Between wanting to do more with local LLMs, wsl annoyances, and the direction tech companies have been going lately, I think it's time I start exploring a full Linux migration
I'm a software dev, I'm comfortable in the command line, and I used to write the node configuration piece of something similar to chef (flavor/version agnostic setup of cloud environments)
So for me, Linux has always been a "modify the script and rebuild fresh" kind of deal... Even my dev VMs involved a lot of scripts and snapshots. I don't enjoy configuration and I really hate debugging it, but I can muddle through when I have to
Web searches have pushed me towards Ubuntu for LLM work, but I've never been a big fan of the window Managers. I like little flourishes like animation and lots of options I can set graphically, I use multiple desktop multiple monitors
I've tried the one it comes standard with, gnome, and kde (although it's been about 5 years since I've last given them a real shot).
I'm mostly looking for the most reasonable footprint that is "good enough", something that feels polished to at least the Windows XP level - subtle animations instead of instant popups, rounded borders, maybe a bit of transparency here and there.
I'm looking at Ubuntu w/
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kde w/ plasma (I understand it's very configurable, I don't love the look and it seems to be a bigger footprint
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budgie (looks nice, never heard of it before today)
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kylin (looks very Windows 10 which is nice, a bit skeptical about the Chinese focus)
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mate (I like the look, but it seems a bit dubiously centralized)
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unity (looks like the standard Ubuntu taken to it's natural conclusion)
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rhino Linux (something new which makes me skeptical, but pretty and seems more like existing tools packaged together which makes me think the issues might not impact actual workflow)
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anything the community is big on for this, personally I'd pick opensuze, but I need to maximize compatibility with bleeding edge LLM projects
My hardware and hard requirements are:
- nvidia 1060ti
- ryzen 5500u
- 16g ram
- 4 drives nearly full, because it's a computer of Theseus running the same (upgraded) vista license that came with the case like 15 years ago
- multi desktop, multi monitor
- can handle a lot of browser Windows/tabs
- ideally the setup is just a package mana ger install script with all my dependencies
- gaming support would be nice, but I'll be dual booting for VR anyways
I've been out of the game for a while, I'd love to hear what the feeling is in the community these days
(Side note, is pine as cool a company as it seems?)
For a DE, GNOME with Dash to Panel is a great Windows replacement. I'd recommend using X11 for now because Nvidia.
For a distro, NixOS is great. It is configured in the Nix language, which is very easy (IMO) to wrap your head around if you know any language. The documentation is procedurally generated and is quite good. The default repo is the largest default repo in any distro, with PRs handled in GitHub.
I like to set aliases to make life easier.
The only issue is it's difficult to get downloaded binaries running at times without creating a package for it. For games, I use steam-run (separate from Steam), for AppImages, appimage-run. Flatpaks just work.
It's either enjoyable or it's not. Depends on what you like. You can also copy your config to replicate your system on another device, even across arches or form factors, like from a PC to a laptop to a phone to a Raspberry Pi.
If that doesn't sound appealing, Arch is a fantastic, more standard distro, or Endeavor if you want a GUI, preconfigured install.