A Decade Later: Revisiting the Linux Desktop Bible and Its Timeless Lessons

I recently stumbled upon a GitHub project from 2014, where the author, who refers to himself as “the male service personnel of the dental industry,” spent a year writing an extensive article titled “The Comfortable Life on Linux.”

This article hasn’t been updated in 10 years, but after reading it, I found that it can still address many pain points for Linux users in 2025.

Why This Article Exists

When transitioning from Windows to Linux, the first question people usually ask is: “What about the software I use on a daily basis?”

With Microsoft Office gone, what should I use to write documents? What media player should I use for movies? Can I install QQ and WeChat? More critically, how do I access the internet securely?

Back in 2014, these issues were even harder to solve. There weren’t as many out-of-the-box tools available, nor were there as many tutorials. The author, yangyangwithgnu, was using the openSUSE system at the time and set up a complete desktop environment from scratch, documenting all his experiences in this article.

The core philosophy of the article is simple: use the keyboard instead of the mouse whenever possible, use the command line instead of GUI, and prefer open-source over closed-source.

It sounds very geeky, but in practice, it can indeed improve efficiency.

What This Document Contains

The entire project consists of a README.md file, but this file contains tens of thousands of words divided into seven major sections.

Office Productivity: The author recommends using LibreOffice for document processing and Thunderbird for email. These two applications remain standard answers for Linux in 2025, with sufficient compatibility and functionality.

Entertainment: For watching movies, SMPlayer and mpv are recommended, while for music, the Linux version of NetEase Cloud Music is suggested. mpv is still a popular choice because it supports full keyboard operation, and its shortcuts are much more user-friendly than VLC’s.

Web Browsing: This section is the highlight. The author dedicates a significant portion to the Vim-style plugin VimFx for Firefox, allowing you to navigate web pages using jkhl for up and down, left and right, and quickly click links with the f key. Although VimFx is no longer maintained, Tridactyl and Vimium C are available as replacements, with identical operational logic.

The section on bypassing internet restrictions is now largely outdated. The GoAgent and free Shadowsocks accounts recommended by the author are no longer usable, but the concept of transparent proxies he discussed still holds value. The mainstream solutions now are Clash or V2Ray with airport subscriptions, or setting up WireGuard yourself.

Miscellaneous Tools: One standout tool is GoldenDict, the most powerful word translation tool on Linux. You can select English words anywhere and press a shortcut key to pop up definitions. The recommended dictionaries include Longman English-Chinese, LDOCE6, and OALD10, which can be downloaded in MDX format for import.

This feature remains irreplaceable by any online translation software in 2025, as it can be used offline and the quality of definitions is superior to online dictionaries.

What Content Is Outdated

Many software repository addresses have changed. The third-party sources for openSUSE now recommend using OBS (Open Build Service), while Ubuntu users can directly use PPA.

The GNOME desktop has evolved from GNOME 3 to GNOME 40+, with significant interface changes, but the Dash to Dock extension recommended by the author is still usable, though the installation method has shifted from GNOME Tweak Tool to Extensions Manager.

For virtual machines, the author initially recommended VirtualBox, but now suggests using virt-manager with QEMU/KVM, which offers much better performance and supports GPU passthrough for gaming in virtual machines.

In terms of input methods, fcitx has been updated to fcitx5, and the Sogou Pinyin Linux version is still maintained, but many users have started using Rime. Rime’s configuration files are complex, but it offers strong customization, allowing for various input schemes like double pinyin, Xiaohe phonetic, and Wubi.

How to Read This Document

You can view it directly on the GitHub webpage, but if you want to read it locally, you can clone it:

git clone https://github.com/yangyangwithgnu/the_new_world_linux.git
cd the_new_world_linux

Then open README.md with Typora or VS Code for a much better experience. The Markdown format allows for convenient directory navigation, enabling quick access to all sections.

If you are using a distribution other than openSUSE, 90% of the content can be directly applied; you just need to replace the zypper commands with apt or dnf.

Why It’s Still Worth Reading in 2025

The value of this article lies not in specific software recommendations, but in the workflow it establishes.

Full keyboard operation is not about being cool; it’s because taking your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse is genuinely slow. Once you get used to Vim-style navigation with jkhl, quick link clicks with Tridactyl’s f key, and fast forward/backward with mpv’s arrow keys, you will find your efficiency indeed improves.

The screen word selection feature of GoldenDict still has no better alternative. macOS has system-level word translation, but the quality of dictionaries is inferior to GoldenDict with professional MDX dictionaries. On Windows, Youdao Dictionary can achieve this, but on Linux, only GoldenDict suffices.

The minimalist and aesthetic desktop philosophy is also very inspiring. The Arc theme, Numix icons, and Monaco font recommended by the author remain timeless in 2025. Many people are still beautifying their desktops by following his original approach.

The article also contains numerous detailed tips, such as using rsync for data backup, Flameshot for annotated screenshots, OBS for screen recording, and Audacity for audio editing. The usage methods of these tools have not changed much over the past decade, and the tutorials remain effective.

Some Additional Suggestions

If you plan to tinker with the document, there are a few points to keep in mind.

Don’t waste time on the internet bypassing section; just use ready-made tools. Clash for Linux with airport subscriptions is the most hassle-free solution, with GUI versions like Clash Verge or Clash for Windows, and the command-line version being mihomo.

Wine’s compatibility has improved significantly over the past decade. With Lutris or Bottles, you can run Windows software like WeChat, QQ, and Office 2016. Steam’s Proton can even allow most Windows games to run directly on Linux.

For terminal emulators, I recommend Alacritty or Kitty, which are faster than GNOME Terminal and support more customization. When used with Tmux, you can achieve window splitting and session persistence.

If you find configuring fcitx5 for Chinese input cumbersome, you can try ibus-libpinyin. It’s ready to use, without many fancy features, but it’s stable enough.

In Conclusion

This document was considered the “Bible” for Chinese Linux desktop users from 2014 to 2015, helping many transition from Windows to Linux.

Ten years later, the Linux desktop environment has matured significantly, but this article still holds value. It doesn’t teach you how to install software; it teaches you how to establish a workflow that suits you.

If you are currently using Linux or planning to switch from Windows, I strongly recommend reading it in full. You will discover just how enjoyable Linux can be.

Project link: https://github.com/yangyangwithgnu/the_new_world_linux ^[1]

The author’s final words are well put: “If you value freedom, seek essence, and love tinkering, give it a try.”

Reference Link

[1]: https://github.com/yangyangwithgnu/the_new_world_linux