My Linux Diary on Odysee

I used Inkscape™ to make better graphics for YT

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 10:16:01 GMT

In this video, I use Inkscape to design new channel branding, including my new logo/icon as well as a banner.

Inkscape: https://inkscape.org/

Stario Launcher - Is this the perfect launcher for Android?

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 12:19:46 GMT

Stario Launcher is a very interesting and unique Android home launcher that aims to provide a minimal and decluttered experience, while prioritizing productivity and functionality.

Whether it achieves this goal is a different question. In this video I provide an overview of how the launcher works and talk about my experiences with it, including its strengths and the issues that I have come across.

Stario Launcher: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...

How to Set a Custom Icon for an App in Lawnchair Launcher

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 15:01:46 GMT

Lawnchair is an Android home launcher that builds on the Pixel Launcher and also provides its own features.

Similarly to many other launchers, it allows you to use an icon pack, but did you know that you can also manually set an icon for a specific app, including icons from other icon packs?

In this short, I show how to manually set an icon for a specific application in Lawnchair Launcher.

Flatseal - A Tool to Improve Flatpaks

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 03:17:25 GMT

Flatseal is an useful tool to enhance your Flatpak experience. In this video, I discuss the problem that it solves and what it can do.

Timeline:
0:00 Intro
0:02 How Flatpak solves problems
1:38 The problem with Flatpak's sandboxing
2:56 Flatpak's own solution
3:24 It's not enough
4:13 Flatseal

Links:
Flatseal on Flathub: https://flathub.org/apps/com.github.tchx84.Flatseal
Flatseal's GitHub: https://github.com/tchx84/Flatseal

It has been 8 months...

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 01:50:02 GMT

It has been 8 months since I have posted anything, but it is time for that to change.

In this video, I discuss why I haven't been making content and my future plans for the channel.

Silverblue: Updates on the Experience #1

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 18:56:40 GMT

In this video I discuss my experiences with Fedora Silverblue since my previous video covering it.

Links:

My previous video: https://odysee.com/@MyLinuxDiary:4/silverbluethoughts

Fedora Silverblue homepage: https://silverblue.fedoraproject.org/

G4Music: A nice little music player

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 21:42:02 GMT

I recently came across this music player and liked it quite a bit. In this video I talk about that.

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction, talking about music and music players in general
2:08 Taking a look at G4Music

Links:
G4Music: https://gitlab.gnome.org/neithern/g4music
G4Music in Flathub: https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.neithern.g4music

Credits for used music:

Monkeys Spinning Monkeys Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Fluffing a Duck Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sneaky Snitch Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

I switched to Fedora Silverblue. Is it any good?

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 16:20:23 GMT

I have previously used an immutable root filesystem in NixOS. Fedora Silverblue is a Linux distribution using such a filesystem, but the implementation differs greatly from what I used in NixOS.

I am switching to Fedora Silverblue for now and in this video I go over my experiences so far.

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:47 What is Fedora Silverblue?
2:27 How package installation works in Silverblue.
6:09 Firefox issues and replacing it with the Flatpak version.
9:16 The desktop
10:40 A problematic Flatpak package.
12:29 Fedora and GNOME versions.
12:44 Installation process and the first boot.
16:12 Managing kernel parameters and initramfs with rpm-ostree.
17:37 Some notes on general stability/reliability.
19:01 Final conclusions

Relevant links:

My written blog on the topic: https://medium.com/@otto.p/im-switchi...

Fedora Silverblue homepage: https://silverblue.fedoraproject.org/

My thoughts on the Sway compositor

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:23:14 GMT

In this video, I outline some of my thoughts about the Sway Wayland compositor.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction and what Sway is
2:30 Configuration
8:13 Layouts and the tiling functionality
11:15 Workspaces
13:58 Reliability and general functionality
14:38 Conclusions

Sway page: https://swaywm.org/
Sway documentation: https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki

My impressions and experiences of NixOS so far

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:07:23 GMT

In this video I discuss my experiences with a Linux distribution called NixOS.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:21 What is NixOS?
2:00 Installing software
2:50 Configuring NixOS
4:50 Home Manager
5:40 My experiences
15:40 Conclusions

Referenced links:

NixOS home page: https://nixos.org/

NixOS wiki page: https://nixos.wiki/

NixOS Wiki page on Home Manager: https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Home_Manager

Installing NixOS with a tmpfs root: https://elis.nu/blog/2020/05/nixos-tmpfs-as-root/

Pinephone Review after a month and a half

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 16:26:47 GMT

In this video I review my Pinephone after having used it for a longer time.

