Install, configure, and test Fedora 21 Workstation on a personal or gaming computer

    On December 9th, the new Fedora 21 Workstation was released, which, by a combination of parameters, can be called the “freshest and most stable” Linux desktop.

    During the use and testing of Fedora, I was deeply sympathetic to this platform and want to share this warmth and knowledge about it with you.

    Over the course of the year, I watched her work as a workplace and a gaming venue in various situations - from stations with dying hardware to the new Asus G750JM gaming laptop with Nvidia Optimus.

    The collected notes turned out to be somewhat rough, trying to cover both beginners in Linux and experienced users with developers at the same time. Excuse me. I want to convey a large amount of information in one article: both on the general setup and installation of Fedora, and on Nvidia Optimus technology on laptops, wi-fi with proprietary drivers, on setting up nice fonts in Java and IDE from JetBrains, on launching games on Steam on a discrete graphics card , on the results of comparative testing of games, graphics and browsers between Fedora and Windows 8.1, and even on the establishment of one “absolute” record.

    I want to note that fresh desktop Linux also has high-quality support for high-resolution displays with good rendering of fonts and window elements, they provide the highest degree of various personal settings, “hacks” and the ability to operate with applications. All this allows not only to significantly increase the efficiency of their work, but also to do it with comfort for the eyes.


    Since the topics of personal effectiveness, eye-themed theming and various “hacks” are quite extensive and specific, in the future I will devote two or three in-depth articles to them. And in this document there will be a general squeeze of information specifically on the configuration and general use of Fedora 21.

    Content


    About Fedora

    Installing Fedora 21 Workstation

    Sequential Setup

    General system settings

    Gnome 3 - default workspace

    Fonts

    Development Environments and Editors for the Python Programming Language

    Connecting to RPMFUSION Repositories

    Video, Audio, and Books

    Installing Dropbox

    Installing instant messengers

    Install browsers and flash

    Proprietary Video Drivers

    Benchmarks: Fedora 21 Optimus / Primus / Windows 8.1

    Steam and games

    Launch Windows games and Windows programs KDE

    paint programs



    Learning foreign languages

    The problem appeared to quiet the noise in the headphones

    Completion

    About Fedora Distribution


    Starting with version 21, the Fedor installation distribution kit is divided into 3 types according to their purpose: for a workstation, server, and cloud. You can familiarize yourself with them on the updated Fedora website, where it is well designed and described: getfedora.org
    Official Fedora 21 release information: fedoramagazine.org/announcing-fedora-21 Release
    information plus many screenshots: www.webupd8.org/2014/ 12 / fedora-21-available-for-download.html

    A brief overview of the features of Gnome 3.14, which is the main working environment in Fedora 21 Workstation:


    Fedora 21 Workstation is now positioned as an excellent workstation for developers with minimal distraction from work. The system includes a large number of necessary tools, as well as the latest software for use, tests and environmental studies.

    Among Fedora’s notable advantages, I want to note the lack of the need to connect third-party unreliable repositories to get fresh software. The vast majority of useful programs are already in the rpmfusion repository and are tested well for compatibility with Fedora's main repository. This is very good for the stability and predictability of the entire system.

    Of course, it should be noted that the latest software brings not only new features and advantages in work, but also sometimes “suffers” growth problems (as, for example, happened some time ago with Gnome 3). However, in most cases, such problems are solved either by using an alternative (in my case, it was KDE then), or in other ways.

    Returning to Fedora’s reliability: having started working with it after other Linux distributions, you may notice a decrease in the speed of updating and installing packages, as the system by default includes additional verification steps before and after installing the packages. Before installation - execution of test transactions without making changes to the disk, after - verification of the completed transaction.
    As I mentioned above, Fedora as a whole, in my opinion, is a very reliable distribution, and even in some situations working on bad hardware it survives pretty well on it.

    I also note that more and more software manufacturers have recently released, including proprietary, packages and tested them specifically for Fedora (and not just for Ubuntu). Among them are Viber, Dropbox and others.

    Install Fedora 21 Workstation


    Download torrent with a standard image for live testing and installation on a workstation:
    for 64-bit systems torrent.fedoraproject.org/torrents/Fedora-Live-Workstation-x86_64-21.torrent
    for 32-bit systems torrent.fedoraproject.org/torrents/ Fedora-Live-Workstation-i686-21.torrent
    This image is based on the Gnome 3 work environment, as the main one for Workstation.
    Other options for downloading Fedora 21 image for workstations: getfedora.org/en/workstation/download

    Torrents of all available versions of Fedora 21 images, including so-called “backs”, which use other desktop environments instead of Gnome: KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Mate etc: torrent.fedoraproject.org
    And more information about the “backs” can be found here: spins.fedoraproject.org

    Video of the installation process of Fedor on a workstation and the first acquaintance with it:


    Installation process guide: docs.fedoraproject.org/install-guide
    How to make a bootable USB flash drive: docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/20/html/Burning_ISO_images_to_disc/Making_USB_Media.html
    To avoid problems that sometimes occur when writing a flash drive , and prevent the system from starting normally from it, I recommend using the old reliable dd whenever possible (/ dev / sdc - your device with a flash drive):
    sudo dd if=~/Download/Fedora-Live-Workstation-x86_64-21-5.iso of=/dev/sdc

    Do not forget to check the “Secure Boot Menu” variable in the “Security” section in the BIOS before starting and installing from the USB flash drive - it must be turned off for normal installation of the new system. Also in the BIOS for convenient work with a connected monitor, you can enable the option “Launch CSM” (Launch Compatibility Support Module) in the “Boot” section. At least that's what these variables look like on my laptop.

    If you want to upgrade your Fedora 20 to the latest version 21 without reinstalling:
    fedoramagazine.org/upgrading-to-fedora-21-workstation-from-fedora-20

    Now we proceed to the sequential configuration of the system and programs in it.

    Sequential setup


    To earn Wi-Fi on a laptop if it doesn't work


    If your Wi-Fi chip belongs to the Broadcom's series BCM4311-, BCM4312-, BCM4313-, BCM4321-, BCM4322-, BCM43224-, BCM43225-, BCM43227- or BCM43228, then you will need to install proprietary drivers to make it work correctly.

    You can view the model of your card in the terminal using the lspci command.
    I have Broadcom Corporation BCM4352 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 03).

    After we have verified that our card belongs to the above series, we will install drivers for it. You will need the Internet via an Ethernet cable, or you will have to remove the packages manually through another computer. Below I describe the simplest option when you have Internet access via cable.

    First you need to connect the rpmfusion repository - information on this can be found in the article below. After connecting it, come back here.

    So, the recommended driver installation option for our wi-fi is as follows:
    su - -c "yum install kmod-wl"
    The team will ask for the root password. To the question "install with dependencies" answer "y".

