macOS is my favourite operating system. Finder in column view with arrow keys to navigate, combined with space for file preview, is incredibly fast and intuitive. Trackpad integration also results in less hand movement. I’m building a Linux (Bazzite) desktop, though, and I’ve set my sights on the stars.
nnn looks to be an incredible file manager, and was a great recommendation. It looks even more capable than Finder, albeit without scrolling/zooming previews, thanks to macOS having unmatched trackpad functionality. Not to mention Spotlight, which makes opening apps trivial–especially with Alfred available as well. I want to go beyond mere file management, though.
File managenent, browsing, gaming, everything. Just how much can you configure a Linux system to eliminate mouse usage? Shortcut guides welcome (I already know the major ones). I also have a keen interest in tiling window managers, but I’ve not delved that deep yet. I don’t know how to set one up.
Guess I’m forced to learn Emacs/Vim/similar.
In the Linux world we have this great training routine called broken updates that forces users to regularly rediscover the magic of text mode. If you’re lucky enough to run a specialized graphics card you get to experience this almost every update.
We have a similar program for training users how to cope without WiFi.
Lol on nixos I’ve broken my gui twice so far. Keeping old configurations is nice but I learned the hard way that I should have been keeping copies of my configuration.nix
I haven’t tried any ostree based distros yet.
You can always break your GUI yourself, but I was talking about updates breaking it.
Step 1: open a terminal emulator of your choice. There’s no step 2 because you are already done. All features, 0 dependency on your mouse.
You’re welcome :)
Unfortunately there is often a use case for mouse that is hardly doable without, such as nondestructive video editing or image editing. I even use the mouse in Vim. Why is there this obsession not to touch the mouse??
Some people just don’t want to move their hands off the keyboard, it can be an incredibly productive workflow if you’re used to it.
My point is, it depends on the workflow and the tools. Try editing complex images with keyboard alone with GIMP or Inkscape. I’m a Vim user and used tiling window managers for years, so I know exactly what you mean with keyboard centric workflow being productive. But sometimes ignoring the mouse can make the workflow harder, not easier. Off course it always depends on what you actually do.
Edit: Guess I answered my … question (even though it wasn’t a question). Never mind.
Even better, after your machine boots up, press ctrl+alt+F(3-6) to access TTY sessions and then there is no mouse at all. Plenty of TUI apps work just fine here too.
Difference being you can still do things like launch steam games as long as you have a DE installed even if you’re using TTY primarily.
You can launch steam games from terminal pretty easily.
Browsing can be done with Vimium on Firefox.
Just tackle the times you touch your mouse one issue at a time and you could try putting the mouse in a different room to create a small barrier between you and using it.
Way back when we didn’t have X we just lived in the CLI console, text mode, no bitmap buffer. Then, when X came up you used the rodent to point at xterm windows. If you’re used to OS X, wait, MacOS, you’re going to try recreating equivalent functionality on Linux, which seems a lot of work. Have you looked into adding a trackpad?
Don’t run a window manager and you don’t need a mouse at all. No problem.
Just don’t start X and your problem is solved.
