.
#Permacomputing #GNU #Linux #FreeSoftware #FOSS #Apple #Computing #Tech #Technology #Privacy #Resist #Capitalism #Fascism
Apple's recent support of fascism in the US highlights that there's never been a better time to adopt and support #FreeSoftware. I truly believe better, more ethical computing is to be found in the #GNU #Linux operating system that fully respects the #privacy and #freedom of users.
You may not be able to switch your OS but you can begin adopting the software and better privacy practices.
Tomorrow I'll be celebrating (virtually) 40 years of software freedom with
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/fsf40-twelve-reasons
Writing a blog post this morning about switching the fully free GNU/Linux distribution by #Trisquel and reading about the process they use to make it. Given how much of my lifetime is spent computing I've realized how important it is to fully take responsibility which means understanding and appreciating the process. And along with that the time, energy and commitment of those that make it happen. THANK YOU for doing the work.
#GNU #Linux #Libre
My first dive into GNU/Linux was with Mint in February 2025 which I installed on on old 2021 Mac Mini. It was a great first experience but I wanted to try an "entirely free" distribution. One of the recommendations is #trisquel and I gave that a go with the KDE desktop. Installed yesterday, loving it so far. No wifi as the card driver/firmware is nonfree, often an issue with "free" distros. I use ethernet so not a problem in my use case.
#GNU #Linux #FSF
Slowly making progress with our local Community Computer Upcycle project. Our first two donated computers have been upgraded to Linux Mint and will be made available to use on-site for clients of Madison County Recovery Allies in the next week or two. Outreach to collect used hardware has just started. As computers are upgraded to Linux they will be offered for free to MCRA clients and county residents. #Linux #Endof10 #FOSS #Library #MutualAid #Community #Computing
https://ozarkregional.org/CCU.html
Paul Thurrott on "Giving in" to Microsoft's malicious behavior towards it's users. Describing setup in which his choices are repeatedly reverted by Windows 11.
"I would decline Windows 11's offer to "backup" my Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive during Setup, but in each case, it would later ignore that decision and simply enable the feature."
Why do people willingly subject themselves to this when there are alternatives?
#Linux #Microsoft #Windows
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-11/322076/giving-in
I've been spending some time learning more about the history and foundation of GNU/Linux and FOSS, listening to this talk by Richard Stallman this quote popped out: "Society teaches us to be very attached to convenience and people attached to convenience are easily herded." 49:20 in video.
#FOSS #GNU #Linux
With Apple’s WWDC25 announcements comes news that most pre-2020 Macs are ineligible for macOS 26... Obviously, given my recent turn to GNU/Linux I’m going to take this as an opportunity to encourage Mac users to add GNU/Linux to their line-up. Take it as an opportunity to learn. Productive and fun computing does not require macOS. My 2012 Mac is running the latest version of Linux Mint without breaking a sweat and gets all the latest security...
#Linux #Apple #macos26
6 days in with Emacs... I've used it daily. I've mostly got the hang of the basic keybindings I use most: New Frame, Save, Previous screen, Next screen, Copy/Cut/Paste. Also, using it to browse, open and manage files. I can see the allure of using it for all the things. Definitely going to keep at it. Curious about using it for email but the set-up looks like quite an involved process.
#Emacs #Linux
A fantastic blog post by
Growing old in the age of crap tech, and fascism: "In a nutshell, I found myself trapped within a kind of self-inflicted jail, where the warden was a collective entity made of rich white men. These mercurial figures come from a foreign country that I was conditioned to think as an ally."
We do not have to remain users and subjects of US mega tech. There absolutely are solutions.
#Linux #FOSS #Apple #Google #Microsoft
https://minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/growing-old-in-the-age-of-crap-tech/
Community Computer Upcycle
"A few weeks back I began thinking about the possibility of starting up a local community project to upcycle older computers. I contacted a local nonprofit where a friend works, Madison County Recovery Allies (MCRA), as well as my local regional library where I've been volunteering for several years. I sent both orgs a proposal and both want to join in...
#FOSS #Linux #MutualAid #Community #Tech #Windows #endof10
https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-05-20.html
Excellent post by Ploum: "Small low-tech manifesto"
My initial take-away: Even as a somewhat "advanced" user, my relationship to my computing technology precarious. He writes:
"Thanks to the complexity, constant change and the imposition of a strict “intellectual property” regime, users have been transformed into consumers. "
#Computing #FOSS #Apple #Linux #LowTech
LOVE this.
