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- Add docker whale image locally
- Add oryx pro review
- Add blog post on linux journey
- Update VS Code Extensions
- Replace Brave with Vivaldi
- Replace desktop and HP Spectre with oryx pro in hardware
- Update Surface Go and Sony headphones sections of hardware
- Add and delete some images
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Sravan Balaji
2021-08-26 16:59:30 -04:00
parent fdf342e205
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<div class="card">
<img
class="card-img-top"
src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fbrTLtxuP2D29o8VJUaE-u3NKfU=/0x0:792x613/1200x800/filters:focal(300x237:426x363)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59850273/Docker_logo_011.0.png"
src="./assets/hardware/oryx-pro-7.png"
alt="System76 Oryx Pro"
/>
<div class="card-body">
<h4 class="card-title">
<a href="blog_oryx_pro_review.html"
>System76 Oryx Pro 7 Review</a
>
</h4>
<p class="card-text">
My review of the System76 Oryx Pro 7.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="card">
<img
class="card-img-top"
src="./assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/cover_windows_to_linux.jpeg"
alt="Windows to Linux"
/>
<div class="card-body">
<h4 class="card-title">
<a href="blog_windows_to_linux.html"
>Switching from Windows to Linux</a
>
</h4>
<p class="card-text">
A reflection on my journey from Windows to
Linux.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
<div class="card">
<img
class="card-img-top"
src="./assets/blog_posts/Docker/cover_docker.png"
alt="Docker Whale"
/>
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" color-mode="light">
<head>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/header.txt"
></script>
<title>System76 Oryx Pro 7 Review</title>
</head>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/navbar.txt"
></script>
<body>
<div class="container-fluid px-md-6">
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-2">
<!-- Nothing -->
</div>
<div class="col-md-8">
<!-- Title -->
<h1>System76 Oryx Pro 7 Review</h1>
<!-- Author & Date/Time -->
<p class="lead">Updated on August 26, 2021</p>
<!-- Preview Image -->
<div class="blog-cover">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/hardware/oryx-pro-7.png"
alt="System76 Oryx Pro"
/>
</div>
<hr />
<!-- Post Content -->
<h2>
<a name="system-specifications"
>System Specifications</a
>
</h2>
<h3>Oryx Pro 7 Configuration</h3>
<ul>
<li>
<b>OS</b>: Pop!_OS 20.10 (64-bit) with full
disk-encryption
</li>
<li>
<b>CPU</b>: 5 GHz i7-10870H (2.2 up to 5.0 GHz -
16MB Cache - 8 Cores -16 Threads)
</li>
<li><b>GPU</b>: 8 GB RTX 3070 w/ 5888 CUDA Cores</li>
<li>
<b>Memory</b>: 8 GB Single Channel DDR4 at 2933 MHz
</li>
<li>
<b>Storage</b>: 240 GB Seq Read: 540 MB/s, Seq
Write: 465 MB/s
</li>
<li><b>Display</b>: 15.6" Matte 144Hz Full HD 1080p</li>
<li>
<b>Warranty</b>: 2 Year Limited Parts and Labor
Warranty
</li>
<li>
<b>Link</b>:
<a
href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
target="_blank"
>System76 Website</a
>
</li>
<li><b>Price</b>: $2,209.47</li>
</ul>
<h3>Additional Parts</h3>
<h4>Storage</h4>
<ul>
<li><b>Model</b>: Samsung 970 EVO Plus M.2 NVMe SSD</li>
<li><b>Size</b>: 2TB</li>
<li>
<b>Link</b>:
<a
href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MFZXR1B/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1"
target="_blank"
>Amazon</a
>
</li>
<li><b>Price</b>: $319.99</li>
</ul>
<h4>RAM</h4>
<ul>
<li>
<b>Model</b>: HyperX Impact DDR4 CL17 SODIMM Memory
(Kit of 2)
</li>
<li><b>Size</b>: 32GB</li>
<li><b>Speed</b>: 2933MHz</li>
<li>
<b>Link</b>:
<a
href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGLBZBK/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"
target="_blank"
>Amazon</a
>
</li>
<li><b>Price</b>: $219.00</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a name="general-comments">General Comments</a></h2>
<p>
I ended up purchasing the Oryx Pro 7 with base memory
and storage, then replaced them with parts I bought from
Amazon. The upgrade experience was pretty good. I had
some trouble removing the back plate because some screws
got stuck, but it was overall not too difficult. Coming
from a desktop with a GTX 1070 and a 1440p 60 Hz
monitor, I can honestly say that I prefer the higher
refresh rate over the resolution bump. Gaming
performance has been amazing, and my overall experience
with the laptop has been positive. I will mention that I
occasionally run into some freezing issues even when not
doing anything particularly intensive, but these were
largely resolved when I tried some different kernels.
