/home/gmh
@uid1000.bsky.social
Login: gmh Name: Some Random Guy
Directory: /home/gmh Shell: /bin/bash
On since Thur Jan 01 00:01 (AEDT) on tty7 from :0
1 hour 9 minutes idle
No mail.
No Plan.
Directory: /home/gmh Shell: /bin/bash
On since Thur Jan 01 00:01 (AEDT) on tty7 from :0
1 hour 9 minutes idle
No mail.
No Plan.
... and with this my experiment with Mint is over.
February 7, 2026 at 4:45 AM
... and with this my experiment with Mint is over.
Yeah, I know but if I'm going to use Debian I might as well use Debian it's been my primary Linux since the 90s.
I checked out Mint for the first time about 6 weeks ago, it seemed like a nice OS but they really need to get away from the Ubuntu base. Pushing broken kernel updates is inexcusable. 🐧
I checked out Mint for the first time about 6 weeks ago, it seemed like a nice OS but they really need to get away from the Ubuntu base. Pushing broken kernel updates is inexcusable. 🐧
February 5, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Yeah, I know but if I'm going to use Debian I might as well use Debian it's been my primary Linux since the 90s.
I checked out Mint for the first time about 6 weeks ago, it seemed like a nice OS but they really need to get away from the Ubuntu base. Pushing broken kernel updates is inexcusable. 🐧
I checked out Mint for the first time about 6 weeks ago, it seemed like a nice OS but they really need to get away from the Ubuntu base. Pushing broken kernel updates is inexcusable. 🐧
The Ubuntu 6.17 kernel update is failing to install correctly, or causing kernel panic on reboots on multiple machines.
This also impacts Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint.
Make a snapshot before you upgrade.
Ubuntu QA as shit as it ever was!
This also impacts Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint.
Make a snapshot before you upgrade.
Ubuntu QA as shit as it ever was!
a man in a suit and tie with a mustache is standing in front of a map and says great success .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie with a mustache is standing in front of a map and says great success .
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:48 AM
The Ubuntu 6.17 kernel update is failing to install correctly, or causing kernel panic on reboots on multiple machines.
This also impacts Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint.
Make a snapshot before you upgrade.
Ubuntu QA as shit as it ever was!
This also impacts Ubuntu based distributions such as Linux Mint.
Make a snapshot before you upgrade.
Ubuntu QA as shit as it ever was!
... and with that my journey to get Linux Mint running perfectly on the MacBook Air is complete.
mbpfan for proper fan control ✅
zram enabled ✅
all hardware including the webcam supported ✅
mbpfan for proper fan control ✅
zram enabled ✅
all hardware including the webcam supported ✅
February 3, 2026 at 5:29 PM
... and with that my journey to get Linux Mint running perfectly on the MacBook Air is complete.
mbpfan for proper fan control ✅
zram enabled ✅
all hardware including the webcam supported ✅
mbpfan for proper fan control ✅
zram enabled ✅
all hardware including the webcam supported ✅
Enable Apple's PCI based FaceTimeHD webcam. Verified as working on a 13" MacBook Air 7,2 running Linux Mint 22.3.
This should work without issue on other Debian/Ubuntu based distros.
This should work without issue on other Debian/Ubuntu based distros.
February 3, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Enable Apple's PCI based FaceTimeHD webcam. Verified as working on a 13" MacBook Air 7,2 running Linux Mint 22.3.
This should work without issue on other Debian/Ubuntu based distros.
This should work without issue on other Debian/Ubuntu based distros.
If you end up giving this a go let me know how you went. I would be interested in seeing the output from
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm
just to see what compression algorithm it uses by default.
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm
just to see what compression algorithm it uses by default.
January 17, 2026 at 5:08 AM
If you end up giving this a go let me know how you went. I would be interested in seeing the output from
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm
just to see what compression algorithm it uses by default.
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm
just to see what compression algorithm it uses by default.
A bit of customisation and I am happy with the look of Cinnamon 6.6.4.
January 16, 2026 at 11:15 PM
A bit of customisation and I am happy with the look of Cinnamon 6.6.4.
I have taken a look at the zram-config on GitHub it just looks like a different way of doing the same thing, it still needs to be configured to get the best performance/settings as the defaults aren't optimised.
I'll just keep doing things my way because this is a tool on top of the zram-tools.
I'll just keep doing things my way because this is a tool on top of the zram-tools.
January 16, 2026 at 9:35 PM
I have taken a look at the zram-config on GitHub it just looks like a different way of doing the same thing, it still needs to be configured to get the best performance/settings as the defaults aren't optimised.
I'll just keep doing things my way because this is a tool on top of the zram-tools.
I'll just keep doing things my way because this is a tool on top of the zram-tools.
I hadn't heard of zram-config until you mentioned it. I just use the standard tools and configure them manually using the best practices as laid out by the Archi wiki/Pop_OS! and tweaked for the way Mint works, but if zram-config does what you want - excellent.
January 16, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I hadn't heard of zram-config until you mentioned it. I just use the standard tools and configure them manually using the best practices as laid out by the Archi wiki/Pop_OS! and tweaked for the way Mint works, but if zram-config does what you want - excellent.
I should add this is for Mint (22.x), so you may need to edit if you are running a different OS.