While we need huge systemic changes, anyone can also begin today by making these changes in daily life. Even better, make the changes in your household while also working in your community to make such changes a part of the local system.
Household changes can be pushed into a community. Share your efforts with real-world, doable local organizing which turn the places we live into meaningful community relations.
#FOSS #UpCycling #SolarPunk #Linux #degrowth
I may be getting myself in deep as a newbie to Linux (installed Mint in February) but I'm working with my local library and a non-profit in my fairly poor, rural Missouri county to start a new computer UpCycle program. Will be setting up a workspace at the nonprofit and installing Linux Mint on the first donated computers next week. Spending today and next few days writing a super simple users quick-start guide. I'll be offering mini tutor sessions and small classes too.
#Linux #Windows #FOSS
Are Apple Enthusiasts Miserable?
It's been on my mind to write about Apple enthusiast user culture for the past couple weeks and this morning the title of the current Rebound podcast got my attention: General Misery About Life and Technology. I write this post as a former Apple enthusiast, a 30+ year user of Apple computers and devices. When I bought my first Mac in 1992 I just needed a computer to write my masters thesis. It was just...
#Apple #Linux #OpenSource #FOSS
5/4/2025, 2 engagements
Apple to Linux Journal - Two months, enjoying the journey!
It's been over two months since my first install of Linux Mint on my old 2012 Mac Mini, now dubbed LinuxMini. I've got quite a few posts covering various apps and aspects of the migration but thought I'd write up a two month status report. My initial plan was for Linux to be an experiment and eventual migration while my initial main goal was just to begin the process of migrating away...
#Apple #Linux #FOSS
If Europe is going to break from US-based tech will it embrace FOSS or just duplicate the US for-profit, capitalism-based model of computing?
https://kolektiva.media/w/cbb9f78a-9705-41f6-b7a3-e869e1a0e7f2
#Linux #FOSS
Are you bending the knee to fascism?
If your favorite local hardware store started flying a Nazi flag would you shrug and go ahead and step through the door to purchase that garden hose you need? Many US companies and, relevant to this post, most of US big tech have all bent the knee to the Trump administration. For the sake of business and profit, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others are all going along...
#Fascism #Apple #Google #Meta #FOSS #Linux
Apple to Linux Journal - Scribus is actually amazing
In a recent post I shared a few things that turned out to be incorrect or just lacking in information. Honestly, I should have known I'd not taken enough time and should have used the app another day or two before posting. First, I incorrectly stated that there was no way to neatly organize the free floating palettes by docking them to the side of the document as I'd come to expect based on past use of Adobe InDesign...
#Apple #Linux #FOSS
Apple to Linux Journal - Rhythmbox as a local music player
"Okay, let me get this out of the way first: I learned long ago that Apple's Music app is absolute garbage for playing local music shared by a Mac on the network. Absolute and utter garbage...
Apple provides an app that has been intentionally broken to push users away from using their local music to an Apple subscription...
Linux offers a FOSS app that works perfectly for the same task."
#Apple #Linux
Apple to Linux Journal - Migrating from Apple Photos to digiKam
One of my first considerations in moving from Apple to Linux was photo management. I've moved my photo workflow to digiKam. And I'll say right up front, this is NOT the app for families that want to live in one large, shared photo library in a cloud. digiKam is for managing a local file photo library. I might work over a local network though I've not tried that. One of the stickiest bits...
#Linux #Apple
So, you're a frustrated Apple user looking for alternatives?
There's a growing discontent amongst Apple users rightly frustrated with Apple's increasing greed and arrogance. There's no one forcing to you to remain an Apple customer. It's absolutely possible to migrate away and still have an enjoyable computing experience. Even better because it leaves you in control of your own computing destiny.
You really can leave...
#Apple #Linux
Apple to Linux Journal - Linux troubleshooting successes!
Today marks one month with Linux and I was glad to solve two of my three issues that have continued since install (connecting bluetooth devices and, separately, audio stutters when streaming). To be clear, these were obviously not deal breakers, just bothersome. Linux Mint is meant to be an easy way into Linux and it absolutely has been. Windows and macOS are not without their problems and...
