Running 7 Linux OS'es

Edited 2022-09-24-2145 edt {NB. this page actually gets edited sometimes}

This is not a how2 nor a doc, it's my dynamic how-goes-it and installation checklist, you're welcome to use it, at own risk of course. Suse Leap and Tumbleweed are my goto systems at this point because I migrated to Suse 4.x soon after it forked from Slackware. OS'es are just plugins for my favorite programs (visible BTW in my panels) and I treat them as such. I have just installed AvLinux and UbuntuStudio so their columns will over the very long term also become populated with notes. I was triple-booting back when IBM-Warp, Windows, and Linux were the open game. Since then one of those has gone mostly corporate while the other has become the RealCancer of the world. I will never be a victim of any monopoly so I decided to up the ante and go to not only septimo-boot but ALL OF THEM Linux of one flavor or another.

Except for a very rare visitor operating my computers I am the only user. I want ALL apps to link from ALL installed distros to a single remote folder (or folders if sevberal are needed. Sylpheed wins every award in triplicate in this respect. It works without a hiccup using a single Sylpheed-2 (how & where) folder and a single mymail (what) folder. Seamonkey is doing very nicely too! Nothing comes close to these in this respect.

Changing all tables to 3600 pixels (html does not cater to more than 100% window width). It'll take time before they all get done.

My currently employed distros, their init systems, and information sources.

Need a panel icon to toggle theme day/night	Artix/Plasma https://i.imgur.com/fShcw31.png https://imgur.com/HVTKwR8.png sunlight visible	Slackware/XFCE https://i.imgur.com/946rvmL.png	Devuan/XFCE https://i.imgur.com/jRrwvDs.png	Suse Tumbleweed/Plasma https://i.imgur.com/zANBm6y.png (Deathrow Leap still used as well interim) https://i.imgur.com/0uFkL9s.png	AvLinux/XFCE https://i.imgur.com/7zzhmRi.png	UbuntuStudio/Plasma https://i.imgur.com/QKljk7F.png
	OpenRc (several options)	OpenRc???	OpenRc	systemd
	https://wiki.artixlinux.org	https://docs.slackware.com/ http://www.slackbook.org/html/book.html	https://www.devuan.org/os/documentation	https://documentation.suse.com
chats	#artix nobody		#devuan
usenet presence	none	alt.os.linux.slackware	none	alt.os.linux.suse

First things first, booting (FUBAR thrives in complexity. Was a simple editable KISS type grub2 menu file really that impossible?)

linux /boot/vmlinuz root=UUID=xyz

AvLinux/XFCE

UbuntuStudio/Plasma
The live installer did not offer choices in the boot setup dialog:
- want boot at all?
- MBR or partition root?
- seconds of delay?

Logging-in, Desktop-Environments & Desktop-Managers. The early method was to log-in at cLi* {command-line-interface} level and then start the X window system (the GUI or graphical user interface with mouse-control). One of the many existing DE's {desktop environments} can then be started by commands such as startx to launch the KDE desktop or a XFCE desktop. The two operations {login and start X} are being combined in yet another totally unnecessary GUI program called a desktop manager or DM such as LightDM, kdm, gdm. Slackware has so far resisted the folly. {we use lower case c & i to make L and i distinguishable, because cli could also read as c1i in the case of fonts designed by zikabimbos}.

Log-in at cLi-level and then chose a DE without a DM (or optionally chose a DM) and then start X?	don't know enough about Artix yet, I suspect the cLi-level login and X start is also available, using SDDM	Log-in at cLi level startx to start X with preset DE	don't know enough about Devuan yet, I suspect the cLi level login and X start are NOT available	Simple & conventional cLi level login and X start are NO LONGER available, systemd commands are, but they are neither.
Log-in at cLi-level and start Desktop-Manager of choice to start desired GUI (window & mouse) system		xwmconfig to chose DM then just do startx to start DE?
Log-in forced into DM which then starts a DE (GUI window & mouse system i.e. "X")	KDE Plasma (+ other choices)	The use of a DM is also possible?	Select DE {XFCE} in LightDM at login bugreport from 2014! https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=752129	Select {KDE-Plasma} in Sddm at login https://en.opensuse.org/SDB: Change_Display_Manager gui=SDDM, GDM, LightDm update-alternatives --set default-displaymanager /usr/lib/X11/displaymanagers/<choice>

