How bad is my partitioning?
I just got a new laptop and installed Linux on it. I mainly run OpenSUSE.
Getting full encryption on both was a bit of a challenge and I had no idea what I'm doing. Will having the swap partition in the middle break things? Did I really need so many partitions (Mint and OpenSUSE don't show up in eachother's boot menu)?
I'm probably not gonna change this layout (because reinstallation seems like a pain) unless the swap partition's position is a problem. I'm just curious how many mistakes I made.
EDIT: I'm not upgrading my drive capacity. I do not need it.
(Yet another) help me choose a distro post
First of all, I'd like to apologize for contributing to the constant stream/flow of posts in which the main theme/idea/motive is to find a suitable distro for the OPoster. I wish we'd have a dedicated community that's active/large to the extent we'd be able to delegate/contain these convos to their designated places, but alas...
With that out of the way, we can get to the actual meat. So, for two weeks, I've been reading a ton about different distros. And while I'm still primarily overwhelmed by the amount of choice, I think I've finally got somewhat of an idea.
Requirements:
- Software-wise, the only thing I'm worried about is Davinci Resolve. It should work, but it seems to be hit or miss. The distro I wish to use should handle this gracefully.
- I'm a huge snob for security and privacy. As I'm kinda worried that desktop Linux' security isn't on par with M$ or macOS, I wish to use as secure of a system as possible to (somewhat) compensate for that.
I like to follow 'authorities' whenever I'm overwhelmed. As I've known them since their PrivacyTools-days, it was easy for me to designate Privacy Guides as such. Hence, I've come to appreciate its recommendations. But, I believe the tailor-made consensus by this communities' experts is at least equally important.
That's where I'm coming from, let's head over to the questions:
- Are PrivacyGuides' recommendations actually good in the first place?
- From what I can tell, the subset of security-focused distros are (at least potentially) my end-game. But, from what I could gather, they're not sensible picks for a newb. Is this correct?
- As for what remains, I got the following assumptions (please correct me if I'm wrong*):
- The anonymity-focused distros don't seem well-suited for general use.
- Hardening Arch or NixOS to the extent we find within the offerings of Fedora or openSUSE isn't trivial.
- Fedora's Atomic Desktops offer something tangibly superior security-wise over what we find for traditional Fedora and openSUSE at the expense of convenience.
As such, am I correct to assume that Fedora Atomic Desktops are best for me? Would you happen to know if it plays nicely with Davinci Resolve?
- Are there any other distros worth mentioning within the context? If so, which ones and why?
- Any gotchas or otherwise I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance for your input!
Desktop/PC - Privacy Guides
Linux distributions are commonly recommended for privacy protection and software freedom.Privacy Guides
I believe I heard that there was some scandal involving Ubuntu, but perhaps I'm wrong. Please feel free to correct me. Are there any (other) distros that I should be weary of for privacy-sake?
For security, I want to be well-protected against any and all untargeted attacks. So protection against malware is included.
Thank you for the general notes/recommendations/advice about safe practices on Linux! Regarding sudo (and the terminal in general), I've just accepted that it will be part of my workflow going forward, even if the amount of times I had used it on Windows can probably be counted on one hand. Regardless, beyond not sudoing random commands, are there like rigid guidelines (or something) one should adhere to for safe/secure computing?
The Ubuntu thing was about them making it opt-out rather than opt-in (so turned on by default), but it's still nothing malicious and diesn't collect any personal data. At least that's how I remember it.
Also Linux doesn't really have anti-viruses like Windows does (there are a few options for edgecases though). That is because Linux isn't really targeted by malware developers as much and also Linux is actually designed to be secure.
As for general security tips, number 1 is probably using a password manager (I use a KeePassXC compatible client).
Also be careful with rm -rf
. I almost deleted all the files in my home directory once. I have aliased rm
to gio trash
since.
Tired of Google Home not working? This new change will make you furious
Tired of Google Home not working? This new change will make you furious - Android Authority
Google recently added a tiny change to voices available to a small set of users currently testing Gemini-powered Assistant on Nest speakers.Tushar Mehta (Android Authority)
Report: Intel struggles with new 18A process as it cuts workers and cancels projects
cross-posted from: piefed.social/post/1117434
Intel says it’s still on track to launch its first 18A Core Ultra chips in 2025.
HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-winds-down-mrna-development-under-barda.html
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Big tech legal action
Rakudo Weekly News: 2025.31 Snappy Turtles
2025.31 Snappy Turtles
Anton’s Corner Anton Antonov has provided us with two more lovely posts this week. As ever his visuals and movies are a stunning insight into our world made with Raku. The snappily named Turt…Rakudo Weekly News
Clare Daly & Mick Wallace: How the EU Became a War Project
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
Clare Daly & Mick Wallace: How the EU Became a War Project
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
Google says its new ‘world model’ could train AI robots in virtual warehouses
Google outlines latest step towards creating artificial general intelligence
Genie 3 world model’s ability to simulate real environments means it can be used to train robotsDan Milmo (The Guardian)
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OpenAI stops ChatGPT from telling people to break up with partners
OpenAI stops ChatGPT from telling people to break up with partners
Instead of giving definitive answers to personal challenges the chatbot will help people reflect on a problemDan Milmo (The Guardian)
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Solve it! Libro sul cubo di Rubik e i ciechi
Solve It, ovvero: “risolvilo”, è un libro scritto da un autore che abbiamo conosciuto nell’ambiente #WordPress e #scrittura creativa; è un manuale, disponibile in formato elettronico, che spiega come risolvere il cubo di Rubik senza la vista.
Siamo molto legati a questo gioco di logica pur avendo fallito entrambi nella sua risoluzione per cui ci sentiamo orgogliosi di parlarne, a partire da come il cubo ci ha accompagnato fin dall’infanzia.
Elettrona e Gifter: storia personale col cubo di Rubik
Gifter
Ho 50 anni compiuti e ormai è da quando il cubo di Rubik è nato, cioè dal 1980, che io e lui abbiamo una guerra personale in corso. I miei genitori l’hanno regalato a me e alla mia gemella quando eravamo alle elementari e il massimo che siamo riusciti a ottenere è una faccia completa delpuzzle classico 3x3x3.
Da adulto ci ho provato ancora ma senza alcun risultato, lo ammetto, ci vorrebbe il virus HIV senziente ad aiutarmi perché quello nel mio corpo dal 2013 non collabora. Dorme e basta.
Appena io ed Elettrona ci siamo conosciuti sono partito con gli stereotipi del cieco super intelligente e davo per scontato che lei avesse risolto brillantemente il puzzle in velocità, invece anche lei combatte le mie stesse guerre.
La mia presunzione si fondava sul fatto che il colore sia solo una convenzione, e in un oggetto tridimensionale non è difficile sostituire gli elementi visivi con quelli tattili; mi era persino venuta l’idea di sfidarla preparandole un cubo originale coi segni in rilievo creati con la stampa 3d poi incollati su ogni quadrato, ma ho scoperto che lei ha già il cubo di Rubik multisensoriale in due versioni.
Elettrona
La mia storia personale col cubo inizia in terza elementare quando me lo hanno comprato dal catalogo dell’unione italiana ciechi. Provavo a giocarci ma anche se era il mio passatempo preferito, mai una volta sono riuscita a ottenere lo stesso simbolo su una delle facce.
Quel povero cubo però ha fatto una brutta morte perché mia sorella durante una litigata tra bambine, l’ha sbattuto contro il muro e me l’ha irrimediabilmente spaccato. Ancora oggi litighiamo e ancora oggi non le lascio mai le mie cose a portata di mano…
Nel tempo l’interesse per il cubo di Rubik è rimasto ma non ne ho più avuto uno in mano, fino al 2010.
Anni più tardi ho trovato una persona con cui avevo stretto un buon legame su Internet, un ragazzo con sindrome di Asperger che aveva iniziato a darmi una mano per risolverlo, ma purtroppo il covid se l’è portato via e se mi sto dedicando al libro Solve It, è anche per ricordare lui. Ciao, Andrea.
