RH, Cononical and SuSE boiling the GPL Frog?

[GreyGeek]

GreyGeek


There also is the Debian LTS team (and has been for a decade): https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
So you have 5 years of security maintenance for every Debian release (excluding the Debian Backports) - and there are companies that expand that to 10 or more years (but this is for money then, AFAIK, like in *Ubuntu).

But this will not be long enough, because we all expect that you will explain Linux to us for at least another 25 years, of course!
So prepare to install Kubuntu 24.04, Debian 13, Kubuntu 26.04, Debian 14, …

There also is the Debian LTS team (and has been for a decade): https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
So you have 5 years of security maintenance for every Debian release (excluding the Debian Backports) - and there are companies that expand that to 10 or more years (but this is for money then, AFAIK, like in *Ubuntu).

But this will not be long enough, because we all expect that you will explain Linux to us for at least another 25 years, of course!
So prepare to install Kubuntu 24.04, Debian 13, Kubuntu 26.04, Debian 14, …

After weeks of laziness I gathered my needed resources and fired up the Debian Bookworm LiveUSB with the intent of replacing my Kubuntu installation. The 6 point font on the Bookworm plasma windows was too small for my eyes to read. In the Konsole and FireFox I could enlarge the font to a readable size. For the rest of the apps I used my magnifying glass.

My second problem was connecting to the Internet so I could connect to the repository. As usual, I strung my cat-5 cable with an ETH0 adapter on the end from my router to my 7-socket USB hub. No joy. I had to install the cable directly into a laptop USB port, of which I had two. I pulled the Cudy dongle from the USB port and plugged it into the hub, and the hub into the USB port that dongle previously used. The cat-5 cable plugged into the port the hub was using and I had an Internet connection via the cable. Now I needed to install the rtl88x2bu github software and the build-tools necessary to compile it. The installation of the build tools failed.

At this point the lazy bug hit again.

I shut down my laptop and restored my basic plugin configurations and rebooted. 16 days after I said I was going to switch to Debian I am now reversing myself and staying with Kubuntu till 2027, at which point, if I am still around, I'll roll forward to the next Kubuntu LTS.
Life is simple when one is lazy.

[Schwarzer Kater]

[…]
After weeks of laziness I gathered my needed resources and fired up the Debian Bookworm LiveUSB with the intent of replacing my Kubuntu installation. […]

I really would not use the "debian-live-XXX-kde" ISO (I am not sure if you did…), see post # 7 (https://www.kubuntuforums.net/forum/...034#post672034).

Now I needed to install the rtl88x2bu github software and the build-tools necessary to compile it.

You did have to do that after the installation was complete? - Including checking that non-free-firmware, non-free and contrib is in your /etc/apt/sources.list and after installing firmware-linux?
Then did you additionally install firmware-realtek or check if it is installed? It contains several RTL88 stuff…

PS: If you are lazy you can just copy/paste the packages to install from my post…

PPS: GreyGeek I have changed the instrucions to English/US language packages in my post - so you can really just copy/paste now.

[GreyGeek]

My intent was to use dkms to compile the rtl88x2bu github code, just the way I did in Kubuntu, to see if the rtl88 code would work on the 6.1 kernel in the iso BEFORE I blew my Kubuntu installation away. If I could get my Cudy dongle working while running the Live KDE ISO then I knew I could get it running after I installed Bookworm. Installing the needed software failed.

I considered installing Bookworm into my existing rootfs by not formatting "/" during the manual configuration of the SSD. But, I've never done that before and didn't know how the Bookworm software would work along side the Jammy software, or if it is even possible to do that.

In the end, laziness (and reduced memory and thinking skills) won out. Thanks for the advice, though!

[Schwarzer Kater]

If you really want to try it out some time later, then a safe way could be to install it to an external drive (even to an reliable USB stick) without having to touch your internal installation.

[GreyGeek]

If you really want to try it out some time later, then a safe way could be to install it to an external drive (even to an reliable USB stick) without having to touch your internal installation.

Now that's a great idea!
(In the past I would have already done that, but my remaining two neurons don't work together very well)

[GreyGeek]

I am writing this from my newly (partially) minted Debian Bookworm installation!

Sorry Katz, I decided to use the Live USB install and go through the graphical installer because I'm from the "install as much as Plasma offers" school and I have plenty of space. Went smooth as silk.

My first gotcha was when I decided to add a label, rootfs, to my @ subvolume. I didn't expect it to add that label to @ to create a @rootfs subvolue.

With my cat-5 cable plugged into my left USB port and the Cudy dongle plugged into the right USB port I pulled the 88x2bu driver from GitHub - cilynx/rtl88x2bu: rtl88x2bu driver updated for current kernels. and compiled it. It failed.

...
CC [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/platform/platform_ops.o
CC [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/core/rtw_mp.o
LD [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/88x2bu.o
MODPOST /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/Module.symvers
CC [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/88x2bu.mod.o
LD [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/88x2bu.ko
BTF [M] /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/88x2bu.ko
Skipping BTF generation for /home/jerry/Downloads/rtl88x2bu/88x2bu.ko due to unavailability of vmlinux
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-10-amd64'

It looks like the 6.1.0-10-amd64 kernel wasn't compile properly?

