Windows on the Side

Well, it was great news to see that Wireshark 3.0 was finally released, but unfortunately I’m still stuck with 2.6.5 in my “MX 18.1 Continuum” distribution for now. I was able to install 3.0 on a laptop running Windows 10 to start testing the new release, but this will only be temporary until the MX repository is updated with the new version of Wireshark. I guess having a Windows machine around for some types of testing comes in handy once in a while. This isn’t enough reason to drop MX as my daily driver. I chalk these annoyances up as “ to be expected “. I’m sure the new Wireshark release will make it down to the Debian repositories eventually. Windows 10 may have had it available faster, but in the long run I’m sure I’ll be glad I waited for Linux. I’m not a huge fan of PPAs or Manjaro’s AUR repository alternatives. (I do use Manjaro occasionally) They seem to work, but I can usually wait for the main repository updates.
Having seen the latest Ubuntu 16.04.6 LTS release reaffirms my belief that a lot of LINUX users tend to hold on to what works for them more often then leap into the next big thing.
Sometimes this is driven by hardware constraints or limitations. This is probably why I’m reluctant to have updates pushed into my system from Microsoft or Apple as opposed to controlling updates and package downloads myself.
I also prefer to avoid bloatware on my system as well….if possible. Since I’ve started using MX I find myself drifting farther away from some of the other popular Linux distributions. I can spend more time working with Linux, rather than constantly trying out new releases.
I’ve gone a few months without using a Mac, and I don’t miss it yet. I loaded MX onto my very inexpensive Lenovo IdeaPad 110S and it works like a champ. It’s a couple of years old now, but still going strong as a test machine. (Used for testing low resource supporting LINUX distributions).
There are times when I do reach for my Windows 10 laptop to check out any interesting developments in the Microsoft world.
You might think this would be a good reason to duel boot Windows and Linux, or run Virtual machines. I’ve done that, but prefer to run Linux as the only Operating System on a dedicated laptop. If I need Windows for a quick test, I can install it on a spare laptop for a short time, and then re-use the machine to test other Linux distributions. This sounds like a hassle, but it works for me. I can even run Wine to use some Windows applications – like the new Wireshark release, and I have done that to test the 2.9 development releases. This does give you some productive options.
My goal is to be totally Windows free, and I’m getting closer as Linux distributions keep improving. For now, access to a Windows 10 machine is still useful, but it also feels like a limitation.


Update:

MX Package Installer does support flatpacks, which I was able to use to Install Wireshark stable (3.0). This will work for me for now until the MX Stable Repo replaces 2.6.5.1 with 3.0 This was a much simpler solution than using Wine or a Windows OS.


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