LWDW 329: Fixing Discord On The Desktop & Snappier Snaps

Speeding up Firefox Snaps, fixing Discord on desktop Linux, a cyberdeck full of Pi, and the top ten distributions for cynics.


Listen:


00:00 Intro
05:25 Desktop Linux for cynics
12:00 Improving Discord on Linux
18:15 Speeding up Firefox Snaps
23:00 TUXEDO Aura 15 – Gen2
30:35 Cyberdeck Pi
35:00 Feedback


Colour key: Jill Venn

Cynic’s guide to desktop Linux

https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/31/the_cynics_guide_to_linux/

  • A cynical person using Linux? Pfft! 
  • Will never happen. 
  • The list consists of Debian and 9 inferior distributions. 
  • Like my previous statement it’s something to stir the pot & generate comments.
  • Let me know what you think in the comments, fam.  
  • On the list: Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora and the types of people running SUSE on the desktop ™. 
  • Yes, people run SUSE on the desktop, we have two of them in our Discord, it shows. 
  • Debian and Arch have a lot of babies, aka derivatives. 
  • That’s why we have nice things like Mint, POP, and Manjaro. 
  • The list included ChromeOS Flex but left out WSL?
  • Ubuntu MATE or Xubuntu are not niche distros, but official Ubuntu flavours that are supported. ;-)
  • I enjoyed reading your guide Liam Proven, even though I didn’t agree with everything you said, I do like that you chose Linux because it “sucks less than other” OSs.

Discord on the Desktop

https://theevilskeleton.gitlab.io/2022/05/29/a-letter-to-discord-for-not-supporting-the-linux-desktop.html

  • This is a letter to Discord for not supporting the Linux desktop by not updating it to a newer version of Electron.
  • Discord needs to be rebased to a newer version of Electron to fix security bugs, improve stability and improve compatibility with newer technologies.
  • And as a result, there is no PipeWire and Wayland compatibility.
  • Are you listening Discord?  
  • Audio and video from your electron app on Linux does not work on the Steam Deck!
  • Lots of potential new users of Discord will miss out on your great platform for not supporting all the features of Pipewire and Wayland.
  • It would sure be nice not having to update a .deb for Discord every few months.
  • I just looked, and I have over 20 older .debs of Discord in my download folder.  It is time to clear those out.
  • Have you heard about Matrix? / Quit using Discord. 
  • There, I saved you a comment. 
  • Is Discord listening? 
  • No, no they are not. 
  • Discord is in the “try desperately to make money” phase of their business. 
  • Discord has some old Electron bones. You might even call it outdated. 
  • It causes issues with Pipewire & Wayland. 
  • Dude would like to see a Discord Flatpak. 
  • There is an Arch package that will use your native electron. 
  • Moral of the story? 
  • Run Discord in a browser, like a normal person. 

Snapier Snaps 

https://ubuntu.com/blog/how-are-we-improving-firefox-snap-performance-part-1

  • This is a partnership:  Canonical builds the snap, but it is published and maintained by Mozilla.
  • The Firefox snap is the push Canonical needed to improve Snap speeds, and again focus on the Ubuntu desktop.
  • Firefox got Snapped up in 21.10 and everyone was crazy excited about it. 
  • Currently (like all snaps) it’s really slow to open. 
  • Taking over 20 seconds to cold-open on a RasPi4. 
  • This post lets us know about some of the slowness Canonical has identified. 
  • It even tells the user how to benchmark the slowness. 
  • The best way to improve Firefox performance on Ubuntu is to install via PPA. Do a google search. 

Tuxedo Ryzen 7 (RTheren)

https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Notebooks/15-16-inch/TUXEDO-Aura-15-Gen2.tuxedo

  • German based Tuxedo Computers has introduced a new Linux laptop as an Affordable Business Allrounder:  The TUXEDO Aura 15 – Gen2.
  • Specs:
    • AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 8 Cores 16 Threads, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8
    • USB-C 3.2 Gen2 with DisplayPort 1.4 & Power Delivery
    • Optional LTE module for 4G / LTE Mobile high-speed web access
    • 180° rotatable display hinge with a 15.6-inch Full HD display, 300 nits
    • And despite how thin and light it is at 3.6 pounds, it comes with a Gigabit LAN (RJ45) port
    • 4 USB ports and a MicroSD card reader
  • My configuration with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 16 GBs RAM, 500 GB NVMe, TUXEDO OS 22.04 (Based on Ubuntu) came out to be 1.024,00 EUR, or $1,1004.

Slice of Pi

Cyberdeck Python Pi

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-portable-cyberdeck

  • Pi 0w taped to a battery bank with a screen & keyboard. 

Feedback

System76 Carl Richell

https://twitter.com/carlrichell/status/1529860335720493056?t=6sTctf9S6k0kHOpTxmmJ-Q&s=19

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