Void Linux

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crosscourt
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Re: Void Linux

Post by crosscourt »

:D
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chris
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Re: Void Linux

Post by chris »

OK. This may not be a reasonable test (for some value of reasonable).
Tried it on VBox - 1 processor, 4Gb RAM; 2GB more than my Void-MATE install.

As Void regularly updates kernel and zfs is built as a dkms module I waited until a kernel update was signalled by my Void-MATE install.

time xbps-install -Syu on Trident gave these figures:
(for 5 packages: dkms, libXvMC, linux5.3, linux5.3-headers, oxygen-icons5)

real 37m55.926s
user 27m12.307s
sys 4m24.693s

5 minutes to download the kernel; Void-MATE did it in under a minute.
20 minutes to update the zfs dkms module is out of the bounds of reasonableness but unfortunately impossible to get around due to the way zfs is distributed with linux.
I'll be shelving this project for the time being.
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crosscourt
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Re: Void Linux

Post by crosscourt »

There was a time when I didnt mind handholding the OS but these days Im looking for a smoother exprience.
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tlmiller
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Re: Void Linux

Post by tlmiller »

Seems it's gotten better. I just installed this on the T470 (sadly I had to make a USB for it, won't successfully boot from ventoy drive), and the installation was a MUCH smoother experience. Either that or I'm getting more used to it. Everything basically worked out of the box with Plasma that I've tested. I've still got a bit more setup to do, and I still need to set up xbps-source so I can install a few things I like that aren't in the repos (if you haven't used it, think Arch's AUR) like Vivaldi browser. I may even continue working on getting OnlyOffice to package 100% correctly for it. Not sure about FreeOffice, I really don't use it often enough to bother, since I probably will replace SoftMaker Office with OnlyOffice, LibreOffice, and WPS Office instead of FreeOffice...course, that'll change if FreeOffice gets a new 2021 version too since obviously I have to try new things...
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tlmiller
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Re: Void Linux

Post by tlmiller »

So after some further testing, I'm fairly impressed. Mind you, it's still not ready for day-to-day usage. There's no Java implementation except a REALLY old EOL version, so several things I use won't work. Still missing any Office software beyond LibreOffice, even in xbps-src. The only app to be able to access webcams is cheese, which obviously works great, but isn't what I'd call my first choice when running a QT based desktop. No official way of install ms core fonts (probalby my issue wit the other thread I started about Void). While I'm sure there are some, I can't find a hex editor (I normally use Okteta which isn't available). And lots of other things like this.
However, it definitely feels FAR more stable than ever before. None of the odd issues from Plasma. Running a LTS kernel instead of bleeding edge, so that probably makes things a little easier to keep the development of other areas up. Plasma still the latest version, and works well.
Overall, if someone enjoyed compiling from source, this would definitely be a good candidate. But ultimately for most folks the repos are simply TOO small and limiting still to consider using this as an everyday distro. There's just too much missing.
Will definitely continue to monitor this OS though. If they can improve upon their repos, this could be a great OS. It's definitely fast, and would attract the anti-systemd fans with it's use of runit instead of systemd (which is part of it's speed, runit is FANTASTICALLY small, light, and perfectly molded by unix philosophy).
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tlmiller
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Re: Void Linux

Post by tlmiller »

So, since it's been a bit, I'm testing it on real hardware again (my Inspiron 5485). With Flatpak having ever more software available, there's less missing than there used to be. I've got WPS Office (xbps-src) and Onlyoffice Desktopeditors (flatpak) installed on here. Ksnip is actually in xbps-src also, as is Vivaldi. The only things that are missing are a QT-based webcam app (I'm using Cheese, but not too happy having to use it), and a few games I like (kmahjongg, kshisen, ksirk). Everything (so far) is working. Bluetooth did have some issues that I needed to manually install the firmware for my card (Qualcomm/Atheros 6174A AC+BT4.2). Absolutely no issues with the Vega 8 display. I haven't tested if it sleeps properly on Void (one thing it didn't do correctly on Debian or Neon). Working perfectly on the dock. Audio works fine, although if you go into the systemsettings and tests, it DOES NOT work...but it works fine if you actually do things, so not a big deal. After installing the firmware for the bluetooth, I was able to connect to a BT speaker and test successfully. As with prior installs, the fonts on some pages (without access to MS Fonts) is...sketchy. Most look fine, not all though. Given how few OS's I really use right now, I'll probably force this one to stay on here for at least a little while. Overall it's not horrible though. As I keep saying, if they'd just add a few things to this, it could be a really great OS.
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tlmiller
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Re: Void Linux

Post by tlmiller »

Here on the Void Laptop again. SO FAR, it's running fantastic. Haven't had any issues with updates failing or causing issues. It's only been a week or so, but there's hope that I can start rotating Void back into my rotation (which is needed given the number of systems I have).
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tlmiller
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Re: Void Linux

Post by tlmiller »

Also, it doesn't sleep properly at least on this hardware, but then, no OS I've actually tried on it sleeps properly. Or more correctly, WAKES properly, since it does sleep, but when it attempts to wake it gets about 1/2 way there and just stops responding. But so did Neon, so did Arch and so did Debian, and quite frankly with todays SSD's I rarely sleep. If I'm going further than another room, I shutdown since with 12-15 second boot times I'd rather everything cool down. So simply configuring it to go into lowest non-sleep power mode and turn off the display works just fine when I close the lid on battery.
wove
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Re: Void Linux

Post by wove »

"it doesn't sleep properly." is the huge problem I have with the Pinebook Pro. If it would start up in 10-15 seconds, I would follow along with the shutting down an restarting, but it takes it 1.5 up to 3 minutes to startup and that just really plays havoc with a workflow. I read a blog post from a Manjaro developer where he said it was a problem between the kernel and the firmware. He then went on to say he was engaged in other "paying work" and it would be a couple months before he would have time to sort it out. So a fix is maybe coming.

So for the time being all I can do is turn the screen off when I leave for a bit and just shut it down when I am leaving it for longer, and just putting up with the long(ish) start time when I want or need to use it again.

bill
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