Booting and every part thereof up to a running system should be strictly KISS (as simple as possible!). All the kudos go to Slackware on this because The First Distro virtually alone still logs the user in at cLi level letting the user THEN start a GUI desktop IF desired. Much like a graphic boot menu, forcing a GUI login-dialog (which easily can and often does bomb) between the boot menu and a running system is so fucking stupid that it staggers one's imagination. And even if a go-between of this sort were ever really necessary (no chance) then it could still be an interactive cLi thingie that cannot fail.

Essential services
The following 3 must be next on the list. Without these little can be done nowadays. Without wifi the package repos are unreachable, without printing the online documentation can be difficult to follow, without sound no system warnings can save a bad situation. Bulletproof internet, printing & sound should IMO be unnoticed parts of every install, but they are NOT!

WIFI
Most distro installers either detect or supply the utilities to detect and set up a wired ethernet connection. It wasn't always this easy and today wireless wifi connections are where ethernet was 30 years ago. Not every installation provides a wifi connection on first boot. At hardware level there are built-in wifi transceivers and even usb ones the size of a fingernail, the latter far more secure because they can be just plain physically REMOVED at will. Overt or covert software control of built-in wifi's can usually overrride other settings.

onboard wifi if exists	connman, simple cLi setup tool, plus https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Network_configuration/Wireless https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Wpa_supplicant GUI applet in system tray	NetworkManager is NOT started automatically on boot. Symptom: dialog fields ghosted. History of complaints about wi-fi applet NOT working because NetworkManager has NOT been started.	nothing to do but pwd	Nothing to do but pwd, but wifi devices often just stop working after updates! As of 2022-01-20 my TpLink usb wifi just stopped being seen. Continues working in TW.
usb TpLink RtL8188eus usb	lsusb ok, not operated	ok	desktop: ok laptop: disable wifi, insert, activate desired	just works
usb DualBand RtL88x2bu	ok	not operated lsusb=Realtek Semiconductor Corp. USB3.0 802.11ac 1200M Adapter	not operated lsusb=Realtek Semiconductor Corp. USB3.0 802.11ac 1200M Adapter	ok easy-install kernel module 2022-jan-28 for TW, latest: rtl88x2bu-5.8.7.1+git20210928.f2bccb9-2.49.x86_64.rpm for Leap, latest:	RtL88x2bu ok	RtL88x2bu ok
usb Linksys AE6000/MediaTek MT7610U		not operated lsusb = Linksys AE6000 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi [MediaTek MT7610U]	not operated lsusb = Linksys AE6000 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi [MediaTek MT7610U]	ok auto-op 2

PRINTING
My current printer is HP-m252(dw) @ 192.168.0.143. Unfortunately fully-automatic printer detection and setup are still in the future. Users MUST know at least the printer model and IP address in order to be able to set it up.Wired printers are at the same time much easier and hardly ever used anymore.

Setup details	System-Settings/Printer, model found 2nd time around, tested OK	initial: no hplip ok hp-setup (interactive gui)	System/PrintSettings: wifi printer m252 shows up. Print a document to test. Nothing to do. On g73 Print-Settings not in System menu! 2022-feb-01	GUI Yast detects & sets up, there is some footwork.
requires package hplip	Found hplip installed	ok, after hplip-plugin installed

SOUND
Because of design fundamentals I have no clue about sound in Linux, which is seldom a walk in the park. There are some Studio distros that fare well. My experience with Suse has been mixed even though it is without a doubt a league-heavy.