The fans did get too loud at times, but this was also
resolved by switching kernels.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="replacing-pop-os">Replacing Pop!_OS</a></h2>
<p>
Regarding OS, I initially tried to install Arch Linux
with dwm like I had on my desktop, but found that
switching between the graphics modes (i.e. Integrated,
Hybrid, and Discrete) was just a nightmare. I tried
installing System76 software through the AUR, but ran
into too many issues that I couldn't resolve.
Additionally, the laptop speakers did not seem to work
either. Eventually got this working after trying the
solution in ArchWiki. Thus, I decided to switch to
Pop!_OS. The main change I made to the install process
was to use btrfs rather than the default (ext4 I think)
so I could take snapshots and backup my data with
Timeshift. Overall, I'm really happy that System76 and
Pop!_OS have come up with a good solution for switchable
graphics. Being able to just click on the option in the
GNOME menu is so useful. The window management in
Pop!_OS is very good too. Coming from a standalone
window manager like dwm, this provides a pretty good
balance between convenience (having things work out of
the box with a desktop environment) and usability
(keyboard shortcuts in dwm are very handy).
</p>
<p>
After some more time with Pop!_OS, I realized that I
really missed Arch so I decided to try some other Arch
based distros. With Garuda Linux, switchable graphics
now works. Couldn't figure out how to get it working on
vanilla arch. Integrated speakers didn't work out of the
box, but was able to resolve it with the solution listed
in the ArchWiki. Garuda linux implements a lot of the
customizations I usually do in my vanilla Arch installs
anyways (e.g. btrfs, zen kernel, chaotic-aur, backups w/
timeshift, etc.), so I'm pretty happy with it. Ran into
a bunch of crashing and system break issues with the
GNOME edition. Timeshift usually helped me recover from
this, but not always. Thus, decided to switch to KDE
Dragonized edition as it looks nice, uses KDE plasma
instead of GNOME, and comes with a bunch of gaming
related apps pre-installed, which saves me time. Still
encountered freezing issues with KDE Dragonized edition,
so eventually switched to i3 edition, but replaced i3 w/
Xmonad. Then replaced Xmonad w/ dwm-flexipatch.
Performance is amazing and haven't encountered the
freezing issue that I had with GNOME and KDE any more.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="pros-and-cons">Pros and Cons</a></h2>
<h3>Pros</h3>
<ul>
<li>
The display is really good, I am highly satisfied
with it. Everything is just so much smoother in
144Hz.
</li>
<li>
Keyboard is pretty good, maybe not as good as my old
HP Spectre x360 which was excellent. Having a number
pad on a 15" laptop is really good too.
</li>
<li>
Gaming performance is amazing! Recently got Yakuza:
Like a Dragon on Steam. Runs at above 60 fps on all
of the highest settings.
</li>
<li>
Love the keyboard backlighting and color changing on
the fly. Would love to be able to customize this
further in software though.
</li>
<li>
Trackpad is the best I have used in a long time.
Love the surface feel, my finger just glides.