    More details about this installation here: www.cyberciti.biz/faq/fedora-linux-install-broadcom-wl-sta-wireless-driver-for-bcm43228

    I didn’t have enough of this in connection with the bug that is discussed here:
    ask .fedoraproject.org / en / question / 57806 / broadcom-4321-wireless-not-working-in-fedora-21

    And it took a few more manipulations:
    su - -c "yum reinstall kmod-wl akmod-wl"
    su - -c "yum install akmods kernel-devel"
    su - -c "yum update"
    Reboot.
    su - -c "akmods"
    (this command reassembles the module for wi-fi, here akmodsbuild command may be required from the user)
    Reboot.
    su - -c "modprobe wl"
    (load the module for wi-fi)

    After that, the wi-fi module finally worked and I was able to disconnect the Ethernet wire, feeling freedom.

    For information, I’ll leave here one of the latest, but not verified recommendations for installing the same driver:
    su - -c "yum install broadcom-wl kmod-wl akmod-wl rfkill"
    su - -c "rfkill list"
    su - -c "rfkill unblock all"


    Further actions are performed after installing Fedora on the hard drive and downloading from it.

    First - update the system


    It is important! Without updating the system, you may get in trouble installing the following packages, which are necessary for compiling additional modules and other inconsistencies.

    To do this, press Win and write the first letter “te” or “those” (Gnome searches for both the Russian and English names of the programs), then it remains to press Enter and start the terminal. This is information for beginners in Gnome 3.
    Next, we go into executing commands from the root:
    su -

    You can speed up the download of packages from the repository if the fastest mirrors are selected.
    To do this, just install the add-on to yum, testing the server for response speed, and switching to the fastest of them:
    yum install yum-plugin-fastestmirror

    And finally, we update all installed packages in the system:
    yum update


    Slow down the mouse


    For some of us, mice support different sensor resolutions (1000 ... 8000 dpi).
    On Linux, it may turn out that your mouse is too fast, and it is impossible to slow down its speed with the usual configuration tools in graphical mode.

    For these cases, there is a simple solution with slowing down the pointer:
    you need to write a config for X, in which to indicate braking as a constant variable.

    In my case, double braking is enough, displayed in the value of ConstantDeceleration.
    It looks like this:
    $ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
    Section "InputClass"
       Identifier     "Logitech Gaming Mouse G600"
       MatchIsPointer "on"
       MatchProduct   "Logitech Gaming Mouse G600"
       Option         "ConstantDeceleration" "2"
    EndSection

    You can find out the name of your mouse like this:
    $ xinput list
    ⎡ Virtual core pointer                          id=2    [master pointer  (3)]
    ⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer                id=4    [slave  pointer  (2)]
    ⎜   ↳ Logitech Gaming Mouse G600                id=12   [slave  pointer  (2)]
    ...

    It is possible to set the slowdown through the xinput command, without resorting to the X config, but this option is limited by the mouse pointer numbers in the system, which change when the mouse is clicked to another port or sometimes upon reboot.

    If you put Fedora in a virtual machine (VirtualBox)


    From the root we perform:
    yum install binutils gcc make patch libgomp glibc-headers glibc-devel kernel-headers kernel-devel dkms

    More information on this topic: www.if-not-true-then-false.com/2010/install-virtualbox-with-yum-on-fedora-centos-red-hat-rhel

    Then, in the virtual machine itself, select Devices from the menu - Insert Guest Additional CD image
    VirtualBox downloads the desired guest OS add-ons image file.
    Virtual Fedora will detect the “inserted disk” and offer autorun of the installer located on it.
    After starting this program and offering to log in with the root password, do not forget that you may need to switch back to the English layout (Alt + Shift), because Fedor will have Russian default input (now, with the Russian locale selected, during installation, Russian is the default language for keyboard input).

    The results of the guest OS add-on installation program are displayed in the same terminal.
    Upon successful installation of the modules and after a reboot, the guest Fedora will be convenient for use in a virtual machine - respond to resizing of her window, correctly switch to Fullscreen, etc.
    And it will be possible to proceed to further customization or experimentation.

    I remind you that in a virtual machine, switching over system consoles is not done with the usual Ctrl + Alt + F1..F7, but with the help of the host key: right control + F1..F7

    General system settings


    Add yourself the ability to use sudo


    We perform from the root
    usermod sampleusername -a -G wheel
    where sampleusername is your user’s login.
    More information on this topic: fedoraproject.org/wiki/Configuring_Sudo
    After executing the command, log out and log back in.

    Hint for beginners:
    1. To exit the root in the console, type exit, then either exit again, or close the window (with the mouse or hotkey Alt + F4).
    2. To exit Gnome, click on the triangle at the top right or next to it (it will also respond by popping up this menu), then click on our user name, “End the session” appears under it, click on this item.
    3. To enter and correctly specify the password, if you have it in the English layout, do not forget to switch to it again by Alt + Shift.

    After that, all commands "from the root" can be executed through sudo.

    Install Midnight Commander (mc)


    MC is very convenient and familiar to me, so on any new system I start by installing it.
    sudo yum install mc

    If you use MC and are used to leaving it via F10, then in the Gnome terminal you need to disable the shortcuts for calling the menu of the Gnome terminal on F10:
    “Edit” - “Parameters” - Enable the shortcut key for accessing the menu (F10 by default)
    or reassign it.

    Font in the system console


    If you chose Russian as the main language of the system during installation, then the system console will also be with the correct Russian.

    However, if you set, choosing English, then Russian characters in the system console will be displayed as squares or crooks.
    To "cure" this, you need to write a line in /etc/profile.local
    setfont Cyr_a8x16


    Gnome 3 - default workspace


    The main distributed version of the Fedora 21 Workstation, by default, is based on the Gnome 3.14 working environment
    . This solution has its pros and cons.

    Among the pluses is an interesting dynamics for some working with windows, desktops, and information.
    The ability to simultaneously search for programs, services, and your contacts, and a lot of other information.

    But here I will describe what can be done with it for a comfortable living. :)
    If you do not plan to work with Gnome or used the “spin” with a different working environment, you can skip this section.

    Reviews of the latest Gnome features with pictures and videos can be found here:
    www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=40669
    www.webupd8.org/2014/09/gnome-314-released-see-whats-new.html

    First thing is a utility for configuring Gnome 3 and fonts


    Install:
    sudo yum install gnome-tweak-tool

    We start:
    the Win key, then type “tw” or “extra”, Enter the
    Fonts tab (button).
    On it, we can increase all fonts by 1-2 points for better readability, as well as choose the option of smoothing (hinting), which is better suited to our monitor and personal preferences. I prefer the “slight” hinting option.

    Screenshot of the font settings window with the indicated changes:


    Terminal window with open MC after applying the changes:


    Minimizing / maximizing windows - shortcuts and buttons


    By installing the Gnome “fine-tuning” utility, we can control the display of buttons in the window titles.

    In the Gnome Tweak Tool (aka “Advanced Options”) in the “Windows” section, you can enable the display of the usual “Expand” and “Minimize” buttons in the window title, next to the “Close” button.
    I do not use these buttons. In the Gnome, the standard window shuttling shuttle: Win + H
    It is also called for me by pressing the additional mouse button.
    It is also convenient to use Win + arrow shortcuts; they expand and restore windows in different directions.

