strank.info

Laptop/Desktop Configuration

Current and previous laptop/desktop setups

Software Configuration for Laptops and Desktops

As a media/games/AI researcher who prefers open-source.

From zero to rsync

Up to copying vital data to the new machine.

Wrestling the OS
↓ Area \ OS → Linux Mint Windows 10 Mac OSX (retired)
Installation Notes
  • No issues
  • Use local account not an MS account.
  • Disable anti-privacy options, except webpage security check "smart filter, and disable "tip" ads on lock screen and in start menu.
  • No issues
Basic Settings
  • No issues
  • Enable most of the "For Developer" options in "Update & Security", and Enable Developer Mode.
  • Back/forward gestures on trackpad need Firefox addon, see below
  • Trackpad settings
  • Tap-to-drag fix with BetterTouchTool
Remove Bloat
  • No issues
  • One Drive: disable auto-start in settings then exit, or uninstall from start menu.
  • Uninstall nagging apps "get office" and "skype preview", some games, "News" and a few other apps. This also gets rid of their "live tiles".
  • Hide some apple apps and change defaults later
Basic Installs
  • Default setup works
  • Add additional languages and input methods.
  • Firefox
  • Turn Windows Feature on or off: .net framework 3.5, windows linux environment.
  • Turn on Developer mode, prerequisite for "Ubuntu on Windows".
  • Run "bash" in command prompt to install Ubuntu on Windows ("Windows subsystem for Linux").
  • Firefox
  • Install homebrew
Workarounds
  • CapsLock remapping: built-in
  • Two-finger back/forward: Firefox Extension "Scrolling Gestures"
  • "Hot Corners" with tiny hot corners tool [1] in autostart
  • CapsLock remapping: registry entry [2]
  • Prevent auto-restarts [3]
  • CapsLock remapping: built-in
[1]https://github.com/taviso/hotcorner/releases Recompiled for bottom left corner and quicker response
[2]HKLM/.../Scancode Map: "1d e0 3a 00" for mapping CapsLock to Right Ctrl
[3]
  • Group Policies: Computer Config / Administrative / Win Components / Win Update / "Configure Automatic Updates" and "No auto-restart ..." (make effective with command line "gpupdate /force")
  • "Task Scheduler": Disable Reboot task in Microsoft -> Windows -> UpdateOrchestrator. Then take ownership of the Reboot file in "%Windows%\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator" and prevent changes by changing the permissions and disabling permission inheritance.

Sync data including locally held configuration settings.

Applications

Tools
↓ Area \ OS → Linux Mint Windows 10 Mac OSX (retired)
Basics
  • ✅ Archivers pre-installed
  • ✅ jEdit and Java
  • ✅ tree map file display
  • ✅ htop
  • ✅ ssh setup, sshfs
  • ✅ bashrc setup
  • ✅ 7zip
  • ✅ jEdit and Java, ✅ jEdit settings
  • ✅ WinDirStat
  • ✅ f.lux
  • ✅ htop (in WSL bash, 🔨 not usable for windows processes as it is an isolated container)
  • ✅ SSH (works well inside WSL, but interoperability with Windows as needed for running bash ssh as subprocess of a Windows app, is not there yet, promised for next Windows Update [4]. To do: test manual proxy scripts)
  • (✅ plink/pageant for now, installed by SourceTree, usable by Unison)
  • 🔨 SSHFS mounting?
  • ✅ bashrc setup, sagent functions [5] in .bash_aliases
  • 💭 (not using a linux/homebrew/scoop/chocolatey at the moment. Just the Windows built-in Bash for now)
  • ✅ Archiver pre-installed
  • ✅ jEdit and Java
  • ✅ DiskInventoryX
  • ✅ f.lux
  • ✅ brew htop
  • ✅ ssh setup, sshfs
  • ✅ bashrc setup
Sync & Connect
  • Unison
  • ✅ Synergy
  • Owncloud Sync
  • Dropbox
  • vnc client
  • torrent client: Deluge
  • ✅ Unison (🔨 compiled GTK GUI breaks horribly with HiDPI screen, will probably have to recompile 64bit version with newer GTK)
  • ✅ Synergy
  • ✅ Owncloud Sync
  • ✅ Dropbox
  • ✅ Google Drive
  • ✅ Torrent client: Deluge
  • ✅ RealVNC client in bin (only RDP viewer comes with Windows)
  • Unison
  • Synergy
  • Owncloud Sync
  • Dropbox
  • Google Drive
  • Android File Transfer
  • VNC client
  • torrent client
Misc
  • Firefox addons
  • Chrome addons
  • ✅ Firefox addons
  • ✅ Chrome + ✅ addons
  • 💭 Virtual Box + Linux Mint setup
  • ✅ Google Earth
  • ✅ Zope PIM installation (on WSL after installing python-dev)
  • ✅ VeraCrypt (to replace TrueCrypt)
  • Firefox addons
  • Chrome addons
  • Google Earth
  • Zope PIM installation
  • VeraCrypt / TrueCrypt
[4]

