Hi everyone, I should just like to point out that this has nothing to do with the departure of Aravisian. I do have to say that Aravisian is the next stage up (several stages up) on me when it comes to the terminal. I've been lazy in learning - others coming to Linux from Windows don't want to start learning the Command Line Interface - they only ever used that to troubleshoot Windows issues like
ipconfig -release
and
ipconfig -renew
when there were no successful ways of sorting out ip address issues (which is what happens when M$ stole Novell's Netware technology).
I am guilty on a different level to Aravisian, I talk to other people as if they know what I am talking about - I have to remind myself that this is not the case. We could all take a lesson or two on that. Rattling off CLI to a noob can be a great off-putter, talking about anything technical to a bog-standard desktop-user is going to put that bog-standard desktop-user from embracing a new system.
The real reason why I am leaving is the issue over snap.d and pulse audio. It seems like a sign for me to move on - I accidentally deleted my Zorin install - all my data is gone from my Zorin 15.3 after several failed attempts to use 'testdisk', partially down to cylinder overlaps from what I can tell. I have found my Nirvana in Devuan - the break-away Debian crew who saw (as I do) nothing wrong with 'sysinit' that got replaced with 'systemd'. The killer for me was 'snap' and it's gaping security flaw, then the recent discovery of a serious programming flaw in 'pulse audio' - rt-kit daemon - the very name makes you suspect of 'rootkits' - and I only discovered this whilst using FerenOS - I will only be using that system whilst working from home until my retirement next year - yes I'm an old git!
I booted Devuan in live mode and attempted to override windowsfx10 only to have not looked carefully (I wast tired and upset over a family matter - let this be a lesson - never do things when you are tired and upset!) However, this seemed like a sign to me and I am happy to just 'let go' of lost data. When I booted Devuan, no issues with Sound - it picked up my Soundblaster - no need for blacklisting of other sound devices (HDMI, onboard sound) - worked straight out of the box. So it's been a great ride - with much appreciation to Artyom and Kyril from those heady days of Zorin 4 and beyond. I still think Zorin is the best OS for Windows users to transition from, and as I put in my forward of the 'unofficial manuals' for 12 and 15 which I will leave for downloads until 2023 when I will pull it down as it will be end-of-life for Zorin 15, that I was encouraging users that they would gain the confidence to look at other distros - in the end the beauty of Linux is that it offers you choice. That said, choice is taken away when you are forced into accepting second rate applications such as pulse-audio, and snap poorly constructed. It has been a tremendous privilege being both a moderator and member of this forum and a Zorin user. Sadly, the way some Linux distros are going they are shooting themselves in the foot with an M1 rifle. (Bit of useless information here - when I was a student many years ago, a housemate had read somewhere that if you shot-off your big toe with an M1 rifle, the shock would kill you - well that is what Ubuntu is doing with 'snapd', and possibly Red Hat with 'flatpak' - bring back 'Click'n'Run' - but then again, who really knew what that was doing in the background!). Stay safe and take care everyone. I will not change my belief on who or what Covid-19 was created by and for what purpose. The Genome project was labelled as a way forward to identify medical issues and to resolve them - well I've got my own theory on that one and there is a link to Covid-19 - you don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes to work that one out.
This came out of the blue - at least for me.
Sorry about your headaches and sorry to see you go.
All I know about Linux I learned from Aravisian, you, AskUbuntu.com. I’m very grateful for all the knowledge. As with Aravisian, I wish you the best for your future endeavors. Keep in touch if you can.
We’re sorry to hear that you’re leaving; we’re going to miss you here. Of course, you’re always welcome here anytime.
You’ve been a very important part of the Zorin OS community since the early days. Your efforts throughout the years have been pivotal to the success of the project, and have made a difference in so many people’s Linux experiences. @zorink and I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude; a huge round of applause from us
Wishing you the very best on your new Linux adventures and hope you enjoy your retirement!
