Discussing Hobby Linux over Daggerfall Unity gameplay footage
It’s been a year since I’ve talked about my Linux distribution, Hobby Linux. I’m using it on my workstation! While it is technically still in development, it’s on hiatus mode at the moment because of life and other related things.
In 2024 I had a smol distribution of Linux that built during downtime while job searching. I called it Hobby Linux. I wanted to hark back to when technology was a hobby and not a lifestyle the way it is today.
The overall design of Hobby Linux is practically the same as several other DIY Linux distributions out there. Gentoo, Slackware, and of course Arch Linux comes to mind.
So, what made Hobby Linux unique? Because it’s mine! Maybe I should have called it EgeeOS (internally, I did for a while)…
The story of Hobby Linux probably ends here though. Arch Linux is so darn good, there’s nothing for me to “develop”; Arch has it all already!
If you’d like to follow the project in case I start it again, follow or give it a star on Github!
After many years, I’ve finally purchased a new smartphone! I found a great deal on the Pixel 9 Pro through Google Fi. Let me share my thoughts on it so far.
I got a notification about a sale on the Google Fi store. Occasionally deals pop up as promotions that I swipe away, but this time I was actually in the market!
I acquired phone and immediately recorded the video above. The on-boarding process was honestly pretty smooth. Logging back into everything was a drag but it’s a one-time thing.
Specs
Since I’m upgrading from an older flagship smartphone, let’s make a table with both devices!
Feature
Galaxy S20 Ultra2020
Pixel 9 Pro 2025
Display
6.9″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz
6.3″ LTPO OLED, 120Hz
Resolution
1440 x 3200 pixels ~511 pp
1280 x 2856 pixels ~495 ppi
Main Camera
108MP wide
50MP wide
Ultra-wide
12MP
48MP
Telephoto
48MP, 4x optical zoom
48MP, 5x optical zoom
Front Camera
40MP
42MP
Battery
5000mAh
4700mAh
Charging
45W wired, 15W wireless
27W wired, 12W wireless
Processor
Snapdragon 865
Tensor G4
RAM
12GB
12GB
Storage
128GB
128GB
OS
Android 13 with One UI
Android 15 with Pixel UI
With better camera specs and slightly better display, it’s impressive that the Galaxy S20 Ultra holds up against the Pixel 9 Pro five years after it’s release!
Review
I’m a fairly casual smartphone user so my requirements and expectations are pretty low. The main thing I’m looking for is a good value, both in price and features.
The design of the phone isn’t really a “feature” but I like having a nice phone. It fits in my palm nicely and I don’t feel like I’m about to drop it all the time. Overall it very snazzy.
The display is great. It’s bright and it’s never difficult to see even in sunlight.
Battery life and performance have been great, though it’s brand new so they’d better be.
I haven’t seen much of the Gemini AI stuff yet. Seems like it works exactly like it did on the Galaxy, which is a bit underwhelming. I’m eager to see what the new fangled AI features are.
I took the photos for comparison on the highest quality shooting modes for each device.
To be completely honest, I actually prefer the color and overall quality of the Galaxy. They feel warmer and more vibrant. The Pixel’s photos feel cooler but truer to the actual color.
The Pixel’s camera software is so good. The assists and options the it has are killer. And it takes pictures instantly, whereas the Galaxy takes a full second.
Verdict
I’m very happy with the Pixel 9 Pro so far. The form factor, performance, and general quality of the phone is just terrific.
I think the value is pretty good for a new flagship phone. MSRP is a cool $1000, which is how much the laptop I’m writing this on cost when I got it. I think that’s a fair price. You can find deals on Amazon or like I did with Google Fi.
However, that’s the value of a brand new current-generation smartphone. If you wanted a nice phone with good features, you are probably better off looking at renewed devices.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, the one that took better photos than the brand new Pixel (in my opinion), is less than $300 on Amazon!
Support
I’ve been enjoying making content lately. The new microphone & camera set up I have made it easy to record the video for this post.
If you’d like to support me, use the affiliate links I embed in the posts!
Or, if you’d like to give Google Fi a try, use my referral code 8293XK for a $60 credit on your bill. When you use my code, I also get a $60 credit—a nice win-win that helps support my work!
Changing my BMW G 310’s battery and taking a ride around
I found a drop-in LiFePO4 replacement battery for my G 310 GS for a good price. Sometimes aftermarket batteries have fitment or reliability issues but this one has been great.
LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries are superior for powersports because they last longer and are much more resistant to vibrations and heat. This also make them safer than LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries.
In the video, I swap out my battery for this Grecell LiFePO4 and take it for a spin. It help up nicely, although the button always seems to say 90% charge.
