Updated: June 24, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Native applications. Among the various emails I received as a response to my Moving away from Windows
software checklist article, the insistence on native programs was the biggest one. In other words, people
wondered why I'd use anything via WINE when there are (acceptable) native options available. By and large,
this is indeed a valid claim, but it assumes one thing. Functional parity.
Not one to dismiss feedback lightly, I decided to actually test pretty much every program mentioned in
these email responses, to see whether they can actually do the job - and you shall be seeing those reviews
in the coming months. So we want to check the following. One, if they offer functional parity, because
without it, the other arguments are irrelevant. Two, are they useful in their own right, if not as a
primary tool then as a secondary or backup option. Three, to explore new ideas and tools and whatnot,
which can lead to some pretty fun discoveries. My topic of interest today is Notepadqq, a text editor
designed to be like Windows-only Notepad++. So let us proceed.
Read more ...
Updated: June 22, 2022 | Category:
Other software
This article should have probably been written twenty years ago. But then, Dedoimedo only came into
being in 2006, and by that time, I was heavily entrenched in my love and use of IrfanView as my favorite
image viewer. The passion extends beyond its native Windows environment; 'tis my favorite in Linux, too,
and I find it superior to the native crop. Of course, when I wrote more extensively about this in my
Windows-Linux migration saga, a bunch of folks emailed me, questioning my choices, and brining XnView
into focus.
And then, I thought, well, I ought to give this program its due respect. Now, there is no cliffhanger
moment here. I've tried and used XnView before, and I've always liked it. This means today's article will
be contention and drama free. But I would like to give XnView its proper review, maybe do a little bit of
comparison to my favorite, and mostly redress a long, outstanding gap in my writing history. To wit, let
us talk about XnView in depth and detail. After me.
Read more ...
Updated: June 20, 2022 | Category:
3D art
About thirteen years ago, I posted the one and only guest blog post on Dedoimedo, created by my friend
Mr. D, no puns intended. It featured a 3D model of a giant mechanical spider, inspired by the steampunk
contraption from Wild Wild West and the Stargate TV show. Very nice.
A few days ago, deeply entrenched in my recent 3D drawing and rendering spree, I decided to revisit
this idea, the artistic part, that is. I decided to create an insect of my own, a large, combat-capable,
pseudo-modern yet somewhat steampunk in spirit, mechanized dragonfly. The concept is very similar to
Spiderbot, the inspiration largely the same, but with some twists and extras. Well, let us explore,
shall we.
Read more ...
Updated: June 10, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Mr. Grumpy reporting for duty, sir. Today, my chore will be the review of Fedora 36, clad in Gnome. I
will conduct the testing on my triple-boot IdeaPad, which is powered by AMD Ryzen + Vega graphics and has
a small but fierce NVMe for I/O operations. Indeed.
Recently, in my rather carefully and sparsely sampled spring distro testing season, I tried Kubuntu
22.04. It was okay, but there was no LTS bite to it, as if I needed anything to improve my already vastly
cheerful mood and disposition toward Linux lately. But now, I want to try something less KDE, and there's
nothing better than Gnome in its vanillaest form, Fedora. Commence we do.
Read more ...
Updated: June 8, 2022 | Category:
Containers
I like intuitive software solutions. Y'know, products that are so easy to use you don't really need a manual, and if you do have to consult the documentation, then you will definitely find the answers you're looking for. In my experience, Docker stuff definitely qualifies in this domain.
Recently, I came across a new Docker thing - Docker Desktop. This is meant to be the GUI for Docker container management, intended as a cushty frontend for things you would normally do on the command line with the Docker engine. Well, sounds quite interesting, so let's see what gives.
Read more ...
Updated: June 6, 2022 | Category:
Hall of Fame
The Internet ain't a fun place. But it does not have to be that way, which is why I've added two more
excellent page to my Greatest sites list. And so, do you like computers? Do you like history? Do you like
fascinating tidbits of technological trivia? If the answer to any or all of these questions is a
resounding yes, then you might want to hop over to The Digital Antiquarian, a site dedicated to the
history of computer entertainment and digital culture.
Now, let me ask you a few more questions. Do you like combat aircraft? Do you like data? How about you
read about aircraft while digesting some aerodynamic statistics? Yes, there is a site that can satisfy
those needs indeed. MIGFLUG is your one-stop shop to flying ex-East German warplanes, commenting on the
best air force in the world, past or present, swashbuckling air kill statistics, and gazing upon some
fancy airplane footage, still and motion, in that order.
