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Tips and Tricks

This section contains miscellaneus tips and tricks that may not be core documentation.

Here are some GNOME extensions that the maintainers recommend to round out your experience. Remember to support extension authors by donating to the ones you love! Talk to a maintainer before PRing something here as this is an opinionated list. :)

  • Just Perfection - adds a ton of configuration options in one config app. Useful for config junkies!
  • Tiling Shell - our recommended Tiling extension
  • Night Theme Switcher
  • Quick Settings Audio Hider and Audio Renamer - Let's you rename your audio devices so they are human readable instead of model numbers, etc. The Hider then let's you remove inputs/outputs you may not be using, it helps to clean up the menu:

image

  • Wiggle - Another "I want my system to look like a Mac" extension, but honestly it is quite handy for finding your cursor most of the time

Wiggle Demonstration

Ddcutil Demonstration

Bluefin to Go: Using an external drive​

You can install Bluefin on an external drive to get a portable Bluefin installation:

bluefin-drive

Don't forget to select full disk encryption during installation!

Use Cases:

  • Great way to try Linux, if you like it, move the drive into your main machine without needing to reinstall.
    • Or if you want to commit, buy a new drive for your PC and then put your existing OS in an external case so you have a backup. Over time you may even put it in a drawer. 😈
  • Temporarily repurposing a machine.
  • Sharing a PC with a partner and you don't want to argue about Linux.
  • Trying out hardware before purchasing.
  • "Hot desking" and existing machine in an office.
  • Great for the homelab! Put all your favorite tools on there!
  • From @mikes-tech-tips: Add a Bluefin DX drive to your docked Bazzite powered handheld. Party in the front, business in the back.

Windows to Go​

You can also do the inverse, use Rufus to install Windows onto an external drive in Windows to Go mode.

Use cases are keeping Windows around for:

  • Hardware that may need Windows to update firmware.
  • Critical applications that have no equivalent in Linux, but you don't use it that often. Tax software, for example.
  • Your relatives are visiting and you don't want to argue about Linux.
  • You play Destiny 2.

Building Your Own Bluefin​

Use the image template to make your own custom Bluefin image. Here are the maintainer custom images if you're looking for examples: