#linuxadvice — Public Fediverse posts

After reading more about badblocks and S.M.A.R.T., I'm actually a bit confused about how it's possible that a drive that severely damaged (80% of blocks are bad!) is passing its SMART test.

I'm running a long test now to see if it's just the normal test that missed it, but I'm curious if anyone has insight. It's not a high priority or anything (everything is backed up and it's not my main computer). I'm just curious how errors that egregious weren't detected. #Hardware #ITHelp #ComputerSupport #LinuxAdvice

RE: https://kitty.social/notes/aeyx4ernbq3j5jc2

Hey penguin people, please consider:
The average user didn't even choose their OS. It just came with the device.

They should. But a 2½-hour monologue about kernel issues and proprietary licenses makes them think a lot more about you than their OS.
Trust me.

#Linux #LinuxAdvice #PublicRelations #Representation #FirstImpressions

I would appreciate some advice on a #Linux #distro recommendation:
The Device: A 2012 laptop with a 3rd Gen Core i3, 4 GB of RAM, and a spinning HDD (maybe I'll upgrade in the future)
The person it's for: My mom, not very tech savvy, is using Windows 10, will need a replacement for when 10 goes EOL Oct. 2025. Has used Windows Vista, 8, and 10. Everything she does is doable within basic apps like a web browser, simple office suite, or pleasant desktop apps; Linux alternatives will work perfectly.
What the distro has to be: LTS, simple to maintain, have a workable Windows-like interface, not be Ubuntu. Needs to run smoothly on the provided specs.
Any ideas and help are appreciated. Consider boosting for more perspectives.
#LinuxHelp #linuxnewbie #linuxadvice #lts #techhelp

#Linux advice

If you are a beginner or not really an expert in Linux… do yourself a favor and inform yourself if your hardware is able to run Linux without problems.

That excluded anything with a #Nvidia graphics cards. Because they use proprietary non open source drivers. Why is that a problem? The most generic answer is: Linux Kernel developers don't care for what Nvidia does. They rely on Nvidia using well documented kernel APIs (and not deprecated ones that may work Today but not Tomorrow) for their driver in a correct way. It's known that Nvidia on the other hand doesn't care. For economic reasons (driver architecture overhauls are costly) and for arrogant reasons (look at our market share, Kernel developers – you have to be compatible to our undocumented code, not the other way around).
If you ever wondered why Linus showed them the middle finger openly (at a Debian con, no less – if I remember right), that's why.

It's almost guaranteed: When using a Nvidia card on a Linux distro that is not super conservative like Redhat you'll run into problems sooner or later you won't be able to solve easily without being a Linux expert.

Please think about my words when planning your next hardware shopping. I'm not against Nvidia hardware - it's great hardware. I just inform you that you ask for trouble when using it in a fairly modern Linux distro, and that is, because their drivers don't play well in the Eco system. And the only one who can change that, is Nvidia by themselves. There are no signs since decades, that they are willing to do so.

So what would I do when booting after an update and have no monitor image?

Change to a TTY and do a kernel downgrade. It's not much more in most cases, but apparently that is called expert level ;). --> You too can become an Linux expert!

#LinuxAdvice