    Convenient Gnome Add-ons


    Those who want to use maximum space on the screen for useful content, especially owners of laptops and netbooks, can put 2 add-ons for Gnome:
    1. Maximus Two extensions.gnome.org/extension/844/maximus-two
    2. Frippery Move Clock extensions.gnome.org / extension / 2 / move-clock

    Screenshot of Firefox in Gnome 3 without the specified add-ons:


    And after installing add-ons that expand the usable space:


    There are other add-on options similar to the above.
    In general, many useful additions have been created to the Gnome. You can find them on extensions.gnome.org
    For example, “Bumblebee” for owners of laptops with Optimus technology, which displays the use of a discrete card in the system with an icon (installation, configuration and benchmarks of Nvidia Optimus and Bumblebee I will discuss separately below). Or an add-on that accelerates window animation in Gnome.
    There are reviews - what exactly is worth putting out of the add-ons on Gnome 3. So if you have a nice environment, don't be too lazy to get to know them by going to them through the key phrases you are looking for.

    Often, people use the restoration of the familiar look of the environment - the bottom panel with running programs, a regular tray with a bunch of icons of running programs and an extended menu for window operations through it.
    I do not need this, since I try to minimize any distractions, and the idea of ​​hiding the icons suits me perfectly. At the same time, alerts in the system are made unobtrusively and intelligibly, they are not so easy to miss.

    Subtleties of the Nautilus file manager


    By default, sorting does not expose folders to the list of files, everything is displayed in shuffle.
    We fix:

    Nautilus - Options -> mark the checkbox “Put folders in front of files”

    Also, I prefer to move around the computer without double-clicking. If you agree with me that the 1-click action is more pleasant - in the same window, switch to the “Behavior” tab, and check “Behavior” - “Open objects with one click” in the same window.
    After that, you can close the settings window.

    The Nautilus file manager has an unobvious ability to add its own "entry points" - bookmarks to the addresses you need. To do this, being at the right address or in the right directory, press Ctrl + D or select the icon with horizontal dashes with the mouse, and there on the menu click on “Add bookmark to this address”.

    After that, a bookmark with your address or folder will appear on the bottom left. You can organize them by dragging them with the mouse, delete them by calling the context menu, rename or perform other required operations.

    Add software package management tools


    The standard program management tool in Gnome is oriented not to packages but to selected programs. To be able to more fully study and manage the repositories of available software, you must install Yumex or use the pre-installed Apper in KDE.
    Install Yumex:
    sudo yum install yumex


    Network Accounts - Sync with Google Mail, Contacts, and Calendar


    Gnome has built-in excellent integration with your main data from your Google account, as well as with many other network services.
    It is enough to go to the main menu of the system and write “network” - you will be prompted to select the setting for the “Network Accounts” section.
    By specifying your access settings for Google and confirming them with a code (if you have two-step authorization), you get the integration of the calendar, tasks, contacts and mail with your system.
    So, when you click on time, information about your upcoming calendar events will appear. And when driving part of the name of one of your contacts in the main menu of the system, his card will appear right before your eyes. Then you can contact him in 2 clicks.
    And the convenience of network recordings goes beyond that. Give it a try!

    Fonts


    I have LCD monitors and I prefer fonts with a slight smoothing. Hence the variables in the following config.
    If you like a different smoothing value (medium, strong or without it) - you can substitute the corresponding value for the hintstyle variable instead of hintslight: hintmedium, hintfull or hintnone.
    You may also need to make changes to the lcdfilter variable. But you can read more about this, for example, here wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/font_configuration

    The config text below improves fonts in many programs, including Firefox, KDE with the standard anti-aliasing setting “As in the system” and in running under it programs.

    You need to create the /etc/fonts/local.conf file with the following contents:
    rgbtruehintslightlcddefaultfalse~/.fonts

    After that, we exit the session and enter again.
    The system has now fully learned about which font smoothing you want to use.

    In some cases, it is necessary to change the standard dpi screen so that the fonts and graphics after the above settings are really excellent.
    I leave this moment for you to work out on your own, if you understand that you need to fulfill it in order to find happiness on your system.

    Replace thin fonts in the JetBrains IDE (IntelliJ, PyCharm and others) and in Java


    Although some people like the variant of thin fonts, there is a large group of people who need a more “dense”, weightier rendering of fonts. And if, for example, everything is in order with “dense” fonts in Eclipse, then the popular development environments from JetBrains bear the Java seal and sometimes cause rejection with their fonts.

    Pycharm with a default font - Gnome 3


    Pycharm with a default font - KDE


    Pycharm with the font change described below - KDE


    Below I will describe one of the most working solutions to this problem (suitable for Mac), as a result of which we get “dense »Fonts that look according to some developers are much better than in Windows.

    The basic idea is simple - if Java does not handle the font hinting instructions correctly, then you just need to remove these instructions from the font.

    Here's how to do it:

    1. Choose your favorite fonts that we want to use in IntelliJ IDEA and other IDEs of this line.
    For example, Liberation Sans and Liberation Mono.

    2. Install the font editing program:
    sudo yum install fontforge

    3. Run it and open the font we need to change.
    For example, from the directory / usr / share / fonts / liberation / the following files:
    LiberationSans-Regular.ttf
    LiberationMono-Regular.ttf

    4. Press Ctrl + A, which selects all the characters in the font. In the "Hints" menu, select the "Clear instructions" item.

    5. In the "Element" - "Font Information" menu, add the number "2" to all the name fields so that "LiberationSans2" is in the "Font Name" field. Click OK. Immediately, the program will report that the font does not have a unique identifier, but carries the old one. Click on the “Change” button, and a new UID will be generated for our font.

    6. File menu - Create Fonts. In the window that appears on the right, click on the wrench icon and select the option “Show hidden files”. Then we go to the home directory and create the .fonts folder in it (if it is not already there). We save our font with a new name (for example, LiberationSans2.ttf). I usually choose the type of TrueType file to save. If there are error messages such as self-intersection, click OK. Let save.

    Repeat for the other selected font. Then we close both windows, refusing to save fonts in sfd format.

    Now, our system has two of our new fonts that look pretty in the programs we need. We go into the IntelliJ settings and specify to use the new font in the editor.

    A brief comparison of the result with the default font in Windows:



    Full-size screenshots with fonts for Gnome 3 and Windows 8.1
    Full-size screenshots with fonts for Gnome 3 and Windows 8.1






    Read more about methods for improving fonts in Java here:
    superuser.com/questions/614960/how-to-fix-font-anti-aliasing-in-intellij-idea-when-using-high-dpi/623596#623596

    Unfortunately, similar font replacement does not work with the popular mind map program Freemind. Fonts in it still remain thin.


    However, there is a good commercial alternative to this program, which has no problems with fonts - XMind , which can be used both for free and for a fee for some advanced features. You can get acquainted with it on the website www.xmind.net.

