Build a Debian/Trisquel desktop, too
One of my community friends just built one with C216 server board and Xeon E3 12x5 v2. This time I'd like to build one with C226 and Xeon E3 12x5 v3.
Why do I choose C226 platform is because that AVX2 support is important for me. Furthermore, the ME firmware version is still 9.0, so it is impossible to support Boot Guard. For the CPU, I'd probably start with the relatively cheap E3 1225 v3.
I plan to visit local dark market recently to ask how much would such a workstation cost.
What is a Debian/Trisquel desktop?
I had been thinking about a dual boot Devuan/Trisquel+Guix laptop, because I need to move the thing around from time to time, and the desktop form factor and power supply really does not help. I like the Devuan idea, so I wanted to have a permanent install in order to be able follow it on a daily basis, and Guix is in fact quite easy to install and manage inside Trisquel, which is currently the only distro I can use out of the box while being 100% safe about software freedom.
But I am not sure what you might have in mind.
I actually do this right now. I install Devuan, get rid of any non-free firmware and repos, add the linux-libre kernel from jxself's repo, add the trisquel repo, install the trisquel gpg key, set the trisquel repo to -1 with apt pinning so that the distro does not generally update from the trisquel repo, and then apt pin the trisquel repo packages I want (like abrowser) to 700 with apt pinning. Then sudo apt update, sudo apt install the trisquel packages I want, and after that just normal sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade to keep the whole system upgrading from both devuan repos and the packages I've selected from the trisquel repo.
Works perfectly. I should write up the steps with more detail so anyone can do them if they like. Guix can also be installed on Devuan if you like.
The reverse will not work well at all I don't think. Devuan packages are higher versions and don't use systemd, so installing trisquel first and then adding Devuan repos and packages would create a dependency nightmare more than likely.
> Works perfectly.
Really!? I am used to seeing people over the internet recommending against ever installing Ubuntu packages under Debian (which is very similar to the idea of instaling Trisquel packages under Devuan). I would be happy to hear those were all exaggerated fears
> I should write up the steps with more detail so anyone can do them if they like.
Would you? I would be grateful :)
> Guix can also be installed on Devuan if you like.
It can, although it becomes painful when substitutes are not available and you have to build locally and the build runs for a few hours just to fail over something like lack of RAM :/ That's why repos with binary packages (like Trisquel repo) seem to be something more reliable
> recommending against ever installing Ubuntu packages under Debian (which is very similar to the idea of instaling Trisquel packages under Devuan)
Maybe these people did not know about apt pinning. Maybe they were referring to non-free packages that might come from Ubuntu, which makes it quite dissimilar to Trisquel.
> Would you? I would be grateful :)
You should be grateful now: https://trisquel.info/en/forum/how-install-abrowser-devuan.
> "Maybe these people did not know about apt pinning. Maybe they were referring to non-free packages that might come from Ubuntu, which makes it quite dissimilar to Trisquel."
For the most part, yes, mixing Ubuntu and Debian repositories is a huge no-no. However, in this case, abrowser doesn't pull in any dependencies, just installs as a single deb. So for my use, it's better to just add the repo and do the apt pinning to confine the repo to only serving up and updating abrowser. Other people would probably rather just pull down the abrowser deb file manually and install it manually with each update. I prefer to automate processes like this when I feel I can do it safely.