FFW 25: Linux Used More for Dev Work, Best Gaming Distros, and More

Linux Leapfrogs MacOS as second most-used OS for developers
Memesplanation
Top 10 Gaming Distros for 2023
Freed Computer
Zero-K : A Not-so-new FOSS RTS

#FFW #developers #Linux #linuxfordevelopers #linuxgaming #zero-k #TechFreedom

FFW 25.1- Linux Now More Popular for Dev Work Than MacOS

According to the 2022 Stack Overflow Developers’ Survey, Linux has surpassed the popularity of MacOS as a development platform, the numbers were close to last year, but Linux pulled ahead. In 2021, the numbers were as follows: 25.32% to 32.97% Linux to MacOS (overall). This year, Linux has soared to 40.23% overall, and MacOS has gone down just a touch overall, to 31.07%. What does not make sense to me in the data here, is that the percentages of responses do not add up to 100% for either professional or personal use. The numbers for personal use add up to 148.1% of respondents, and the numbers for professional use add up to 137.05%. Am I misreading the graphs here? Someone help me out... Here’s the link to this last May’s data: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-most-popular-technologies-operating-system

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/linux-use-overtakes-macos-on-the-stack-overflow-survey/

#FFW #Linux #LinuxFTW #byebyemacos #nonsensenumbers #TechFreedom

Ignatius of Antioch brings down the house with this one.
Simple. Punchy. To the point. Are we really Christians, or
is it just convenient to be called “Christian” in our context?
Would you refuse to spit on a picture of Jesus? Would you
curse Him if someone twisted your arm? This is hard.
It is easy to armchair quarterback here, and believe that
each of us who profess the Name of Jesus would actually
stand up for Him should worse come to worse, but would
we actually stand up or would we cower, afraid of being
called a name, or some such thing? I feel like that is the
majority of the American church right now, because most
of us do not really know the Lord. Once we know Him, once
we have experienced His love for us, it becomes much harder
to deny Him when put to it. However, Peter denied Him 3 times
the night before Calvary, after he had literally been with Jesus
almost every second for the previous 3 years.

#FFW #memesplanation #patristicquotes #ignatius #christian #easiersaidthandone #TechFreedom

