Skywave Linux has just updated to version 4.1, and it looks pretty solid, with those floating windows in i3wm worked out. There is also upgrade to kernel 5.9.1, and Gqrx, which is up to version 2.13. With a wry grin and wave to all of the boomers complaining that the distro is not easy and Windows-like, I offer my update briefing below:
Objectives of Upgrade 4.1.0: Fix things that are broken; take upgrades if available.
SLNW: Skywave Linux Is Not Windows:
- I'm not even close to cutting my hair and going mainstream.
- Not pretending to assimilate with slick graphical environments.
- i3 window manager or the terminal, friends...
- Hardware support: recent rt kernel, plus extra drivers and firmware are installed.
If it won't run on your machine, toss your machine into a dumpster and find a Linux friendly machine.
Main Upgrades:
- New realtime linux kernel 5.9.1
- SDR drivers are the latest SoapySDR and Gr-osmoSDR releases.
- i3 tweaks (tabbed arrangement, no auto floats, floats scale to screen resolution)
- Firefox version and bookarks updated; dark reader and container tabs added
- Gqrx updated 2.13
- Both Gqrx and CubicSDR installed as AppImages (Fresher than Ubuntu repos)
- Alacritty set as default terminal (Mate-term, Xterm still available)
Neovim: For Writing Code / Hacking Your SDR Software:
- Neovim plugins changed (Airline -> Lightline, config'ed for more speed)
- Support for Bash, Python, Go, Java / Javascript refined
- Enough plugins to help; not so much to weigh it down
- Start time reduced by about 60 milliseconds
Lesser Updates:
- SDR scripts bash refined slightly (trimming milliseconds off exec times)
- Adjusted volume levels for consistency on different interfaces
- Went from 5 to 3 main audio buses (Built-in Analog, Virtual 1, Virtual 2)
- Added 4 LOOPBACK buses for internal audio routing
- USB reset-helper set up with fzf for "no yank" reset of pluggable devices
- Adjusted apearance and behavior of the bash shell for normal vs root usage
VPN / Proxy Upgrades:
- System proxy prerun / postrun configs more robust
- Psiphon-tunnel-core: binary updated and more egress points
- Lantern: updated
- Wireguard management easy with bash aliases
Searching Finding Files (and things in files)
- fzf, fd, ripgrep all set up
Internet Search: Surfraw
- Fuzzy find your search engine from over 120
- Auto opens Firefox
- Also available in the terminal
- "sr" to search in w3m
- "surfraw" to search in Firefox
Backups and Installation
- We run Skywave as a live environment
- TimeShift is installed for backups or manual installations
- You can also use rsync to install the filesystem
- Did I mention... Skywave is a live environment system?
- Save your files on a separate drive or they vanish on shutdown
- Persistence with casper-rw partition works
- For persistentt multi-iso devices see the Chris Titus "Multiboot USB" video on YT
- Consider "YUMI" or "Ventoy" for making UEFI and legacy bootable devices
Conclusion
- It is updated and verified to run well on modest AMD / Intel 64 bit machines.
- Enjoy the raw, bare metal and [beware of the] sharp corners.
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