</li>
<li>
It was a bit more difficult than I expected to
remove the bottom plate when upgrading the RAM and
storage, but overall a very easy process. Really
appreciate the focus on upgradeability in the
hardware design.
</li>
<li>Tons of ports! Extremely useful!</li>
<li>
General build quality is solid. Really like the
feel.
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cons</h3>
<ul>
<li>
Speakers are really sub-par. I understand that
System76 doesn't design the hardware, but this was
my main disappointment. I have bluetooth bookshelf
speakers and bluetooth headphones I can use, so this
isn't an unsolvable problem, but just generally
annoying.
</li>
<li>
Webcam is functional, but not good at all.
Definitely need to use an external webcam for video
calls.
</li>
<li>
The microphone has a strange oscillatory behavior
where there is some buzzing sound that increases and
decreases regularly. Additionally, you can really
hear the fans ramping up and down in the mic, makes
it difficult to have a meeting if you use the
integrated mic and the fans suddenly turn on.
Definitely need an external mic.
</li>
<li>
Battery life is really bad when the discrete
graphics card is on (as expected). Maybe a little
more than an hour a time, sometimes more depending
on how willing I am to lower CPU frequency and
stuff. As a desktop replacement, that is to be
expected through.
</li>
<li>
Mouse click buttons are not great. Regularly left
click on something in GNOME and nothing happens.
"Tapping" with the mousepad works very reliably
though.
</li>
<li>
Fans can get really loud when gaming, but this is an
understandable limitation with gaming laptops. I was
able to mostly solve this by switching to a custom
kernel.
</li>
<li>
Random freezing is kind of an issue, but is
generally resolved by using a custom kernel.
</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2><a name="conclusions">Conclusions</a></h2>
<p>
It may seem that the cons outweigh the pros, but this is
only in number and I am really nitpicking. The things
this laptop get right (e.g. gaming, refresh rate,
switchable graphics, general performance) are much more
important to me than the other things. Regarding price,
you are definitely paying a premium for first-class
linux support, but it is well worth it in my opinion. I
do not want to use Windows anymore and I am happy to pay
extra if it means supporting a company that promotes and
sells Linux computers.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="images">Images</a></h2>
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-4">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/01_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
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class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/02_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/03_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-4">
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class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/04_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
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class="img-fluid rounded"
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alt=""
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</div>
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<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/06_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="col-md-4">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/07_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
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</div>
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<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/08_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
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</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/09_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-6">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/10_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
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<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/11_oryp7.jpg"
alt=""
/>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr />
</div>
<div class="col-md-2">
<!-- Nothing -->
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
<footer>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/footer.txt"
></script>
</footer>
</html>

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" color-mode="light">
<head>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/header.txt"
></script>
<title>Switching from Windows to Linux</title>
</head>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/navbar.txt"
></script>
<body>
<div class="container-fluid px-md-6">
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-2">
<!-- Nothing -->
</div>
<div class="col-md-8">
<!-- Title -->
<h1>Switching from Windows to Linux</h1>
<!-- Author & Date/Time -->
<p class="lead">Updated on August 26, 2021</p>
<!-- Preview Image -->
<div class="blog-cover">
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/cover_windows_to_linux.jpeg"
alt="Windows to Linux"
/>
</div>
<hr />
<!-- Post Content -->
<h2><a name="introduction">Introduction</a></h2>
<p>
Around Summer of 2020, I started experimenting with
Linux to see if it could replace Windows. I had a little
bit of experience with
<a
href="https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux"
target="_blank"
>Red Hat Enterprise Linux</a
>
and
<a href="https://ubuntu.com" target="_blank">Ubuntu</a>
through my Computer Science course work, but I had never
really used it as my daily driver desktop / laptop
operating system. I really wanted to see if it could
handle development, general productivity, and gaming.
</p>
<h3>Development</h3>
<p>
Development is definitely where Linux shines because of
its superior package management. For example, Ubuntu
(and its derivatives) use the apt package manager which
allows you to easily install most development packages
like Python, gcc, Git, etc. On Windows, you have to go
to a website, click on a download link, run an
executable, and walk through the steps in an installer.