Setup particulars	Card already detected pacman -S pavucontrol	ok tested w. pavu on g73	ok works, don't know what I did IF	ok mostly just works
Simult. Headset+Speaker none one distro does it!	pacman -S paprefs?	no	no	no

Software package handling and package repositories.
First row are the cLi {command-line interface} PACKAGE handlers, LAST row are the GUI {graphic USER interface}. My experience outside of Yast and a little synaptic is limited.

cLi level list handling	pacman -S packagename pacman -Qe > mypaxfile.txt pacman -S $(awk '{print $1}' mypaxfile.txt)	https://packages.slackware.com	2022-jan-06: upgraded V-beowolf to V-chimaera with half a dozen easy "apt-get" cLi commands (it was impossible to fix beowolf with the GUI synaptic)	zypper dup
cLi level package handling	pacman -Sy (repo update) pacman -Su (syst. update) pacman -R package (removal) insert into /etc/pacman.conf ######### user added lines ###### # as per https://wiki.artixlinux.org/Main/Repositories [universe] Server = https://universe.artixlinux.org/$arch Server = https://mirror1.artixlinux.org/universe/$arch Server = https://mirror.pascalpuffke.de/artix-universe/$arch Server = https://artixlinux.qontinuum.space:4443/universe/os/$arch Server = https://mirror.alphvino.com/artix-universe/$arch ############################# https://wiki.artixlinux.org/Main/Repositories#Universe install `artix-archlinux-support`	A real jungle: slpkg https://dslackw.gitlab.io/slpkg/ (cLi) compiles w. install.sh needs slackbuilds.org/slackbuilds/ https://gitlab.com/dslackw/slpkg/blob/master/EXAMPLES.md slpkg update: update pack lists slpkg update slpkg: upgrade self slpkg -c sbo --upgrade (upgrades all sbo packages) slpkg repo-list: slpkg -F package (find) slpkg -s sbo yoshimi slpkg -i yoshimi (install) slpkg -r yoshimi (remove) installpkg (distro-packs, offline, needs full pkg name) removepkg upgradepkg pkgtool (distro-packs) Distro packs, online: slackpkg (installed w. installpkg, requires 1 repo uncommented in /etc/slackpkg/mirrors slackpkg update (update infos) slackpkg upgrade-all (release 'patches') slackpkg install binutils sbotools	dpkg apt apt-get update apt-get update --fix-missing apt-get install kdenlive apt-get dist-upgrade apt autoremove gdebi does local packages (all deb based distros)		apt apt-get update apt-get update --fix-missing apt-get install kdenlive apt-get dist-upgrade apt autoremove sudo apt --fix-broken install
GUI level	pamac.. many problems, doesn't specify whose passwoprd it wants, when given doesn't accept any password but locks account!	sbopkg is 1/2 gui (curses, NO depends!) download, then do: # installpkg sbopkg-version-noarch-1_wsr.tg	synaptic, mostly OK	Yast provides GUI based repo as well as package managment among many other services. It can export {save out} the package list or import {load} any package list.

What was wrong with compiling source code AS CONFIGURED by the AUTHORS? Why is everyone fixing what ain't broke? And should there be a fubar why not help the original dev. fix it in the source code instead? And if some distro-level 'improvement' is at hand then why can it not conform to the package authors' way of doing things (to the extent possible)?

Internet Client Programs Nix the sniffs!

Browsers
If otherwise unavailable, seamonkey-composer (my #1 word processor, #2 being Nedit) binary parked into home folder just works.

Lynx {cLi-level, + 8 others}	# pacman -S Lyn?			`zypper install Lynx, or use Yast`	sudo apt install lynx
Youtube-dl or ..dl-gui	ok # pacman -S youtube-dl	ok slpkg -s sbo youtube-dl	cLi: ok	ok
TOR {anon browsing, unknown data-disposal} linked to single tor-browser folder?	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked
Konqueror	# pacman -S konqueror	ok	ok # apt-get install konqueror
LibreWolf (toggle drm in librewolf.cfg)	ok		no such	zypper in opi opi librewolf	wget https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/24386000/packages/generic/librewolf/102.0.1-1/LibreWolf.x86_64.AppImage launch with: LibreWolf.x86_64.AppImage
Seamonkey linked to single .mozilla/firefox folder?	linked	linked	linked	linked	ok
Chromium (to be axed)	NA	NA	ok keyring ("hawaian noises"?)	ok
Falkon					ok
Otter					not available?
Firefox					snap package is problematic, do this: https://linuxiac.com/install-firefox-from-deb-on-ubuntu-22-04-lts/

