Debian desktop: setup routine
Back to Debian!
It’s been two years since my last ‘linux desktop’ post, here is a new ‘new distro install routine’ post!
So after two years of Manjaro Arch & Fedora (fantastic distros), I’m back on Debian. A classic loop for a distro hopper.
Hardware
My GMK NUC didn’t last long (cheap hardware, mediocre manufacturing), so instead of buying any new device, and because my RPi3 is sadly not a desktop alternative for Web browsing, I decided to give my “old” 2014 Asus laptop a chance with Linux… and some hardware upgrade.
First step: find if your system can be upgraded, and how.
- Asus offers a website to identify hardware compatibility: https://www.asus-accessories.com/laptop/. Don’t buy stuff on their shop however.
- Crucial offers another cool database that lists over 175.000 computers: https://www.crucial.com/upgrades
So for a G551jk laptop I went for a SSD storage (SSD 240 Gb 2.5 “7mm Sata 6GB/s) to replace my classic HDD, and boot the RAM with another 8Gb. Storage is limited but any external HD can handle my music and photos.
Distro
I’ve decided to stop poking around with gnome or KDE — cool DEs that I’ve spent years ricing and challenging — . I’m back to my first love, XFCE, the DE I always get back to, because of its unbreakable stability, lightness, and extremely powerfull customization capacity.
To enjoy an already polished Debian systme my choice wen’t to the popular MX Linux distro whose philosophy and releases cycles are matching my needs.
I’ve already spent some time on the distro in the past, appreciating it’s well polished state and packages selection. I just don’t get the desktop customization choices, that I find odd & clunky, but that’s the magic of Linux: you have the choice to modify whatever you want.
You’ll find on my Gitlab my customization routine for a Debian stable distro:
- Package selection
- Themings
- Dotfiles for every app
And of course, feel free to use, copy and modify at your likings.
Heve fun!
