I’ve got a Pop_OS system76 machine that runs well straight out of the box. I love it and it’s my daily driver. However I’d like to learn more about how it works, Linux internals and how to use it to the best of its capabilities. I want to learn about things like system-d Wayland, error logging (there seems to be a few of them) directory structure and drivers. For instance, how do I know that my and GPU is being leveraged to the fullest?

I DONT want to build a system from the ground up, which I expect to be a common suggestion.

I’d prefer to read literature, blogs, and articles relevant to me, my system and not dated.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

  • Max-P@lemmy.max-p.meEnglish
    32·
    5 days ago

    I DONT want to build a system from the ground up, which I expect to be a common suggestion.

    Arch kind of is building from the ground up, but without all the compiling and stuff. It’s really not as hard as it sounds especially if you use a̶r̴c̷h̴i̵n̵s̴t̷a̶l̷l̵ and you do get the experience of learning how it all fits together through the great ArchWiki.

    That said one can learn a lot even on Debian/Ubuntu/Pop_OS. I graduated to Arch after I felt like apt was more in my way than convenient and kept breaking on me so I was itching for a more reliable distro. But for stuff like managing systemd services and messing with Wayland, definitely doable on a Debian/Ubuntu/Pop distro. Just use the terminal more really, and it’ll come slowly through exposure.

    • CarbonBasedNPU@lemm.eeEnglish
      6·
      5 days ago

      hot take maybe but archinstall really takes out basically all the learning process of arch. I would recommend at least one non archinstall install before using it if you’re wanting to learn.

      • Max-P@lemmy.max-p.meEnglish
        2·
        5 days ago

        It does, I wrote it in corrupted text for a reason, but if you want something functional you can use it and then see how it set it up for you and still go set up the rest of the services yourself.

        When I switched to Arch, it used the Arch Install Framework, that predates even pacstrap, and I still learned a fair bit. Although the now normal pacstrap really doesn’t hide how the bootstrapping works which is really nice especially for learning.

        Point is mostly if OP is too terried they can test the waters with archinstall (ideally in a VM).

    • zamithalOPEnglish
      1·
      5 days ago

      While I’m usually a hands on type of learner, usually these days I find my time pretty limited and that’s why I’m looking for a reading approach. I absolutely want to up a machine with arch, there’s no doubt it will teach me many things. I’ve got a lot of items on my ‘to learn’ list though and was looking for a more passive approach I can fit between other tasks away from my machine