My ham shack computer wasn't happy, so I thought I'd do a quick video on setting up a linux machine for the hamshack to show how far linux has come and how easy it is to get a shack computer up and running.
Great video Steve, I tend to use Mint over Ubuntu however that looked like a nice setup. Will also try that ZSH, great knowledge you have thanks for sharing.
I prefer Debian, but my Dell laptop is not well supported for drivers under Debian. If you order a Dell with Linux, they ship with Ubuntu and that installs easily. Martin (G8FXC)
I find Fedora really stable. And they are always implementing the latest in each release. A couple of releases ago, they made the BTRFS default. It works really well and I'm not sure, but I think it's a bit faster than EXT4. I don't know if other distributions have begun migrating to BTRFS yet. With their latest release, they upgraded to GNOME 40. I've gotten really used to GNOME; maybe others have gotten really used to Xfce, and that's ok. The only difference between GNOME 39 and GNOME 40 as far as I can see is instead of the menu being on the left, it's now at the bottom. Xbuntu is a good release for hams since it's a branch off Ubuntu, which is a branch off Debian and it seems to have a bit more ham software available from its repository--which makes it a bit easier on the less informed Linux user. I've never experienced problems DNFing software that's not in the Fedora repository. If you're open to some honest criticism, there are several very basic things you're skipping over really, really fast and from my experience, you might be turning off some potential nubes to Linux. I've been partially Linux since Redhat 5 (~1999-2000), but as of the beginning of this year, when Microsoft turned off their Windows 7 update servers, I'm now 100% Linux. Kudos for promoting the idea of breaking away from the imprisoning shackles of Windows!
Linux is another hobby. Any way you slice it, it's another layer of work needed to operate. Sorry, just not a fan.
Ah, the systemd virus... can't tell which one I like better, usually I don't have much choice, have to repair whichever one was there when I got to the server.
Good post.... Learned Unix in 1983, and was running a 30+ user unix system by the late '80's. Back then, we could sell hotel central reservation system software for six figures per license. When Linux arrived ( I joked that it was named after me ) it was a great leap forward. Now retired, if I were running the IT department network at a major engineering company, I would probably still be running Debian, but I am a bit out of date on that. On the desktop, I have used Ubuntu recently in a ham shack mode, along with Windows 10, and as a previous poster has noted, Linux is just another "hobby" for us hams to enjoy or wrestle with. Don't underestimate the fact that it is "free"; a major attraction for hams who can actually afford anything they want in ham radio.
I have been using Linux exclusively now for over 10 years and have not needed Windows. I am using a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB Ram, running Ubuntu Mate as my desktop, its running very nicely, it does not have a audio-in/microphone port, so I will need to buy a USB audio cable to use it for digital, something to look out for if your planning on using one, I downloaded all the fldigi programs, I want to get on echo using the Linux program "Qtel" using some USB mic/earphones but I have not registered with echolink yet, I am just getting started..... I am planning on ordering a 7" monitor for it, and setting up some kind of radio Go-Kit with a handheld. The Raspberry pi runs on 5v 3A, but the monitor needs a little more juice, I will need to build the Pi and monitor into something protective, both the monitor and Raspberry pi does not have a case. Its should be a fun project.
Ah! InitD. That's old school Linux! You probably grew up on Unix Sys V? I maintained an initd system or two in my life time. I didn't realize how slow the boot process was until systemd came out. Just put together a 4th gen I7 computer (old hardware!) yesterday. Total time to login screen (systemd graphics target): 23 seconds. I will say this: the initd system is the most secure way to go if you want a secure computer system.
I am always perplexed by the idea of Linux as the 'hobby' operating system and Windows as the 'workhorse.' Serious 24/7/365 processing is almost entirely done on Linux, while end-user terminals most often run Windows; not for reasons of technical possibilities or robustness, but for what could possibly be described as 'cultural' reasons ('We have always used Windows, so we will always use Windows'). If someone was using a computer for the first time in 2021, the basic learning curve for competency (getting online, running updates, setting up printers and other external devices) would be lower for a Linux distribution like Ubuntu than it would be for Windows 10. When you get more advanced, the learning curve is even lower. A few basic principles (beginning with 'everything is a file') take you a very long way.
I've got an old Dell laptop I use for most of my non-important general internet/web activities that has been continuously running Arch +Btrfs since 2012. The drive in the machine is a (now) antiquated Patriot Pyro SSD. Never given me one bit of trouble. So that's my resounding support for Btrfs.
