Trying Bluefin on Framework 13

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Which release version?
Operating System: Fedora Linux 40
KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.5.0
Qt Version: 6.7.2
Kernel Version: 6.10.6-200.fc40.x86_64 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 16 × 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1340P
Memory: 23.2 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® Graphics
Manufacturer: Framework
Product Name: Laptop (13th Gen Intel Core)
System Version: A4

Hi,
I’m generally happy with Fedora and KDE, but I do loose quite some time with the almost daily updating (not because the updating takes so much time, but because then I get distracted by a certain program being updated and wondering if there’s an alternative or reviving a project in that program that I forgot about). I tried automating it, but that doesn’t seem to work. Also, I sometimes run in to minor trouble (Discovering is not opening, fonts not displaying properly). It’s rare and really no big deal. But I read about Bluefin and that sounds like a good idea. I don’t understand everything about it, I’m also no programmer or developer.
Since Framework is supported, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to try it. I already checked and all applications I need are in Flathub.
The purpose would be to spent LESS time maintaining and configuring my system. Bluefin is still very young, so maybe it would mean MORE work, because of bugs still existing?
Any advice or experiences?

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I have run bluefin on my other laptop for months and it has been totally rock solid.

If all the stuff you need can be found from flathub then program wise you are golden. There is always brew (homebrew) if you need something terminal based (as layering apps is not recommended - or should be used as a last resort) and distrobox can be used to get programs from other OS (like debian/arch etc).

You don’t need to worry about updates in sense that they are done in the background, you just always need to reboot to get the newest image. And you always have few previous images available to boot to if something happens to break. You can also pin these images (or deployments as they are called) to have more than the few last ones.

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This is one of the primary goals of Bluefin. The underlying system is immutable and more robust as a result. I have run it on my Framework 13s without issue. The Framework is even specifically targeted. I would absolutely recommend it.

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Thanks. I know that’s the purpose, I wasn’t sure that goal was already reached.

Both reactions convinces me, I’ll try it out soon. I asked first, because I couldn’t try a live-USB to get an idea.

5

Oh, maybe one last question…
At the moment I use KDE, but I would like to give Gnome another try (hence Bluefin and not Aurora). But how does the fractional scaling work on a 13?
I guess you would have to reinstall if you want to switch from Gnome tot KDE, you can’t just switch the DE?

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Bluefin has enabled the still experimental fractional scaling on Gnome. It will be official when Gnome47 is released (and Fedora 41).

With an atomic system you can just rebase your system to Aurora image. There is even helper ujust script for it.

Just a note that switching from gnome to kde might mess up some settings/apps UI as botv share some same configs etc. You can of course add another user and use KDE with that.

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I made the switch and it works fine.
I never liked the somewhat “childish” design of Gnome, but I have to admit it’s much clearer in functionality. I’m less distracted by configuration options.
I miss some things, like split pane and expandable folders in list-view.
(But hooray, the calendar and contact work out-of-the-box, I always had a fight with akonadi and the calendar and contact programs on KDE).

Of course, that’s only the surface. To experience differences in the base system, I will have to use it for an extended time. A got start is always nice :slight_smile:

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