New Blog Posts & Hardware Updates

- 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
2021-08-26 16:59:30 -04:00
parent fdf342e205
commit 94c8db5975
24 changed files with 971 additions and 166 deletions
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/Docker/cover_docker.png
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/Docker/cover_docker.png
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/01_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/01_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/02_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/02_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/03_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/03_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/04_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/04_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/05_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/05_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/06_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/06_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/07_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/07_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/08_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/08_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/09_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/09_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/10_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/10_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/11_oryp7.jpg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/11_oryp7.jpg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/cover_windows_to_linux.jpeg
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/cover_windows_to_linux.jpeg
--- a/src/assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/dwm_flexipatch_screenshot.png
+++ b/src/assets/blog_posts/windows_to_linux/dwm_flexipatch_screenshot.png
--- a/src/assets/hardware/desktop-case.png
+++ b/src/assets/hardware/desktop-case.png
--- a/src/assets/hardware/oryx-pro-7.png
+++ b/src/assets/hardware/oryx-pro-7.png
--- a/src/assets/hardware/spectre-x360.png
+++ b/src/assets/hardware/spectre-x360.png
--- a/src/assets/software/logo-brave.png
+++ b/src/assets/software/logo-brave.png
--- a/src/assets/software/logo-vivaldi.png
+++ b/src/assets/software/logo-vivaldi.png
--- a/src/blog.html
+++ b/src/blog.html
@@ -27,7 +27,46 @@
 					<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"
 						/>
 						<div class="card-body">
@@ -43,33 +82,6 @@
 						</div>
 					</div>
 				</div>
 				<!-- <div class="col-md-3">
                    <div class="card">
                        <img class="card-img-top" src="" alt="">
                        <div class="card-body">
                            <h4 class="card-title"></h4>
                            <p class="card-text"></p>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>
                <div class="col-md-3">
                    <div class="card">
                        <img class="card-img-top" src="" alt="">
                        <div class="card-body">
                            <h4 class="card-title"></h4>
                            <p class="card-text"></p>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>
                <div class="col-md-3">
                    <div class="card">
                        <img class="card-img-top" src="" alt="">
                        <div class="card-body">
                            <h4 class="card-title"></h4>
                            <p class="card-text"></p>
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div> -->
 			</div>
 		</div>
 	</body>
--- a/src/blog_docker.html
+++ b/src/blog_docker.html
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 					<div class="blog-cover">
 						<img
 							class="img-fluid rounded"
-							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/blog_posts/Docker/cover_docker.png"
 							alt=""
 						/>
 					</div>
--- a/src/blog_oryx_pro_review.html
+++ b/src/blog_oryx_pro_review.html
@@ -0,0 +1,408 @@
 <!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=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 							<div class="col-md-4">
 								<img
 									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">
 								<img
 									class="img-fluid rounded"
 									src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/04_oryp7.jpg"
 									alt=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 							<div class="col-md-4">
 								<img
 									class="img-fluid rounded"
 									src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/05_oryp7.jpg"
 									alt=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 							<div class="col-md-4">
 								<img
 									class="img-fluid rounded"
 									src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/06_oryp7.jpg"
 									alt=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 						</div>
 						<div class="row align-items-center">
 							<div class="col-md-4">
 								<img
 									class="img-fluid rounded"
 									src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/07_oryp7.jpg"
 									alt=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 							<div class="col-md-4">
 								<img
 									class="img-fluid rounded"
 									src="./assets/blog_posts/oryx_pro_review/08_oryp7.jpg"
 									alt=""
 								/>
 							</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=""
 								/>
 							</div>
 							<div class="col-md-6">
 								<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>
--- a/src/blog_windows_to_linux.html
+++ b/src/blog_windows_to_linux.html
@@ -0,0 +1,384 @@
 <!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>
--- a/src/personal.html
+++ b/src/personal.html
@@ -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"
+								name="Vivaldi Browser"
-								href="https://brave.com/"
+								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"
+							<a href="https://brave.com/" target="_blank"
-								>Vivaldi</a
+								>Brave</a
-							>, I finally decided to go with Brave. It will be
+							>, 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
+							>. The main reason I like it is for its
-							haven't done any official tests comparing
+							customizability. There are so many features
-							performance, but it subjectively seems more
+							available to the user like tab stacking and tiling
-							responsive. Additionally, most if not all Chrome
+							that I find extremely helpful. If you are a browser
-							extensions can be used with Brave, so that should
+							power user such as myself, I think you will find it
-							help ease the transition for those who can't live
+							really hard to switch to another browser's tab
-							without them. Brave's main selling points are its
+							management system. Vivaldi's is by the best I have
-							privacy features, ad blocking, and Brave Rewards.