ALL my problems revolve around Mozilla profile-swings making user files incompatible between recent versions of Firefox/Thunderbird (kdenlive did some of this too!). At a minimum they should have made new versions convert older ones to new formats on need. Sylpheed uses 2 foolders: ~/.Sylpheed-2 handles the setups but IF desired a remote folder may contain all the user mails. I place mysylpheed folder elsewhere. Both folders can be just copied-over from a good system but the process is neither as simple or as reliable (yet) as it should be. The TOR browser only needs its unpacked folder placed in a user's authority-reach and the executable linked as an icon to a panel to be clicked. I sometime wonder why the 'zillas can't be this simple.

Mailers
In the case of my mailer Sylpheed, the same .sylpheed-2 & mymail links direct to those shared folders but only one of them (my Suse Leap system) deletes mail from the server IF I first enable such deletion (only for Leap session, must not leave enabled).

Sylpheed
link to single .sylpheed-2.0 file?
link to single mymail file?

ok # pacman -S sylpheed
linked
linked

ok # slpkg -s sbo sylpheed
linked
linked

ok
linked
linked

ok
linked
linked

Newsreaders

Tin {cLi}	NA		no such
Pan link to single .pan2 file?	# pacman -S pan linked	ok linked	pan linked	linked
Thunderbird link to single .thunderbird folder?	ok not linked yet	ok not linked yet	ok not linked yet	ok yes?

FTP

Filezilla link to single .filezilla file?	ok not linked yet	ok error not linked yet	ok # apt-get install filezilla not linked yet	ok not linked yet
GFTP link to single .gftp file?	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked

Chat

hexchat
link to single .xyz file?

pacman -S hexchat

System Level Utilities
The only reason I need vBox is my Boss-Me80 guitar effects board bundleware that the manufacturer had seen fit not to duplicate for Linux users. Gues if they'll ever sell me anything else.

nvidia G04/ G05	on hold GE seems to work w. nouveau	on hold (elsewhere GE seems to work ok w. nouveau)	on hold GE seems to work w. nouveau	Leap ok tw: GE seems to work w. nouveau
google-earth TOR linked to single tor-browser folder?	linked	# slpkg -s sbo google-earth linked	not linked yet	ok on Leap w. nVidia, on tw w. nouveau linked
/etc/sudoers user: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL	ok	ok	ok	Yast provides 1st class GUI
kfind	ok	ok	ok	ok
k3b	ok	ok	ok # apt-get install k3b	ok
kdiff3	ok	ok	ok	ok
kdiskfree	ok	ok	ok	ok
kwrite	ok	ok	ok	ok
nedit+ xnedit	ok, xnedit NA	ok	nedit ok	nedit ok
Pulseaudio	ok
Seamonkey Composer (my word-processor) link to single seamonkey folder including executable binary and single .mozilla/seamonkey config/prefs folder?	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked	ok linked
apache2				ok
virtualbox (for Me80)				ok
does dd cause a lockup		never in terminal before X		switch to runlevel 1 with "telinit 1", reboot after

Suse has somehow always seemed "nedit unfriendly", a never-ending battle for reasonable window or textbody fonts. Inject into /etc/X11/Xresources:
nedit*fontList: -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--24-*-*-*-*-*-* (may/may-not make a difference)

Studio Packages
N.B. jack libs, dssi's, including zyn synths, ALL must work. Try this departure setup: qjackctl started and a backing track loaded in VLC set to audio jack. To earn a passing grade in the top row I want to hear my guitar when I plug it in and I want to hear it SIMULTANEOUSLY in all the headsets and speakers that are physically connected; I want to be able to launch qSynth, Rosegarden, ZynAddSubFX, Audacity and maybe Hydrogen and all this with or without qjackctl but definitely without having to fuck around with any other tweaks to rob me of my guitar time. So far, not a single distro has come up to scratch.