On Linux, it is as simple as a couple terminal commands.
</p>
<h3>Productivity</h3>
<p>
General productivity is no different on Linux than
Windows, other than the lack of Microsoft Office. This
wasn't a big deal for me because there are plenty of
free and open-source alternatives as well as web-based
options if I ever needed to write documents, create
presentations, or track finances.
</p>
<h3>Gaming</h3>
<p>
Gaming was really the main concern I had when thinking
about moving away from Windows. Luckily, there has been
a lot of progress on this front in recent years. Per
<a href="https://www.protondb.com" target="_blank"
>ProtonDB</a
>:
</p>
<blockquote cite="https://www.protondb.com">
"Proton is a new tool released by Valve Software that
has been integrated with Steam Play to make playing
Windows games on Linux as simple as hitting the Play
button within Steam. Underneath the hood, Proton
comprises other popular tools like Wine and DXVK among
others that a gamer would otherwise have to install and
maintain themselves. This greatly eases the burden for
users to switch to Linux without having to learn the
underlying systems or losing access to a large part of
their library of games. Proton is still in its infancy
so support is inconsistent, but regularly improving."
</blockquote>
<p>
Looking at ProtonDB, a lot of the games I play (mostly
single-player) have gold or above ratings, meaning they
generally work by just pressing the play button,
possibly with a few tweaks. After trying this out
myself, I have come to the same conclusion. Gaming on
Linux is as good as it has ever been and will only get
better, especially after the announcement and release of
the Linux powered
<a
href="https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck"
target="_blank"
>Steam Deck</a
>
from Valve.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="distro-hopping">Distro Hopping</a></h2>
<p>
After trying out a bunch of distros like
<a href="https://ubuntu.com" target="_blank">Ubuntu</a>,
<a href="https://pop.system76.com" target="_blank"
>Pop!_OS</a
>, and
<a href="https://getfedora.org" target="_blank"
>Fedora</a
>, I eventually landed on
<a href="https://archlinux.org" target="_blank"
>Arch Linux</a
>. As someone who likes to tinker with their computer a
lot, Arch felt like the best option because I could
literally build my OS from the ground up. I essentially
have complete control over which packages get installed
on my system. This means there is a steep learning curve
and things can break if you are not careful, but the
<a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org" target="_blank"
>Arch Wiki</a
>
is possible the greatest Linux resource I have ever
seen. The main reasons I decided on Arch are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>Rolling Release</b>: I don't have to re-install
my OS every 6 months. My system gets updated through
a simple terminal command.
</li>
<li>
<b>Package Management</b>: Pacman and AUR helpers
like paru are by far the best package management
solution I have seen in Linux. Pretty much any piece
of software you might want to use is available in
either the
<a
href="https://archlinux.org/packages/"
target="_blank"
>main Arch repos</a
>
or the
<a href="https://aur.archlinux.org" target="_blank"
>AUR</a
>. I wanted my packages to be up to date without
relying on universal package formats like
<a href="https://snapcraft.io" target="_blank"
>snap</a
>, <a href="flathub" target="_blank">flatpak</a>, or
<a href="https://appimage.org" target="_blank"
>AppImage</a
>. While these are great in that they can run on any
Linux distro, they don't integrate into the system
as well as I would like. AppImages have to be
updated manually and don't integrate well with the
desktop experience by default. Flatpaks are
sandboxed applications, which means they require
manual intervention to access certain parts of the
OS. The main issue I found here was with theming.
For lots of open source applications, they may not
have a snap, flatpak, or AppImage package, but they
almost always have an AUR package. This means it is
extremely rare to have to manually install any
application or program on my system.