Solve It! – The Only Speedcubing Guide for Blind Cubers
Risolvilo! L’unica guida di speedcubing per cuber ciechi
Abbiamo lasciato i termini in inglese perché anche nei siti e video italiani dove si tratta l’argomento, la risoluzione veloce (e anche competitiva) del rompicapo viene chiamata “speedcubing” e i giocatori sono “cuber”.”Cubista” invece è un termine usato per descrivere chi balla sul cubo in discoteca.
Chi ha scritto questo libro è Paul Martz. Cieco per la retinite pigmentosa, blogger di tecnologia e autore di fantascienza, ha iniziato a usare il cubo di Rubik a 17 anni nel 1980 quando ancora vedeva; adesso però ha voluto condividere la propria conoscenza da cuber cieco perché, in giro, ci sono pochissime risorse fruibili da chi è privo di vista e vorrebbe studiare i metodi per risolvere questo tipo di enigmi.
Paradossalmente se ti manca la vista è più facile acquistare (o creare) un cubo di Rubik tattile, rispetto a ottenere spiegazioni su come risolverlo!
Come rendere accessibile un cubo di Rubik?
Esistono siti specializzati negli ausili per ciechi, dove acquistare i cubi tattili ma personalizzarne uno partendo da quello originale non è affatto difficile. Basta incollare degli adesivi in rilievo su ciascuna faccia, eccetto quella bianca che di solito i produttori di cubi tattili lasciano senza niente – forse come indicazione di bianco=vuoto (metafora del foglio bianco).
Qui abbiamo tra le mani un cubo coi rilievi prestampati, e uno con gli adesivi: triangoli, cerchi, stelline, crocette, quadrati.
Quali materiali usare per il rilievo? Carta adesiva con ruvidità e consistenza diversa, oppure simboli stampati in 3D uniti al cubo con una colla sufficientemente forte, e soprattutto che non siano tanto grossi da impedire al meccanismo di girare.
Tactile Cuber
Paul Martz oltre al libro elettronico, acquistabile in inglese nei negozi digitali, mette a disposizione il sito Tactile Cuber dove raccoglie spiegazioni e risorse a proposito del cubo:
TactileCuber è unico nel suo genere: una risorsa accessibile per gli appassionati ciechi che risolvono Cubi di Rubik tattili e altri rompicapo simili solo toccando. Qui troverai algoritmi e istruzioni al 100% in testo semplice, tutti progettati per screen reader e display braille, senza pubblicità, video, diagrammi o interazioni fruibili solo tramite mouse.
Solve It: di cosa parla?
Questa è l’introduzione con cui Paul Martz presenta il libro:
Sei cieco. Interagisci con un mondo prevalentemente visivo, attraverso il tatto. Tutto ciò che fai richiede memoria, agilità e concentrazione. Nonostante le nuove sfide quotidiane, perseveri e hai successo. Sei un risolutore di problemi.Se ti riconosci in questa descrizione, allora possiedi già le abilità per risolvere il Cubo di Rubik™ tattile.
Solve It! è stato scritto per te, il “cuber” cieco, che risolve il cubo attraverso il tatto. Non contiene illustrazioni o diagrammi. Che tu lo legga con un software di screen reading o un display braille, Solve It! spiega ogni passo con un testo semplice e accessibile al 100%.
Se sei alle prime armi con il cubo, questo libro offre un metodo facile da imparare e padroneggiare. Ma Solve It! va oltre le informazioni di base. Include un metodo di “speedcubing” che ridurrà drasticamente il tuo tempo di risoluzione. Dopo aver letto questo libro, sarai pronto a competere, un’impresa a cui la maggior parte dei “cuber” ciechi nemmeno si avvicina.
Smetti di ignorare quel cubo tattile impolverato: preparati a risolverlo!
La nostra sfida: traduzione in italiano
Abbiamo costruito da zero un rudimentale blog multilingua, può farci paura la traduzione di un libro? Dizionari, aiuto reciproco, anche l’AI quando ci blocchiamo ma faremo del nostro meglio per superare la sfida.
Servirà parecchio tempo e noi siamo disposti a impiegarci anche un anno, nel caso. L’importante è “agilità, memoria, concentrazione”! O no?