    If you want to try it, download the version of the program for Fedora Portable from here www.xmind.net/download/portable
    Unzip the archive, go to the created folder of the form xmind-portable-3.5 ... then to the folder corresponding to the architecture of your distribution (for example, in XMind_Linux_64bit) and run the XMind file.
    You can create a shortcut for the menu for this program in ~ / .local / share / applications similar to shortcuts from / usr / share / applications

    Development Environments and Editors for the Python Programming Language


    Since the debate around fonts in Linux I personally meet mainly in development topics, I immediately give a small squeeze of information for those working with Python so that they can check the fonts in their working tools. All of these programs, except commercial ones, are available from the main repositories. After all the settings with fonts, all of them should be fine.
    Those for whom this is not relevant - go to the next paragraph. There we begin preparations for watching videos, working with flash and other “usefulnesses”.

    Geany
    Great fast editor / mini IDE.
    sudo yum install geany geany-plugins-common geany-themes

    In yumex you will find many useful additions to it. Color schemes and more are configured through "Edit" - "Settings".

    Eclipse + pydev
    A well-known, cross-platform package with a plugin that extends its work with Python.
    sudo yum install eclipse-pydev
    It will be proposed to install many dependencies as well. Agree.
    Settings for everything and everything in the "Window" - "Options". Fonts work fine out of the box.

    There is an alternative commercial assembly from the author of pydev - LiClipse www.liclipse.com

    Kdevelop + kdev-python
    Development environment implemented under KDE. Differs in smart work, a good implementation of working with Python.
    sudo yum install kdevelop kdevelop-python


    Also included in the Fedora kit are other open editors and IDEs where you can work with Python: ninja-ide, spe, PyPE, spyder, anjuta, eric.
    Check them out if the solutions above and below do not suit you or you just curious.

    From the commercial, I want to mention 4 main cross-platform solutions:

    Pycharm The
    widely known IDE for Python. Many consider her the best. It is not distinguished by the highest reliability and stability, but it is famous for its good auto-completion.
    www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download
    There are paid and free (Community Edition) options.
    Change the settings in “File” - “Settings”.

    Wing IDE
    Someone loves her and considers her "number 1", someone does not like her at all. Many reviews recognize its strengths and retain at least “number 2” from the commercial IDE. Not dependent on Java.
    wingware.com/downloads
    There are paid and free (Wing IDE 101) options.
    A couple of weeks ago it was possible to purchase a commercial license for just 2100 rubles.
    Fonts are customizable without problems.


    Komodo IDE
    It is considered a weaker IDE for Python compared to the previous ones, but you can also pay attention to it and test it in work.
    komodoide.com

    Sublime Text
    A well-known editor with extensibility for the best work with Python.
    www.sublimetext.com/3

    Next, we’ll go back to configuring Fedora 21’s primary needs.

    Connect to RPMFUSION Repositories


    In order to be able to install additional video players, video codecs, flash, non-free programs and much more in Fedora, you need to connect to the main additional repositories: Rpmfusion Free and NonFree
    The easiest option is to run the command in the terminal:
    su -c 'yum localinstall --nogpgcheck http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm'
    You can look at other connection options on the official site of the repository in the "Settings" section of rpmfusion.org/Configuration

    Video, audio and books


    Video players


    Of the video players, I personally prefer MPV - it has a higher response speed, fewer delays when rewinding, visual minimalism and at the same time sufficient functionality for constant use.

    Installing MPV is very easy (rpmfusion repositories must be connected):
    sudo yum install mpv

    My config for mpv, which must be put at ~ / .config / mpv / mpv.conf

    # Сохранять позицию, на которой остановились при просмотре
    save-position-on-quit=yes
    # Запускать просмотр в fullscreen
    fs=yes
    # Отключить встроенное в программу управление звуком и использовать системный миксер, когда он доступен
    softvol=no
    # Прогресс-бар делаем тонким, полупрозрачным, и переносим его в низ экрана
    osd-bar-align-y=1
    osd-bar-h=1
    osd-border-size=1
    osd-color='#aaaaaaaa'

    More information about MPV settings can be found here:
    wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mpv
    github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/etc/example.conf

    Shotkey MPVs are generally similar to mplayer. I note several especially important for me:
    j - switching subtitles
    # - switching audio tracks
    D - inclusion of deinterlacing (when the video in a horizontal strip on TV type)
    Details: manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/trusty/man1/mpv.1.html

    can also install players with the usual graphical interface: smplayer and vlc
    sudo yum install smplayer vlc
    In addition to these players, you can install themes and other usefulnesses by looking at the list of available packages.

    The above players in the dependencies carry with them the main codecs that are required to play the video.

    I would like to draw your attention to the fact that sometimes during the installation of dependencies programs connect the rpmfusion “rawhide” branch intended for unstable Fedora. I recommend not agreeing to connect this repository or disconnecting it later in Yumex, checking if rpmfusion is enabled for fedora 21. Probably, this issue will be fixed in the next updates, but be careful.

    Audio Players + Vkontakte


    Rhythmbox
    already exists in the default programs in Gnome.
    Equalizer to the player is set separately. See the list of packages in yumex or apper.

    Rhytmbox plugin for VKontakte: github.com/radistmorse/rhythmbox-vk
    A little about it and its installation in Russian: boutnew.ru/tehnika-i-tehnologii/muzyika-s-vk-com-cherez-rhythmbox-na-ubuntu-12 -04-12-10-13-04-13-10.html
    The plugin is simple, there is only a general search on all tracks.

    Exaile
    www.exaile.org Delivered
    from full-time repositories.
    There is a plugin for Vkontakte. I leave the plug-in installation methods to your research.

    Clementine
    www.clementine-player.org/en
    Put from full-time repositories.
    It seems that there is a plugin for Vkontakte. I also leave the plug-in installation methods to your research.
    Of the pluses, it is “easier” to the next Amarok.

    Amarok
    amarok.kde.org
    It makes sense to install during the installation of KDE (the installation of KDE will be given below). Also comes in full-time repositories.
    Installing the Vkontakte plug-in is done in several steps:
    1. In the Amarok settings in the "Scripts" section, click on the "Manage scripts" button
    2. In the search field for available scripts, drive in "vk"
    3. The only scripts appear , we also need it. Click on the button “Install” next to it.
    4. Reboot Amarok
    5. In the settings, select the option "Authorization vk", drive in the necessary data.

    You can listen to Vkontakte music - both your own and your friends, or use the search on all available.

    If your programs still lack codecs


    sudo yum install gstreamer1-libav gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras gstreamer1-plugins-bad-freeworld gstreamer1-plugins-good-extras gstreamer1-plugins-ugly gstreamer-ffmpeg xine-lib-extras xine-lib-extras-freeworld k3b-extras-freeworld gstreamer-plugins-bad gstreamer-plugins-bad-free-extras gstreamer-plugins-bad-nonfree gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-ffmpeg


    How to listen to audio books


    Banshee media player which is included in the standard Fedora 21 repository does an excellent job of listening to audiobooks:
    sudo yum install banshee banshee-community-extensions
    The program in its functions is an analog of Rhythmbox. Read more about it at banshee.fm

    To listen to books, you need to perform 2 steps:
    1. Add folders with books to the Banshee library (like regular music)
    2. Then drag and drop the necessary “albums” -books into the Audiobooks section.
    After you will be available remembering the position in the book and other amenities.

