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This entry is part of my Project Zebra series covering migration to Linux for personal computing use.

Title reference: the other Hammerstein.

Settling in with a new distro has been easy... like I say, I keep forgetting this isn't the same installation of *ubuntu I've been using since 2016. Not too surprising since Debian is the upstream parent. Anyway, new entry instead of adding bits to the last one.

A quick note/reminder some KDE apps such as Kate are packaged with linked dependencies to the core Plasma desktop, so be careful uninstalling default apps. i.e. You probably don't want to. Fortunately, there isn't much on the live DVD ISO I installed from that this affects.

Probably I should've researched this more before switching, but it's good to have confirmed that major upgrades require deliberate action. Upgrading this distro is also a more manual process than Ubuntu, Mint, or many others and might be outside of some people's comfort zone.
https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/update-upgrade-debian-11-to-debian-12-bookworm/
https://wiki.debian.org/AutomatedUpgrade
https://anarc.at/blog/2021-09-05-bullseye-upgrade-notes/
But 12 should get extended support until June 2028, which is plenty.
https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
The project used to come in for some criticism of a ready-when-it's-ready approach to major upgrades, but is now targeted towards being a two-yearly schedule, plus the aforementioned extended support option.

Debian has given different names to monitors than *ubuntu when seen via xrandr - they have hyphens before the numbers, so HDMI-1 rather than HDMI1 etc. So I needed to update some scripts / global hotkeys I use to control two monitors.

On the topic of monitors, periodic issues with browsers and screen artefacts and the screen flicking off and on seem to be HDMI specific, not affecting a simultaneously used VGA monitor. So I'm wondering whether it's partly the display port in the ThinkCentre. It isn't the DP-to-HDMI cable, which has been replaced, and I use an HDMI switch that's fine with the monitor and an HDMI laptop. But equally it seems to be specific to hardware accelerated applications and to have a driver aspect. I suppose I should try a different HDMI monitor too to rule out some intersection of hardware issues, but I'm still guessing Intel i915 graphics drivers and I might have a rummage through https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/intel_graphics at some point. I'm going to start with specifying --disable-gpu for Chromium based browsers, and similarly have acceleration off for VLC.

It's definitely linked to composition and certain types of graphical effects such as shadows though plus, judging by web pages that trigger it, opacity. Toggling Shift-Alt-F12, the glitch is in line with the shadow (it moves when the window is moved) and stops being caused by a window when the compositor is off.

https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/t11qa2/i_remember_there_used_to_be_an_option_to_change/
https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/sq9n9x/why_cant_i_change_my_compositor/
https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/qamlfd/was_xrender_compositor_removed_in_plasma_523/
https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/p822c2/perfect_kde_plasma_compositing_combo_kwin_picom/

Could this be an OpenGL compatibility issue? I've only noticed it in the last year or two, i.e. since the removal in KDE Plasma of XRender and the removal of the option to choose an OpenGL version. Window Manager in System Settings reports that OpenGL 4.2 is being used. If it annoys me consistently enough I might try replacing the composition element of KWin (it falls back to just window management if you do this).

I haven't specifically set swappiness or cache_pressure on this installation, but responsiveness and speed during backup options seem okay.
https://gist.github.com/Nihhaar/ca550c221f3c87459ab383408a9c3928
Check settings with:
sudo cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
sudo cat /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure
And to change, edit /etc/sysctl.conf

I reinstalled various legacy Windows apps, and it took half-remembering that distros don't necessarily package 32-bit stuff by default to fill in some jigsaw pieces. Not too unexpected since I installed from a KDE live DVD ISO, but Wine doesn't exactly give helpful error messages.

I figured since /home is on its own partition I'd rather keep installed software on / or at least in a separate /wine folder structure.

sudo chown -R username:username /wine
use that to keep bottles
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine32
reinstalled Office 2007 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), DVD Shrink and ICE
haven't bothered with S3 Browser as Amazon provide a web interface
installed Worms Armageddon and Wolf Among Us... considered installing Nelly Cootalot but I can't remember where I left the crowdfunder files
https://askubuntu.com/questions/534627/step-by-step-how-to-install-office-2007-into-a-32bit-wine-prefix
msxml3 dotnet20 gdiplus riched20 riched30 vcrun2005sp1
run Word first to set initials

My reasons for leaving Ubuntu respins behind were basically the same reason as leaving Windows in that Canonical lost their way with trying to ram Snap packaging down people's throats and silently replace deb packages for key applications in the repos. Where does Debian sit in terms of genealogy? With the 40K analogy I was using I'd pegged them as a Grey Knights equivalent since Ubuntu is clearly the Ultramarines... but looking at an offshoots chart, Debian has equal claim to that. SLS is probably the Thunder Warriors. Slackware does have the whole Church of the SubGenius thing going on.

Random links time:

Interesting discussion of Wayland and Plasma, as well as decent coverage of installing Debian 12. https://www.davidrevoy.com/article1030/debian-12-kde-plasma-2024-install-guide

Microsoft desperately trying to sell Windows 11 to IT pros by claiming 'misconceptions' are holding it back.
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-busts-windows-11-myths-and-misconceptions-so-you-can-upgrade-from-10-worry-free/

Also, what the hell has Windows turned into?
https://www.neowin.net/news/remove-windows-11-ads-with-this-simple-free-app/

Interesting bit which mirrors my own thoughts on there now being decades of cultural history that "new"creative stuff has to compete with.
https://orbitaloperations.beehiiv.com/p/sunk-head

YouTube audio:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/vpbo84/simple_youtube_music_mp3_download_with_ytdlp/

HeroQuest Revived tabletop simulator
https://www.gamecodeplus.com/games/heroquest-revived/

And a fun review of the US rules official revival
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-have-mixed-feelings-about-heroquests-deluxe-revival/

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