P.S. Despite the eyebrow-raising name, rtkit-daemon (or “RealTime Kit Daemon” by its full name) is a background process that allows other processes and system libraries to request the scheduler to run them in real time (i.e. to avoid latency and choppiness when playing audio or video for example) in a secure manner. It’s a standard system component and doesn’t have anything to do with rootkits or security vulnerabilities. Unfortunate naming, I suppose.
Thanks for all the good wishes and appreciation. I am sure Zorin has helped a heap of people migrate from inferior Operating Systems (apart from Amiga OS of course which laughed at the Y2K bug as its chipset is good beyond my entropy date, 2099!) The sad thing is a dependency on inferior Ubuntu but I won’t go over things already said.) Yes I am fully aware that rt-kit is not a root kit but the fact it allows processes to run in real time is poor coding, not to mention its naming convention. On a lighter note I have managed to expunge Pulse Audio from Devuan ALSA is back firmly in control of Audio. I can choose from Cinnamon, LXQt, Default x session, MATE, Plasma and xfce. I’m also exploring Arch Linux and a spin-off Artix which has different isos with the different DEs mentioned. Currently using LXQt with KWin on Devuan. The backdrop reminds me of the heady days when Sabayon was at 3.x.
Well I’ve popped in again - only to find my findings were correct about pulse audio not being good at all - and by a professional musician to boot, who is also using Devuan:
@swarfendor437. Interesting.
Having suffered numerous sound problems, usually post kernel update, I followed AZorin advice to install pulse volume control. That was not installed standard within Z15 Core.
I had previously used Alsamixer from terminal to view and adjust my sound settings.
I am a newbie when it comes to audio mechanisms and drivers in Zorin. So do not know much about Alsa v Pulse and whether these in any way conflict or interfere with one-another. I have suspicions.
All I know is I have regularly check my speakers still work, and if not, do battle with my sound settings and reboot cycles to get them back working. Sound is my pet hate at the moment with Zorin Linux.
HI zabadabadoo, I was surprised to find that pulse was present after install but was able to remove it in Devuan 3.0 “Beowulf” without destroying the system which is what happens in Ubuntu derivatives. I managed to screw up my initial install by attempting to install VB so just in process of reinstalling the OS as I write this. Still had to blacklist the Intel HD Audio (HDMI) source and no major issue after that. The default DE is xfce but you can add others during install such as LXQt, Plasma and MATE. Also of interest is that on install screen there is speech synthesis available for people with no sight, now that I haven’t seen since Trisquel 5.5/6.0 (Can’t remember which). Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to watch a world first, The Midnight in concert recorded from Americas streaming tonight.
The xfce desktop (2 monitors don’t forget!)
Looks like I spoke too soon! Should have chosen LightDM and Sysvinit - choosing ssdm and openrc and removing pulseaudio same result as you would in Ubuntu - everything goes - if this continues it might be a definite move to arch or one of its working derivatives!
Well, third install lucky - managed to get rid of Pulse Audio but had to fix some broken packaging to do with Kmix (Plasma DE installed), then I added a few ALSA packages including Qasmixer, then blacklisted the HDMI - now all as it should be. Also discovered that whilst systemd is not present by default, some packages have it installed i.e., they have a systemd pkg element for those systems that are running systemd to work. I do think the guy who wrote systemd and also pulseaudio to be a former M$ employee as it is nothing but bloatware.
[QUOTE]I will not change my belief on who or what Covid-19 was created by and for what purpose. The Genome project was labeled as a way forward to identify medical issues and to resolve them - well I’ve got my own theory on that one and there is a link to Covid-19 - you don’t have to be a Sherlock Holmes to work that one out.
-swarfendor437 Community Moderator[/QUOTE]
Wow!!! That’s mind blowing
I hadn’t heard about the Genome project angle before.
Think it through, if the Genome Project (NOT Gnome Project) knows the global DNA in an attempt to fix medical conditions the reverse is also true so that a corona virus could technically be developed in the lab to target certain DNA groups. Oh and why are CERN scientists storing anti-matter?