#Linux #Apple
https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-03-17.html
Apple to Linux Journal Series Home
It's been a month since I installed Linux on my old 2012 Mac Mini, now dubbed LinuxMini and I thought I'd collect the various posts into one page which I'll update with future posts as I continue on in the process. The posts detail the concrete steps taken to migrate from Apple's iCloud: my own local cloud for photos, files and music with email, calendar and task management shifted to my domain/web host...
Anyone can do this.
#Linux
Nearly a month now using Linux and it's mostly been a fantastic experience. A problem I've not been able to resolve: momentary stutters when playing audio is a problem with internet streaming with Shortwave or playing audio from a local smb/Mac shared network drive with Rhythmbox. Both apps work perfectly initially but after a short while will begin to experience 2 second stutters or gaps in playback that repeat every few minutes. Often enough to be really annoying.
Solutions?
#Linux
Apple to Linux Journal - Can I replace Affinity Publisher with Scribus?
I've been using Affinity Publisher with the iPad and, before that, the Mac for all of my layout and desktop publishing work. Now that I'm moving to Linux I'm looking at options for this kind of work. Scribus is the only app in this category so I've spent the past couple days getting my feet wet.
My first take...
#Apple #Linux #FOSS #Design
We need a global foundation for an open source web engine
My perhaps too simple take on the current situation with web browsers: We need a new governance model for the development and maintenance of the web browser rendering engine. The current situation is we have three big players:
#OpenWeb #OpenSource #Linux #Web
3/10/2025, 2 engagements
Apple to Linux Journal: Moving email from iCloud to my own domains
A mistake I made over 10+ years ago was depending on Apple for my email. It was easy, it was convenient. I'd done the same with Gmail before that. As of 2 weeks ago my email, according to Settings for iCloud showed that I was using around 5GB of storage. In my migration process the past two weeks I first moved all my Photos then my files to my own local network cloud. I was saving email...
#Linux #Apple
Helpful Linux Utilities for an Apple Switcher: Autokey, Diodon and Ulauncher
Upon switching to Linux I noticed there were three things missing that I was missing from the iPad: Text expansion, Clipboard history and Spotlight search. The iPad does not acutally have a clipboard history but I was using an third party app for that function. These are the three I'm using on Linux...
#Apple #Linux
Linux apps for notes, blogging, coding and remote file management
I've written a couple times in the past couple weeks about switching to Linux. As I've mentioned I'll still be stuck using Apple devices for a few years due to my reliance on the Affinity suite of apps but I'm shifting everything else to a Linux Mint Mac Mini and it's been great thus far. This post is specifically about using the LinuxMac for updating local static websites that consist...
#Linux #Apple
Building a reliable local cloud replacement for iCloud or other corporate cloud-based computing
It's been 10 days since I installed Linux Mint on an older 2012 Mac Mini and began the process of migrating from Apple's hardware, software and iCloud services ecosystem. One of the more important tasks I've completed is building my local cloud replacement for Apple's iCloud. I should say nearly completed because I expect I'll be tweaking things for a bit...
#Linux #Apple
Apple to Linux Journal - First Days
"The first day with Linux went fairly well. Downloading, creating a bootable thumbdrive and install was easy. And by easy I mean almost anyone with some experience using and maintaining a computer would likely understand those first few steps and be able to accomplish them. That said, the resulting install was not perfect. There were two issues both of which required basic tech that some may not have immediate..."
#Apple #Linux
Progress!
"In the two days since I made my decision to begin the process of migrating away I've taken significant first steps. I've retrieved my 2012 MacMini from storage on a shelf and have installed Mint Linux and the apps I need to do my website work. That's about half of my freelance income. That's a big chunk and it's done. I do have some kinks to work out but I can now do that work from that Linux Mac today.
I've created a migration plan..."
#Apple #Linux
After 33ish years of using Apple computers I've started the process of exiting.
Step one, installing Mint Linux on my old, un-used 2012 Mac Mini. Is Cinnamon too much for 2012 Intel Mac, 16GB?
Will still be using iPad and Affinity apps for half my freelance income for another 5 years.
Moving from iCloud over next few months then gradually move everything else to Linux.
Any recommended Linux apps for:
#Apple #Linux