[software] -> [software]-rs

As is Rust tradition.

Windows and MacOS are “noob-friendly” for those who use them for simple purposes and out-of-the-box. As soon as you want to do something more advanced, you’re back to googling and installing software from a variety of sources.

Many linux distros are like that too (others are just not noob-friendly at all), but centralized package management and documentation are nice.

I’m really glad to be away from registry editing, 50 app icons in the tray, and navigating my way through settings to control panel so I can actually fix my audio devices or network options.

I’m on Arch now, so I still have plenty of configuration and software, but I know the systems and choose explicitly which ones I use. If something isn’t working or is annoying, it’s my fault.

I second this advice. Arch is a rolling-release distribution, so most of its packages are updated to the latest releases as soon as they come out, regardless of whether they’re tested to be stable with other software and hardware configurations.

I have “ubuntu server” installed on an old computer I use for hosting game servers. That thing is incredibly stable and low-maintenance.

I just installed Hyprland (so different WM, but still Wayland) on my laptop with Intel integrated graphics and it works fine for me. It could be a difference between generations, though, as my laptop is from 2014.

You’re not really missing much yet imo— most software I use still requires xwayland anyways.

I just replied to Nilz over here with my understanding of it.

The protocol is to facilitate explicit gpu synchronization.

Currently xwayland apps show the most issues with this on Nvidia. Driver 535 and earlier help mitigate it, or using native Wayland apps, when possible.

I’m not a hardware dev, but I’ve been following this issue for several months. Nvidia on Wayland does not implement implicit GPU synchronization currently for Xwayland. Other vendors do.

This issue is related to how/when the framebuffer from the gpu is handed off to be displayed. Implicit sync isn’t a great solution, it’s just what’s been done for Linux in the past.

Here’s a bit more detail if you’re interested:

I believe this issue is more specific to Wayland because Wayland relies on the DRM, direct rendering manager, to facilitate communication between the graphics driver and Wayland clients (applications). Whereas Xorg kinda just covered everything along the pipeline.

Implicit sync sounds like a bit of hack, where software (I assume the client? Or maybe the drm driver?) implicitly checks for the frame to be finished, rather than being signaled when the frame is ready.

So instead, Nvidia has been arguing for, designing and developing an explicit sync Wayland Protocol (and one for Xorg), which will let the graphics driver explicitly signal when a frame is finished and ready to be displayed. This is how the graphics stack works on Windows.

Right now on Nvidia, Xwayland clients will show previous frames, incomplete/corrupted frames or will fail to update when a new frame is rendered. Here’s the XWayland Merge Request. The issue is much worse on drivers > 535.xx after some optimizations worsened the issue. For now, rolling back can help!

There will be benefits in general with explicit sync, but the major ones will be Xwayland functioning properly for Nvidia users, VRR and apps with inconsistent framerates.

Wayland opengl support is a huge step towards not needing xwayland! Whoo!

I tend to agree with this. Linux isn’t one alternative and niche OS, it’s a massive community and ecosystem with loads of options and a deep history of its own. I switched from daily-driving windows to installing arch linux with hyprland and learned a bunch of new systems and ideas. My experience with Linux before this had been Ubuntu and Kubuntu.

I relearned a lot. Some harder things I adjusted to:

• vim
• tiled window management
• package managers (This is ignoring all of the software systems I had to learn about and install by choosing arch, this is just specific to my daily workflow.)

Exposing myself to that change and those new ideas gave me the opportunity to learn about alternatives and choose the best option for me. I feel far more productive with my changes.

Now a counterpoint: many users learned to use windows or macos over time, through their education or alongside its development. Those users may not have the time or desire to relearn key ideas or workflows, especially not in one big plunge. A distro like Linux Mint undoubtedly works really well to ease someone in.

Another consideration: many design decisions are shared by lots of software, visual and functional. Some are a product of how software and UIs have grown, like a shift towards flat design or common control schemes. It would certainly do more harm than good for Linux users to abandon ALL similarities with existing software; where that line is drawn is probably subjective.

Anyways, I still agree that the mindset of ideal Linux distros being “windows replacement” is very limiting. For new users who do have the time and desire to learn and adapt, trying alternative software is a great option to maximizing their computer’s potential. Even users on “beginner distros” can install pieces of software and learn about the ecosystem, since Linux is so modular.