Should I switch? (I understand what server this is)
Yesterday I wiped my laptop to give it to my wife so that her and I can game together. I've been playing mostly on the Deck and using Shadow PC when docked or I need extra power. I've also been using desktop mode more frequently, which leads me to my concerns:
- The file system is really restrictive, as someone who has done RHEL administration for 5 years it feels too locked down
- Security seems to be lacking, even something as simple as not having a lock screen
- I prefer Fedora over Arch (come at me Arch Bros!, jk I don't care to fight)
- Lastly, KDE is overwhelming. While I like the Discover store... I prefer WM's or Gnome
I'm hesitant to switch because I don't want to miss out on new Steam Deck features, I JUST configured my Steam Deck to work the way I wanted it to, and I know there are going to be quirks with compatibility of plugins and such.
With that laid out, should I switch?
22 Replies
I think the lock screen part is due to Steam, I've used Bazzite desktop on gnome and it locks fine
you can enable the lockscreen on KDE desktop mode, look up the
Screen Locking settings and enable Lock after waking from sleep
but you can also always install bazzite-deck-gnome
which has gnome for the desktop mode
for restrictive filesystem, not much could be done if the currently available tools don't work for you.
note that you can install/overlay traditional dependencies with rpm-ostree. You can also use distrobox containers for setting up dev envs, or compile software. brew and flatpaks are for other software.Note that our -deck builds use SDDM, even on GNOME
This is because we take Valve's switchable session model wholesale at this time, may change in the future
bazzite-gnome is a normal fedora workstation image, GDM and all
so if you're most used to that you'd be comfy there
All builds include Secure Boot, LUKS. and SELinux support. Steam itself has a lock screen but then you're relying on Steam to be your device entry security. Unfortunately that's just how deck images are since the point is to boot straight into Steam game mode.
If what you want is a PC that boots to a locked state, consider LUKS without TPM unlock if you're planning to use a deck image
Just note that we don't have a touch screen keyboard for LUKS at this time, it's being worked on
👍
One big thumbs up rather than liking ever comment lol
Is this system-wide or just on the LUKS splash?
Just LUKS splash, we use the Steam Keyboard once you're in, just like SteamOS
and you can always re-enable GNOME or KDE's keyboard offerings
if you prefer them for some reason
So essentially I'd be restricted to using an external keyboard for moving into desktop mode
if you use LUKS without TPM unlock you'd need an external keyboard every time you start your deck
switching between the desktop & gamemode is always an instant process, matching SteamOS
Got it, sorry for the dumb questions
no worries, prefer they be asked than assumed
the -deck images are fairly removed from normal fedora, being that they're going for 1:1 SteamOS compatibility
just, on a fedora base
I'm okay with having to login to Steam on boot and having seemless transition while playing. What I'm hoping/looking for is the ability to lock the screen in desktop mode or coming out of sleep (game mode)
SELinux has already addressed a security concern
only lock screen available is the one steam provides I'm afraid
since valve's session model has no lock concept outside of that
Is it capable of liveboot over usb-c to test it?
I'm very intrigued, but wanna poke around before having to reconfigure everything
fedora atomic doesn't have a live installer session yet
I'm afraid not, it's coming but right now no atomic fedora has a live cd
Hm... I have an nvme and enclosure. I should be able to boot from an external drive if I install it on the nvme right?
yeah that should be fine, one and only time I'd say that's ok 😛
Cool! I'll give it a test tonight! Thank you for endulging me, like I said I prefer Fedora so I'll probably make the switch... but gotta make sure it's worth reconfiguring my deck lol
I'll keep the ticket open for now so I can post my thoughts for archive purposes in the event someone has the same questions I have
My summary so far so I can close the ticket:
The switch overall was worth it for my use case of having a more complete desktop experience. Fedora is my preferred over Arch, and the GNOME touch features lend perfect to the Deck.
Pros:
- SELinux
- Gnome
- Distrobox without deactivating the read-only filesystem
- Limited loss in functionality
Cons:
- Deck loader only works when I have internet
- Rebooting has been finicky
- Can't set my dynamic wallpaper because it requires a script in /usr :/
Deck loader only works when I have internetThis is a decky loader bug, fixed in testing on their end
Rebooting has been finickyOpen some issues w/ this and I'll take a look
Can't set my dynamic wallpaper because it requires a script in /usr :/Would /usr/local work?
https://discord.com/channels/1072614816579063828/1266012124388266065/1266012124388266065
I can give that a try tonight or tomorrow
Acknowledged, thank you!