Ma cosa c’entra Rubik con l’HIV?
In realtà il rompicapo non ha a che fare col virus, eccetto qualche storia ancora da scrivere in cui HIV senziente suggerirà le mosse… Vedremo.
Ma la questione “ciechi e il cubo di Rubik” si lega a uno stigma fra i peggiori: chi, sui social network, crede di essere comico facendosi beffa delle persone con disabilità visiva tramite un meme idiota.
La vignetta mostra Andrea Bocelli con un cubo di Rubik le cui facce hanno tutti i colori mischiati, lui ha un bel sorriso di soddisfazione e la scritta: “finito!”
Di fatto nessuno di noi due condanna le battute sui ciechi ma costruirle su una foto, esclude gli interessati da qualsiasi partecipazione: ridere di noi, anziché ridere con noi. La differenza è sostanziale ed è quella che distingue satira da bullismo.
Allora noi rispondiamo in modo propositivo: consentendo ai ciechi in Italia, dove questo maledetto meme è nato, di approcciarsi a un mondo che la maggioranza delle persone ritiene impraticabile senza la vista.
PlusBrothers
Cerco di spiegare come ho fatto a ottenere su PlusBrothers un blog multilingua gratuito senza abbonamentielettrona (Elettrona and Gifter)
The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has come under fire after admitting that he regularly consults AI tools for a second opinion
‘We didn’t vote for ChatGPT’: Swedish PM under fire for using AI in role
Tech experts criticise Ulf Kristersson as newspaper accuses him of falling for ‘the oligarchs’ AI psychosis’Miranda Bryant (The Guardian)
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White House Orders NASA to Destroy Important Satellite
We can only speculate as to why the Trump administration wants to end the missions. But considering president Donald Trump's staunch climate change denial and his administration's efforts to deal the agency's science directorate a potentially existential blow, it's not difficult to speculate.
White House Orders NASA to Destroy Important Satellite
The White House has instructed NASA employees to destroy two major, climate change-focused satellite missions.Victor Tangermann (Futurism)
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IMEC’s imperial illusion: Why the US-backed trade corridor will fail
IMEC’s imperial illusion: Why the US-backed trade corridor will fail
Disguised as infrastructural development, IMEC is the latest Atlanticist attempt to reassert control over West Asia. But from Gaza to BRICS, regional actors are shutting that door.thecradle.co
IMEC’s imperial illusion: Why the US-backed trade corridor will fail
IMEC’s imperial illusion: Why the US-backed trade corridor will fail
Disguised as infrastructural development, IMEC is the latest Atlanticist attempt to reassert control over West Asia. But from Gaza to BRICS, regional actors are shutting that door.thecradle.co
California wildfire scorches 72,000 acres and threatens hundreds of structures
The Gifford fire has spread through Los Padres forest, prompting evacuations and injuring at least three people
The VA wants to end coverage of abortion for US military veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is calling for an end to abortion coverage in the medical plans for veterans and their families.
US government proposes easing some restrictions on drones traveling long distances
A new federal rule would make it easier for companies to use drones over longer distances out of sight of the operator without having to go through a cumbersome waiver process.
https://apnews.com/article/drones-trump-duffy-line-of-sight-rule-bdbc54ca3b8ef2ead9ccfc62f3762f4c
Trump threatens EU with 35% tariff if investment pledge falls through
The US president added that he "can do anything I want" with Brussels' $600 billion worth of pledged investments
Archived version: archive.is/20250805165341/eura…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
GOP congressman faces heated town hall where hundreds boo him for supporting Trump's big bill
Republican congressman Mike Flood has gotten an earful during a Nebraska town hall held to defend his support of President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts law.