The battery holds steady at 90% charge.
I purchased the battery from Amazon for $80 and it is a direct replacement and upgrade from the stock battery. It offers significantly better reliability and shouldn’t go dead during the off-season!
Note: If you are shopping for a Lithium-based replacement for the stock battery, ensure it has a BMS (Battery Management System) like this one does!
Greetings hobbyists! I’m going to be taking a look at a little Arch-based Linux distribution called AcreetionOS. Sounds a bit like my very own Hobby Linux. Should be fun to poke at, hope to see you there!
Greetings Hobbyists! The long awaited “Egee’s guitar video” is finally here.
I’ve wanted to make some guitar videos for a while. There are a few of budding guitarists among the Flufferschnoots & Hobbyists. A self-taught guitarist myself, I’d love to show you around the guitar!
I recorded and produced this on Arch Linux. There were a couple of audio glitches and I’m inclined to think they are related to Pipewire. They are very chaotic and unlike the glitches that occurred with my old Behringer interface, I can’t remove these ones.
I mentioned my guitar microphone is an SM57 but I totally spaced my amplifier. It’s a little Marshall MG15G combo.
If you’d like to support me, subscribe and stay tuned for the next guitar video! I’m eyeballing a new fuzz pedal that might be fun to make a video on next month.. Affiliate links help out too!
Watch me upgrade my Arch workstation with the latest Gnome desktop! I started the saga on KDE but things got bumpy so I switched to Gnome. And already there’s an update!?
In the last Linux video, I switched from Xfce to Kde. And now, I’m back in GTK-land on Gnome. What gives? It’s mostly me being lazy. I need to re-setup my xdg-portals for Kde and fix kwallet. It’s the simple stuff I can’t be bothered with.
I recorded this last weekend, so I’m half a week into Gnome 48. I’ve seen the stacking notifications but I still haven’t seen the battery capacity/health feature.
Overall, it’s just fine. I’m still using it, so that’s a measure of success.
Fediverse Reactions
The ActivityPub and friends plugin got a bunch of updates. Let’s see how it looks when I toot from Tusky!
I’m excited to announce the refreshed Project Zomboid server is wiped & ready for relaunch. Now with updated mods and better server performance & stability!
Server Details:
The Project Zomboid server is a casual furry-friendly PvPvE with lots of balance, cosmetic, and quality-of-life mods. Feel free to roleplay!
Rules are simple: Be decent, don’t be a meanie or troll, and have fun!
Be sure to join the Discord server! There’s an official text channel in the for Project Zomboid announcements, discussions, and reports (bugs or players).
How to Join:
Before joining, you should subscribe to the mod collection on Steam and make sure the mods are downloaded first.
Join by connecting to: zomboid.egee.io in the multiplayer menu. No whitelist or password.
Everyone in the community has been great. Let’s keep it that way!
Greeting Space Egee compatriots! I’ve been getting back into Starbound lately. I knew what horrors this dungeon had in store so I thought I would bring you along!
(Re)Enter: Space Egee!
Space Egee is an character from the 24th century. He’s a bit of a space pirate though he’s not a bad guy. In Starbound, he’s just a silly goober that gets intro trouble and dies a lot.
My Asmr fans might be familiar with Space Egee from the role-play I did with him! The art of him is by the ever lovely MerlinMakes and the video is up on my asmr website.
What Are The Mods?
Starbound shant be played without mods. I have a mod collection you should use but it has too many mods to list here. It’s has several revamps and near total-conversions such as Arcana, Betabound, and my favorite, Frackin Universe!
I often use my favorite video games as inspiration for content. Sometimes it’s gaming series’ but lately it’s been roleplays! Space Egee is such a cool character and he actually has a good bit of lore written about him. Yet, I only have a single image of him!
Space Egee will reappear soon. Either in another gaming video or a roleplay. But he’s comin’ to gettcha.
Hey Hobbyists! I’ve been running vanilla Arch Linux since last year but I’ve cycled through a number of GTK desktops. After a buggy experience with Xfce, I decided to switch back to Qt land.
My days of reinstalling and distro-hopping are over. Just regular ole Arch Linux is so good, I’ve all but dropped my aspirations to develop Hobby Linux. I’ll talk about that another time…
Xfce 4.20 was very buggy for me
I don’t know what exactly the issue was but the desktop in Xfce 4.20 simply stopped working. It happened after plugging my TV in via HDMI. Another annoyance is having to enable “presentation mode” to disable Xfce’s screen saving features while watching a movie. On every other desktop, VLC being full-screened is enough.
Server Relaunch!