Read more ...
Updated: June 1, 2022 | Category:
Linux
As you probably know, I'm not very happy with the new Plasma System Monitor. It came around a couple of
years back, hailed as a successor to the venerable KSysGuard, a badly named but otherwise most capable
tool shipped with Plasma desktops since the dawn of humanity. The refreshment wouldn't be bad if it didn't
harm the very essence of what it's meant to do - display data in a meaningful manner.
I've discussed this and then some in my article above, and throughout various distro reviews here and
there, lamenting the rather toyish car-rev slash dial/pie graphs on the main page, the truncated CPU
legend labels, the CPU graph grouping, the lack of meaningful axes information, and all the rest that
makes graphs true art. Well, with my Kubuntu 22.04 review stowed away, that still stands. However, I do
want to actually show you how you can turn the Monitor's pointless defaults into something a bit more
useful. After me.
Read more ...
Updated: May 30, 2022 | Category:
Linux
My Windows to Linux migration saga continues. We're still a long way off from finishing it, but it has
begun, and I've also outlined a basic list of different programs I will need to try and test in Linux, to
make sure when the final switch cometh that I have the required functionality. You can find a fresh
bouquet of detailed tutorials on how to get SketchUp, Kerkythea, KompoZer, as well as Notepad++ running in
Linux, all of them using WINE and successfully too, in my Linux category.
Today, my focus will be on IrfanView, a small, elegant image viewer for Windows, which I've been using
with delight for decades now. It's got everything one needs, and often more than the competitors, hence
this bold foray of using it in Linux despite the fact there are tons of native programs available. But
let's proceed slowly and not get too far ahead of ourselves. After me.
Read more ...
Updated: May 16, 2022 | Category:
3D art
I'm on a spree. But not the river. More like digital art stuff. Recently, I've started doing 3D designs
again, and the experience has been a thoroughly fun one. I would also like to believe that my models are
precise and realistic, but then, you ought to judge. There's a new ship, a monster truck, and a steam
locomotive. To wit.
The fourth model takes on a brand new concept I've not tried before. A VSTOL/tiltrotor plane similar to
MV-22 Osprey, but also inspired by the fictional Y-32 gunship from the ArmA 3 first-person shooter. So I
decided to see what I can do here, making sure everything looks the part. Let us commence to proceed,
shall we?
Read more ...
Updated: May 13, 2022 | Category:
General site news
Some of you may have noticed, and in fact contacted me about this, that occasionally, Dedoimedo is not
available. Specifically, when you try to access the site, you get an SSL certificate warning from your
browser. I would like to inform you that I am aware of the issue, and I have been trying to get my hosting
provider to resolve this for a while now.
In more detail, the problem is that when the issue occurs, the certificate warning tells you that
you're trying to connect to *gridserver.com rather than my site, ergo dedoimedo.com. The aforementioned
grid is part of the shared hosting environment where my site resides.
My guess is that the hosting provider has a fault with one of their loadbalancer or Web server nodes,
which does not properly terminate SSL. I have contacted them numerous times about this, wit no resolution
provided yet. As to you, my dear readers, if you encounter this, the fix is simple. Just wait 2-3 minutes,
and then refresh the page. You will then most likely land on a different grid node, with correct SSL
termination, and everything will work fine. On my side, I will look at perhaps using a different hosting
provider. Thank you for reading.
Until next time ...
Updated: May 13, 2022 | Category:
Linux
The most difficult part in my recently started Windows to Linux migration, initiated (after more than
30 years of steady use of Windows) due to the inefficiency and pointlessness of Windows 11, is in having a
sufficiently engaging opening sequence to an article, without repeating myself. It ain't easy, but I'm
trying.
Anyway, if you've just turned on your TVs, Dedo is starting a process. It will take three or four
years, maybe longer. The mission is to use Linux 100% of the time, no more Windows, reasons ere outlined.
In a long series of articles, I will be detailing the progress of this mega-project. We've already covered
a whole bunch of nice programs, including SketchUp, Kerkythea, and KompoZer. Great success. Now, we need
to tackle Notepad++, a most splendid and Windows-only text editor. Follow me.