    How to read books


    fb2 / epub
    Caliber (for viewing there is a separate program included in the kit) or fbreader
    sudo yum install calibre fbreader

    pdf
    Regular pdf readers do an excellent job: evince (Gnome) or okular (KDE)

    djvu
    Gnome needs an addition to evince
    sudo yum install evince-djvu
    and in KDE, a regular document viewer already knows how to work with this format.

    Library Management and Converting Everything to Everything - Caliber

    Dropbox Installation


    Go to www.dropbox.com/install?os=lnx
    Download the package in the appropriate format.
    Install (double-click in the file manager and click the "Install" button).
    In the main menu, launch the newly installed Dropbox. We give him the opportunity to download his installer. Then we adjust the familiar parameters of your account and synchronization.

    Note: while the dropbox repository for Fedora 21 does not exist, so you have to add the option “skip if unavailable”:
    sudo yum-config-manager --save --setopt=Dropbox.skip_if_unavailable=true
    Later it will appear, and everything will work ok.

    Installing instant messengers


    Skype


    We go to the offsite site, download the package for Skype for Fedor:
    www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-computer

    Then we install it by double-clicking and the “Install” button (or “Ok” if you already installed yumex and it starts instead of the regular package installer).
    All dependencies (of which there are many, and everything is mandatory in a 32-bit architecture) will be delivered with Skype, so there is usually no need to deliver additional ones.

    For the usual work with Skype in Gnome 3, you can install an add-on that will add a Skype icon to the panel:
    extensions.gnome.org/extension/696/skype-integration
    or
    extensions.gnome.org/extension/192/status-icon-fixer

    If there are problems with the sound when using Skype, try starting it with the following command:
    env PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30 skype %U
    Also, you can try using the number 60 instead of 30.
    If this solves the problem, you can rename / usr / bin / skype to / usr / bin / skype2, create an empty file / usr / bin / skype and write the following lines in it:
    #!/bin/sh
    env PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30 skype2 %1 & 
    Save and assign execution rights:
    sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/skype
    Plus of this option - any launch of Skype will allow it to work normally with sound.

    Or, if you do not like the previous option, you can do it another way:
    1.
    sudo mcedit /usr/share/applications/skype.desktop
    2. instead of the line Exec = skype% U write the above
    Exec=env PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30 skype %U
    Normal start through the icon will now work with sound normally.
    However, launching the skype command directly will make noise and wheeze.

    Viber


    Download the RPM package from the official website viber.com/products/linux
    Install it (double-click the mouse, “Install”) All that
    remains is to run the freshly installed Viber from the main menu.

    Telegram


    From the official site desktop.telegram.org we download the package that we are offered for Linux. Unpack (“Unpack here”, for example). We go into the freshly created Telegram folder and double-click to launch the binary with the same name. The client is up and running.
    It remains if you want to add it to startup.

    Hint:
    First, create a new file in ~ / .local / share / applications by analogy with the files from / usr / share / applications
    Then add it to “Advanced Settings” - “Autostart”

    Install browsers and flash


    Firefox is installed on the system by default.

    Google chrome


    To install, download the necessary version from the official site:
    Stable www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop
    Beta www.google.com/chrome/browser/beta.html

    Choose your 64-bit or 32-bit package for Fedora. Download. Install with a double click.
    All necessary dependencies will be pulled automatically.
    The kit contains the latest flash, the reaction inside the flash to global short shots, etc.

    If you, for example, installed stable Chrome, and then want to replace it with beta, do the following:
    1.
    sudo yum remove google-chrome
    2.
    sudo yum install google-chrome-beta


    Chromium Installation


    If you are not happy with Google Chrome or want something extra in the same vein.

    Due to problems with Chromium’s licenses, there are no major repositories for Fedora. However, he is in the unofficial Copr repository in "Russian Fedor". More information about this copr.fedoraproject.org/coprs/churchyard/chromium-russianfedora

    Installs the Chromium as follows:
    1. Save the file copr.fedoraproject.org/coprs/churchyard/chromium-russianfedora/repo/fedora-21/churchyard-chromium-russianfedora- fedora-21.repo on disk
    2. put it in the /etc/yum.repos.d
    3 directory .
    sudo yum install chromium


    Flash for browsers and for the system


    For 64bit system:
    sudo yum install http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-x86_64-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

    For 32bit:
    sudo yum install http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm

    Further for both systems:
    sudo rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-adobe-linux
    sudo yum install flash-plugin

    It only remains to restart the browser (in this case, Firefox is assumed).
    Chrome has its own flash.

    But for Chromium, you must additionally install the symlink to the flash with your hands.
    64bit system:
    sudo ln -s /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib64/chromium-browser/plugins/libflashplayer.so
    32bit system:
    sudo ln -s /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/chromium-browser/plugins/libflashplayer.so


    Read more about installing a flash for Fedor: ask.fedoraproject.org/en/question/10217/how-to-install-adobe-flash-on-fedora

    Proprietary Video Drivers


    The following drivers must be installed after connecting the rpmfusion repositories (which was described earlier).

    Nvidia "regular"


    Option 1 - quite simple
    yum update
    We reboot if something was updated in the system
    yum install akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs kernel-devel

    Information about the method: jsn-techtips.blogspot.ru/2013/12/fedora-20-nvidia.html

    Option 2 - a bit different
    sudo yum install akmod-nvidia
    To work acceleration in the video player:
    sudo yum install vdpauinfo libva-vdpau-driver libva-utils

    When loading, check that the old driver is not loaded:
    lsmod |grep nouveau


    If you need to remove the old Nvidia driver:
    sudo yum remove xorg-x11-drv-nvidia\*
    If, after installing the Nvidia driver, the X's stopped loading:
    1. Check the error
    sudo akmod --force
    2. Perhaps you need to install the kernel sources:
    sudo yum install kernel-devel
    3. Run again
    sudo akmod --force
    4. If everything is ok - restart the system and should work.

    As a backup option of refusing to try to boot with new drivers, it is enough to simply delete (rename) the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file (now it is absent by default on systems, but is created by installers like Nvidia).

    More information on installing drivers for Nvidia from different series:
    blog.xenodesystems.com/2014/12/como-instalar-drivers-propietarios.html
    rpmfusion.org/Howto/nVidia

    Proprietary ATI Drivers


    Here, with your permission, I get off with a link to the materials.
    The Russian Wiki Fedora and the current experience of colleagues from Spain blog.xenodesystems.com/2014/12/como-instalar-drivers-propietarios-ati.html

    Nvidia Optimus - installing Bumblebee


    Nvidia Optimus is a technology that allows you to select the video card for the current application on the laptop - integrated from Intel (economical) or powerful discrete from NVIDIA.