Video timeline:
00:00 Introduction
0:49 Hardware
4:57 Software and overall functionality

Referenced links:

Pine64's site for the device: https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/

My SXMO Xresources file: https://github.com/ottop/sxmoresources

The open modem firmware: https://github.com/Biktorgj/pinephone_modem_sdk

The firmware flashing guide: https://github.com/Biktorgj/pinephone_modem_sdk/blob/hardknott/docs/FLASHING.md

Guide for enabling adb: https://xnux.eu/devices/feature/modem-pp.html#toc-unlock-adb-access

I finally tried DWM

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 20:29:12 GMT

In this video I explain my DWM setup along with my thoughts on DWM.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:13 What is DWM all about?
2:02 Desktop overview
3:31 The config file
11:23 The patches I use
14:24 The window management
23:54 The bar
25:13 My impressions of DWM
35:50 Conclusions

Referenced links:

DWM: https://dwm.suckless.org/

slstatus: https://tools.suckless.org/slstatus/

dmenu: https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/

My config: https://github.com/ottop/dwmconfig

The thread with the power menu script: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.p...

My Impressions about SpectrWM

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 21:00:07 GMT

In this video I discuss my thoughts on a window manager called SpectrWM.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 The bar
2:38 The layouts and window management
6:35 The config file
9:04 Dmenu
13:34 Conclusions

Referenced links:

The thread with the power menu script: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=185836

My configs: https://github.com/ottop/spectrwmconfig

My wallpaper: https://www.pling.com/p/1602586/

Just chilling with a Red Hat guide #1

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 20:29:02 GMT

In this video I go through some of a RHEL usage guide.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
1:51 Connecting to my laptop
2:29 Guide following section
56:13 The end of this episode56:13 The end of this episode

My impressions of the Pinephone.

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 20:39:43 GMT

In this video I discuss my thoughts on the Pinephone, which is a smartphone that can run various different Linux distributions using the mainline kernel.

Video timeline:
00:00 Introduction
00:19 What is the Pinephone?
3:00 The hardware
5:44 The software
15:07 Conclusions

Pine64's Pinephone page: https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/

How to set up your minimal Linux install

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:27:31 GMT

In this video I go through some of the steps you might want to do after installing a Linux distribution minimally.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
1:06 Updating your system
2:25 Installing xorg and additional xorg stuff
5:10 Installing a desktop or window manager
6:11 Using startx
6:50 Installing a terminal emulator
9:30 Installing Pulseaudio (feel free to use something else)
11:03 Mention of package installation
11:22 Making an xinitrc
13:44 Conclusions

My thoughts on the state of Linux and some of the recent hot topics

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 02:16:36 GMT

In this video I explore some recent topics and the current state of Linux. The earlier part of the video talks about practical things, whereas the latter part is about the more ideological stuff.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:28 Software availability (Part 1 begins)
3:54 Hardware support
6:15 Gaming
10:35 Ease of use
14:17 Kernel size (Part 2 begins)
17:42 The whole audacity mess
22:21 Potential issues in the FOSS community
26:20 Conclusion

Referenced links:

Audacity apology thingy: https://github.com/audacity/audacity/discussions/1353

Nokia 6300 4G Review

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 01:05:24 GMT

Here's my review of the Nokia 6300 4G that I have been using for a while now. I recorded it like 2 weeks ago, but I finally edited it and here it is.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
1:12 Physical aspects of the device
2:58 Software and features
6:25 Performance
7:35 Issues
10:21 Notifications
10:40 Battery life
11:52 The keypad
13:14 The speakers and microphone
14:30 Conclusions and some further experiences with specific apps

Tiling and Floating Window Managers

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:22:58 GMT

In this video I discuss the topic of floating and tiling window managers and how I feel about each.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Examples of tiling and floating window managers
2:34 What is a tiling window manager?
5:03 What is a floating window manager?
5:41 What are the advantages and disadvantages of tiling and floating window managers?
11:59 Conclusions and my overall thoughts

Referenced links

Arch wiki page on WMs: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Window_manager

My thoughts on FOSS (Free and Open Source Software)

Sat, 29 May 2021 04:51:02 GMT

In this video I discuss the topic of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and what I think of it and its current situation.

Video timeline:
0:00 What is FOSS?
3:11 What is proprietary?
5:10 Why do we want FOSS?
10:02 How do you make money with FOSS?
18:35 Back to the benefits of FOSS
20:36 Problems with the state of FOSS software
24:23 The problem with proprietary software
26:38 Use FOSS and conclusions

Taking a look at XFWM (Xfce's Window Manager)

Fri, 21 May 2021 22:47:06 GMT

In this video I take a look at standalone XFWM, which is the Window Manager used by the Xfce desktop environment.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:27 What XFWM is
1:37 XFWM vs Xfce
3:03 Memory usage
4:00 My configuration
8:46 Theming and ranting
13:18 Back to functional configuration and comparisons to IceWM
17:48 Some issues with setting it up
23:50 Compositor problems
24:47 Conclusions