FFW 25.2: Top 10 Gaming Distros for 2023

Ok, it used to be that gaming was a niche thing in Linux, that you really had to tweak any distro in order for it to run games that you really want to play in ways that you would actually enjoy playing. That really is not the case any more. You can game on just about any mainstream distro with very little trouble these days. Nevertheless, let’s see which ones ItsFOSS pulls out of the interwebs:
1. POP!OS
a. A solid, if predictable first pick, this Ubuntu distro should scream “gamer” to you when you look at the desktop environment’s color scheme, if nothing else. It is a solid distro, even if it is still based on GNOME and Ubuntu, for now.
2. Vanilla Ubuntu
a. Oy vey! Ok, ok, let’s consider what their criteria were for this listicle:
i. The distribution should be easy to use.
1. Is Ubuntu easy to use? Jury is out, with it’s tweaked GNOME interface, then there’s making sure you have drivers and that everything is up to date, if they are commenting on stability, I think there is a case for that, here, but what do you give up by using Cannonical’s offering?
ii. The software tools that you need to get started should be readily available and easy to install (check out our Linux gaming guide to explore more about it).
1. Tools are readily available, sure, just because it is the 8 ton gorilla in the room, due to Cannonical’s deals with the Big Tech devils in the world.
iii. The distribution should be resource-friendly
1. It has been a while since the last time I used Ubuntu, probably close to 8 or 9 years now, but back then, it ran fairly light, so I’ll put in with this, I suppose.
3. Kubuntu
a. Same issues as Ubuntu, except that it is KDE instead of GNOME, which makes me happier, and usually works better in the user-friendliness arena vs GNOME.
4. Linux Mint
a. I spent years on Mint before I started making content at all, so this distro has a warm spot in my heart. I like that it is immediately easy to use, in terms of UI, and that the Mint team has neutered most of the invasive stuff that Cannonical puts in Ubuntu. Gaming on Mint can be a struggle, as it isn’t a rolling release distro, so you tend to be about 6 months behind (by default) on drivers, so if you’re rocking a bleeding edge rig, this and the other Debian based distros (Ubuntu, Pop!_Os, etc) may not be a great fit for you.
5. Manjaro Linux
a. This is where I have lived for most of the last 4 years. I game whenever I can, and have rarely had a real problem. Given, I am not a complete novice in Linux, but I am also not a developer of any stripe. The article hems & haws about instability, and how it may not be the best for new users, but it isn’t like we’re talking about Vanilla Arch, here, or something. Manjaro has its issues, certainly, but it almost as stable, in my experience, as Mint was, but it gets new drivers and kernels more frequently than MInt does, so it will work with your bleeding edge system better. Not perfectly, as often it takes a little while for firmware and drivers to get out of testing and into the Kernel anyway. The tools they are looking for are right at hand, with Steam, Proton, WINE, and Lutris, just to name a few.
6. Garuda Linux
a. This is another Arch-based distro, but it is tailored for gaming and content creation, so every tool known to man is just about automatically installed when you put it on your system. If you have plenty of horsepower, RAM, and storage, this won’t be a problem, even if it does make the default install rather large. It is easy to use, and hey, if you enjoy neon colors and the whole “gamer” aesthetic, you’ll probably love the default UI.
7. DraugerOS
a. Ubuntu-based only-gamers-need-apply kind of distro. Does not come with office tools or a/v software, but it is solid for what it is designed to do, and that is game. My brother actually knows the lead developer on this project, and did a livestream with him about 6 months ago, now. Cool guy.
8. batocera.Linux
a. Retro gaming haven. Turn your Linux machine into a retro console emulation center. Not good for anything else, though. One cool thing here, though, is that it is portable, meant to run off of a USB stick.
9. LakkaOS
a. Another retro gaming emulator OS, based on RetroArch, and compiled with the most recent, best optimizations so your games run as well as they possibly can.
10. SteamOS
a. Only an honorable mention because Steam has yet to fully release it to the general public (other than on the Steam Deck). This is Arch based, and should be very familiar if you play games on Steam at all.

Some of these belong here, others, I feel, don’t. The Ubuntus were obligatory, to a certain extent, even if they were repetitive. I have very strong feelings about that side of the Linux family tree... The sellouts and whores to Big Tech, when disgust with Big Tech was the reason most of us came to Linux to begin with. For me, Manjaro and Garuda are my tops for all purpose, yet very easily used for gaming, distros. I rest my case for now.

https://itsfoss.com/linux-gaming-distributions/

#FFW #Linux #gamingonlinux #distrojoy #gamingdistros #linuxgaming #TechFreedom

Freed Computer

https://techfreedom.pro/freed-computer/

#freedcomputer #linux #nospying #safe #TechFreedom

FFW 25.3: Ever Heard of Zero-K? Neither Had I...

Interesting piece of older RTS, plus some physics... Set in the far future, you are a commander bot in charge of building a settlement to create more fighting bots, collect resources, and accomplish various objectives. It seemed to play decently on my Surface, but I would expect nothing less from a game released in 2011. I may explore it more in this week’s weekend edition, rather than play Dune. Idk. We’ll see. I am intrigued. You can either download it directly from them, or through Steam, for free. This is a 100% free game. Check it out, I hear that it has a bit of a multiplayer scene, so if you are feeling like either a 1-on-1, a team match, or a free for all, and you love RTS games, this may be worth some time.

http://zero-k.info

#FFW #Linux #fossgames #free #rtsgaming #fun #linuxgaming #TechFreedom

What to use instead of Big Tech online:

https://rumble.com/v1020p7-viable-google-alternatives.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

#techtips #TechFreedom #justsayno #nomorespying #advice