    A link to a clear guide on how to set and what to do: fedoraproject.org/wiki/Bumblebee
    Do not forget to substitute the correct number "21" where you need to indicate the number of Fedor, instead of "20".

    I draw your attention to the fact that I had to reduce the level of attentiveness of the Linux security system from “high” to “medium”, so that a second (discrete) video card would work for me. More about this at the very end of my misadventures in this section.
    Probably, the mentioned additional steps 1..3 could not pass. However, I bring this information in case someone needs to compare this with their experience.

    1. If an error occurs when starting the application through optirun of the form
    [ERROR]Cannot access secondary GPU - error: [XORG] (EE) No devices detected.
    [ERROR]Aborting because fallback start is disabled.
    or
    Cannot access secondary GPU - error: [XORG] (EE) systemd-logind: failed to get session
    then you need to check the correct BusID of your Nvidia card in the settings. Run in terminal:
    lspci | egrep 'VGA|3D'

    Example output for this command:
    00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
    01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108M [GeForce GT 630M] (rev ff)
    Replacing all the dots with colons - the numbers in front will indicate the BusID of the video cards, in the example we get the following BusID for the nvidia card:
    BusID 01: 00: 0

    Next, edit the xorg.conf.nvidia configuration file:
    sudo gedit /etc/bumblebee/xorg.conf.nvidia
    This file contains a commented-out example of specifying BusID, for this example, we indicate the correct BusID in the line below (if the BusID number of the example is correct, you can simply uncomment this line by removing '#'). The result is something like the following (in your case, the numbers may be different):
    #   BusID "PCI:02:00:0"
    	BusID "PCI:01:00:0"
    Additional information at help.ubuntu.ru/wiki/bumblebee

    2. The following error appears in the logs:
    [ERROR]Cannot access secondary GPU - error: [XORG] (EE) [drm] failed to open device
    If the nvidia driver is installed on the system and the nouveau module is loaded, then make sure of the following:
    if the line Driver = nvidia in the configuration file /etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf is present
    in the system, one of the files with the blacklist nouveau content must be present:
    $ grep -R nouveau /etc/modprobe.d/*
    More information at https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Bumblebee

    3. How to add a free driver to the blacklist:
    setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=74094
    kaischroed.wordpress.com/howto-install-nvidia -driver-on-fedora-replacing-nouveau
    Open the file in the editor
    sudo mcedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
    and add the line 'blacklist nouveau' at the end of the file.

    If this does not change the situation, you can remove the free drivers completely:
    sudo yum remove xorg-x11-drv-nouveau.x86_64

    Then I found that the NVidia driver is currently blacklisted:
    cat /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf 
    blacklist nvidia
    Commented out this line and rebooted, but the problem remained.

    4. The step that solved the problem. The above errors occur in Fedora due to SELinux at the highest level of security ("enforcing"). It is enough to reduce it to the level of "permissive" and the problem goes away.

    Find out the current SELinux settings:
    /usr/sbin/getenforce
    /usr/sbin/sestatus

    Edit the config:
    sudo mcedit /etc/selinux/config
    in it we find the SELINUX = variable and set the following value to it:
    SELINUX=permissive
    We are overloaded.

    After the reboot, it turned out that the problem really was in the strict SELinux policy, and that now the programs run fine on the second (powerful) video card as well.

    For more information on changing SELinux settings, see Fedora documentation .

    How to run programs and games on Steam on a discrete card


    I draw your attention that the installation of Steam and the correction of errors with its performance (if you encounter such) are described a little below. To specify the parameters for launching games on a discrete card from Steam, it should work fine for you.

    We go to Steam, to our library (“Library”). On the game, right-click and select “Properties”. “Set Launch Options” (“Set Launch Options ..”) and indicate the following:
    optirun -b primus %command%
    Save. You can run this game.

    Other options for launching games and a comparison of their speed can be found at:
    forum.ubuntu.ru/index.php?topic=209722.0
    support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6316-GJKC-7437

    Benchmarks: Fedora 21 Optimus / Primus / Windows 8.1


    For several weeks, working with the Fedora beta, I had enough time to test it as the main workplace and gaming place, as well as compare its (conditional) performance with the Win8.1 on my gaming laptop.

    The very first test was FPS in Serious Sam 3 on the "ultra" settings.
    In Windows 8.1, we see on the selected map the average FPS in the region of 30-55. Sometimes it reaches “limit” 60.
    In Fedora 21 with the above start command, it is almost stable 60 fps, sometimes falling to 55. In rare cases, it was possible to note 48. The
    upper limit of 60 is explained simply - this is the refresh rate of my monitor, and with normal settings, most programs Do not generate more than this value.

    So, in Linux, the startup command often allows the FPS in the program to be maximized
    vblank_mode=0 optirun -b primus %command%
    However, sometimes it works much slower than other options (optirun or optirun -b primus)

    Explanations for the vblank_mode parameter:
    askubuntu.com/questions/285342/why-does-vblank-mode-improve-framerate-drastically-in-benchmarks

    Cross-platform GPU benchmark - GPUTest


    Program website: www.geeks3d.com/gputest

    Windows, OpenGL 4.4.0
    FurMark - 1186 points (FPS: 19)
    TessMark X8 - 10306 points (FPS: 171)
    TessMark X16 - 9006 points (FPS: 150)
    TessMark X32 - 7499 points (FPS: 125)
    TessMark x64 - 4460 points (FPS: 74)
    GiMark - 1922 points (FPS: 32)
    PixMark JuliaFP32 - 9079 points (FPS: 151)
    PixMark JuliaFP64 - 765 points (FPS: 12)
    PixMark Piano - 443 points ( FPS: 7)
    PixMark Volplosion - 1412 points (FPS: 23)
    Plot3D - 11127 points (FPS: 186)
    Total 57205 points.

    Linux, OpenGL 4.4.0 ( optirun command )
    FurMark - 1655 points (FPS: 27)
    TessMark X8 - 8914 points (FPS: 148)
    TessMark X16 - 8322 points (FPS: 138)
    TessMark X32 - 6346 points (FPS: 105)
    TessMark X64 - 3598 points (FPS: 59)
    GiMark - 1633 points (FPS: 27)
    PixMark JuliaFP32 - 5843 points (FPS: 97)
    PixMark JuliaFP64 - 612 points (FPS: 10)
    PixMark Piano - 355 points (FPS: 5)
    PixMark Volplosion - 1065 points (FPS: 17)
    Plot3D - 8914 points (FPS: 148)
    Total 47257 points.

    The FurMark test stands out against the general background, in which under Linux the performance is radically better than in Win. The rest is sagging.