Top Row: yes or no? Selectable "Cmi8788 Line-In" as Input-Device in pulse Input-Device in audacity	yes no	no	yes no	Leap-15.3 is closest
Guitar input heard with no app launched?	no	no	no	Leap-15.3: guitar input heard even before login. Just play BT in VLC to start jamming, nothing else to do In TW gotta start qjackctl, Audacity, change VLC pref to jack, load BT in jack and jam w. rec-paused.
sound card properly shown in Audacity sources/outputs? HDA ATI SB VT2020 ANALOG?	no	yes, as STX-II	no SB VT2020 output ok on 'default'	no
carla (synth plugin-manager) to load plugin need to start engine, to start engine need to start jack but pipewire supposedly replaces pulse AND jack			not available?
pipewire			installed, not runnig	installable, autoruns
Does Audacity without jack record guitar input using default or system-default input/output?	yes, 'default' as recording in/out	yes, with caution, audacity monitoring can collapse	no	Leap: yes TW: NO, cannot get audacity rec + vlc to sound at once!		no
qJackCtl ~/.config/rncbc.org/QjackCtl.conf	OK before 2022-06-05, fails w. cannot open ALSA sequencer, permission denied (add user AND group MoX to audio group) 2022-06-06.	ok	ok	ok
Does Audacity with jack record guitar input using default as the only available input/output?		yes, audacity dropdown lists messed up	was, no longer is	Leap: yes TW: yes,	yes	no
qSynth ~/,config/rncbc.org/Qsynth.conf no default soundfont setup	ok	can't create audio driver jack upgradepkg --install-new qsynth-0.9.5-x86_64-1-alien.txz slpkg -s --reinstall slack fluidsynth still can't create audio driver jack slpkg -s sbo fluidsynth-dssi https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=e2d9dd694942bda7aaaf8caf5124d945&p=6360984#post6360984 I will try this within 48 hours "You're correct that fluidsynth is compiled without jack support. To do that, first install jack - it will then be detected automatically when rebuilding fluidsynth. Now rebuild fluidsynth - download the source directory from e.g. http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/sl.../l/fluidsynth/ and in that directory run these commands (as root) in a terminal: Code: ./fluidsynth.SlackBuild /sbin/upgradepkg --reinstall /tmp/fluidsynth-2.2.5-x86_64-1.txz chris	ok	ok
is a productive rosegarden session with Zyn & Yoshimi standalone and/or dssi-plugin working possible at all?	no	no	partial
rosegarden with... dssi-1.1.1-11 yoshimi zynaddsubfx-3.0.6-2 where did all the zyn bank-instruments go??? qsynth-0.9.6-1 rosegarden-21.12-1 fluidsynth-2.2.6-1 hydrogen	ZAFS dssi not found, package libzynaddsubfx_dssi NOT in repos	= ZAFS dssi not found upgradepkg --install-new zynaddsubfx-3.0.5-x86_64-1-alien.txz ok (dssi ZASF shows as Zynaddsubfx)	ok (2022-06-07 no sound in standalone synths) RG can use Gen-midi and Zyn-dssi. Standalone Hydro, Yoshi, Zyn appear in RG, can be connected in jackctl.	ok
audacity	ok copy-in audacity.conf from Suse Leap	ok if using alienbob repo	ok	ok
zynaddsubfx standalone dssi plugin	ok	ok v-3.06 zynaddsubfx -a (= autoconnect when using jack) ZynAddSubfx started alone, sounds good, but starting it after jack produces error: "Default IO did not initialize, defaulting to NULL backend"	ok	ok
yoshimi	does not show up in qjackctl connections	Starting Yoshimi after qjackctl is followed by it showing up in the qjackctl connection window, as it should. If I then start Rosegarden then Yoshimi does NOT show up in Rosegarden Manage-Midi-Devices window Midi-Outputs side as an available output.	ok alone not in 'connections' window and no sound if started after qjackctl	nostart on Leap-15.3 NO libreadline.so.8 (7 is installed)
hydrogen	ok	ok	ok	ok
simplescreenrecorder	ok	ok	ok	ok
kdenlive	ok	ok	ok	ok
SonicVisualiser	# pacman -S sonic-visualiser	ok (add user to audio)	ok	ok
jack_capture (icon set up to 'run in terminal')	pacman -S jack_capture	ok	ok	ok
VLC ffmpeg	ok	FAILED w. sbopkg ok w. slpkg: VLC needs avahi but to build avahi builder must be in group avahi (root isn't good enough) groupadd -g 214 avahi useradd -u 214 -g 214 -c Avahi -d /dev/null -s /bin/false avahi projectM 50mb worked projectm-3.1.12.tar.gz projectm unspecified failed projectm-3.1.12.tar.gz	prefs/audio cannot be set to jack vlc-plugion-jack installed ok	ok
temporary ZASF troubleshooting: dssi (plugins) fluidsynth-dssi xsynth-dssi dssi-vst zynaddsubfx CAN be built as a dssi

