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I started using NixOS sort of randomly - I wanted a SteamOS-esque experience for my gaming handheld, and Jovian for NixOS seemed like one of the best options fo

I started using NixOS sort of randomly - I wanted a SteamOS-esque experience for my gaming handheld, and Jovian for NixOS seemed like one of the best options for that at the time. I like that it's about as close to the SteamOS experience that you can get in a third party distribution, and I like that everything is modular (so you could pick whatever desktop you want to pair it with). It's weird that _everything_ is configuration in Nix. Little stuff like changing your timezone seems to require a NixOS rebuild (which requires a keyboard). GUI settings clash with the Nix way of doing things.

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
> Little stuff like changing your timezone seems to require a NixOS rebuild (which requires a keyboard). You mean setting the timezone (going and writing `time.timeZone = "whatever";`)? Because actually doing the rebuild (`nixos-rebuild switch`) would be easy enough to make a button for if you wanted (just make a .desktop file that runs the rebuild command).
k8svet 2y ago
Do note you can not set the timezone in config and set it at runtime. Useful if you move around a lot.
- bsimpson 2y ago
  Thanks for the tip!
fuzzy2 2y ago
Dunno if you’re aware, but there’s also Fedora’s Atomic Desktop, which is actually more similar to Steam OS, as far as I can tell. Built on top is Universal Blue, which includes an actual Steam OS remix called “Bazzite”. Conceptually, it is very different from NixOS, with image-based updates and all.
- bsimpson 2y ago
  When I started down this path in November, there wasn't a clear choice between Bazzite and NixOS. Seems like a lot of people have chosen Bazzite, but since I have Nix working, I don't really have an incentive to change. Thanks for the advice though.
hammyhavoc 2y ago
You can have a declarative env with imperative dotfiles with NixOS—no problem.

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago

> Little stuff like changing your timezone seems to require a NixOS rebuild (which requires a keyboard). You mean setting the timezone (going and writing `time.timeZone = "whatever";`)? Because actually doing the rebuild (`nixos-rebuild switch`) would be easy enough to make a button for if you wanted (just make a .desktop file that runs the rebuild command).

k8svet 2y ago

Do note you can not set the timezone in config and set it at runtime. Useful if you move around a lot.

bsimpson 2y ago
Thanks for the tip!

fuzzy2 2y ago

Dunno if you’re aware, but there’s also Fedora’s Atomic Desktop, which is actually more similar to Steam OS, as far as I can tell. Built on top is Universal Blue, which includes an actual Steam OS remix called “Bazzite”. Conceptually, it is very different from NixOS, with image-based updates and all.

bsimpson 2y ago
When I started down this path in November, there wasn't a clear choice between Bazzite and NixOS. Seems like a lot of people have chosen Bazzite, but since I have Nix working, I don't really have an incentive to change. Thanks for the advice though.

hammyhavoc 2y ago

You can have a declarative env with imperative dotfiles with NixOS—no problem.