Bangladesh to hold parliamentary elections in February 2026, interim leader Yunus says
Bangladesh's interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus announced Tuesday that national elections will be held in February 2026, aiming to restore democratic governance following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/france24.com…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Prison bosses make room for possible influx before planned protests across England
Exclusive: Possible arrests at protests against Palestine Action ban and asylum hotels likely to stretch prisons
Archived version: archive.is/20250805183424/theg…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Prison bosses make room for possible influx before planned protests across England
Exclusive: possible arrests at protests against Palestine Action ban and asylum hotels likely to stretch prisonsRajeev Syal (The Guardian)
Video shows rare protests in China over beating of schoolgirl by three teenagers
Large crowds gather in city of Jiangyou in Sichuan province after case causes outrage online
Archived version: archive.is/20250805184541/theg…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Hundreds of aid trucks needed daily to end famine in Gaza: UN
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), said Tuesday that the scale of need in the Gaza Strip is so vast that hundreds of aid trucks must be allowed in every single day, Anadolu reports.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/middleeastmo…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Rwanda agrees to take up to 250 migrants from the US
Deal follows deportations to South Sudan and Eswatini despite concerns about international law breaches
Archived version: archive.is/newest/theguardian.…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Lithuania asks NATO for more air defences after drones land on its territory
VILNIUS - Lithuania's foreign ministry has written to the NATO military alliance asking it to help strengthen its air defences, it said on Tuesday, after two military drones crossed into its territory from Belarus last month.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/straitstimes…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
US | Epstein scandal broadens as trove of letters from famous figures published
New York Times reports on letters by Ehud Barak, Woody Allen and others written for Epstein’s 63rd birthday
Archived version: archive.is/20250805165400/theg…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
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China and Russia conduct joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan
The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties in recent years, with Beijing refusing to place sanctions on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/euronews.com…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
US House panel subpoenas Bill and Hillary Clinton for Epstein testimony
House oversight committee also issued subpoenas to several former attorneys general and FBI directors
Archived version: archive.is/newest/theguardian.…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
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In addition to the Clintons, the committee sent subpoenas to former attorneys general Jeff Sessions, Alberto Gonzales and William Barr, who served in George W Bush and Trump’s presidencies, and Merrick Garland, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, who served under Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller also received subpoenas.
Well we already know how this is going to go...
Bill, Hillary, Comey, Garland, Lynch, Holder, Muller:
"So we have some questions for you: Why are you so guilty? Why aren't you already in jail? Why shouldn't we throw you in prison right now?"
Barr, Gonzalez, Sessions:
"Ok friends, we just need a little "testimony" from you that you know 100% without a doubt that there is a mountain of evidence against Bill, Hillary, Comey, Garland, Lynch, Holder, and Muller. Oh, these are all Trump's enemies? Ahhh that's just a coincidence."
France’s PM turns to YouTube to sell his budget cuts
François Bayrou takes to the video site in a bid to explain his draconian budget cuts and win over the public.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/politico.eu/…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Boeing 777X Nears Certification, Could Fly Passengers By Mid-2026
The Boeing 777X is making progress with its certification, and the plane could actually be flying passengers by the middle of 2026.
Boeing 747 Hydraulic Failure & Tire Damage Incident Final Report Revealed
The most likely cause of the hydraulic issue was damage to the seventh and eighth tires during the taxi.
Australia | Tasmania Plane Disappearance: Search Continues for Missing Couple and Dog
A bright green light aircraft with two people and a dog on board has gone missing in Tasmania, sparking a massive search operation. No distress signal was sent before the plane disappeared.
Tasmania Plane Disappearance: Search Continues for Missing Couple and Dog
Police and rescue teams are searching for a missing light aircraft with two people and a dog on board that disappeared after departing from northern Tasmania on August 2.Prachi Patel (Simple Flying)
Messy Alaska & Virgin Trademark Dispute Now Involves Delta
Alaska Airlines is still trying to get out of paying $160 million in royalties for the Virgin America brand, and this now involves Delta.
Air Canada flight attendants enter final day of strike mandate vote
Air Canada flight attendants are entering the final day of voting on whether to give a strike mandate to their union.
Eager Eagle
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •I think the partitioning itself is fine, but I wouldn't have 3 operating systems on a 256 GB NVMe, because I'd be running out of space a lot.
if you won't ever use Windows, you can nuke it. Then I'd consider making one of the Linux ones a VM - if you're trying out that distro. That will cut down 12 partitions to 5.