Customization musts

SU filemanager and/or user: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL for xfce try: pkexec thunar in xfce edit ".thunar infobar * { background-color: blue; color: yellow }" into /root/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css	ok # dolphin (as root)	ok dolphin: context pwd dialog if req'd # thunar (as root) = ok	thunar as root, nothing else works sudo thunar/dolphin/konq = error	Menu: dolphin (superU) The BEST idea Suse ever had! The BEST method, Red FM if user desires + no doub that you ARE root, create, change, delete, re-perm ... dbus-launch dolphin -qwindowtitle "%c" "%u"
2-click scripting: 2 clicks to execute own scripts (1st click to trace in VERY COMPACT cascading menu tree, 2nd click to execute). https://i.imgur.com/kUg7w8Z.png	haven't tried	XFCE does offer a folder-view like widget, it doesn't cut it!	XFCE does offer a folder-view like widget, it doesn't cut it!	only by incorporating into menu tree (a piss-poor solution)
/0 tree (mountpoints)	ok	ok	ok	ok
execute a user script on login? direct commands in .profile? scripts called in .profile?	No good, have to go cLi:	ok if called in ~/.profile tar czpf /0/dx/homes/backups/"sylpheed-2-linkcopy_"`date +"%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S"`.tgz .sylpheed-2 tar: cannot stat .sylpheed-2	No good, have to go cLi or click script	scripts ok if called in ~/.profile

User managment
Ideally all users have exactly the same attributes across all systems so that material in shared folders works exactly the same way regardless of user, OS or application.

ref. files
uid, #, prime grp, home = /etc/passwd

grp id, # & members in /etc/group
nb. these files are not sorted by default
role of comma in passwd?

u0:x:1000:1000: :/home/u0:/bin/bash
u1:x:1001:1001::/home/u1:/bin/bash
u2:x:1002:1002::/home/u2:/bin/bash
u3:x:1003:1003::/home/u3:/bin/bash
u4:x:1004:1004::/home/u4:/bin/bash

u0:x:1000:
u1:x:1001:
u2:x:1002:
u3:x:1003:
u4:x:1004:
users:x:984:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4
MoX:x:1999:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4

u0:x:1000:1000::/home/u0:/bin/bash
u1:x:1001:1001::/home/u1:/bin/bash
u2:x:1002:1002::/home/u2:/bin/bash
u3:x:1003:1003::/home/u3:/bin/bash
u4:x:1004:1004::/home/u4:/bin/bash

u0:x:1000:
u1:x:1001:
u2:x:1002:
u3:x:1003:
u4:x:1004:
users:x:100:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4
MoX:x:1400:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4

u0:x:1000:1000:,,,:/home/u0:/bin/bash
u1:x:1001:1001:,,,:/home/u1:/bin/bash
u2:x:1002:1002:,,,:/home/u2:/bin/bash
u3:x:1003:1003:,,,:/home/u3:/bin/bash
u4:x:1004:1004:,,,:/home/u4:/bin/bash