</li>
<li>
<b>Customizability</b>: Everything on my system was
either installed by me or a dependency for something
I installed. There is little to no bloatware.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
After running Arch on my gaming desktop and ultrabook
laptop for around a year, I decided to buy a Linux
gaming laptop. I wanted to have one system that I could
get work done and play games on. After doing some
research, I landed on the
<a
href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
target="_blank"
>System76 Oryx Pro 7</a
>
because it is made by a US based company with excellent
customer service and has first-class Linux support.
System76 also makes Pop!_OS, which I tried for a couple
of weeks, but I just had to go back to Arch for the
reasons mentioned above. Luckily, the Arch Wiki has a
<a
href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System76_Oryx_Pro"
target="_blank"
>page for the System76 Oryx Pro</a
>. Unfortunately, I had some issue with NVIDIA's Linux
drivers and
<a
href="https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power"
target="_blank"
>System76's graphics switching tool</a
>
on Arch. I was able to resolve the issue by switching to
<a href="https://garudalinux.org" target="_blank"
>Garuda Linux</a
>, which is based on Arch, but provides an easy to use
installer and some nice GUI tools for configuring your
system. As of the time of writing, I don't see myself
switching from Garuda because it provides all the
benefits of Arch without the initial hassle of
installing the system from scratch.
</p>
<hr />
<h2>
<a name="desktop-environments">Desktop Environments</a>
</h2>
<p>
While I was in the process of switching between Linux
distros, I was also switching between desktop
environments. I was most familiar with
<a href="https://www.gnome.org" target="_blank"
>GNOME</a
>
from Ubuntu and RHEL, but it felt kind of slow and
lacked customizability. This is when I discovered
<a href="https://kde.org" target="_blank">KDE Plasma</a
>. Coming from Windows, I was much more comfortable with
the look and feel of KDE Plasma. Additionally, it has
many (perhaps too many) customizability options. After
using this for a while, I eventually ran into some
system freezing issues that I didn't expect to see given
my hardware and felt that I could go for something a bit
more minimal.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="window-managers">Window Managers</a></h2>
<p>
This is when I learned about window managers from
YouTubers like
<a
href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVls1GmFKf6WlTraIb_IaJg"
target="_blank"
>DistroTube</a
>. Desktop environments are generally a combination of a
window manager and a bunch of utility programs and
pre-installed apps. A standalone window manager just
controls where windows show up on your screen and the
decorations that appear around them. The most suggested
window manager for beginners is generally
<a href="https://i3wm.org" target="_blank">i3</a>. This
is a tiling window manager with a configuration file
that is written in an easy to use syntax. I tried i3 for
a while, but it never really stuck, so I went back to
KDE Plasma. After doing some more research, I eventually
landed on
<a href="https://dwm.suckless.org" target="_blank"
>dwm</a
>. Given my experience with C/C++, this seemed like a
better window manager for my needs. One of the main
downsides of dwm is that it is meant to be super minimal
where features you might expect to see need to be added
through patches. The process of patching can be slow,
annoying, and prone to error. One solution, that I ended
up going with, is to use
<a
href="https://github.com/bakkeby/dwm-flexipatch"
target="_blank"
>dwm-flexipatch</a
>. This includes a bunch of commonly used patches that
can be enabled or disabled very easily. You can see my
configuration of dwm-flexipatch on
<a
href="https://github.com/balajsra/dwm-flexipatch"
target="_blank"
>GitHub</a
>.