Read more ...
Updated: May 11, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Spring. Flowers. Hay fever. Linux distros aplenty. This is how one can summarize the doings in the
northern hemisphere this year, and every year. A fresh crop of Tuxies has hatched, and with modest
reservation, stoicism, skepticism, and a lack of delusion, I shall set about sampling the harvest.
Carefully, sparingly, because things ain't as rosy as they once used to be. Today, I will try Kubuntu
22.04 Jammy Jellyish, the new LTS.
My test rig will be the brand-newish IdeaPad 3, equipped with AMD processor plus graphics and adorned
with three operating systems, one of which the aforementioned 22.04 will displace today. Hopefully, it
will be a rather fun process, because I was super-happy with Plasma 5.24, and I'd like to believe, against
all odds, that the lucky stream will continue for a while longer. I would also like this distro to become
my next production system. To wit, let's commence to start.
Read more ...
Updated: May 9, 2022 | Category:
3D art
When it rains, it pours, and the drains get clogged. Or something. After several years of quiet in the
3D space, I'm back in the proverbial business of creating and rendering fancy models. With SketchUp Make
2017 and Kerkythea Echo Boost as my tools of choice, I've recently made a destroyer ship and a monster
truck. Next on the menu is a steam locomotive.
My initial thought was, well, this ought to be quite simple. A cylinder, some wheels, job done. Then, I
started doing the model, and I realized I couldn't really breeze through it. So I spent a good week or two
painstakingly drawing every element of it, every wheel, every lever, every pipe, everything. The result is
quite pleasing, which I shall now attempt to demonstrate and prove.
Read more ...
Updated: May 6, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Comparing files, not a difficult task, easy peasy. Comparing files visually, not so much. Now and then,
almost everyone will have a need to look at two versions of the same document and try to find the subtle
differences between them. Sometimes, the application you're working with will have a built-in comparison
feature, which makes things simpler. Sometimes, you will have to figure it out on your own, or use a
dedicated program.
In Linux, there is a wealth of file comparison tools and utilities available, most of them built on top
of the command-line diff program. They all follow the same basic principle of showing you two versions of
the same file, side by side, and highlighting the changes and differences (hence the name). But one
program stands out in this domain, and it's meld. To wit, we shall review.
Read more ...
Updated: May 4, 2022 | Category:
Game reviews
Here we go. A technical problem with me favorite racing simulator. As it happens, I tend to play with a
small selection of cars, trying to improve my skills slowly, gradually, meticulously. One car, one track,
and let the lap times go down. Over and over. Now and then, I do go for a little change of repertoire.
Several days ago, I noticed a weird bug in the Select Brand menu. Alongside the usual names and logos,
there was an ugly missing-icon type of logo, and when I'd hover with a mouse over it, the text at the
bottom of the screen would read unknown. Well, I decide to get rid of this problem, because my OCD demons
demand it.
Read more ...
Updated: April 27, 2022 | Category:
Windows, Linux
Today, I'd like to break away from my recent template of Windows-to-Linux tutorials, which have focused
on showing you how to install, configure and use a variety of programs, typically designed or intended
only for Windows, using frameworks like WINE. What we shall discuss today is the juicy topic of disk and
drive management.
Beyond applications, there's data to reckon with. And data is critical to everything. Things become
extra complicated when one considers the cardinal differences between Windows and Linux. The former uses
NTFS, and data is organized in drives (C:, D:, etc). Linux stores everything under one filesystem tree
(root, /), and uses different filesystem formats (like ext4), although it can handle NTFS. So then, what
gives if you're trying to move your stuff over? This tutorial is a neat suggestion for those looking for
order, simplicity and clarity.
Read more ...
Updated: April 25, 2022 | Category:
Other software, 3D art
A while back, I encountered an interesting little problem. One of my more complex models required more
than 100 different colors or textures. Not an issue in itself, but I soon found myself struggling to
remember what material I've applied where. Even if you use color names rather than generic labels, it's
still hard figuring the difference between red, firebrick, maroon, crimson, or brown, or the reasons why
you'd want to use them with a particular model part or component.
