Story time!
So I got bored, and with that comes the urge to tinker. I did not want to break my desktop (any more than I already had) and I wanted to get back into a linux first approach again.
My goto is a base install and installing X and Openbox and urxvt as my terminal emulator. And then building up from there rather than starting with a top down approach of installing a full desktop environment with all the trimmings.
8th gen i7, 32gb of Ram 1tb SSD, and older model Toshiba Tecra (Now called Dynabook). 15 inches, 1080p display.
I started with a base (CLI) install with an install script that I hand crafted to automate 90% of the process. And I made a promise to install only "contemporary" software so using things that have been actively developed in the last 3 or so years. I had to break old habits and work outside of my comfort zone.
So I looked at current trends and found Hyprland a window manager for wayland, which begged a new terminal emulator that supported all this shiny newness.
I am currently running Hyprland, Kitty (terminal emulator) waybar, firefox, qutebrowser, wofi (a program runner), and I have working wifi, working Bluetooth, working audio, working hardware acceleration for video. I am also using Tauon music box (a python based music player), and MPV for video files.
And I am absolutely blown away at the performance and efficiency I get out of this setup. I can get up to 6 hours of battery life in light browsing / tinkering. I am running about 2gb of ram with a copy of firefox open, and VSCode running with some items open. I can see how much battery life I have left at a glance, how much memory / cpu I am using and the temperature of my machine, networking info and a quote of the day embedded at the bottom of my random wallpaper.
I enjoy the joys of emojis in my terminal, and readable fonts, and smooth UI transitions. Rather than jagged sharp fonts, and flashing screens with tearing and choppy response. I was willing to make some sacrifices for efficiency but now it appears I do not have to.
Questions are always welcome and encouraged. It's been a while but I am happy to be typing this in linux, on my couch, in arch, in a minimal install.
P.s. I also got remote gaming working with a utility called Moonlight. I can stream games in house to this laptop from my Desktop gaming rig. So cool!
https://hyprland.org/
https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty
https://sr.ht/~scoopta/wofi/
https://tauonmusicbox.rocks/
https://moonlight-stream.org/
Nice, thanks for sharing your build with us, Brian.
That Toshiba Tecra notebook computer must have the right kind of hardware, in it, to work well with Linux.
That's pretty cool, Mr. Code. I love that you explained how you set things up and what you're using. And you did it in a way that even I can understand it! :) Is your install script among those links? I covered a base install of Arch once. Unscripted. I think I included a very basic GUI - IceWM perhaps? Might be useful to see your install script if it's something you think might apply to the average user.
The game streaming sounds interesting, too. I was looking at various online gaming services, some of which let you run a game using a remote PC desktop with much better specs than many of us have, certainly me. Is the desktop PC using Windows? I wouldn't berate you for that. The best diverse gaming setup is still on Windows. With some sadness, I play my games on Windows. I tried Steam on Linux but I can't get some of my go-to games on it. I am surprised at some of the games that will run on it, though.
Glad to see you a bare metal Linux install again, btw. :)
Ryzen9 5950x/128gb/2tbNVME/8TB(Current)Win11 is the streaming box. It's running all the games!
I even use the game streaming feature for buttery smooth remote desktop. The tower is wired the tecra is wireless. I need to test it with a Bluetooth controller but everything works and I get 60 frames per second and no noticeable lag.
The install script is a brute force barebones install, so it is well suited for a VM or a bare metal single drive install. It does not however graciously handle dual boot or partitioning. It installs Arch and does not pass go, does not collect $200 and does not apologize. BUT it works on EFI and bios depending on which version of the script you run (no autodetect).
I have a further customized version that sets a random hostname each time, and will install a salt-minion agent that reports back to a server I have that gives me instant remote access / automation over the rest of the install on first boot. (if the device gets internet on the first boot)
As for Linux gaming, I paid to win. I have a Valve Steamdeck that runs linux and games. AND uses the same game streaming tech as the laptop! And it is also arch based and also highly modified / customized.
Honestly I am glad to be back on bare metal linux. It's a lot of work but for me it's my home garden / hobby. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but it's mine!