    Linux, OpenGL 4.4.0 (command vblank_mode = 0 optirun -b primus )
    FurMark - 1868 points (FPS: 31)
    TessMark X8 - 11448 points (FPS: 190)
    TessMark X16 - 11521 points (FPS: 192)
    TessMark X32 - 11072 points (FPS: 184)
    TessMark X64 - 4831 points (FPS: 80)
    GiMark - 1842 points (FPS: 30)
    PixMark JuliaFP32 - 9831 points (FPS: 163)
    PixMark JuliaFP64 - 625 points (FPS: 10)
    PixMark Piano - 357 points (FPS: 5)
    PixMark Volplosion - 1153 points (FPS: 19)
    Plot3D - 11395 points (FPS: 189)
    Total 65943 points.

    And here you can see very funny results on the TessMark series. Any comments on this?

    The Triangle test stands out separately - there is a disastrous lag under Linux:
    Win Triangle - 21966 points (FPS: 366)
    Lin optirunTriangle - 10179 points (FPS: 169)
    Lin vblank_mode = 0 optirun -b primus Triangle - 11594 points (FPS: 193)

    Cross-platform benchmark Geekbench


    Taken from the Steam Store. Below is only the summary information, as the result for the systems is almost the same.

    Linux
    Integer Score 3651 15278
    Floating Point Score 3540 16041
    Memory Score 3314 3631
    Geekbench Score 3539 13253

    Windows
    Integer Score 3623 14898
    Floating Point Score 3474 15923
    Memory Score 3233 3578
    Geekbench Score 3485 13044

    Win shows slightly lower overall performance.

    Before proceeding to the browser benchmarks, we will temporarily solve the problem of Chrome under Linux with work on a discrete map.

    Solving the problem with broken WebGL in Chrome


    For WebGL to work under optirun, Google Chrome usually advises in its flags to enable the ability to work with WebGL (Disable WebGL: Enable → Disable) or run
    optirun google-chrome --ignore-gpu-blacklist
    One of the tips from askubuntu.com/questions/110132/problem-with-running-webgl-with-chrome

    , however, my optirun google-chrome-beta refused to start with the following errors:
    'librrfaker.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (cannot open shared object file)
    The problem manifested itself despite the fact that virtualgl of both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are already installed on the system (I have a 64-bit system).
    Indications in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable where to look for the needed libraries did not give a result.
    I tried to run through sudo, in case I swear at the set protection bit, but this also had no effect. Read more about the situation with the protection bit lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/scm-commits/Week-of-Mon-20130506/1014107.html

    To detail the problem, I started it with the parameter LIBGL_DEBUG = verbose primusrun ...
    As a result of googling, I found a temporary solution to the problem on code. google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=351804
    It is recommended to disable the "sandbox" in Chrome, because it in its current versions with a discrete card for Linux cannot work. To do this, run Chrome with the flag --disable-gpu-sandbox
    Make sure that WebGL is working: go to Chrome at chrome: // gpu

    WebGL is working and now we can proceed to testing and comparisons.

    Benchmarks for browsers


    According to the results of the tests, an interesting trend is observed - browsers in Linux are seriously replaying their brothers working in Widows. Moreover, Chrome under Linux managed to show absolutely the best result in the test www.wirple.com/bmark that has ever been measured.

    I remind you that I have Nvidia Optimus, and unless otherwise specified, browsers started on a regular graphics card. Otherwise, I specify the main launch modifiers so that the measurement context is clear. Also, a situation was often encountered when a discrete card did not change anything in the test results. In this case, I simply do not give the launch value with it.

    Test 1 - peacekeeper.futuremark.com

    Windows
    Firefox 34 - 3661
    Chrome 40 - 4313

    Linux
    Firefox 34 - 6433
    optirun Firefox 34 - 6441
    Chrome - 5837 The
    options for running Chrome with optirun, vblank or nosandbox only slightly worsened the result.

    Test 2 - browsermark.rightware.com

    Windows
    Firefox - 3306
    Chrome - 5525
    on a discrete Chrome card - 6527

    Linux
    Firefox - 5167
    optirun Firefox - 5468
    nosandbox Chrome - 7138
    vblank + nosandbox Chrome - 7223
    On these numbers the Chrome test told me:
    Desktop Linux with Google Chrome 40 is faster than 99% of all Desktops tested so far.

    Test 3 - www.wirple.com/bmark

    Windows
    Firefox: 1281 (Canvas score - Test 1: 77 - Test 2: 630, WebGL score - Test 1: 274 - Test 2: 300)
    Chrome: 3172 (Canvas score - Test 1: 535 - Test 2: 1537, WebGL score - Test 1: 629 - Test 2: 471)

    Linux
    Firefox: 1116 (Canvas score - Test 1: 188 - Test 2: 354, WebGL score - Test 1: 306 - Test 2: 268)
    optirun Firefox: 1546 (Canvas score - Test 1: 466 - Test 2: 372, WebGL score - Test 1: 361 - Test 2: 347)
    But with the vblank parameter there was a decrease in performance.
    Chrome: 2506 (Canvas score - Test 1: 629 - Test 2: 614, WebGL score - Test 1: 677 - Test 2: 586)
    And here is the record command:
    optirun -b primus google-chrome-beta --disable-gpu-sandbox --enable-webgl --ignore-gpu-blacklist
    Chrome: 4240 (Canvas score - Test 1: 794 - Test 2: 2222, WebGL score - Test 1: 677 - Test 2: 547)
    For this result, the test told me the following victory:
    Your results compared to other users:
    You score better than 100% of all users so far!
    You score better than 100% of the people who use the same browser and OS!


    This is the best result that this test noted during its existence.

    Adding the parameter vblank_mode = 0 to the "record" command greatly worsened the result
    + vblank_mode Chrome: 3363 (Canvas score - Test 1: 769 - Test 2: 1443, WebGL score - Test 1: 626 - Test 2: 525)

    I end with information about the results of testing.

    Basic information about my system for updating benchmarks


    Notebook Asus G750JM
    CPU: Intel I7-4710HQ / BGA
    RAM: DDR3L 1600 8Gb * 2
    Nvidia Optimus
    Discrete graphics card Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M with 2 GB of graphics memory

    Windows 8.1
    Nvidia: 344.48
    Chrome Beta: 40.0.2214.10
    Firefox: 34

    Linux 3.17.4-300
    Nvidia: 340.46
    Firefox: 33.1
    Chrome Beta: 40.0.2214.10

    Now let's get back to configuring and using programs in Fedora 21.

    Steam and games


    Installing Steam
    After enabling the previously specified RPMFusion repository, do
    sudo yum install steam
    After that, it is recommended to reboot the system.

    If you have a 64-bit system, then for Steam to work correctly, you will have to install 32-bit versions of some programs:
    1. For the flash video player to work correctly in the Steam store:
    sudo yum install http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
    sudo yum install flash-plugin.i386

    2. For 3D acceleration to work correctly for Wine, which is used by some programs from Steam as well as when receiving errors:
    OpenGL GLX context is not using direct rendering, which may cause performance problems.
    It is necessary to return to installing the drivers for Nvidia and install the 32-bit version:
    rpmfusion.org/Howto/nVidia#x86_64_.2864bit.29_users
    For example, find xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs for the 32bit version and install it.

