• sudoer777@lemmy.mlEnglish
      13·
      2 days ago

      Is there an alternative yet that doesn’t have weird binary blobs that nobody can verify?

      • rbos@lemmy.caEnglish
        5·
        2 days ago

        This is new to me, I can’t find a reference. Can you share?

        • restingOface@quokk.auOPEnglish
          12·
          1 day ago

          While Ventoy is technically open source so the code can be verified, the source also contains a number of binary blobs. As these blobs are already compiled, there is no way to verify what they actually do. Ostensibly, these blobs are just drivers and whatnot that are taken from the official upstream sources and are used by Ventoy for good reason to install things. But because they are already compiled blobs, no one is able to actually verify that. It is possible that they can also do something else nefarious, like secretly install some hidden spyware in your new OS that you are installing using Ventoy.

          https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/2795

          https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/3224

          ELI5: Imagine you like a particular restaurant because they post the ingredients list on their menu. That way, you can tell if a dish fits your dietary requirements. But you notice that while one of their salads lists ingredients that make sense like “ICEBERG LETTUCE” and “CHERRY TOMATO”, one of that salad’s other ingredients is just “CANNED FOOD PRODUCT”. Well, that is incredibly vague and not all that helpful. You can’t really tell what that ingredient is or if it is something you are allergic to. For most people, in most situations, it is entirely fine. They can probably eat the salad with no problem. But some people would rather not risk the potential problems that come from not knowing for sure.

          It was also strange that after this issue was brought up about Ventoy, it took quite a long time for the developer to actually respond. I believe they eventually came up with a good idea for a solution (using GitHub build actions or whatever to build the blobs from source), but mentioned that will be a big effort to actually switch to. So, they have not actually done that yet. I believe the unverified blobs are still in place in the source right now.

          • sudoer777@lemmy.mlEnglish
            1·
            24 hours ago

            I’ve tried using GH Actions before to build binaries fully from source and it’s difficult AF. It seems like using something like Nix could make this more doable.

    • ragepaw@lemmy.ca
      1·
      1 day ago

      I thought Ventoy was stupid and pointless until I actually tried it. Holy shit. Past me is an idiot. What a great tool.

      • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip
        2·
        1 day ago

        From a quick glance, Medicat is more of a specialized toolkit using Ventoy, no?
        And their homepage is… weird.

    • TeddE@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 days ago

      I’ve had hit and miss with Ventoy. I love it and it’s my goto, but I have a handful of ISOs that it’s effectively just storage for - then I use Balena Etcher, Rufus, Raspberry Pi Imager, or sometimes classic dd to burn it to a smaller USB - but if I had to pick one tool, I’d recommend Raspberry Pi, Rufus, or Balena Etcher to a new user just trying to get the job done.

  • TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    2·
    1 day ago

    One thing holding me back from moving to Linux is Directory Opus. It’s not on Linux but it’s the best file browser I’ve ever seen, and I can’t live without.

    • Zink@programming.dev
      2·
      15 hours ago

      Have you tried Double Commander or Superfile?

      I get the inertia against switching when you have a setup you like, but the idea of going the other direction – if I could get the best file manager in the universe but I have to switch to Windows to use it – I just cannot imagine anything that would make it worth it.

      • TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        2·
        8 hours ago

        if I could get the best file manager in the universe but I have to switch to Windows to use it – I just cannot imagine anything that would make it worth it.

        Yeah same, but I’ve used directory opus for the over 20 years now. It’s a file browser, so an every day use application, or well, maybe the word living space is a better word.

        Next to that, I’m autistic and I struggle with change. I’m struggling with it so much, I’m still using windows even though Microsoft is working hard to make their OS more resentful every day.

        I’m not autistic enough to wanting to stay with windows, I am autistic enough to have issues parting ways with a solid, comfortable and properly working system like directory opus. I also begged them to make a Linux version but their response was that the market wasn’t big enough for that. But hopefully Microsoft will change that soon, as more and more people are switching because of them.

        So I will get there, don’t worry. I know there are Linux alternatives, but I’m just struggling with parting ways with something that has been in my system for more than half of my life.

    • restingOface@quokk.auOPEnglish
      1·
      1 day ago

      What feature from Directory Opus is unavailable in Linux? I assume you can find a plugin or something to make Dolphin (the default file explorer for KDE Plasma, but you should be able to install it pretty much anywhere) do just about anything you need.

      • TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        1·
        1 day ago

        I love the folder tree with dual folder content screens with tabs. It also works flawlessly with ftp and network drives. It’s own copy/move-paste system is also great. I love how you’re able to change loads of settings, including all colors. Also the bulk renaming files function is amazing.

    • 0ops@piefed.zipEnglish
      34·
      2 days ago

      Pfft, executing write instructions is for normies. I flip bits myself with nothing but a small magnet and my sense of pride

    • restingOface@quokk.auOPEnglish
      28·
      2 days ago

      Sure, you could technically just do that manually. But using a purpose-built app designed for that task is just so much less work. Even a veteran Linux user is likely to use an app like dd instead of creating a boot disk manually.

      • KoboldCoterie@pawb.socialEnglish
        21·
        2 days ago

        An even better option is Ventoy - You just drop the raw .isos onto the drive and it gives you all of them as options in a bootloader. Can put all of your distros on one drive (and even windows isos if you really need to for some reason).

      • IHawkMike@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        100%

        It’s literally drag and drop after initializing MBR, format FAT, set active. Rufus is pointless.

        Lemmy is sure showing its usual technical incompetency while pretending they are superior because they can install Linux. In a shitpost thread no less.