this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Mullvad (and every other decent VPN) supports WireGuard and OpenVPN configurations that will be supported on any distro through the network settings without the need for additional software. It's also pretty likely the mullvad client will be in the software center of whatever distro you're using
Oh I see what you're saying. I'm still getting used to linux. I have a steam deck and have been using the desktop mode quite a bit, so I'm familiar with the app store in there. But I'm still not used to it thinking about going there to install what I need. Thanks for the tip
SteamOS is unique in that it's an immutable OS (which means basically everything out of the /home folder is not modifiable by the user). This limits you to package management that works within the /home folder, which is basically just flatpak and AppImages by default. You can also use things like nix, but that's a bit more complex.
Modifying the SteamOS system still is possible with utilities like rwfus, but that's a bit more complex (OverlayFS is the keyword to look up if you're curious).
With normal, mutable distros, you are able to modify the entire root of the filesystem, which means there are no restrictions on how you can modify your OS, and you can use regular package managers that do so for you.
Also FYI, flatpaks work on every distro, so anything that's available on the SteamOS Discover store will also be available on every other distro. It uses flathub.org
Oh wow, I didn't realize steam os was that different compared to other distros. Last night I was trying to install wine on ubuntu, and it wasn't listed in the app store. I thought this was weird, cuz it's in the discover store. So I had to manually install it. Not sure if it's because I'm still using the "try ubuntu" instead of the full installation. But that helps knowing that all flatpaks work with every distro.