I use librewolf, with default settings, as my main browser. If a page doesn't work (which is quite rare for me) I usually turn of uBO which does the trick. There are of course a few known culprits that don't work, like Netflix. I have brave installed for that kind of thing 🤷.
Also Tor is definitely not more usable then Librewolf...
Could you point out any specific sites that don't work for you?
I'm not sure I entirely follow you (I'm only half awake, sorry), but programmed music is only generated by computers insofar the computer is generating 44100 samples every second based on a set of mathematical rules the composer made. AI music is generated based on huge datasets and probability; the composer has very little to no specific control.
If I program a instrument/synth in Supercollidor or Pure Data or some hardware synth, and then sample the instrument/synth or create and sequence a melody for it on my MIDI (piano) keyboard or Schism Tracker, etc., I have complete and absolute control over everything, down to the very waveform. In that case I am truly and purely the creator of the piece.
If I type in a prompt, I am just playing a probability lottery. I have done jack shit more than describing a piece of music.
I might have misunderstood you though. For now, I'm going to bed. Good night!
I wholeheartedly agree with you for the most part, but one thing confuses me. You say
Fucking DJ sets are walking around using synths instead of analog instruments [...]
Synthesizers can be both analog or digital. Neither is even remotely comparable to AI music, as there is still a very real composer. Is this a typo/misunderstanding? Thanks for clarification!
That is by no means AI generated, and certainly not by today's understanding of the term. If I write a score and design an instrument (or sound, etc), that is still a creative process. Brian Eno literally created ambient music with algorithms like that, but it is still his creative work.
My point is just computer-generated ≠ ai-generated in general discourse.
In all fairness, those are all very well optimized, compared to today's complete and utter bullsh*t... A 1060 is Dldefinitely not E-waste though!!
It's only the AM5 mobos, you can still get very cheap AM4 mobos, even with PBO (performance boost overdrive, huuuuge performance boost for me at least). The new AM5 mobos are like 200 bucks WTF? Aaaand they have shit audio 😭
If it's a pure DAC, it's default output will likely be between 1 to 2 Volts RMS. If your listening on iems or ~30 Ohm headphones that is gonna be crazy loud. It seems like you are using digital audio control to manage this (i.e., the audio level in your DE), which is possible, but certainly not ideal. It also is kinda bad for the audio quality, as you are digitally remixing it, and if you ever switch to high impedance headphones (or already have), the output current will be sub-ideal.
If I'm assessing your situation correctly, then this is quite easy to solve though. You just need a preamp! This will give a nice knob to control audio with much more precision and finesse. I know that both JDS Labs and Schiit Audio offer headphone amps with built in preamps in the USA. I can highly recommend the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2. In Europe your a little more limited, but FiiO has some nice options I think.
Of course none of this is necessary if you don't want audiophile levels of quality, but it would boost the audio quality (presuming your DAC doesn't have a proper preamp), and would certainly give you a tactile, wonderful knob.
I can certainly attest that my HD600s sound quite a bit better out of a JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 than out of just my DAC or—god forbid—my Mobo audio... They sound even better out of my vintage 100W Onkyo amp, of course, but really not by much. I am really impressed by the Atom Amp. I initially just bought it for travelling, but it has now basically become my main amp lol.
Okay, ramble over.
I have yet to encounter a VST that doesn't work at minimum with yabridge. I gotta admit though, since I switched (ca. 3 years ago now) I find myself using Linux native tools much more that the VSTs I used to depend on so much. I use airwindows (full Linux compatibility) much more on the VST front, and find myself replacing many windows VSTs with pure data or supercollider...
Some cool Linux tools I've discovered and are now dominating my workflow:
Also audio management (routing, etc) is sooooo nice and faaaast with jack in Linux. Literally a dream. If anything, I think my experience has significantly improved since switching to Linux vis-a-vis audio production.
And Reaper and Bitwig!
I had a 3060 Ti.
I couldn't game on Wayland for about 20% of my games (very frustrating), couldn't use specific Window Managers like Sway, experience constant screen tearing on X11 (which I often had to use, because the game would crash on Wayland) when gaming, and had a significant performance hit in some games.
CS:GO ran like a dream and actually better than on Windows, but with the release of CS2 my performance on Linux was about 20% worse than on Windows. My 1% lows were also crazy on Linux (median=190fps, %1=80fps). This meant, among others things, that I just couldn't play death match anymore — my FPS would make it unplayable. This was largely an optimization issue and I think some of the 2025 Nvidia driver updates of improved the situation a little for CS2 specifically. The screen tearing on X and the buggyness on Wayland were enough for me to switch though, even if eventual improvements might come.
I am now extremely happy with my 7900 XT, which I got for less than any available 9070 XT (in my region) and which amusingly actually has better performance in CS2 then then the 9070 XT on Linux. It's massively overkill though, I could have just as well gotten a 7800 XT or 9070 (non-XT).
I am still very, very pleased. Hopefully this will last me a few years, unlike the gosh darn 3060 Ti.
Alright, I'm done with my huge block of text. Hopefully this was helpful.
You wouldn't mind elaborating on "of course things are so simple"? It feels like an awfully vague answer...
The VLC thing can be solved relatively easily by installing
opiwith zypper, and then runningopi codecs, which will add all the necessary repos and install everything. After that VLC (and h.264 etc) will work like a charm.