Nostr Web Client

Installed Fedora KDE Plasma 42 Beta early this morning as my primary driver, and it's glorious.

The ProtonVPN Linux app is for GNOME, so it looks like I'll need to manually config that for a while since the Flatpak is not an official app and generally not recommended by Proton if you have other options—no big deal.

Now, it's time to have some fun finishing the setup and diving deeper into customization.

One thing I am immediately impressed with is the integration of KDE Connect...

https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

"(Some) Features

• Shared clipboard: copy and paste between your phone and your computer (or any other device).

• Notification sync: Read and reply to your Android notifications from the desktop.

• Share files and URLs instantly from one device to another.

• Multimedia remote control: Use your phone as a remote for Linux media players.

• Virtual touchpad: Use your phone screen as your computer's touchpad and keyboard.

All this without wires, over the already existing Wi-Fi network, and using TLS encryption."

It naturally requires a lot of permissions to do all of this useful stuff, but it's open source and does not collect or share any data.

"KDE Connect never sends any information to KDE nor to any third party. KDE Connect sends data from one device to the other directly using the local network, never through the internet, and using end to end encryption."

https://f-droid.org/packages/org.kde.kdeconnect_tp/

#IKITAO #Linux #Tech

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

DEAD ACCOUNT 9mo ago

Have you tried any of the silver blue ones ?

Ava 9mo ago

Yes. Fedora Silverblue. I like it. It has its usecases. As an atomic desktop, it offers better security through its immutable design and rollback capabilities. Though not exactly the same, I would much rather use QubesOS as a daily driver.

DEAD ACCOUNT 9mo ago

I've never tried QubesOS

Expatriotic 9mo ago

Do you not recommend flatpack for fedora?

Ava 9mo ago

Flatpak can be updated more frequently than distro repos, and it can be more convenient when it comes to dependencies, but I always check the site first to see which method of installation the developers recommend.

Sometimes the Flatpak/Snap versions perform differently and do not have the same features. In the case of Proton, the Flatpak version of their apps are not official and they do not recommend it.

Expatriotic 9mo ago

Very clear, thanks.

How do you manage your installs?

I ran Fedora on a partition of my MacBook for a few months and started getting overwhelmed trying to maintain packages.

Not remembering where I downloaded it from when it came to deleting them was especially annoying.

Ava 9mo ago

Which installs? Distros or apps? Can you provide a little more detail and maybe a scenario or two for context so that I can better respond?

Expatriotic 9mo ago

Sorry for any ambiguity.

I'm referring to installing apps such as a browser etc.

After installing a hodge podge of apps in an assortment of ways. Curl in command line, flatpack, the default app store in fedora etc. You now have the problem of maintenance. Updating and even deleting can become a chore if you can't recall where you downloaded from.

Ava 9mo ago

No worries. Now I understand.

I keep easily searchable, linked-by-topic "nested" notes in Logseq (Logseq is an amazing app for knowledge management) when I first install anything, how I installed it, and any notes or links that I might need to reference in the future—this could be something simple like an app or something more complex like a network.

This way, I don't have to hunt the info down again or rely on memory when I install a fresh OS or reinstall an app or system—I just go down my list. It saves a lot of time.

E.g., I also have a note that details all the basic apps and extensions needed for a fresh distro install, and each app is linked to the install instructions in my notes, etc.

I could write a new OS "install all apps and settings script," but it's not necessary, and I usually prefer to do it manually to see if anything has changed.

Enki 9mo ago

Part of the reason I switched to KDE a long time ago was gnome was horribly integrated with KDE. It's probably gotten better, but at the time it was so clanky, and I don't know how I would live without KDE Connect. 😅

Ava 9mo ago

I'm loving it. Just the process of guiding users with one click to set up the official and third-party repos in the welcome screen on Fedora KDE Plasma 42 makes one question why other repos don't do the same—instead of having to open VLC and try to figure out why their H.265/HEVC videos aren't playing, etc. Not to mention all the customization that is officially built-in so an OS update doesn't break your user-generated extensions and customizations like with GNOME.

Enki 9mo ago

That's actually pretty cool. I haven't ever really used fedora.

Ava 9mo ago

Linus famously uses Fedora, which inspired me to try it many years ago. I've found myself consistently returning to it ever since. Don't get me wrong, I love Debian's reliability, but its packages quickly become outdated after each release.

For me, Fedora strikes the perfect balance between Arch's bleeding-edge approach and Debian's stability—a sweet spot that keeps me current with updates and features without sacrificing system reliability.

Also, I still had to manually set up HEVC in VLC (of course)—not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that—but the principle remains about the third-party repositories and ease of setup.

Here's a screenshot from the welcome screen—one click to enable. Very nice.

Noerms 9mo ago

Did you create the wallpaper yourself?

Ava 9mo ago

No, that is the Fedora KDE Plasma 42 Beta default wallpaper. I just snapped some pics of the welcome screens.

Noerms 9mo ago

Cool, thanks 🙏

I never got to like kde plasma unfortunately 😅 i like the mate desktop much better

Enki 9mo ago

Yeah, with my new laptop, I needed to use Debian Trixie, which is technically the testing version of Debian Just so it could be compatible with some of my newer hardware. 😅

Slimer 9mo ago

Is it best to download apps from the default Fedora repos or use the instructions from apps websites (I.e. mullvad & brave) to install their own app repos to download?

If the latter, how are future DNF updates handled? Will it update from the default repos or the apps repo?

Got a thinkpad on the way and will be the first time running Linux is a daily.

Ava 9mo ago

Congratulations on your new machine and on running Linux as your daily driver.

Best practice is to follow the install advice of the devs. Some devs only release through terminal/downloads, others prefer to release an app image for wider compatibility and OS integration, others have an official Flatpak. Some Flatpaks and Snaps have reduced functionality, others do not.

Distro repos can be slower to get updates, but it depends on the devs preferred release channels.

Sometimes there's no choice if the app isn't available for your distro but to either compile it yourself, use it in a VM running the compatible distro, or use a third-party Snap or Flatpak.

If you have to use an unofficial third-party Flatpak, then Flatseal is your friend. It helps you manage Flatpak permissions.

If you really want to dig in to a Snap or Flatpak but you can't read code, then copy the contents of the code into GPT or Claude etc and ask it to search it for malicious code from the files.

Updates will happen differently depending on how you installed the software. Traditional repository packages will update when you run system updates (like sudo dnf upgrade), but Flatpaks and Snaps have their own independent update systems.

Flatpaks update through the "flatpak update" command, while Snaps are designed to auto-update by default. Many Linux users create simple scripts that run all update commands together, or use software centers like GNOME Software or KDE Discover which can handle updating all package types through a single interface.

freemymind 🇨🇭 9mo ago

Wow did not know of this. Maby I will look into this in the future. Sounds impressive.