Referenced links:

My XFWM configuration: https://github.com/ottop/xfwmconfig

My LXPanel configuration: https://github.com/ottop/lxpanelconfig

My XFWM theme: https://www.pling.com/p/1525611/

My Alacritty configuration: https://github.com/ottop/alacrittyconfig

Nokia 6300 4G - My first impressions

Thu, 13 May 2021 15:18:36 GMT

In this video I go through my first impressions of a KaiOS feature phone called the Nokia 6300 4G.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
1:05 The physical aspects of the device
4:05 The software
18:51 Comparisons to my dumb phones
27:30 Conclusions

Referenced links:

KaiOS homepage: https://www.kaiostech.com/

Nokia 6300 4G from Nokia's page: https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_us/nokia-6300-4g

Taking a look at /e/ OS

Tue, 11 May 2021 17:49:50 GMT

Even AOSP Android has tracking, but /e/ is a degoogled version of Android that aims to get rid of this. It uses its own apps forked from LineageOS and other open source software and does not rely on Google at all. But is it any good?

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 What /e/ OS is
2:02 How to get /e/
4:44 A look at the actual OS
13:52 My thoughts on the OS and whether it's good or not

Referenced links:

e Foundation page: https://e.foundation/

My thoughts on Qtile

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 22:51:05 GMT

This video looks into Qtile and why I like it.

Referenced links:

My qtile and rofi configs: https://github.com/ottop/qtileconfig

How to install Ubuntu minimally

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:46:40 GMT

A simple video about how to install Ubuntu minimally

Relevant links:

Ubuntu server download: https://ubuntu.com/download/server

Being beaten down by TempleOS

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 21:29:55 GMT

In this video, I take a look at TempleOS, a standalone open source operating system.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction and installation
3:17 The installed system
3:48 Tour
12:05 Running games and whatnot
17:02 Conclusions

Referenced links:

TempleOS website: https://templeos.org/

My thoughts on IceWM and my configs

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 19:05:30 GMT

In this video I talk about IceWM, which is a floating window manager.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
0:48 Why I like IceWM
2:32 My configuration
9:21 Default theme and config
11:15 Conclusions

Referenced links:

My config files: https://github.com/ottop/icewmconfig

My theme: https://www.pling.com/p/1483501/

My wallpapers: https://www.pling.com/p/1483504/

My alacritty config file: https://github.com/ottop/alacrittyconfig

Gentoo configuration guide and more mouse shenanigans

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 13:37:41 GMT

I previously did a Gentoo installation guide, but we have not yet configured the system to what most would consider a daily driver. This video is a guide on how to set up some of the basic utilities to start building up your Gentoo system.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
1:58 Microcode
9:16 Graphics card drivers and Xorg
20:36 Creating an user
22:21 Briefly back to graphics drivers
23:54 Display manager
26:42 Installing a desktop and additional basic software
33:15 Checking out the results

Referenced links:

My Gentoo install guide: https://odysee.com/@MyLinuxDiary:4/installgentoo:d

Intel microcode wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Intel_microcode

AMD microcode wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/AMD_microcode

Xorg wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Xorg/Guide

NVIDIA wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/NVIDIA/nvidia-drivers

Radeon wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Radeon

Intel wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Intel

LightDM wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/LightDM

Display manager wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Display_manager

Finalizing wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Finalizing

A first look at GoboLinux: A departure from the typical Linux

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:57:10 GMT

In this video I take a look at GoboLinux. It's a Linux distribution that has an entirely different file structure from your typical distribution, which makes it very interesting.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction
4:08 A look at the desktop
12:09 Installation process
17:42 Installed system
20:12 The package manager and file structure
37:11 My initial impressions
42:30 Impressions after a bit more testing

Link to the GoboLinux homepage: https://www.gobolinux.org/

Yet another Gentoo installation guide and a probably broken mouse

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 11:39:28 GMT

This is my spin at those install guides for Gentoo. I also had mouse scrolling issues, so there's the additional fun of what that brings into the picture.

Video timeline:
0:00 Introduction, methods and disclaimers
9:41 Disks and partitions
20:50 Stage 3 tarball
24:24 Compiling options
28:10 Chrooting
30:48 Portage configuration
44:23 Setting up the timezone and locale
48:06 Kernel configuration and lots of mouse scrolling issues
1:20:08 Initramfs done wrong
1:22:54 Making the initramfs with correct compression
1:23:00 Necessary system configuration
1:36:09 Setting up a bootloader
1:40:54 A peek at the finished install

Referenced links:

Gentoo main page: https://www.gentoo.org/

Alternative install methods: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Installa...

amd64 Handbook: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook...

x86 Handbook: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook...

The other handbooks: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook...

Dracut wiki page: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Dracut