Odyssey Linux https://odysseylinux.org/

There is a new Linux distro that includes hardened Zen browser and a tool to set up SearXNG locally. There is also an option to have the searches run through three TOR relays. It makes it all super easy to setup if you’re not someone who is self-hosting other services.

Remember when there was the threat of this happening to open source software and people thought it was the end of open source? This is dumb and the only good that could come out of it is that someone is forced to rule that there is no such thing as a clean room implementation.

It’s not. Post is confusing.

This is a good one!

Focus on services before devices. iCloud to Nextcloud, iPhoto to Immich, HomeKit to Home Assistant, etc. You can start using them concurrently, alongside Apple services so you still have that safety net while you figure things out. Most self-hosted services will have iOS/MacOS/TVOS clients so you can start using them now. Then when you’re ready to swap a device, you’re mostly ready to go.

I’ve been working on this myself after being all in on the Apple ecosystem since 2006. So far, I’ve moved to Jellyfin for my media, and made the Nexcloud and Immich switches. The most important thing here is that as you start to self host more important things like photos and documents, have a good way to back up that data.

I’m not a programmer either. Never have been. You don’t need to be one to use any desktop distro. You’d be fine with CachyOS. It is popular enough that getting help with anything that does pop up should be easy. I’ve used it as well as Nobara and Bazzite. Ultimately, I landed on Bazzite. That was about a year ago and I am happy.

I think my hardware situation is simpler (iGPU). May be why I haven’t had many issues. There is a derivative called Odyssey Linux that makes Void easier. It is very new with a very small community at the moment but I’ve tried it and it makes many things easier.

We have been using Aurora, Bluefin, and Bazzite in our household for about a year and a half and have yet to have an issue on any of them. Aurora is installed on our shared desktop and laptop. Bazzite is installed on a gaming handheld and a gaming PC, and my wife uses Bluefin on her ThinkPad. They are the most issue-free Linux installs I’ve ever had. I just remind everyone to reboot at least monthly. Of there is a security fix, I make sure everyone reboots sooner.

I do run plain Fedora on my laptop because I don’t like being tied to Flatpaks but I do think immutable or atomic is the best for less experienced users.

I have it on an old laptop, running Void, that I use every day for ripping physical media. I play all the ripped CD audio back while I rip the next one. I’m far from a Linux power user and I have zero issues. It’s an old ThinkPad and it kinda just works. Maybe I lucked out hardware wise.

Void isn’t too difficult and is documented well.

I strongly dislike AI but am not a purist. Linux is already a no-go for purists and good luck with the alternatives.

I think the kernel’s policy on AI use is reasonable. As long as a distro or a package isn’t obvious slop and they have a clear policy, I’m okay using it or continuing to use it.

In the meantime, while I mostly use mainstream distros like Fedora and Arch, I’m quite happy that distros like Void exist so that if mainstream Linux ever takes a direction I disagree with, I have alternatives.

In the end, keep perspective. A distribution like Debian allowing for responsible AI use is not the same as the vibe-coded slop that is Omarchy.

In my experience, all it takes is one instance where a stream buffers or needs to transcode down to a lower quality. There are a lot of variables between your home server and someone else’s smart tv or set top box. Streaming services are really good at accounting for most of that and making it work reliably. I am sure most of our media servers are way less reliable, especially outside the home.

Because of a recent policy change regarding what is labeled a CVE.

This is exactly how Proton Mail and Pass handle this.

Yeah I think my usage of it is simply too little to have encountered it. Yet another reason why.

What part of this makes Graham a grifter? If it’s there, I am missing it. Also, it seems like KDE got the message from the community…at least for now.

Any mainstream Linux distro can update your firmware out of the box as well. I have never run into an issue with Fedora updating mine. Kinda think of it, I don’t really use Windows much anymore but I don’t recall any issues with Windows updating firmware either. Maybe I have been lucky.

Noctalia with Niri is nice.

Immich is fantastic!

Yep. Doesn’t stop it from doing nefarious things, just stops it from sending it anywhere. Could always move to digital signage.