The other imperative driving my decision was the fact I wanted to render my SketchUp model(s) in
Kerkythea, and make sure that I could individually select each material separately, and apply the right
texture to them, even if they seemingly used the same color codes. The thing is, Kerkythea treats
same-name materials as one, and so, even though several components had the same "color", they weren't
necessarily the same material. Red plastic and red metal don't behave the same. I think I've found an neat
way around this. Let me share.
Read more ...
Updated: April 22, 2022 | Category:
Other software, 3D art
Recently, I started doing a while bunch of new models in SketchUp, and I always try to only use my own
components, never anything from the 3D warehouse. This means extra work, but also more satisfaction when
you succeed. But then, I did face one big challenge. How to make a helix, a three-dimensional spiral, that
most elusive of shapes.
In essence, most of 3D design is just figuring the intricate intersect of planes in three dimensions.
Sounds trivial, but sometimes, you end up scratching your head, not quite sure what to do. I decided to
check a number of online tutorials, and while they do accomplish the task, I found them impossible to
reproduce. The actual steps needed in SketchUp baffled me more than the concept of how a helix should look
like. Well, eventually, with great satisfaction, I worked it out. It's not the prettiest or most efficient
method, but it's dead simple. Let me show you.
Read more ...
Updated: April 20, 2022 | Category:
3D art
As you well know, I've started doing 3D design and renders again, after quite a long pause. Having
finished my most complex model yet, a destroyer ship inspired by the American Arleigh Burke and Russian
Kirov classes, I wanted to try something completely different. And it all started with, how do you make a
ridged wheel in SketchUp?
So I spent some time and figured how to design a tractor-like tire with giant traction pads around the
rim. Then, I looked at the tire and thought, what if I put four of them together, and then assemble a car
chassis on top of them? Thus, the idea for a monster truck was born. Fast forward some ten days of
rigorous drawing and another week or so of rendering, and here we are. Behold.
Read more ...
Updated: April 15, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Welcome. This article is another part of my ongoing series on moving away from Windows as my primary
operating system. A few months back, I realized that the simplicity and user-focused control of the
classic desktop so far present in Windows will most likely be gone, or at least, become severely reduced
in the coming years, and that I don't want to partake in that journey. Instead, I will be having my own
journey.
I told you about my rough plan, and I already outlined how you can get SketchUp and Kerkythea working
in Linux. Now, I want to talk about a lovely, highly useful relic. KompoZer. It's a WYSIWYG HTML editor
that's last been updated some fourteen years back. And yet, it's still around, and I still use it, because
it does the job. Now let me show you how you can get it working in Linux.
Read more ...
Updated: April 13, 2022 | Category:
Game reviews
With the world travel less optimal than it should be lately, I found myself spending insufficient time
inside a car cabin, in the driver's seat, be it casual cruisin' or race track days. This is unfortunate,
because I really love driving. So what does one do when they are afflicted thusly? They seek adequate
alternatives.
As it happens, several years ago, I bought Assetto Corsa, a serious racing simulator, and I found it
delightful. Accurate, difficult, unforgiving, splendid. And then, as it also happens, there was my G27
racing wheel and pedals set, waiting to be assembled and used. Well, I thought, let's recreate that track
day feel.
Read more ...
Updated: April 11, 2022 | Category:
Office
A bunch of months back, having finished testing LibreOffice 7.2, my overall conclusion was one of mild,
cautious optimism. Mild, because as often as not, things happen rather whimsically in the open-source
world. Cautious because I've been burned before. And optimistic, because I felt that LibreOffice had
managed to overcome a long series of usability bugs and problems that had plagued it for years, and that
from now on, it would be smooth sailing.
With that in mind, turn our eyes onto LibreOffice 7.3, we must. I did wait a bit, for that first
dot-dot release, so the very initial bugs would be quickly identified and fixed, and I could then submit
this quintessential libre office suite to a rigorous set of tests. After all, there is igor in rigor.
Indeed.
Read more ...
Updated: April 8, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Welcome. This article is part of my ongoing series on moving away from Windows as my primary operating
system. Several months ago, I've come to the conclusion that the days of the sane, classic desktop
computing in Windows are numbered, and I must migrate away ere it's too late. Now, there's no panic. The
real problems will most likely start around the EOL of Windows 10, which means 2025 at the earliest. Till
then, I promised to do a long series of Windows-to-Linux migration guides around this topic, and create a
functional, productive alternative setup for myself, with Linux and the Plasma desktop as my choice.