implemented in Win10 Insiders Builds > 14926+
[5]https://superuser.com/a/141241
Working
↓ Area \ OS → Linux Mint Windows 10 Mac OSX (retired)
Communicating
  • Slack chrome tab
  • ✅ Skype (incl. secondary instance, simple /secondary switch on Windows)
  • ✅ Signal app for Chrome
  • ✅ Slack (now the app instead of chrome tabs)
  • ✅ web whatsapp chrome tab
  • 💡 (?) ooVoo
  • ✅ Skype (incl. script for deleting lock and starting secondary instance)
  • ✅ Signal app for Chrome
  • ✅ Slack (chrome tab)
  • ✅ web whatsapp chrome tab
  • 💡 ooVoo
Managing
  • Thunderbird
  • ✅ LibreOffice
  • Tex installation
  • ✅ Thunderbird + Calendar + Sync Setup
  • ✅ LibreOffice
  • ✅ MS Office full (365) (🎓)
  • ✅ Adobe Acrobat Pro (🎓), ✅ signing setup
  • ✅ Drawboard (comes with Surface, got lost on update, had to recover [6] )
  • ✅ GnuCash
  • 💡 (?) Local TeX installation? (through linux-like tools?)
  • FreePlane mind mapping
  • 🔨 Trello (chrome tabs)
  • ✅ Thunderbird + Calendar + Sync Setup
  • ✅ LibreOffice
  • ✅ MS Office full (🎓)
  • ✅ Adobe Acrobat Pro (🎓), signature
  • GnuCash
  • Freeplane mind mapping
  • trello in chrome
Researching
  • Jupyter python science environment: matplotlib, scipy, ...
  • Python environment setup (docutils, sage, ...)
  • ✅ Jupyter python science environment (matplotlib, scipy et al)
  • 🔨 Other Python environment setup (docutils, will skip sage for now, ...)
  • 🔨 LATER: Axis Neuron
  • 🔨 LATER: Empatica
  • Jupyter python science environment: matplotlib, scipy, ...
  • Python environment setup (docutils, sage, ...)
[6]reinstalled by using an Administrator-PowerShell to go to the DrawBoard...x64 folder in "C:\Program FilesWindowsApps" and reregistering the package: "Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Drawboard.DrawboardPDF_5.1.50.0_x64__gqbn7fs4pywxm\AppXManifest.xml"
Creating
↓ Area \ OS → Linux Mint Windows 10 Mac OSX (retired)
Developing
  • git & mercurial
  • Eclipse
  • kdiff3
  • colordiff
  • buildbot
  • ✅ SourceTree (incl. git and mercurial)
  • ✅ Unity + MonoDevelop (🎓)
  • ✅ Unreal
  • ✅ MS Visual Studio (🎓)
  • ✅ Android Studio
  • ✅ Processing
  • 💭💡 (?) Eclipse
  • ✅ KDiff3
  • ✅ colordiff (in WSL bash)
  • 💭💡 (?) ogre / python-ogre
  • 💭💡 (?) buildbot
  • SourceTree (incl. git and mercurial)
  • Unity + MonoDevelop (🎓)
  • Android Studio
  • Processing
  • Eclipse
  • KDiff3
  • colordiff for command line (homebrew)
Designing
  • Blender
  • Scribus
  • Inkscape
  • Gimp
  • Fonts (dejavu, and?)
  • ✅ Photoshop (🎓)
  • ✅ Adobe Suite: Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, InDesign, AfterEffect, Premiere) (🎓)
  • ✅ Maya et al from Autodesk (🎓)
  • ✅ Houdini & Houdini FX (🎓)
  • ✅ ZBrush (🎓)
  • ✅ Blender
  • ✅ Scribus
  • ✅ Inkscape
  • ✅ Gimp
  • 💭 Fonts (dejavu, and?)
  • ✅ Photoshop (🎓)
  • ✅ Adobe Suite: Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, InDesign, AfterEffect, Premiere) (🎓)
  • ✅ Maya et al from Autodesk (🎓)
  • ✅ Houdini & Houdini FX (🎓)
  • ✅ ZBrush (🎓)
  • Blender
  • Scribus
  • Inkscape
  • Gimp
  • Fonts (dejavu, and?)
Musicmaking
  • LMMS
  • Audacity
  • ✅ Ableton Live + 🔨 plugins
  • 💭 LMMS
  • ✅ SuperCollider
  • ✅ Audacity
  • Ableton Live + plugins
  • LMMS
  • SuperCollider
  • Audacity
Consuming & Managing Media
↓ Area \ OS → Linux Mint Windows 10 Mac OSX (retired)
Managing Media
  • VLC
  • digiKam
  • calibre
  • avconv / ffmpeg (command line, using linux environment)
  • ✅ VLC
  • 💭 💡 digiKam (?)
  • 🔨 calibre
  • ✅ avconv / ffmpeg (command line, using linux environment)
  • 💭 youtube-dl (command line)
  • VLC
  • 💡 digiKam (through kde mac build)
  • calibre
  • ✅ avconv / ffmpeg (homebrew)
  • youtube-dl (homebrew)
Gaming
  • Steam
  • ✅ Steam
  • 💭 (?) Mumble
  • 💡 (?) Oculus
  • Steam

Configurations

  • ssh keys and agent setup

    ...

  • persistence/backup for start menu layout?