Ubuntu Linux - Karmi's Musings & Tech

Testing Zorin OS 18 Beta – Is This the Windows 10 Replacement You Need?

September 20, 2025September 20, 2025 by Karmi

Zorin OS 18 desktop interface showing activities menu and mountain wallpaper with beta announcement text

Bottom Line Up Front

Zorin OS 18 Beta delivers a polished, Windows-like experience that may ease the October 2025 Windows 10 end-of-life transition for millions of PCs. I’ve been testing Linux since 1996 — and Zorin since late 2009 — and this release shows real promise for Windows users who want familiar functionality without the steep Linux learning curve. As a daily Windows 11 user, I appreciate that Zorin doesn’t bash Windows, but instead tries to deliver an OS that feels familiar while staying true to Linux’s strengths.

CachyOS Linux Distribution Review and Installation Guide

September 12, 2025 by Karmi

CachyOS ranks #1 on DistroWatch page hit rankings for last 3 months with 4439 hits per day, ahead of Linux Mint, Debian, and Ubuntu

CachyOS is a new-ish Linux distribution, first released in July 2021, that has rapidly gained popularity due to its focus on performance and responsiveness. Built on the Arch Linux base, CachyOS implements optimizations like its custom BORE scheduler, CLANG compiler, and advanced optimization flags to provide a fast, polished, and stable experience, especially for gaming and desktop users.

It currently tops DistroWatch’s popularity rankings. If you’re eyeing it for gaming or high-performance setups, it’s matured into a solid, user-friendly option rather than a fresh experiment.

Year of the Linux Desktop: Linus Says Chromebooks and Android Are the Future

August 10, 2025August 10, 2025 by Karmi

Year of the Linux Desktop split image showing chaotic Linux desktop distributions on left versus clean Android and ChromeOS interfaces on right, with Linus Torvalds quote and timeline 1998-2025

Since at least 1998, the Linux community has been declaring “this will be the Year of the Linux Desktop.” Twenty-seven years later, we’re still waiting. Meanwhile, something interesting happened that the Linux evangelists missed entirely: The Year of the Linux Desktop became the decade of Google everything.

While Linux enthusiasts argued about systemd vs. init and whether GNOME or KDE was superior, Google quietly conquered the world with actual desktop Linux adoption through Android and Chromebooks. They just didn’t ask users to compile kernels or edit config files to make it work.

Even Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux itself, agrees: “Chromebooks and Android are the paths towards the desktop.”

What Linus Torvalds Really Said About Desktop Linux

Fedora 39 Cinnamon SPIN – Anaconda (installer) + NVIDIA + System Upgrade

July 28, 2025November 8, 2023 by Karmi

Fedora 39 Cinnamon SPIN keeps getting faster & smoother with each release! I go with the Cinnamon SPIN because it is about as close to a Windows ‘Feel’ that the Linux desktop can get.

I’ve got at least 17 pics to insert, plus about 11 more that are linked to, and those are mostly on how to use the Anaconda (installer).

Also want to squeeze in how to add a NVIDIA driver, and a glimpse at adding other apps with the Fedora GUI Software Management – dnfdragora.

Then, doing a quick review of how to do a System Upgrade from Fedora 38 Cinnamon SPIN to Fedora 39 Cinnamon SPIN. That involves upgrading a converted 12.2” Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 XE521QAB from 38 to 39.

Lots to do, so let’s get started! 🙂👏

Ubuntu Cinnamon 23.04 – ‘just another Linux Enterprise OS’

July 28, 2025April 23, 2023 by Karmi

This Ubuntu Cinnamon 23.04 review will explore whether Ubuntu is posing as a Desktop OS for average users. I hate OSes that slow down my workflow wid annoying “Authenticate” popups, and Ubuntu Cinnamon 23.04 “Lunar Lobster” is just another Linux Enterprise OS posing as a Personal Computer (PC) OS.

A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician. Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes, time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. Primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s, the term home computer was also used.

Chromebooks’ Chrome OS doesn’t have annoying “Authenticate” popups, my Computers wid Win11 Pro don’t have annoying “Authenticate” popups, and my Android phone doesn’t have annoying “Authenticate” popups. All more secure than the Linux Open-Source operating system/s.