+							used. Additionally, most if not all Chrome
-							The latter allows you to earn Brave Attention Tokens
+							extensions can be used with Vivaldi and it has
-							(BAT), which are essentially a cryptocurrency, when
+							built-in ad blocking and tracking prevention.
-							viewing privacy-respecting ads.
+							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
+						<a
-							class="img-fluid mx-auto d-block"
+							href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
-							src="./assets/hardware/desktop-case.png"
+							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>
+						<h2>Laptop: System76 Oryx Pro 7</h2>
 							<a
 								name="Remote Fingerprint Unlock"
 								href="https://pcpartpicker.com/user/sr98vn/saved/#view=dv8LJx"
 								target="_blank"
 								>Desktop PC: Custom</a
 							>
 						</h2>
 						<p>
-							A full list of my desktop PC build components can be
+							I was looking for a Linux laptop that I could use
-							found on
+							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"
+								href="https://system76.com/laptops/oryx"
 								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"
 								target="_blank"
 								>Oryx Pro</a
 							>
-								installing Microsoft's Precision Trackpad
+							lineup seemed to be the best balance of portability,
-								drivers</a
+							power, and hybrid graphics. The last point is
-							>
+							especially important to me because I want to be able
-							. Finally, I have had many issues with the speakers
+							to extend battery life by turning off the discrete
-							on my model. This has been reported by many other
+							GPU when I don't need it. Overall, I am very happy
-							users as well. I'm not sure if this issue has been
+							with my purchase. For more information, check out my
-							resolved on newer models, but it's something to look
+							<a href="./blog_oryx_pro_review.html">review</a>.
 							out for.
 						</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
+							I primarily use the Surface Go as a secondary-device
-							secondary-device and tablet. I use it for media
+							and tablet. I use it for media consumption,
-							consumption and occasional e-book reading. It is by
+							occasional textbook / pdf reading, and for taking
-							no means powerful enough to act as my primary
+							digital handwritten notes with the
-							device, but I like it as a secondary device that I
+							<a
-							will occasionally use. If you do end up going with
+								href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-pen/92fp8q09qhxc"
-							the Surface Go, make sure you
+								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
+							Microsoft Store. I would generally recommend looking
-							recommend looking at the
+							for bundles as the type cover and pen are not
-							<a
+							included by default.
-								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"
+						</p>
-								target="_blank"
+						<p>
-								>Surface Type Cover bundle</a
+							I did experiment with running
-							>. This bundle has a 128 GB SSD, 4GB RAM, Intel
+							<a href="https://blissos.org" target="_blank"
-							Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, and includes the type cover.
+								>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
+							I previously purchased the WH-1000XM2's, but decided
-							the XM4's came out, but the XM4's are an improvement
+							to upgrade after seeing the XM4's on sale. The XM4's
-							in every way and well worth the price. Sound quality
+							are an improvement in every way and well worth the
-							is amazing, noise cancelling is excellent, and it
+							price. Sound quality is amazing, noise cancelling is
-							has audio passthrough in case you need to hear your
+							excellent, and it has audio passthrough in case you
-							environment. If you need wireless bluetooth
+							need to hear your environment. If you need wireless
-							headphones, this is it. My favorite feature is
+							bluetooth headphones, this is it. My favorite
-							definitely the battery life. Sony reports 30 hours
+							feature is definitely the ability to connect to two
-							of charge. If you will be away from an outlet for an
+							devices (e.g. laptop and phone) at once. This means
-							extended period of time and plan on using your
+							I can answer a call on my phone while listening to
-							headphones a lot, these are great.
+							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">