The mass exodus from #Windows to #Linux (and #Mac) due to #Windows11 and #AI continues. More and more articles, more and more youtube videos about it, or posts on forums. People are switching. If it continues like that, Linux should have 10% desktop marketshare by the end of the decade (and yes, that's a lot).
@timonsku There's the actual statcounter source, however what I'm reporting here is an obvious trend that is visible if you search a bit on youtube, reddit, on various forums. The amounts of users switching has increased, and it has kind of taken a world of its own since last week, after MS' AI announcement.
In a new podcast, Linus(Tech) said that with the upcoming #Windows#AI bruhaha, a lot of users are going to move to #Chromebooks. But just today #Google announced that AI is coming on their #Chromebook line too. Maybe just a chatbot for now, but eventually, it'll be more integrated. The only option (for those who can't stand #Apple), is #Linux, on their existing, older PC. That's why distros running in low RAM are important.
Spent the day installing #Mint#XFce to an old Acer #laptop of my sister in law's brother (I've converted everyone to #Linux in the family). Acer's firmware was very buggy, so it took tricks to load grub.
Installed them a few apps, and they will be super happy with their new (old) laptop. Previously, #Windows 10 was dying on that laptop, it was that slow, as it was swapping furiously! Mint loaded in about 1 minute, which is good (considering the very slow hdd).
The funny part about the removal of networking from the default #keepassxc package on #debian, is that they did it for "security" reasons, without thinking that the MOST INSECURE way to transfer a #password to your #browser is via the CLIPBOARD. Absolutely every running app or service can read the clipboard! And yet, that's the default way they expect users to do it now!
On #Debian 11, the whole system along with #XFce was taking 500 MB of RAM. On Debian 12, the system takes 850 MB of RAM. On Trixie/Sid-unstable, it takes 1.3 GB. I honestly don't know what they're shoving in it.
With #Cinnamon and #Gnome, it takes 1.6 GB on idle. Since when Cinnamon, a gnome2/gtk3 fork takes (or should take) as much RAM as Gnome4/gtk4? Something's amiss.
@eugenialoli With kernel caching etc. (i.e. "unused RAM is wasted RAM"), is it still meaningful to compare total RAM usage across DEs, vs analyzing individual RAM usage of components/applications to look for a more specific anomaly?
But even then, my observation in the past few years is that the more RAM you have available in a system, the more it tends to use it anyway.
So I found myself in a weird predicament. I had some older laptops that I converted to #Debian & #XFce with a bunch of added apps and games. I gave some to my family, and the rest I wanted to give them to kids for school. I asked around. Well, no one seems to want them. No one is using computers anymore in #Greece it seems, they only use #smartphones. They barely browse the web too (just some gov sites). They just use #tiktok and few apps, consoles for games. That's it.
The Gnome Project is a wall-garden, but not of the Apple kind. It's a club of mostly #Redhat programmers & a few select others, and either you're in it, or you're not. Your user needs, your bug reports, your patches, all end up on /dev/null. They listen to no one. Never have, never will.
We totally randomly met two #bicycle riders this morning near our home, apparently they're traveling around #Greece & #Albania with bicycles. They are a #German & #Italian couple. We invited them at my mom's home and we all had lunch together. Apparently they are #PhD candidates in #Austria, one in #chemistry and the other one in #biology. Very interesting young people. It was a good day today.
WTF? Is #Tenacity on the #Flatpak store #MALWARE? Apparently it was running in the bg AS IF it was an invincible #Gnome extension so SystemMonitor/htop would NOT see it as a process. But #MissionCenter (also from flatpak store) saw it as it is: an app running on startup! Killing it killed Gnome session! It was also spiking wifi, and was leaking the Gnome gjs service from 4MB RAM to 120MB. Uninstalling fixed the prob
I think there's more #nature than nurture. I was 5 when #StarTrek, #BattlestarGalactica, #StarWars, The Man from #Atlantis, Bionic Woman, etc were my thing. The lengths I'd go to not miss Star Trek reruns at that age! Soaps and dramas were made for "stupid people who complicate life for no reason", was my opinion as a little kid. That opinion hasn't changed at all now, at 50 yo. I fall asleep with most human-caused #drama. It doesn't teach me anything new.
@joplinapp I'm using a totally de-googled phone, but I'd like to use joplin as my note app. I can't find an apk to download on either f-droid store, or on github. Please consider adding these, thx!
With the new version of procfs the memory reading is more accurate, and it shows that #Linux distros are actually using more RAM than previously thought. While it's possible to run them at 2 or 4 GB with quite some success, you will start swapping sooner than later. The minimum these days is 8 GB, and that doesn't make Linux much more efficient than #MacOS or #Windows. Sure, there are distros like DSL for old PCs, but modern desktop versions are as memory hungry as their competition. #opensource
@visone Not on 2 or 4 GB of RAM. ZRam shines when you already have enough ram, because it can't guarantee any available ram. At least swap on file, that can grow, can. So, it depends on the computer specs you are working with.
Just bought a #DELL 3190 laptop, new for $150 (11.6" screen, 64GB eMMC). It's fully supported on #Linux, and even if it has a Celeron N4120 CPU and only 4 GB of RAM, it'll work fine with #Mint, or #XFCE (and #Gnome/ #KDE if you don't mind some minor lag). Not opening too many browser tabs will ensure that the swap file won't get used too often.
If you're on a tight budget this is a good option, as it also has great battery life too at 10 hours with Linux.
I'm looking to start a #business designing and installing #database s for very small businesses. Not full #sql servers, but something like MS Access (local files). Unfortunately, there are no good #foss alternatives for it. #LibreBase leaves a lot to be desired, and #Kexi hasn't updated for some time now. That leaves the online #NocoDB as the best option, but I rather not deal with online stuff because internet is not reliable in my area. Plus that tends to fall into #enshittification over time.
My main laptop is a #Macbook Air running #MacOS, but interestingly, I don't really use the #OS. I use it as if it's a #Chromebook instead. I only launch #Chrome with it (and #QEMU to run #Linux). Every time I HAVE to use the OS at length, e.g. to do something with Finder, it's an exercise in frustration.
What I enjoy very much is the interaction of the hardware with the input UI software (e.g. how the touchpad feels and behaves in conjunction to #software). Not the rest of the system.