$ locate vmlinux
/usr/lib/linux-kbuild-6.1/scripts/Makefile.vmlinux
/usr/lib/linux-kbuild-6.1/scripts/Makefile.vmlinux_o
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-10-common/arch/arm/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-10-common/arch/s390/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-10-common/arch/sh/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-10-common/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-9-common/arch/arm/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-9-common/arch/s390/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-9-common/arch/sh/include/asm/vmlinux.lds.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-6.1.0-9-common/include/asm-generic/vmlinux.lds.h

Yes, I am running the amd64 kernel, which was installed by default.

$ uname -a
Linux GreyGeek 6.1.0-10-amd64 Home SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.37-1 (2023-07-03) x86_64 GNU/Linux
AND
/boot# vdir
total 184720
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259507 Jul 3 14:28 config-6.1.0-10-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259446 May 8 15:16 config-6.1.0-9-amd64
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Dec 31 1969 efi
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 512 Jul 21 16:24 firmware
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 94 Jul 21 18:49 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 86139714 Jul 21 18:49 initrd.img-6.1.0-10-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 86528263 Jul 21 16:29 initrd.img-6.1.0-9-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 83 Jul 3 14:28 System.map-6.1.0-10-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 83 May 8 15:16 System.map-6.1.0-9-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7977184 Jul 3 14:28 vmlinuz-6.1.0-10-amd64
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7962368 May 8 15:16 vmlinuz-6.1.0-9-amd64
root@GreyGeek:/boot# vdir efi/
total 4
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Jul 21 16:28 EFI
root@GreyGeek:/boot# vdir efi/EFI/debian/
total 5960
-rwx------ 1 root root 108 Jul 21 16:28 BOOTX64.CSV
-rwx------ 1 root root 87328 Jul 21 16:28 fbx64.efi
-rwx------ 1 root root 134 Jul 21 16:28 grub.cfg
-rwx------ 1 root root 4199872 Jul 21 16:28 grubx64.efi
-rwx------ 1 root root 849616 Jul 21 16:28 mmx64.efi
-rwx------ 1 root root 948768 Jul 21 16:28 shimx64.efi

Reinstalling the kernel didn't help.

The inability to generate an rtl882xbu.ko file is the one thing I feared the most in Bookworm. Without that file I have to drape a cat-5 from the modem/router across the living ceiling fan (not turning) to keep it above our heads, and to my laptop. Can't have it going across the floor and tripping my wife.

The steam-installer fails to install from the repository.

The shine has definitely come off of the Debian rose, but I'm not turning back. There is always a solution.

[Schwarzer Kater]

cat /etc/apt/sources.list ?
apt policy firmware-linux firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-misc-nonfree firmware-realtek ?

[GreyGeek]

Attempting to compile wxqt, my weather app, I found that bash (in a Konsole) would not honor the "~/" prefix and when I used the complete path it reported that the Qt4 core and guicore and other central modules were missing.
I noticed that wayland was the DM.
I switched to X11 and things turned around. I retried compiling the rtl88x2bu and it worked so now I no longer need the cat-5 cable.
The shine is coming back!

[GreyGeek]

And then the rose drooped.

I got the ECG monitor app moved over and when I click on the exe from Dolphin it runs beautifully. However, when I try to add a KMenu entry for it I get a failure msg "can't find /usr/bin/wine". In a Konsole using 'wine xxx' or '/usr/bin/wine xxx" both works. Something to play with.

Another thing I spent most of the day playing with is my HP P1606dn laser duplex printer. I bought this printer for my birthday in 2010 or 2011, for around $200, and it has been faultless. Zero problems. It's on Amazon now for $89. I've put 9,000 pages and 3 1/2 drums through it. In my first month of usage I got frequent paper jams, so I stopped being cheap and used only heavy 20-30lb high white paper. Jams ceased.

In the early days of Kubuntu 12.04 I had to use HPLIP and download the proprietary ppd file from HP's support for linux website in order to make the duplex feature work. Then, around 2015, IIRC, the foo2zjs/HP-Laserjet_Pro_P1606dn.ppd driver was released and it allowed duplex activity. For the last seven years all I had to do to configure my printer was to merely plug it into the USB port. Done. Not so with Bookworm. I'm back in 2015 again, putzing with CUPS and HPLIP and PPDs. The is no problem getting the printer to print on one side. Duplex, however, is off the table. First, HP doesn't supply the P1606dn printer ppd driver, like it used to do, in the list of HP printers CUPS uses. Dozens of printer that are listed are marked proprietary. So I downloaded and used the foo2zjs ppd driver. To no avail. Without it I can print on one side. With it I get a "Filter failed" error and no printout.
Installing the HPLIP GUI is no better because it forces you to use CUPS, so HPLIP is just a more graphical CUPS interface. Graphical bloat.