    3. If an error occurs
    libGL error: Couldn't dlopen libudev.so.1 or libudev.so.0, driver detection may be broken.
    Finished uploading minidump (out-of-process): success = no
    error: libcurl.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
    /home/vyacheslav/.local/share/Steam/steam.sh: line 730:  3585 Segmentation fault
    You need to put this:
    sudo yum install systemd-libs.i686

    Read more at ask.fedoraproject.org/en/question/54746/steam-wont-run

    Launch Windows games and Windows programs


    To do this, there is an excellent PlayOnLinux package: www.playonlinux.com/en
    It is installed easily directly from the site. I leave it to you for independent study.

    Drawing programs


    Well- known GIMP www.gimp.org is great for editing raster images.
    sudo yum install gimp gimp-elsamuko gimp-data-extras
    There are also additional plugins and extensions for GIMP. Take a look at yumex / apper.

    For vector editing - Inkscape inkscape.org
    sudo yum install inkscape

    KDE discussed below also has its own versions of programs for raster and vector graphics:
    Krita (raster) and Karbon (vector). They are part of the KDE office suite - Calligra. Its installation will be discussed below.

    Kde


    How to install KDE if you have a different working environment installed by default:
    sudo yum install @kde-desktop

    We also install KDE programs for convenient work with archives and viewing pdf:
    sudo yum install ark okular

    After installing KDE, you need to reboot and click on the gear icon on the login screen under the login field. In the pop-up menu, select “Plasma Desktop” and log in.

    If you want to install Amarok's favorite audio player:
    sudo yum install amarok

    If you want to not only install KDE but also switch to using the KDM display manager, then you need to do the following:
    1. Install KDM:
    sudo yum install kdm
    2. Install the display manager switching program:
    sudo yum install system-switch-displaymanager-gnome

    3. Run the system-switch-displaymanager program and select KDM in the opened one.

    Calligra Office


    Fedora is installed by default with LibreOffice. If you want to try something else - pay attention to the KDE office - Calligra, which also includes programs for drawing in raster (Krita) and vector (Karbon).
    Put the office:
    sudo yum install calligra

    Calligra includes a lot of interesting things that are not set by default, so I recommend that people interested look for these packages with the word "calligra" in Yumex / Apper.

    If you want to get by with only drawing programs, and not install all the main Calligra office programs, you can do this:
    sudo yum install calligra-krita calligra-karbon
    In a sense, they are analogues of Gimp and Inkscape.

    Hint on working the mouse wheel in Krita:

    To return to Krita the usual scrolling of the mouse wheel vertically, go to the “Settings” - “Configure Krita ..” -> Canvas Input Settings - Zoom Canvas
    For both Mouse Wheel double-click on the selected Input and specify a modifier, for example, the usual Ctrl. Thus, we get the zoom in and out while rotating the mouse wheel while holding Ctrl. A simple rotation of the wheel will scroll the picture up and down. Click “Ok” and close the settings window.

    KDE setup


    The general KDE interface is much more familiar to users than Gnome 3. So I will focus only on a few points, which I change in my first place.

    Fonts
    Main menu -> System Settings -> Appearance (located in the middle of the second section of the icons). Open the "Fonts" tab.
    For comfortable work on monitors with high resolution, it is necessary to increase the size of all fonts by about 1-2 units.

    Note:
    Sometimes QT programs can use the font size recorded as “Toolbar” as one of the main ones. Pay attention to this if necessary to increase their font.

    Then you need to adjust font smoothing so that it applies to Gnome programs launched from under KDE: in the same font settings window, under “Use anti-aliasing:” select “enabled” and click the “configure” button. We set “use inter-stream anti-aliasing” - rgb and “hinting style” - light (I remind you that I prefer light anti-aliasing, but you can specify a different one).

    Google Contacts, Calendar, and Mail Sync


    How to set up work with contacts and the Google calendar:
    1. Launch Kontact, add a new Google calendar in it, add a new address book from Google there (Google tasks will also be imported)
    2. To be able to search for necessary contacts in the Krunner quick search bar , launched in the system by Alt + F2:
    on the left side of this search bar, click the settings icon, in the window that appears, mark the search for contacts and (if you want) calendar events.

    Unfortunately, we have not yet managed to do full support of Gmail in Kontact and KMail for this version of KDE. However, the developers are working on it and promise to release it soon.
    Now it is possible to connect to Gmail as a regular IMAP mailbox with a scan interval of 5 minutes.

    Resolving the problem of multiple launching of some QT programs


    I recommend immediately writing the following lines at the end of the ~ / .bash_profile file:
    TMPDIR=/var/tmp
    export TMPDIR
    After that, exit the session and log in again.

    Thus, the problem of multiple starts of copies of the same QT program is solved.
    For example, the torrent client qbittorrent when opening torrents from Firefox.

    Learning foreign languages


    Pronunciation Dictionary - StarDict


    An excellent program that can scan everything on the fly that you select with the mouse, and immediately give a small pop-up window with a cursor under the mouse cursor with a translation, or even play the pronunciation of the word.
    Install the program:
    sudo yum install stardict
    Download dictionaries for StarDict on any major torrent tracker you know. There are also explanations in the distributions - how and where to install downloadable dictionaries.

    Briefly about installing on Linux:
    1. put the dictionaries in the directory / usr / share / stardict / dic or ~ / .stardict / dic
    2. sound files from the archive are unpacked to any folder on the disk, then open Stardict -> Settings -> Sounds. In the "RealPeopleTTS search path" field, enter the path to the directory with sounds, for example, /home/your_name/.stardict/en_snd/
    Restart Stardict. After that, the pronunciation of the words will be available.

    Anki and cards


    Fedora also has an Anki card program available.
    However, I leave this topic to your own study.
    In my opinion, the practice with the dictionary entries described above is more saturated, less laborious, devoid of third-party errors and the limitations of semantic translations.

    The problem with the quiet noise in the headphones


    This problem does not depend on Fedora, however I will provide options for dealing with it.

    Among the solutions to the problem of noise in the headphones that appeared under Linux, the following can be distinguished:
    1. Disconnecting the sound card from the DVD drive
    2. Disconnecting the system speaker in the BIOS
    3. Decreasing the system overclock (both CPU and video)
    4. Reassigning the headphone output by hdajackretask
    Install the package containing this program:
    sudo yum install alsa-utils
    We launch hdajackretask and see what is assigned to the headphone output. If the assignment is not true - you can reassign and get a better sound. Read more about the solution: ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2249130
    5. Replacing the cable from the headphones with a cable with a high resistance (for headphones with a low resistance, the internal sound amplifier can cause constant quiet noise, like in my laptop model)
    6. Replacement headphones to high impedance headphones
    7. Using an external audio card or headphone preamp

    Completion


    On this article, composed of "travel" notes of my adventures, I finish.

    I hope you will react warmly to the new Fedor, try it and write a couple of lines in the comments about this.

    If desired, in the future it will be possible to collect information for the next article about it.

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