</p>
<hr />
<h2><a name="current-setup">Current Setup</a></h2>
<p>
My
<a
href="https://github.com/balajsra/dotfiles"
target="_blank"
>current setup</a
>
involves these main components:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>Window Manager</b>:
<a
href="https://github.com/bakkeby/dwm-flexipatch"
target="_blank"
>dwm-flexipatch</a
>
</li>
<li>
<b>Status Bar</b>:
<a
href="https://github.com/polybar/polybar"
target="_blank"
>polybar</a
>
</li>
<li>
<b>Terminal</b>:
<a
href="https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/"
target="_blank"
>kitty</a
>
</li>
<li>
<b>Color Theme</b>:
<a href="https://draculatheme.com" target="_blank"
>Dracula</a
>
/
<a
href="https://draculatheme.com/pro"
target="_blank"
>Dracula Pro</a
>
</li>
<li>
<b>Application Launcher</b>:
<a
href="https://github.com/davatorium/rofi"
target="_blank"
>Rofi</a
>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<img
class="img-fluid rounded"
src="./assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/dwm_flexipatch_screenshot.png"
alt="dwm flexipatch desktop setup"
/>
</p>
<hr />
</div>
<div class="col-md-2">
<!-- Nothing -->
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
<footer>
<script
language="javascript"
type="text/javascript"
src="common/footer.txt"
></script>
</footer>
</html>

275
src/personal.html
View File

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
<body>
<div class="container-fluid px-md-6">
<!---------------------------------
SOFTWARE
SOFTWARE
----------------------------------->
<div id="software">
<div class="row align-items-center">
@@ -116,6 +116,13 @@
>Dracula Official</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=miguelsolorio.fluent-icons"
target="_blank"
>Fluent Icons</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=mhutchie.git-graph"
@@ -151,13 +158,6 @@
>Live Share Extension Pack</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=PKief.material-icon-theme"
target="_blank"
>Material Icon Theme</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=johnpapa.vscode-peacock"
@@ -169,14 +169,14 @@
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=esbenp.prettier-vscode"
target="_blank"
>Prettier - Code formatter</a
>Prettier - Code Formatter</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Shan.code-settings-sync"
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=alefragnani.project-manager"
target="_blank"
>Settings Sync</a
>Project Manager</a
>
</li>
<li>
@@ -186,6 +186,20 @@
>Todo Tree</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscodevim.vim"
target="_blank"
>Vim</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscode-icons-team.vscode-icons"
target="_blank"
>vscode-icons</a
>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-3">
@@ -212,13 +226,6 @@
>CMake Tools</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=msjsdiag.debugger-for-chrome"
target="_blank"
>Debugger for Chrome</a
>
</li>
<li>
<a
href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-azuretools.vscode-docker"
@@ -527,23 +534,23 @@
</div>
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-2">
<a href="https://brave.com/" target="_blank">
<a href="https://vivaldi.com/" target="_blank">
<img
class="img-fluid mx-auto d-block"
src="./assets/software/logo-brave.png"
src="./assets/software/logo-vivaldi.png"
/>
</a>
</div>
<div class="col-md-10">
<h2>
<a
name="Brave Browser"
href="https://brave.com/"
name="Vivaldi Browser"
href="https://vivaldi.com/"
target="_blank"
>Brave Browser</a
>Vivaldi Browser</a
>
</h2>
<h3>Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android</h3>
<h3>Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android</h3>
<p>
After trying
<a
@@ -556,24 +563,24 @@
target="_blank"
>Microsoft Edge</a
>, and
<a href="https://vivaldi.com/" target="_blank"
>Vivaldi</a
>, I finally decided to go with Brave. It will be
<a href="https://brave.com/" target="_blank"
>Brave</a
>, I finally decided to go with Vivaldi. It will be
very familiar for those coming from Chrome since it
is also based on
<a href="https://www.chromium.org/" target="_blank"
>Chromium</a
>. The main reason I like it is for its speed. I
haven't done any official tests comparing
performance, but it subjectively seems more
responsive. Additionally, most if not all Chrome
extensions can be used with Brave, so that should
help ease the transition for those who can't live
without them. Brave's main selling points are its
privacy features, ad blocking, and Brave Rewards.
The latter allows you to earn Brave Attention Tokens
(BAT), which are essentially a cryptocurrency, when
viewing privacy-respecting ads.
>. The main reason I like it is for its
customizability. There are so many features
available to the user like tab stacking and tiling
that I find extremely helpful. If you are a browser
power user such as myself, I think you will find it
really hard to switch to another browser's tab
management system. Vivaldi's is by the best I have
used. Additionally, most if not all Chrome
extensions can be used with Vivaldi and it has
built-in ad blocking and tracking prevention.