Lastly, you can look into btrfs to make better use of space between (the current) p11 and p12: you can make them subvolumes that won't eat up each other's storage when not in use.
Subvolumes — BTRFS documentation
btrfs.readthedocs.iolike this
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Tenderizer78
in reply to Eager Eagle • • •I'm only have about 20GB of files so I think I'll be fine on space.
I'm keeping Windows 11 around in case I need it for ... IDK taxes (though I don't have secureboot enabled because [points to image above]). A VM won't work for the Mint one, I need it separate for reasons I won't go into.
Btrfs was installed in default but I only know how to do full-disk encryption on ext4. Apparently btrfs doesn't have built-in support for it. I really liked how it was neatly organized into subvolumes but alas.
smegger
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Replacement 1tb nvme drives can be quite cheap these days, 2tb ones aren't especially price prohibitive either.
rirus
in reply to smegger • • •Also a Malware on one system could infect the others.
Tenderizer78
in reply to smegger • • •monovergent 🛠️
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •The need for a larger vehicle might not arise from one week to the next, but the need for more gigabytes can. Windows 11 will happily eat up its entire partition next time it decides to update.
That said, as I type from my computer with only a 60 GB SSD, just make sure you have a plan for when that storage runs out.
Tenderizer78
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •data1701d (He/Him)
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •This is less like buying a bigger car and more like upgrading the stereo in the car - 256GB in 2025 is somewhat akin to having only AM radio, and I've found it gets annoying real fast when doing anything serious.
I would hesitate to put anything smaller than 1 TB in something that's supposed to be a daily driver.
verdigris
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to verdigris • • •just_another_person
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •If it works, it works. Unless you're working in Espionage, anything is honestly fine as long as your main storage is encrypted. The boot loader exploits still can't unencrypt things, just allow access to the data, which...still can't be decrypted as as we know.
It's fine.
Tenderizer78
in reply to just_another_person • • •phanto
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to phanto • • •Gagootron
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •like this
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Tenderizer78
in reply to Gagootron • • •Gagootron
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Well, good news then: lvm comes with most modern linux distros. In fact, it is an option you can enable when installing linux mint.
I use it on every system that I run (workstations and servers) and never had any issues.
It really just makes partition management way easyer:
With normal partitions you cannot grow any partition without moving all other partitions after it. LVM can do it without touching anything else.
The best case for semthing like this is when you buy bigger ssd. You can copy the data with dd and then grow any and partitions that you want without hassle.
krolden
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to krolden • • •utopiah
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to utopiah • • •utopiah
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •At some point if they have ridiculous restrictions one might consider ... doing the test in person, in a room provided by the actual school or that THEY provide the hardware.
Anyway IMHO the bigger point is that a lot of my own inaction (I won't speak for others) came from fear of problems that rarely, if ever, materialized. I would recommend to move on and if the problem does actually arise then consider solutions at that point.
I uninstalled Windows on my SSD years ago (despite paying for it, forced by OEM deals), didn't regret it once. In fact, I wear it as a "badge of honor" with pride. When someone tells me I "have" to use Windows for whatever reason, I tell them I can't and that usually leads to interesting conversations.
Tenderizer78
in reply to utopiah • • •utopiah
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to utopiah • • •asudox
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to asudox • • •krolden
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Can emulate TPM
also kernel level anti cheat is for video games
dallen
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Can’t speak to your exact machine but nowadays the license tends to be tied to the hardware.
If you are capable of manual partitioning then you should be able to reinstall Windows quickly if needed.
Tenderizer78
in reply to dallen • • •I got this laptop
I guess I could reinstall Windows, I really hate the idea of running the Windows 11 installer though.
Pardon our interruption...
www.ebay.com.augravitas_deficiency
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to gravitas_deficiency • • •I do not need more space. I need 25GB per Linux system and 64GB for Windows (which I'm going to backup anyway), plus 20GB of data.
I may keep Windows 10 on my Desktop too. It's nowhere near as scary as Windows 11.
gravitas_deficiency
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •mexicancartel
in reply to dallen • • •Otter
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to Otter • • •I'm not sure the refurbisher I got my laptop from even gave Windows a license key. It kept bugging me to create an account to fully activate it or something, I should boot into it to check but the thought of opening up Windows 11 just gives me the creeps.