So far, I've told you about my generic plan for this adventure. There are some good news already. A
fair deal of my favorite software is already cross-platform and/or native to Linux. Other stuff works
through WINE. The whole thing will, predictably, boil down to office and games. Now, I want to show you
how you can use Kerkythea, a photorealistic, 3D rendering program, in Linux. Follow me.
Read more ...
Updated: April 4, 2022 | Category:
Linux
Sometimes, you may disagree with a person or an entity, but also sometimes, you gotta respect them when
they stick to their values, no matter what. Slackware is a good example of this behavior. While the Linux
desktop world has been gripped in much drama over the past two decades, one distro stayed true to its
original mission, for better or worse. No drama, no fanfare, no great missions statements, just pure tech
for nerds.
With the recent release of its 15th major version, I decided to test Slackware 15, to see how an old,
classical Linux distro copes with the modern challenges. Now, I was a little apprehensive of what the test
would include, so I forayed with a virtual machine experiment. This doesn't necessarily reflect a complete
real-life usage scenario, but it should still be good enough for our purpose. Let us commence and ponder
.
Read more ...
Updated: April 1, 2022 | Category:
Other software
Every once in a while, my Nokia X10 phone will tell me to reboot so it can apply an update. When I saw
a notification for this action a few days back I did not suspect my phone would bump its operating system
by a whole integer. But bump it did, and the first indicator something was new was the absolutely huge
clock applet on the lock screen. After a moment of mild shock, I figured what had transpired and started
testing.
Of course, you don't really need me to tell you about Android. I'm not a phone person, and my usage
patterns are so completely different from the common swiper. Even so, if you're in a mood for some light
entertainment, then let me tell how I feel about Android 12. Follow me.
Read more ...
Updated: March 30, 2022 | Category:
Windows
Every few years, I face this wee problem. I try to delete a file in Windows Explorer, and it throws an
error, telling me it cannot find (and delete) the file specified. OK, happens. So I go to the command
line, and do the deletion there. However, this time, I encountered a fresh snag. The usual deletion action
wouldn't complete, with the command prompt saying: The system cannot find the file specified.
I encountered this issue with a lock file created by my Xerox B215 printer on a Samba share. For some
odd reason, the printer truncated the actual filename, and instead of it being "Xerox_Scan.pdf", it was
named just "Xerox_Scan." Ha, but was it really?
Read more ...
Updated: March 28, 2022 | Category:
Linux
At the risk of repeating myself, I must say that Plasma is the best desktop. Period. It is also
extremely customizable, but in a fun way. You can use the defaults, never worrying about any tweaking, or
if you so desire, you can make visual changes to pretty much anything and everything, with a great level
of detail. A good example is Dolphin, Plasma's default file manager, our topic for today.
In this article, I want to show you how you can go about changing the look & feel of Dolphin. And to
satisfy the bombastic title I used above, I intend to go beyond the pure basics. As in, I won't talk about
changing the size of icons in the sidebar, or removing certain categories and alike. That's too easy.
We'll actually tweak the look and feel. Follow me.
Read more ...
Updated: March 25, 2022 | Category:
Linux
You can't edit Gnome themes, no more, someone wrote me in an email. And I replied, what what. The
person pointed out that the instructions I laid out in my Gnome theme edit guide no longer worked.
Specifically, the gtk.css file, which is supposed to contain the necessary clauses to make theme changes,
like font color for instance, simply weren't there anymore.
I decided to explore this further. I powered on CentOS 9 Stream, which comes with a modern version of
the Gnome desktop environment, and I looked what gives under the Adwaita theme folder. Indeed, the old
method of customization seems no longer applicable. Which is why we need this tutorial. Begin, we must.
Read more ...
Updated: March 23, 2022 | Category:
Linux
If you were old enough to use computers in the mid-2000s (just the decade right), and you happened to
be running Windows and Linux, and, being a nerd, you also participated in discussions around the benefits
of this operating system over that, then you must have come across the following statement: you don't need
to do any system maintenance on Linux, it's smart enough to handle it all by itself.
Indeed, on the Windows side, there was often talk around systems getting slower over time, dire need
for defragmentation (in NTFS as opposed to Ext3), cleanup of temporary files, and such. Linux was often
touted as maintenance-free. Now, the question is, how true is this statement really? I actually had a
chance to test it for myself, all through temporal chance.