Definitely recommend that you give it a try.
</p>
</div>
</div>
@@ -620,7 +627,7 @@
</div>
<!---------------------------------
HARDWARE
HARDWARE
----------------------------------->
<div id="hardware">
<div class="row align-items-center">
@@ -630,81 +637,45 @@
</div>
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-3">
<img
class="img-fluid mx-auto d-block"
src="./assets/hardware/desktop-case.png"
/>
<a
href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
target="_blank"
>
<img
class="img-fluid mx-auto d-block"
src="./assets/hardware/oryx-pro-7.png"
/>
</a>
</div>
<div class="col-md-9">
<h2>
<a
name="Remote Fingerprint Unlock"
href="https://pcpartpicker.com/user/sr98vn/saved/#view=dv8LJx"
target="_blank"
>Desktop PC: Custom</a
>
</h2>
<h2>Laptop: System76 Oryx Pro 7</h2>
<p>
A full list of my desktop PC build components can be
found on
I was looking for a Linux laptop that I could use
for development, general productivity, and gaming
over the next couple of years. While I love my
desktop and my ultrabook laptop, I really wanted one
device that could fill both roles. After doing some
research, I landed on
<a href="https://system76.com" target="_blank"
>System76</a
>. They are a U.S. based company that specializes in
selling Linux laptops, desktops, and servers. They
also make their own Linux distribution in
<a href="https://pop.system76.com" target="_blank"
>Pop!_OS</a
>. Of their available laptops, the
<a
href="https://pcpartpicker.com/user/sr98vn/saved/#view=dv8LJx"
target="_blank"
>PCPartPicker</a
>. My current build has stayed largely the same from
when I first built it, with the exception of the
peripherals and monitors. I have upgraded my
keyboard, mouse, and speakers over the past couple
of years as I found deals.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row align-items-center">
<div class="col-md-3">
<img
class="img-fluid mx-auto d-block"
src="./assets/hardware/spectre-x360.png"
/>
</div>
<div class="col-md-9">
<h2>Laptop: HP Spectre x360 15"</h2>
<p>
My laptop is mainly used for school. I wanted a
touchscreen so I could take digital written notes in
class and I needed a good processor and dedicated
graphics card for
<abbr title="Computer Aided Design">CAD</abbr>
software and for general programming applications. I
landed on the HP Spectre x360 because it had a great
balance of specs, amazing display, touch screen, and
very nice typing experience for a reasonable price.
I was initially leaning towards a Razer Blade or
Microsoft's Surface Book. The former would be great
for school and for gaming, but it isn't great for
taking handwritten digital notes. The latter is
similar to the Spectre in regards to specs, but has
a favorable display ratio for productivity. The main
reason I chose against the Surface Book in the end
was the high price relative to the Spectre. I was
able to get very comparable specs for a much lower
price with the Spectre. My laptop is the 2016 model
with Intel i7-7500U CPU, NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU,
and 16 GB RAM. The newer models have thinner bezels,
diamond-cut corners, updated specs, and better
trackpad drivers. If you are running Windows 10 and
want better touch pad drivers, check out
<a
href="https://www.windowscentral.com/how-enable-precision-touchpad-drivers"
href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
target="_blank"
>Oryx Pro</a
>
installing Microsoft's Precision Trackpad
drivers</a
>
. Finally, I have had many issues with the speakers
on my model. This has been reported by many other
users as well. I'm not sure if this issue has been
resolved on newer models, but it's something to look
out for.
lineup seemed to be the best balance of portability,
power, and hybrid graphics. The last point is
especially important to me because I want to be able
to extend battery life by turning off the discrete
GPU when I don't need it. Overall, I am very happy
with my purchase. For more information, check out my
<a href="./blog_oryx_pro_review.html">review</a>.
