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Everything you have listed is solvable by using a different distribution/desktop environment. You can use something like Manjaro to get really up to date softwa

Everything you have listed is solvable by using a different distribution/desktop environment. You can use something like Manjaro to get really up to date software, and it comes with different desktop environment flavors like Cinnamon. I think a more modern desktop environment would suit you best, and I highly recommend Cinnamon.

NotATroll 7y ago
I concur. Manjaro solves a lot of the problems of the Linux desktop, and brings with it the great Arch community. And for keybindings, you're probably better off figuring out how xmodmap works. It's not pretty. But honestly, if you want pretty when it comes to keybinding, nothing beats a good keyboard. Like the UHKB, Ergo Dox, anything supported by QMK basically.
- llimllib 7y ago
  Is there good documentation/tutorials on setting up xmodmap? It seems like that's a road I'll need to go down at least a bit.
- torbjorn 7y ago
  Look into "kmonad", it is designed to bring the features of the QMK fireware to any keyboard on a Linux system. It is better than xmodmap IMHO.
dkonofalski 7y ago
This is my issue with Linux, though, despite having a dev VM environment of several distros. There are a metric f*ckton of Linux distros out there and, for every one of them that fixes the problems mentioned in one breath, they break or ignore a whole litany of other things. When I first started with Linux, it was pretty much Red Hat or bust and that was a pain but you knew what you were getting into. Now, it's nearly impossible to know what a lot of the differences are between all the different distros and which one may or may not work for your particular situation. Worse yet, it's now happened to me twice where I've set up a distro, spent the time to get it mostly working, and then, after using it for a few weeks, there's some annoyance or hardware issue that I can't resolve that is resolved in another distro. So I install the next one, get it mostly working, and then run into some other non-trivial annoyance or issue. Repeat, ad nauseam. Linux, to me, is still very much a tinkerer's OS. If you don't have the time to tinker and get things working and just want to get things done, Linux is not the way to go.
- boomboomsubban 7y ago
  > Worse yet, it's now happened to me twice where I've set up a distro, spent the time to get it mostly working, and then, after using it for a few weeks, there's some annoyance or hardware issue that I can't resolve that is resolved in another distro A problem should only be unfixable without distro hopping if it requires a newer kernel or some other updated software. Even then, you can usually opt into a newer kernel and fix it in whatever distro you were running. So a rolling release is unlikely to face this issue, or if you check your hardware compatibility before installing. Generally though, Linux is Linux, and troubleshooting would solve these problems.
  - dkonofalski 7y ago
    >Generally though, Linux is Linux, and troubleshooting would solve these problems. Sure... but, to me, troubleshooting is tinkering. I don't want to have to troubleshoot my input device because it suddenly changes after an install or kernel update. Yes, I know that I can solve these problems but I don't want to have to do it all the time.
    - Nursie 7y ago
      The idea that this is frequent or as arduous as it has been in the past really is an outdated trope. For the most part it just works. More so than windows in my recent experience.
      - dkonofalski 7y ago
        It's really not. I think you're giving Linux far too much credit. If it really did "just work" and was that easy, you'd see way more computers in the wild using it. It's literally a free alternative that can be installed on any computer. The two biggest barriers to adoption are non-existent with Linux and yet it still has a minuscule user base comparatively. Unless you don't exclude servers, Linux doesn't "just work" for most people.
        7y ago

NotATroll 7y ago

I concur. Manjaro solves a lot of the problems of the Linux desktop, and brings with it the great Arch community. And for keybindings, you're probably better off figuring out how xmodmap works. It's not pretty. But honestly, if you want pretty when it comes to keybinding, nothing beats a good keyboard. Like the UHKB, Ergo Dox, anything supported by QMK basically.

llimllib 7y ago
Is there good documentation/tutorials on setting up xmodmap? It seems like that's a road I'll need to go down at least a bit.
torbjorn 7y ago
Look into "kmonad", it is designed to bring the features of the QMK fireware to any keyboard on a Linux system. It is better than xmodmap IMHO.

dkonofalski 7y ago

This is my issue with Linux, though, despite having a dev VM environment of several distros. There are a metric f*ckton of Linux distros out there and, for every one of them that fixes the problems mentioned in one breath, they break or ignore a whole litany of other things. When I first started with Linux, it was pretty much Red Hat or bust and that was a pain but you knew what you were getting into. Now, it's nearly impossible to know what a lot of the differences are between all the different distros and which one may or may not work for your particular situation. Worse yet, it's now happened to me twice where I've set up a distro, spent the time to get it mostly working, and then, after using it for a few weeks, there's some annoyance or hardware issue that I can't resolve that is resolved in another distro. So I install the next one, get it mostly working, and then run into some other non-trivial annoyance or issue. Repeat, ad nauseam. Linux, to me, is still very much a tinkerer's OS. If you don't have the time to tinker and get things working and just want to get things done, Linux is not the way to go.

boomboomsubban 7y ago
> Worse yet, it's now happened to me twice where I've set up a distro, spent the time to get it mostly working, and then, after using it for a few weeks, there's some annoyance or hardware issue that I can't resolve that is resolved in another distro A problem should only be unfixable without distro hopping if it requires a newer kernel or some other updated software. Even then, you can usually opt into a newer kernel and fix it in whatever distro you were running. So a rolling release is unlikely to face this issue, or if you check your hardware compatibility before installing. Generally though, Linux is Linux, and troubleshooting would solve these problems.
- dkonofalski 7y ago
  >Generally though, Linux is Linux, and troubleshooting would solve these problems. Sure... but, to me, troubleshooting is tinkering. I don't want to have to troubleshoot my input device because it suddenly changes after an install or kernel update. Yes, I know that I can solve these problems but I don't want to have to do it all the time.
  - Nursie 7y ago
    The idea that this is frequent or as arduous as it has been in the past really is an outdated trope. For the most part it just works. More so than windows in my recent experience.
    - dkonofalski 7y ago
      It's really not. I think you're giving Linux far too much credit. If it really did "just work" and was that easy, you'd see way more computers in the wild using it. It's literally a free alternative that can be installed on any computer. The two biggest barriers to adoption are non-existent with Linux and yet it still has a minuscule user base comparatively. Unless you don't exclude servers, Linux doesn't "just work" for most people.
      - 7y ago