Read more ...
Updated: March 21, 2022 | Category:
Game reviews
Reuse titles much? Yes, indeed. But there is a reason to that. What do you get when you combine the
powers of Carmageddon and BeamNG.drive (for which the aforementioned title was already used)? You get
Wreckfest! A game dedicated to wholesale competitive vehicular deformation in a splendid display of soft
physics arcade. Childish enthusiasm for wanton destruction intensifies.
My Steam wishlist popped a notification. There's this game you added, y'know, back when you bought
BeamNG, so maybe you want to try it? And try I did. Fast forward about 300 hours of crash, boom, joy, and
here I am, writing a review of this splendid mind-and-body detoxifier. Let us delve into details.
Read more ...
Updated: March 9, 2022 | Category:
Windows, Linux
After using Windows for some 30 years as my primary operating system, I have come to a difficult
realization that I will need to wean myself off it for good sometime soon-ish. This isn't a trivial
decision, and the outcome won't happen overnight. In fact, I don't expect my plan to be fully realized
until 2025-2026, when Windows 10 goes EOL. But I must start somewhere.
What prompted me was the news that Windows 11 Pro will (most likely) need an online account to complete
the installation process. Even if this doesn't happen or gets retracted, the very notion of a classic
desktop formula being mangled so badly to serve some cloud-mobile greed model angers me. I have zero
intention of using my PC like some smartphone chimp, on top of and beyond the technical inadequacies of
Windows 11 itself. And then, later on in the future, an even more pointless idea of "desktop as a service"
looms big. Nah. Not gonna play that silly game. And so, I am slowly starting the migration journey.
Read more ...
Updated: March 7, 2022 | Category:
Linux
After I wrote my review of Ksnip, a handy screenshot tool, someone commented that they would like to be
able to associate this program with their shortcut for capturing screenshots. In particular, they also
said they would like to be able to take rectangular areas rather than fullscreen or windowed area. This
got me thinking, and I figured, perhaps there is some tutorial material here?
The answer is, yes. Now, my mission today is twofold. One, show you how you can assign custom shortcuts
to custom actions in Plasma. Two, showcase yet again the amazing and neverending flexibility of the Plasma
desktop environment, because nothing else does it half as good as Plasma. In fact, the whole thing reminds
me of that catchy, cheesy song The Spy Who Loved Me, the theme sequence from the namesake 007 Bond movie.
And it opens with the following lyrics: Nobody does it better, I feel sad for the rest ... Indeed, let is
commence this tutorial.
Read more ...
Updated: March 4, 2022 | Category:
Virtualization
Recently, on one of my systems, VirtualBox stopped working. No matter which virtual machine I tried to
launch, it would throw the same error. The popup window would read: Failed to open a session for the
virtual machine [Whatever the name is]. In the details box, it would say: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005).
Weird. The message is cryptic and generic, and doesn't really give you a clue as to might be wrong
right away. Well, I set about troubleshooting, and after some trial and error, this little guide was born.
Now, in all likelihood, it won't solve ALL your problems (with the same error code), but you might get
just enough guidance to figure out what in your specific system is not working. Follow me.
Read more ...
Updated: March 2, 2022 | Category:
Windows
It is funny and tragic that, in 2022, a man should be writing an article explaining how to fix a
slowness issue in the file manager of a flagship desktop operating system product, and yet here we are. As
it happens, I have a test system that runs Windows 11, and there, Explorer windows take time opening, and
then yet more time showing the contents of various drives and folders. A modern machine with an NVMe disk,
mind.
No such problem affected Windows 10 prior to the upgrade, affects no other Windows 10 machine that I
use, or the Linux distributions installed side by side with Windows 11 on the aforementioned IdeaPad 3
laptop. When I tested the Windows 11 Dev Build last year, I did write a tutorial on how to improve Windows
11 performance. Now, we need to go one step further and make Explorer even snappier. Follow me, nerds.
Read more ...
Updated: February 28, 2022 | Category:
Linux
You all know I love the Plasma desktop environment. Why? Because it's factually awesome. It's the most
consistent, visually pleasing, ergonomically efficient, and customizable UI for the classic desktop, hands
down. Nothing comes even close, inside and outside the Linux world. Now, there's a new version, 5.24, and
its existence is very important.