u0:x:1000:
u1:x:1001:
u2:x:1002:
u3:x:1003:
u4:x:1004:
users:x:100:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4
MoX:x:1999:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4

u0:x:1000:100::/home/u0:/bin/bash
u1:x:1001:100::/home/u1:/bin/bash
u2:x:1002:100::/home/u2:/bin/bash
u3:x:1003:100::/home/u3:/bin/bash
u4:x:1004:100::/home/u4:/bin/bash

Suse does NOT use groups
based on each user

users:x:100:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4
MoX:x:1999:u0,u1,u2,u3,u4

Currently revolting pissoff championship:
Migrate 1.2 gb movie from Nikon D3200 to system HD

Camera direct to USB port	NOTHING happens	NOTHING happens	NOTHING happens	1.2 gb *.mov analizes forever
Card only into card reader of (g73 laptop)			fdisk: /dev/mmcblk0p1 no sudo	ok
usb or usb-interfaced drive plugged-in		NOTHING happens fdisk may/may-not show (g73)	laptop: fdisk -l (as root, no sudo)	almost always autodetected, mounted manually as per policy (can be automatic)

The Look & Feel NIGHTMARE
Doesn't much mater if using splashma or xfce, the settings are spread out in an insane web of unintuitively named bits and pieces. It's really a disgrace.

	Plasma	XFCE	XFCE	Plasma
XFCE Appearance > STYLE		adwaita (dark avail)	adwaita (dark avail)
XFCE Appearance > ICONS		oxygen fat toolbar arrows	oxygen (doesn't take!)
XFCE Appearance > FONTS		14/16	14/16
PL. App. GLOBAL Theme	Breeze twilight			Breeze twilight
PL. App. APP Style	Breeze (no adwaita) Gnome: Breeze			Adwaita (dark avail) Gnome: Adwaita
PL. App. PLASMA Style	Breeze (dark avail)			Breeze (dark avail)
PL. App. COLORS link ~.local/share/color-schemes/MyColors.colors	MyColors (breeze lt/drk avail)			MyColors (breeze lt/drk avail)
PL. App. WIN-DECORN'S	plastik (fatborders,sqcorners,nofuckingneons)			plastic (fatborders,sqcorners,nofuckingneons)
PL. App. FONTS	14			14
PL. App. ICONS	oxygen (not-available!)			oxygen OK
PL. App. CURSORS	oxygen yellow			oxygen gold
Panels	ok minor issues remain
Backgrounds
Other than kde-mouse-trails of old, a VERY useful utility xeyes `my script called in ~/.profile, ~/.xinitrc and also in kde-autostart. This might result in several instances running but there is NO uniform distro approach to it, so....`	# pacman -S xorg-xeyes quickly covered by panel, so use slotted panels works if called in kde-autostart or ~/.profile, not tested in ~/.xinitrc only	apt-get install xfce4-eyes-plugin include widget in panel	apt-get install xfce4-eyes-plugin include widget in panel	Tumbleweed kills it after launch if called in kde-autostart, works ok if called in ~/.profile, not tested in ~/.xinitrc only	apt-get install xfce4-eyes-plugin include widget in panel	does not work at all if called in kde-autostart works if called in ~/.profile not tested in ~/.xinitrc only

The Uninvited
There are packages I don't need or see no reason to have. What I resent most is when such a package is a mandatory dependency for some other one that I do need. By way of example, opining that all unnecessary complexity is itself a security risk I have no use for 'on board' storage of sensitve data like account id's and passwords. A lot of people are too fucking stupid to realize that merely allowing a user's real name to be stored is a security breach waiting to happen, etc. etc. etc. I don't believe in keyrings either, the word trust is nowhere to be found in any security dictionary worth a dime.

akonadi	~/.config/akonadi is empty	akonadi ~/.config/akonadi/akonadiserverrc StartServer=false
kwallet(manager)	not installed	kwallet tabooed