EDIT: They did give me a license. It was just Windows being Windows.
krolden
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to krolden • • •NewNewAugustEast
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •I too think you should remove windows. But if you don't want to, take a clonezilla image of your hard drive now. Store it somewhere else of course. You then can always recover if this scheme gets weird.
Its the first thing I do when I get a new laptop. Then wipe windows. Then install Linux. If I have hardware issues I can simply restore windows for warranty.
In any case, I would pick one of those two Linux to be a primary. You don't want to get rid of mint or make it a VM. Ok third option: distrobox it.
Tenderizer78
in reply to NewNewAugustEast • • •fushuan [he/him]
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •You just got a new laptop and it has 250 GB of disk space?? Are you mad???
My Pendrive has 256 GB!
Tenderizer78
in reply to fushuan [he/him] • • •rjek
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •rirus
in reply to rjek • • •You also need it for Hibernation to be the same or larger size like your RAM. Without it you can only suspend.
You MUST use encrypted SWAP if you want to be really secure since otherwise your encryption key might be written onto your Nvme.
patatahooligan
in reply to rjek • • •The common misconception that swap is pointless stems from misunderstanding what it's supposed to do. You shouldn't be triggering the OOM killer frequently anyway. In the much more normal case where you're only using some of your RAM for running applications, the rest is used as a filesystem cache/buffer. Having swap space available gives your OP the option to evict stale application memory from RAM rather than the filesystem cache when that would be the optimal choice to make.
This page explains it detail:
chrisdown.name/2018/01/02/in-d…
In defence of swap: common misconceptions
chrisdown.namestewarpt
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to stewarpt • • •KernelTale
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to KernelTale • • •AndrewZabar
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Virtual Machine.
My laptop came with Windows 11, I nuked it and installed Linux before even booting lol.
Tenderizer78
in reply to AndrewZabar • • •AndrewZabar
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •appropriateghost
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •that's a good question and I'm not sure. Worth it to find out, but personally I don't dual boot with Windows. I just have my main linux install and use a virtual machine. I never have needed to use a windows virtual machine but it would be interesting if I could activate it with the copy that came with my laptop.
Unless that copy is registered to my microsoft account? I have no idea that's how much I try to avoid windows now
CrackedLinuxISO
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •The pain of keeping it around will outweigh the pain of needing it and not having it.
Quick boot into windows to help a friend test something on your machine?
- Twenty-five bajillion updates since you never logged in
- Windows "helpfully" cleaning up your Linux bootloader
- Any shared NTFS partition between windows and Linux is almost guaranteed to be left in a "dirty" state when windows shuts down, meaning you have to run ntfsfix before Linux will mount it again
And suddenly, that's where you'll be spending the whole afternoon. I agree with the others who say a VM is probably good enough.
Tenderizer78
in reply to CrackedLinuxISO • • •monovergent 🛠️
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Are you able to install a second SSD in your laptop? If you really need to keep it around, it's best practice to have Windows on its own physical drive.
Or if it's feasible, make your old laptop your dedicated Windows machine.
Tenderizer78
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •My old laptop doesn't have a TPM or Secureboot (or a working CTRL key). So that idea's out.
I'll try and put it on a VM, not sure whether that'll preserve my key though.
IsThisLoss [comrade/them]
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to IsThisLoss [comrade/them] • • •IsThisLoss [comrade/them]
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to IsThisLoss [comrade/them] • • •igemnace
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •None are game-breaking! You can just note these down for next time you have the itch to tinker.
Swap - ArchWiki
wiki.archlinux.orgBCsven
in reply to igemnace • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to igemnace • • •Sorry for the late reply, I didn't have time this week to look into what a swapfile was and I delayed my response until I did. I will definitely be using a swap file since I do not ever use hibernation and encrypting my swap partition seems like a hassle.