The last time I played HP's game of "you gotta download the driver from our site" the result was that the driver required one to log into root as root. Not good in a sudo environment. I could never get HP's driver installed and luckily the FOSS ppd driver came out at about that time.

Plasma 5.27 is the same in both Kubuntu, Neon and Debian 12. However, the background admin tasks and features that are not part of plasma are on a different level. But, in for a dime, in for a dollar, I'm going to hammer it into shape. No turning back.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Are you member of the lp / lpadmin groups? IIRC I had to make sure in Debian for Plasma System Setting's printer stuff.

And I have to ask again: did you also make sure that non-free-firmware, non-free and contrib is in every line of your /etc/apt/sources.list ?

[GreyGeek]

Are you member of the lp / lpadmin groups? IIRC I had to make sure in Debian for Plasma System Setting's printer stuff.

And I have to ask again: did you also make sure that non-free-firmware, non-free and contrib is in every line of your /etc/apt/sources.list ?

Yes on both counts. I had to check the lp group membership.

I was thinking about the HP GUI needing the root password (but not allowing one to change the name 'root' to user's name) and wondered what would happen if I ran hp-plugin in a root konsole. It worked! But no duplex and no way to set it from the HP GUI. So, with the proprietary plugin installed I used CUP again, and while going through the settings a new "N-Page UP" setting appeared. "AutoLetterDuplex 8.5 X11". I chose it and now I am printing duplex. Cups prints the "Debian test page" on both sides of a sheet!


Did I mention that Bookworm is FAAAASSSTTT? Like 10 sec boot to working desktop fast.

When I was configuring the SSD I decided to label the / subvolume with "rootfs". Now my rootfs is @rootfs
I tried deleting the label with KPartiionmanager but that didn't work. So, I "mv @rootfs @" and edited fstab to show @ instead of @rootfs.
It gave me the grub screen. So, I'm leaving it the way it is for now and just rewrite my backup scripts.

I need to get my steam account installed and my dozen Python3 Jupyter notebook environments restored and that should be the last major events of the installation.

Thanks for the encouragement and hints. My two neurons needed them!

[GreyGeek]

Well, after a bumpy start, and running into a lot of minor but annoying problems like bash-completion not being installed so the tab key didn't work, I'm pretty much done installing Debian Bookworm. My GPU, the Intel IRIS Xe Meta, which has 2GB of onboard RAM but can borrow what additional RAM in needs from the 16GB of RAM installed on this laptop, does not work well with Wayland. I noticed that problem in Kubuntu 22.04 but my two neurons didn't make the connection when I encountered a group of similar problems in Bookworm. Once I switched to X11 99.99% of the problems disappeared and Bookworm is demonstrating itself to be a VERY fast Plasma desktop. The only major task left to complete is installing my Steam apps.

[Schwarzer Kater]

Keep us posted!

[GreyGeek]

Ok!
The last major thing I needed to do was install my two steam apps, Universe Sandbox^2 and Kerbal space program. Kerbal installed and started right up. My favorite steam app, US^2, threw an error on startup. The last time I played it was April 5th, and it ran beautifully. The last time I used Steam support, about 5 years ago, they had a support staff. This time, however, all the their links to support direct one to (in the case of US^2) the app creators, Army Giant. Also, the recommended PC configurations showed only Windows and Mac. The Linux config was missing. Army Giant, however, still showed the Linux config and advertised it for Linux. A notation showed that an update was installed today. Was it the problem? Don't know.

I bought Kerbal because Scott Manley pushed it so much, but I never became a fan because it wasn't close enough to the real physics to suit me, so I rarely played it. My prefered program was Orbiter 2010, which I ran under WINE.

So, I decided to chuck both of them and delete the steam app altogether. My real joy has been analyzing data using Jupyter Notebook and Python3, which is what I spend my time on when not surfing videos on YT.

There are still some niggles here and there, and I'm working them out as I run into them. Comparing Kubuntu 22.04 LTS and Debian Bookworm I'd match them up as essentially equal, with an edge to Bookworm for speed. A 10 second boot up to the desktop is not too shabby!

[GreyGeek]

I got to hand it to you, Schwarzer Kater, your advice to install the Debian server and then install KDE Plasma from the repository was advice I should have followed. Having experience in using KDE ISO's in the past I felt I would have no problems installing Bookworm from the KDE ISO. What I didn't count on was the Debian devs not putting the same care into that ISO as they did in the server ISO. Leaving out the bash-completion package was, in my mind, just an indication as to how sloppy (rushed?) the KDE ISO was put together. My printer is the HP Laserjet Pro P1606dn, which I bought about 10 years ago. It has and still works flawlessly. Since about Kubuntu 16.04 all I had to do to configure my printer was to plug it in. Everything else was automatic. Not so with Debian 12. It lacks the FOSS ppd that includes the duplex feature. I ended up having to use CUPS and hp-plugin from HPLIP to get the proprietary ppd so I could print both sides of a page.

But, all the bumps being in the rear view mirror I am very pleased with the results. Were I to do it over I would use your suggested method.