January 13, 2026 at 4:43 PM
I should add this is for Mint (22.x), so you may need to edit if you are running a different OS.
sudo systemctl status zramswap.service and
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm will provide you with more verification.
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm will provide you with more verification.
January 13, 2026 at 4:35 PM
sudo systemctl status zramswap.service and
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm will provide you with more verification.
cat /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm will provide you with more verification.
ON THE INTERNET - SO CHECK THE COMMANDS FOR YOURSELF.
Once you are happy reboot and you are up and running.
You can verify by running zramctl or swapon when you reboot.
Once you are happy reboot and you are up and running.
You can verify by running zramctl or swapon when you reboot.
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
ON THE INTERNET - SO CHECK THE COMMANDS FOR YOURSELF.
Once you are happy reboot and you are up and running.
You can verify by running zramctl or swapon when you reboot.
Once you are happy reboot and you are up and running.
You can verify by running zramctl or swapon when you reboot.
Notes:
PERCENTAGE should be the percentage that equals 16GB of RAM if you have more than that.
vm.min_free_kbytes should be 1% of your RAM - echo $(awk '/MemTotal/ {printf "%.0f", $2 * 0.01}' /proc/meminfo)
THESE ARE THE SETTINGS I USE, AND ARE BASED ON WHAT POP!_OS DOES BUT I'M SOME RANDO
PERCENTAGE should be the percentage that equals 16GB of RAM if you have more than that.
vm.min_free_kbytes should be 1% of your RAM - echo $(awk '/MemTotal/ {printf "%.0f", $2 * 0.01}' /proc/meminfo)
THESE ARE THE SETTINGS I USE, AND ARE BASED ON WHAT POP!_OS DOES BUT I'M SOME RANDO
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Notes:
PERCENTAGE should be the percentage that equals 16GB of RAM if you have more than that.
vm.min_free_kbytes should be 1% of your RAM - echo $(awk '/MemTotal/ {printf "%.0f", $2 * 0.01}' /proc/meminfo)
THESE ARE THE SETTINGS I USE, AND ARE BASED ON WHAT POP!_OS DOES BUT I'M SOME RANDO
PERCENTAGE should be the percentage that equals 16GB of RAM if you have more than that.
vm.min_free_kbytes should be 1% of your RAM - echo $(awk '/MemTotal/ {printf "%.0f", $2 * 0.01}' /proc/meminfo)
THESE ARE THE SETTINGS I USE, AND ARE BASED ON WHAT POP!_OS DOES BUT I'M SOME RANDO
Install zram-tools.
Edit /etc/default/zramswap and uncomment:
ALGO=zstd
PERCENT=100
PRIORITY=100
Create a file /etc/sysctl.d/99-vm-zram-parameters.conf
vm.swappiness = 180
vm.watermark_boost_factor = 0
vm.watermark_scale_factor = 125
vm.min_free_kbytes = 80330
vm.page-cluster = 0
Edit /etc/default/zramswap and uncomment:
ALGO=zstd
PERCENT=100
PRIORITY=100
Create a file /etc/sysctl.d/99-vm-zram-parameters.conf
vm.swappiness = 180
vm.watermark_boost_factor = 0
vm.watermark_scale_factor = 125
vm.min_free_kbytes = 80330
vm.page-cluster = 0
January 13, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Install zram-tools.
Edit /etc/default/zramswap and uncomment:
ALGO=zstd
PERCENT=100
PRIORITY=100
Create a file /etc/sysctl.d/99-vm-zram-parameters.conf
vm.swappiness = 180
vm.watermark_boost_factor = 0
vm.watermark_scale_factor = 125
vm.min_free_kbytes = 80330
vm.page-cluster = 0
Edit /etc/default/zramswap and uncomment:
ALGO=zstd
PERCENT=100
PRIORITY=100
Create a file /etc/sysctl.d/99-vm-zram-parameters.conf
vm.swappiness = 180
vm.watermark_boost_factor = 0
vm.watermark_scale_factor = 125
vm.min_free_kbytes = 80330
vm.page-cluster = 0
I'm running Mint on a 13" MacBook Air 7,2 and would add check out "mbpfan" for proper fan control, and enable zram support.
January 13, 2026 at 4:11 PM
I'm running Mint on a 13" MacBook Air 7,2 and would add check out "mbpfan" for proper fan control, and enable zram support.
... that's a buy (if they ship to AU)
January 5, 2026 at 6:05 AM
... that's a buy (if they ship to AU)
Oh, and enable zram. Since I did this my Air has been running great. Do yourself a favour, learn this for yourself nearly all of the guides online are outdated with what I'd consider to be bad defaults and little to no optimisation.
January 4, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Oh, and enable zram. Since I did this my Air has been running great. Do yourself a favour, learn this for yourself nearly all of the guides online are outdated with what I'd consider to be bad defaults and little to no optimisation.
Modern Intel Linux say hello to the MOS 6502.
December 31, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Modern Intel Linux say hello to the MOS 6502.
Installing Linux on a Mac? Be sure to take a look at the 'mbpfan' package.
December 28, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Installing Linux on a Mac? Be sure to take a look at the 'mbpfan' package.
MX Linux 25 running on a shitty netbook
December 24, 2025 at 8:07 AM
MX Linux 25 running on a shitty netbook