I'm currently reinstalling things (after accidentally bricking the Windows partition and finding myself dissatisfied with openSUSE). Hopefully with just 4 partitions total (EFI, Kubuntu encrypted, Mint Xfce encrypted, data). I am removing the /boot from each because unless I'm leaving /boot unencrypted there's no reason to separate it out. Unfortunately encrypting /boot means GRUB doesn't detect it automatically in the Kubuntu installer so I'm still working out how to correct that.
mio
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to mio • • •Tenderizer78
Unknown parent • • •SitD
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenkard
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •AndrewZabar
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •verdigris
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Is there any reason? You're effectively wasting half the drive by using that space for OSes you almost never use.
If you ever happen to need Windows, which I don't see happening as you yourself can't imagine an actual use case, you can just go to the library or borrow a friend's computer or maybe use your phone.
As for Mint, do you just have it to experiment with? If you're just trying to try out other distros, a virtual machine or even live USBs are much easier ways to quickly try out new systems without having to clear actual partitions.
If you had much more storage then sure, waste some of it, but you're really gonna be missing that 120gb if you use your computer for... basically anything.
The order of the partitions basically doesn't matter at this point -- I think having a boot partition first used to be important for MBR schemes but I'm pretty sure in the UEFI era you can have them in whatever order. As others have mentioned, you could combine your EFI partitions, but doing so to an already installed system is slightly complex. You also could shrink some of your EFI and boot partitions, I'm not sure of the recommended sizes off the top of my head but I think they could be smaller. On the other hand, your swap partition should probably be bigger -- making it the same size as your RAM is a good rule of thumb and will enable hibernation (I think).
Tenderizer78
in reply to verdigris • • •Yep, gonna clone and delete Windows 11.
Library might work.
I'm using Mint for sensitive matters, I want to keep it separate from my daily driver.
I'll basically just be using this laptop for web-browsing.
I don't really use hibernation. I'll need to enable swap encryption though.
verdigris
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to verdigris • • •Some of the responses I got were about how the swap partition is useless, and someone else replied to them that they were wrong. I haven't responded to these people because I don't yet understand who's right. I'll use a swap file or just no swap altogether once I check for myself if the anti-swap people are nutters. I assume temporary files aren't saved to swap but instead to temp so I can't imagine what it's used for on an SSD.
I found yet another thing I'd need to manually install with OpenSUSE Leap (and at that point I may aswell use Arch with all it's documentation glory). I didn't have any of these issues with Ubuntu-based distros so I'm doing a fresh install with Kubuntu.
I'm gonna LVM it with two distros and a shared data partition.
Amju Wolf
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Why would you clone it first? Just nuke it if you don't plan on using it. It has no value. You can always install it from scratch.
Tenderizer78
in reply to Amju Wolf • • •brax
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to brax • • •Tenderizer78
in reply to AndrewZabar • • •Tenderizer78
Unknown parent • • •data1701d (He/Him)
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •On a more serious note, as others have said, you'll probably burn through these weird storage limitations quickly.
Also, what do you mean by "sensitive matters" on Mint? Because almost any way you spin it, I feel like it's not a great idea:
- If you're talking professional, confidential work with clients, keeping it on the same device where you do anything personal sounds like a terrible idea, and it's probably worth it to shell out for a dedicated device just for this.
- If it's more personal things like government documents, medical records, and other things I'll neglect to name here, running a separate operating system just for those just feels like unnecessary paranoia and will cause you unnecessary trouble. If you're careful, it shouldn't be a problem - the major browsers prevent file access through protections against cross-site scripting.
Also, as I said in another comment here, please upgrade that drive before you put a lot of data on it. If you don't and you run out of storage later (a near-certainty on 256GB), you'll have to go through the effort of getting everything copied, which may include equipment purchases and several hours of your time when you could jut do it right now while your important files are still small enough to fit on a flash drive right now. Save yourself the future trouble.
Anyhow, I wish you happy Linux usage.
brax
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •Again, so you don't plan on installing anything extra or downloading stuff off the web? Lol.
I tried running arch in about 115GB of space, it wasn't too bad but I had my /home directory on a separate drive. There's no way I could get away with my OS+Home Directories on something as laughably small as that, unless I was just testing for a few weeks.
Tenderizer78
in reply to brax • • •brax
in reply to Tenderizer78 • • •