• 19 Posts
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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • Some drives are worse than others and higher capacities get worse and worse, in my experience, Seagate drives are extremely loud.

    If you get helium drives (like wd red plus > 8TB i think),or 2nd hand hgst/ WD enterprise drives) they are significantly quieter.

    But, having an ssd is cheaper probably. I have an SSD for the boot drive and all databases, configuration folders, etc… In docker so general IO is fast, then media, documents, pictures, etc… On the big HDDs.



  • Absolutely can’t wait for new battery tech for grid storage too! Sand batteries that can use otherwise-unusable sand, sodium-Ion batteries (or mainly inverters that can handle the expanded voltage range compared to Lithium-based), expansion of pumped water batteries where it works. This is about to be THE time for government-funded alternative batteries across the world. Energy would get so plentiful that it wouldn’t even be profitable for fossil fuels anymore. That is the dream. Of course there is a 99% chance that every single government in the world drops the ball completely.



  • KNX.

    Everything is decentrally programmed, and you can do extra automations and stuff from home assistant, but KNX devices are wired (generally) and will always Just Work™. More expensive that the cheaper retrofit options, but if you factor in manual overrides or getting the “better” wireless smart devices it is comparable. They generally also have a manual override at the panel. For core functions like lights, HVAC, roll shutters or blinds, etc… That is honestly the best option (unless you want every light to be an RGB light for some reason, then you still need smart bulbs)



  • Bazzite or an immutable if you do gaming and don’t need a lot of special functionality (e.g. network scanning doesn’t work, document signing doesn’t work and will never work, managing gpg keys, embedded firmware development, Belgian EID, etc…)

    Mint if you don’t have a brand new system and just want an easy experience.

    Arch if you want all niche software to simply be available through the package manager and never have to find rpm/deb packages.

    Debian for a server (or maybe opensuse MicroOS nowadays)

    Opensuse if you really want an EU OS or something very integrated with a snapshot system.

    And of course, Hannah Montana Linux if you are enlightened.







  • Don’t get a tablet if you already have a Linux laptop or a dedicated workspace.

    Get a drawing pad. They are better, more cost-effective, have a better feel (non-display versions), have better pens, and you aren’t restricted to neutered programs offered on android/iOS.

    Wacom is traditional, but expensive and their pen tech is kind of aging at this point, but they always work flawlessly.

    XPPen is the great value alternative (with even better stuff on the top end). i have an XPPen Deco Pro Gen2 and it is an absolutely great pad with the texture of paper, and their little macropad with a scroll wheel works well. The downside is that you need a screen, but it is quite ergonomic.

    The few actual artists I know use the XPPen Artist Pro series which is a drawing pad with a screen, and then they just plug it into their laptop and close the lid. Not as portable, but generally as good or better experience

    XPpen also has good Linux drivers. They work in the kernel by default often, but the macropad and pressure sensitivity customization won’t work globally without their drivers.


  • XP-pen has much more cost-effective options that are just as good nowadays since wacom hasn’t innovated in like 15 years lol.

    They also work out of the box in Linux, but for all of the shortcuts, they also have driver packages for every distribution and if it isn’t available, support will package the newest version for you (in my experience) in your chosen format and then send it to you and update the driver downloads.

    The XP Pen Deco Pro Gen2 is an absolute beast for a drawing tablet.

    XPPen also has a android drawing pad but that is normal android I think.

    If OP wants the drawing tablet experience with a screen, they can also get XPPen Artist Pro display tablet series which of the few artists I know in real life, are what most of them use.

    An actual drawing pad is much better than even an IPad for drawing, and you can also use whatever program you want (like Krita), not just the neutered programs that come on iOS or android.