</p>
</div>
</div>
@@ -718,27 +689,52 @@
<div class="col-md-9">
<h2>Tablet: Microsoft Surface Go</h2>
<p>
The Surface Go is primarily used as a
secondary-device and tablet. I use it for media
consumption and occasional e-book reading. It is by
no means powerful enough to act as my primary
device, but I like it as a secondary device that I
will occasionally use. If you do end up going with
the Surface Go, make sure you
I primarily use the Surface Go as a secondary-device
and tablet. I use it for media consumption,
occasional textbook / pdf reading, and for taking
digital handwritten notes with the
<a
href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-pen/92fp8q09qhxc"
target="_blank"
>Surface Pen</a
>. It is by no means powerful enough to act as my
primary device. The
<a
href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-go-2/8pt3s2vjmdr6"
target="_blank"
>Surface Go 2</a
>
has since released, so you may want to look into
that instead. If you do end up going with the
Surface Go, make sure you
<a
href="https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-go-how-unlock-windows-10-s-mode"
target="_blank"
>turn off S mode</a
>
to be able to install apps that aren't on the
Microsoft Store. If you are a Costco member, I would
recommend looking at the
<a
href="https://www.costco.com/microsoft-surface-go-bundle---intel-pentium---1800-x-1200-display---windows-10-in-s-mode---surface-type-cover.product.100428070.html"
target="_blank"
>Surface Type Cover bundle</a
>. This bundle has a 128 GB SSD, 4GB RAM, Intel
Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, and includes the type cover.
Microsoft Store. I would generally recommend looking
for bundles as the type cover and pen are not
included by default.
</p>
<p>
I did experiment with running
<a href="https://blissos.org" target="_blank"
>BlissOS</a
>
on this tablet since I really like the hardware, but
I'm not the biggest fan of Windows. After a bit of
configuration, it was definitely usable, but had
some deal breaking issues. The first one being
battery drain. It seemed like the battery life was
much lower than I would have expected and I didn't
find a good way to resolve this. The other big issue
I found was with the on-board speakers. When
listening to music or watching a video, the audio
seemingly played at 1/2 the normal speed. When
connecting headphones to the headphone jack, it had
the same issue. However, audio worked perfectly when
connecting headphones over Bluetooth.
</p>
</div>
</div>
@@ -830,24 +826,29 @@
<div class="col-md-9">
<h2>Wireless Headphones: Sony WH-1000XM4</h2>
<p>
I actually purchased the WH-1000XM2's myself before
the XM4's came out, but the XM4's are an improvement
in every way and well worth the price. Sound quality
is amazing, noise cancelling is excellent, and it
has audio passthrough in case you need to hear your
environment. If you need wireless bluetooth
headphones, this is it. My favorite feature is
definitely the battery life. Sony reports 30 hours
of charge. If you will be away from an outlet for an
extended period of time and plan on using your
headphones a lot, these are great.
I previously purchased the WH-1000XM2's, but decided
to upgrade after seeing the XM4's on sale. The XM4's
are an improvement in every way and well worth the
price. Sound quality is amazing, noise cancelling is
excellent, and it has audio passthrough in case you
need to hear your environment. If you need wireless
bluetooth headphones, this is it. My favorite
feature is definitely the ability to connect to two
devices (e.g. laptop and phone) at once. This means
I can answer a call on my phone while listening to
music on my laptop without having to completely
re-pair devices. I also really like the battery
life. Sony reports 30 hours of charge. If you will
be away from an outlet for an extended period of
time and plan on using your headphones a lot, these
are great.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!---------------------------------
VIDEO GAMES
VIDEO GAMES
----------------------------------->
<div id="video_games">
<div class="row align-items-center">
@@ -941,7 +942,7 @@
</div>
<!---------------------------------
PODCASTS
PODCASTS
----------------------------------->
<div id="podcasts">
<div class="row align-items-center">
@@ -1237,7 +1238,7 @@
</div>
<!---------------------------------
MUSIC
MUSIC
----------------------------------->
<div class="music">
<div class="row align-items-center">