logblog

the log blog (real)

In 2021, when I was 13, I decided to switch to Linux as my primary operating system. Why? Honestly, I don't really know. I guess I was looking for a new experience since computing was getting boring for me. Little did I know I would be running Linux on almost every single thing I own.

I am now 16, and I would like to talk about my experience.

Where did you start?

The first Linux distribution that I ever used was Ubuntu, however, this wasn't for my personal use and was actually for a Minecraft server at the time. This would've been around 2018 – 2019.

For the first distribution that I would daily drive, I started with Pop! OS. Since I heard that it would have NVIDIA drivers preconfigured, and I heard a lot of good things about it. However, this was cut short since certain games weren't working and (for some reason) I couldn't easily figure out why. Then, since the operating system was just slightly too annoying to use, I went to an even more annoying operating system (I am just a genius).

In that same year, I started to use Arch Linux. Which, I actually found less annoying to use (what). At the start, there was a learning curve since I wasn't used to using a computer through text, however, the terminal never really felt hard for me and I quickly adapted to using it quite frequently. But, the experience wasn't all perfect.

Getting NVIDIA Optimus to work was, let's just say, a chore. For some context, I have been using an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55, which has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti and an Intel Core i5 10300H. This means that the laptop has both Intel and NVIDIA graphics. For most of my time using this laptop, I have wanted it to be using the Intel Integrated for less intensive things like the desktop and browsers, and the NVIDIA graphics for games and editing. Luckily, I found “Optimus Manager” which made this a lot easier. Now, the actual display is broken, so I no longer have a use for Optimus Manager. However, if you are struggling with hybrid graphics, do check it out.

Okay so, what is the actual experience???

Well, actually, it's been great! While some things like VR (which I just use Windows for) and doing single GPU passthrough aren't that easy on this laptop, everything else is great! Honestly, I think using Linux made computing a lot more enjoyable for me. I use Linux for my school work, personal work, and for casual stuff like gaming. There are so many things to learn about which makes it even more enjoyable.

However, don't expect to play any multiplayer games with Anti-Cheat with no issues. While a lot of multiplayer games have Linux support with their Anti-Cheat, games like Valorant and Fortnite will not let you join with their anti-cheats. So if you like to play the newest multiplayer experiences, probably have Windows dual-booted.

Should I switch to Linux?

Maybe, depends on how it works with your hardware, what you plan to do on Linux, and if you're willing to learn. Probably avoid doing this switch if you don't have much free time. Maybe also test some of your things on the Live USB, to see if they work and such. However, through time the Linux experience does get better so if your stuff isn't supported now, they might start to work later.

holy shit ive been using linux for 3 years

Fediverse Account

I have recently set up an XMPP server, running on gyatt.cc. Compared to gyatt.cc, it isn't as open to registration. Since I don't really know how to run a server like that (I have tried for testing), I don't really know all the good practices and measures.

One of the first things I did was decide on what server I wanted to run it on, I was thinking of using a different server for the job, but due to a limited budget, I just used the gyatt.cc server. Personally, I try to use different computers for each service, but I don't think that would be a good use of my money compared to just using a pre-existing computer.

Now that the server I wanted to use was chosen, I started researching what software I wanted to use. Now, this was very easy since I have tried running an XMPP server before. So, I chose Prosody. I had the most experience with it (also known as like maybe up to an hour) so I was just a bit biased to this option. If I were to restart this project, I would have probably done more research into other options.

The software chosen, what now? Well, you need to configure it! I went through the configuration and set the values to what I needed (For example: setting the VirtualHost to xmpp.gyatt.cc instead of localhost). However, during this step, I got stumped on the certificates. In hindsight, I don't know how and why I was stuck on this step for so long. I think because it was nearing 1:00AM, I was getting extremely tired. However, in the end, I did get the certificates working using Certbot and we are now able to get into the fun stuff (possibly)!

Using Prosody's CLI tool (prosodyctl), I was able to create a user account. I decided to create two accounts, one was my main account, and the other was a testing account to test how messaging within the server worked. I also made an account off-site to test cross-site messaging (it isn't called that, but it works). At this point, the messaging was all working as expected. Now, I wanted to add three more things for it to become usable as a primary messaging platform.

  • Multi-User Chat
  • Calls
  • File Sharing

The first thing I did was set up File Sharing since I wanted to be able to send images and videos to my friends. This was actually very simple, I specified what the image-sharing URL was going to be, got the certificate, and then set it up in NGINX. Then setting up Multi-User Chat was essentially the same thing.

Setting up Calls was the hardest one of the three to be set up. Not that it was hard, but as in if I had to list the three in a 'Hardest to set up' list, it would be first. Calls required a TURN server and I used eturnal since it was pretty easy to set up and configure.

So then I ask myself, was it all worth it? Why XMPP? Why couldn't I just use a publicly available XMPP server and use that? For the first question, I will have to wait to find out. The second question, I did think of setting up Matrix, which is also able to message and call people but in my experience, I just didn't really like it enough for a primary source of contact. I do have a Matrix account on matrix.org but I don't really use it that often. The third question is simple, I have too much time on my hands and needed a project to work on.

Thank you for reading. This is my first proper attempt at writing a blog post so I apologize for anything I did incorrectly.

Fediverse Account