Why? Because it is the new Plasma LTS, and it will adorn the upcoming Kubuntu 22.04. In other words, it
will shape the next two or three years of stable, semi-pro and serious KDE usage. The other reason is,
I've recently become disenchanted with Windows, and I will be moving away from it in the coming years.
This is why Plasma 5.24 ought to be superb, so it gives me the boost of confidence and fun I need for my
journey ahead. And so, begin, let us.
Read more ...
Updated: February 25, 2022 | Category:
3D art
Lo and behold. Something rather interesting happened a few days ago. After an artistic pause of about
six years, during which I made no new 3D models, a sudden urge to design grabbed me, and I powered
SketchUp and shortly thereafter Kerkythea, and started turning the fruit of my imagination into a
photorealistic product. This time, a combat ship (yet again).
The effort turned to be quite fun, in many different ways. I "relearned" my way around the two
programs, and even got better along the way. I mastered new tricks in SketchUp 2017 Make edition, the last
free and ultimately the best version of the program before the cloud thingie. I also re-realized that the
ancient 2013 edition of Kerkythea remains the friendliest free 3D renderer around, hands down. And I also
created a lovely new model, which I'm going to share now with pride and joy.
Read more ...
Updated: February 23, 2022 | Category:
Internet
I use Firefox as my primary browser. Fact. I intend to do so until one of us is gone. Fact. But I do
find the new UI style pointless. That one is called Proton, and it landed in Firefox several months ago.
For a while, you could disable it with a toggle, but now, there ain't no toggle no more.
To gain back a sane, productive UI layout, I resorted to making manual changes to Firefox through a
series of CSS file changes. This lovely adventure is detailed in my guides on how to disable Proton. I
made the tabs more visible, added color to the container tabs, sorted out the URL bar, and then some. So
far so good, but then, in version 97, just recently released, I noticed that my container tabs are a bit
messed up. The CSS rules no longer work quite as well as they did. This article shows a small set of tiny
fixes needs to make my modified interface look cool again. If you're already using my anti-Proton tweaks,
then this should be useful.
Read more ...
Updated: February 21, 2022 | Category:
Windows, Linux
A couple of days ago, I came across a forum post that pointed to a Web article that linked to the
Windows 11 Insider preview Dev channel release notes, which mention a new requirement for Windows 11 Pro
setup. Not Home edition, mind, but Pro. Internet access and Microsoft account will (or most likely will)
be needed to finish the system setup. And I decided, that's it, I had enough stupidity for one
lifetime.
This pointless cloudification of the classic PC desktop formula will never stop. It won't stop until
desktop as a service is a reality and all that nonsense. No. I'm not going to cooperate with that plan.
And so I've now finally decided that I'm going to properly start moving my production workflows away from
Windows. That won't be an easy task. After all, I've been using Windows since 1992. But I have zero
intention of using Windows 11, as it's pointless in its own right, and I have even less intention of being
a subscription monkey. Services yes, products never. This article is a start of a journey whereby I plan
to wean myself off Windows. Let's begin.
Read more ...
Updated: February 18, 2022 | Category:
Game reviews
As it happens, ArmA 3, a war simulator and first person shooter, has two distinct qualities. One, it is
indeed the finest computer game in its category, allowing for some really serious, engaging action. Best,
most realistic shooter, hands down. Two, it is also blessed with a whole range of (potentially
intentional) bugs and quirks, which lead to great merriment. Among these bugs and quirks, the quirkiest of
all is the collision system.
For instance, take any two vehicles and make them touch. The end result is unpredictable. The outcomes
ranges from nothing to wheel damage to players dying to vehicles suddenly exploding and flying like
billiard balls all over the map. The incident angle, the speed of the collision, the type of the vehicle,
and who knows what else determine the spectacular display of physics on your screen. The big question is,
well, how far can one take this phenomenon?
Read more ...
Updated: February 14, 2022 | Category:
Linux
It's been quite a while since I last wrote a Slimbook Pro long-term usability report. More than a year
in fact. By now, my Slimbook laptop is more than three years old, approaching 3.5 years, and I've been
using it daily, for serious productivity tasks, for fun, when traveling abroad, all of it. A real attempt
to see if and how a Linux machine can be relevant for everyday use, beyond the usual stories focusing on
just developers writing code.
