My Software Setup

I've tried most major desktop operating systems aside from MacOS. Non-exhaustive list:

• MS Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, 11
• Ubuntu (GNU / Linux)
• Arch Linux (GNU + Linux + bspwm)
• Fedora (GNU + Linux + GNOME)
• Debian (GNU + Linux + GNOME or sway)
• OpenBSD

I've spend the most of my adult life using Arch Linux, Fedora, and finally settled on Debian stable. I think Fedora and Arch Linux are both excellent GNU+Linux options, Fedora probably being one of the best starter Linux distros. Both offer a really nice up to date experience that allows you to easily keep up with new software.

After University I found I wanted to spend less time on the computer since I already spend 40 week tethered to one. Debian is great because I can go a couple months without touching my computer, run a quick apt update, and be up and running. I don't have to worry about huge updates or falling behind a major distro release.

Debian-based distros are so widely used and supported which is great. Plus the Debian community is excellent and extremely responsive on bugs and security issues. Debian is probably one of the most successful completely volunteer run Linux distro.

If you need a new version of software on Debian stable it is usually already being packaged in the Debian Backports. For bleeding edge software updates (Emacs, mu4e) I usually compile and build it myself.

After many years of using GNOME shell I switched away after they rearranged the virtual desktops from being vertical to horizontal with no way to revert to the old setting. I admit this is a small grievance and GNOME is free to run their project as the maintainers see fit. However, I personally find this strategy of implementing changes disrespectful to your existing user base. Most of us just boot up the computer some work done, and changes to existing workflows conflicts with that. This has been an ongoing issue with the GNOME developers as many people are still (reasonably) upset about the switch from GNOME 2 to 3.

The situation does make me sad because GNOME is the closest thing we have to a standard desktop for GNU+Linux. So it is unfortunate many of the most die hard FOSS supporters do not use it or write software to support the GNOME ecosystem.

Amazing calculator for fast operations, huge amount of features I never use. See this video for a good introduction.

See the introduction to my Emacs configuration for more details on my love of GNU Emacs.

LibreOffice has been chasing the MS Office Suit for literal decades. I highly recommend their software. Calc is not perfect and may be missing some features, but the sooner you swap the better. Save money, learn a free tool you can use forever, and break the MS monopoly.

In college I did some freelance video editing entirely on Linux. After trying several of the editor options available around 2017 (Kdenlive, Openshot) I settled on Blender.

I don't think many people are aware that blender is basically a fully featured video editor since it is primarily seen as a 3D modeler. Once you swap to the Video editing mode it is relatively straightforward to use, and there are a number of online tutorials to help you learn.

Most importantly Blender is production software that I found to be relatively stable and does not randomly eat my projects. You also will likely never hit the upper limit of Blender's functionality since it is so fully featured for professional usage.

I've used Signal for years and found it works well for communicating with friends and family. It is a good alternative to apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

I generally don't hang out in chat rooms like IRC. For collaboration I prefer to conduct work asynchronously through email. When I do need to use IRC I've found ERC to works well with minimal setup.

For your own privacy I recommend using a private email service. There many (Kolab, Fastmail, ProtonMail), check around online and find one that suits your needs. Check if the service supports IMAP then you can use whatever email client you like. For general usage Thunderbird is pretty good.

I of course use mu4e inside Emacs, but I do not recommend that unless you are a long way down the Emacs rabbit hole. I often fall back to other email clients when away from my personal laptop.