My Panels
In XFCE they are called deskbars, sidesaddle panels which IMO are one of very few ways to correct the mass-insanity of 16:9 format for computer monitors. My Suse desktop is approximately what I want to also see in whatever other distro I boot, my other 3 distro configurations are so far less than more evolved. I have several computers and in the daytime all of them are in a very bright sunlit environment making blackout themes totally unusable, other than this I like a simple and plain work oriented desktop that is EMPTY except for controls in the left and right panels just like in a single-seat cockpit: systems generally on the left, comms and in my case music/mm on the right. I prefer to use many of my own icons and have no use for dynamic, contextual or paging menus (puke!), for rounded corners, neon edges, pastel colors, commonality features overlapping with handheld device interfaces, nor for most canned themes. Panels are prime real estate, so much so that I cannot understand why distros are NOT treating them as such. Every square mm, every attribute, every font, color or size of everything on the panels should be user specifiable yet I can't even set the color independently, only as part of some obscure farmed-out and limited theme gimmick!

User data handling directories on an external partition, eventual target a single user folder on a usb stick for all distros and all apps used!

"Distro-X-user-Y" This folder migrates and/or is copied for user-Y between same-distro-version instances on computers with no respect for anything :-)
"0Link-Y" folder. This folder hosts files shared by all distros for a user-Y and is linked into every user-Y folder (icons, backgrounds, apache material, TorBrowser, mail folders, scripts, etc.)
"0SpecialLink-Y" folder hosts user files that cannot YET be shared between distros or some app versions.
"0NoLink" folder hosting user material awaiting disposition (package lists, etc.).

Desktop deathstar primary 1tb ssd
Device          Start        End   Sectors Size Type /dev/sda1        2048 209717247 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda2   209717248 419432447 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda3   419432448 629147647 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda4   629147648 838862847 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda5   838862848 1048578047 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda6 1048578048 1258293247 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda7 1258293248 1468008447 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda8 1468008448 1677723647 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda9 1677723648 1887438847 209715200 100G Linux filesystem /dev/sda10 1898948608 1907337215   8388608    4G Linux swap /dev/sda11 1907337216 1909434367   2097152    1G BIOS boot
GPT PMBR size mismatch (1 != 7814037167) will be corrected by write.Apache2 setup {Suse}:
user/myapache/myapache.conf
/etc/sysconfig/apache2
"APACHE_CONF_INCLUDE_DIRS="~/x/y/z/htdocs/user/myapache/myapache.conf"
Edit /etc/apache2/default-server.conf:
   DocumentRoot "htdocs/user"
   ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ "~/x/y/z/htdocs/user/cgi-bin/"
    <Directory "htdocs/user/cgi-bin">
       AllowOverride None
       Options +ExecCGI -Includes
       Require all granted
    </Directory>
systemctl start apache2.service
systemctl stop apache2.service
systemctl status apache2.service

bash prompt:
DEFAULT=$PS1
PS1="\e[0;93m\w #\e[m " (yellow)
PS1="\e[0;34m\w #\e[m " (red)

Black 0;30
Blue 0;34
Green 0;32
Cyan 0;36
Red 0;31
Purple 0;35
Brown 0;33
Blue 0;34
Green 0;32
Cyan 0;36
Red 0;31
Purple 0;35


      
      90   Dark gray  
91   Light red  
92   Light green    
93   Light yellow   
94   Light blue 
95   Light magenta  
96   Light cyan  

# Background colors
100  Dark gray  
101  Light red  
102  Light green    
103  Light yellow   
104  Light blue 
105  Light magenta  
106  Light cyan 

echo -e "\\033[48;5;95;38;5;214mhello world\\033[0m"
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/124407/what-color-codes-can-i-use-in-my-bash-ps1-prompt

When testing a new usb stick, after creating a file system on it.. "dd if=/dev/urandom of=/mnt/whatever/bigfile bs=1M" until it fills the file system, and then try copying the file from the stick to /dev/null to ensure there are no i/o errors.

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