For those of you wondering what this is all about, a few summers ago, I got myself a Slimbook machine,
and since, I've been writing about this experience in a series of "combat" reports, summarizing the good,
the bad, and the weird of using a Linux-powered laptop. No glamor, no nonsense, and no fanboyism. Well, it
is time for another story. To wit.
Read more ...
Updated: February 11, 2022 | Category:
Linux
This is a very important tutorial. It brings closure to a five-year-old technical problem that I've
had. As it happens, I tried running SketchUp in Linux thrice, through WINE. In 2010 and 2016, this effort
yielded good results. In 2017, it was a failure. Now, finally, I was able to overcome the problem.
SketchUp Make 2017 is the last free offline edition of this lovely 3D program line. Since, if you want
to do some nice design, you can either pay for the Pro version or use the rather limited in-browser free
edition. This makes the 2017 version highly valuable to me, but I had struggled getting it running
properly in Linux for a while now. Let's amend that.
Read more ...
Updated: February 9, 2022 | Category:
Windows
Early in July 2021, I reviewed the Dev Build of Windows 11. I was underwhelmed on so many levels. The
new operating system, if it can be called that, was raw, unfinished, and came with a slew of bugs and
ergonomic annoyances. But that was then. Since, this thing has been officially released, and it even
received a handful of big, critical patches, designed to help resolve some of the early problems.
With optimism, nay jadedness of heart, I set about testing Windows 11 with a fresh outlook. After all,
six months and change is a lot of time to resolve various issues, and give users, hopefully, a decent
experience. The reason why I'm doing this so-called milestone article rather than a more "streamlined"
update is that I feel no need whatsoever to be using or testing Windows 11. I find it totally unnecessary,
and will not be using it on my serious systems. But test we shall, and report thus.
Read more ...
Updated: February 7, 2022 | Category:
Game reviews
Willkommen! It's time for you to return to the Cold War. These are the first two sentences from the
Global Mobilization DLC for ArmA 3, the latest in a series of major third-party DLCs available for this
fine first person shooter. Oh, sounds interesting. Just a few weeks ago, I talked about Prairie Fire, a
Vietnam-era bundle, and also went slightly philosophical on the whole concept of DLC vs Expansion Pack,
the value in these extras, and such. TL;DR: Looking good, why not. And so, today, we'll just focus on the
game.
Regardless of when or where you were born, and whether you actually experienced the whole GDR/DDR
thingie, you can still enjoy the tension of the Cold War, fighting as either a West or East German faction
on the brand new, big Weferlinger map, a fictitious yet modeled-after-real-world terrain added in this
DLC. In a take somewhat similar to how Operation Flashpoint did it, you can blend nostalgia, old tech (not
as old as the 60s but still) and the uncompromising realism of ArmA 3 for a fresh dose of milsim
zeitgeist. Or something.
Read more ...
Updated: February 4, 2022 | Category:
Linux
I see a great disturbance in the force. I see hordes of fanboys on both sides of the Tux camp whetting
their pitchforks, ready to storm Castle Dedo. As it happens, the Plasma and Gnome desktop environments
have completely opposite value propositions, or at least, usage models. One classic, one not. But that
doesn't mean we can't cross streams.
The big difference between Plasma and Gnome is that Plasma is extremely customizable, so if you feel
like going for a visual refresh, you can do this relatively easily. Gnome can also be tweaked, but it
needs extensions and then some. And so, I want to show you how, should you feel like making your Plasma
desktop mimic Fedora or perchance Ubuntu with its Yaru theme, this is how you do it. After me.
Read more ...
Updated: February 2, 2022 | Category:
Other software
Note taking. This is one of those things that everyone does, and often, in a rather unique, individual
way. Some people leave themselves reminders using physical sticky notes glued to the door of their fridge.
Others have reminders in their calendar. Others yet keep information in text files on their desktop. Or
you hire a person whose job is to do it for you. Many ways indeed. How about a dedicated tool?
With the philosophical debate of the subtle differences between notes applications and text editors
aside, I want to focus on Standard Notes. This program grabbed my attention a while back, and I sort of
tested and tried it on and off recently, trying to figure out if indeed I need a piece of software like
this. My method of in-yer-face desktop files has worked well for me for the past two decades, so I'm
wondering if a standalone tool can create the same sense of order and urgency. To wit, we explore more.
Read more ...