The Ultimate Gaming Shell for Linux Mint and Ubuntu!

Flickr API shell script

My Gaming Shell script!

I created this a few years ago because of my son who at the time wanted a system but we couldn’t’ afford Windows 10. So I installed Linux Mint.  I’ve found that this script should allow you to play almost any game that doesn’t require anti-cheat or the new DRM games.   Anything would run without much of a problem at least with stuff like Call of Duty and other games like that, I didn’t have much problem running them with this little shell script.   I am sure you’ve seen my Notepad++ shell script to install on your Linux system.  This is something similar and I thought it was high time to share with my readers.  If you haven’t already, you should go over and find out about shell scripting and learn some cool shell scripts yourself.   This however isn’t going to be very educational for some because it isn’t very complicated.

echo "Installing Wine"
echo y|sudo apt-get install wine-stable
echo y|sudo apt-get install winehq-stable

echo "Installing Playonlinux"
echo y|sudo apt-get install playonlinux

echo "Installing steam"
echo y|sudo apt-get install steam

echo "Installing Minecraft"
echo y|sudo apt-get install minecraft-launcher

echo "Installing Lutris"
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lutris-team/lutris
sudo apt update
echo y|sudo apt install lutris

read -p "Do you want to uninstall Firefox? (y/n)? " answer
case ${answer:0:1} in
y|Y )
echo y|sudo apt-get uninstall firefox
;;
* )
echo No
;;
esac
read -p "Do you want to install Chrome? (y/n)? " answer
case ${answer:0:1} in
y|Y )
wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
sudo apt update
echo y|sudo apt install -y google-chrome-stable
;;
* )
echo No
;;
esac
done

You can download it here along with the Notepad++ Script!

Explaining the script

So let’s first explain the top of the script and work our way down.   As you can see these are just installing the Wine and other utilities around on the internet to be able to play the games or maybe install the stuff you are wanting to install.  It doesn’t have to be games but I am sure it can be almost anything.   My son was always playing Minecraft on his Linux machine.  That game is so easy to install on Linux and runs without much o a problem, so that is why I included it here.  The Next one is obviously Lutris which can be installed on any Ubuntu and Linux Mint system without much problems and allows you to play all sorts of games that might be online games.   I’ve not tried it lately but I am sure these will work just as well as the next.

Finally the last part, I really like Chrome and I hate it that Firefox get’s installed most of the time.   So I put in a script to remove Firefox and install Chrome.   As you can see this one asks you the questions so if you like Firefox, then you need not worry and if you like Chrome you can install that and keep Firefox or remove it.   To each there own.

As you can see this isn’t going to be a big post but I did want to share with you my ultimate gaming script for Linux and even Windows 11 can’t hold me back if I ever do decide to do that.  After all, I did get Microsoft Flight Simulator to run on Linux Mint!  Are you going to use Linux more to play games on or are you going to stay with Windows?  Why not let me know and thank me for an awesome script that you can use anytime with your Linux system.

How to get that phone call for a potential computer technician job

Hiring now concept on bright office workspace background

How did I get a call for a Technical Support Specialist position?

I’ll tell you what I know and It might seem down right strange but it happened.   I applied to a company on Tuesday, the day after labor day.   Since this was labor day weekend, most places don’t work on Monday.   This job was put up on the local Indeed.com job boards, and they just put it up that morning.   I applied for the job and I kid you not, they called me like 30 minutes after I applied.   He even said I was the first one to apply.   We Talked for like 10 to 20 minutes and it seems really promising, and he said He’ll get back with my later on this week for a possible in person interview.   So How did I do it? What’s the secret?  I am sure people are curious to know what did I do to get him to pick up that phone to call me.

Cover Letters

The first thing I did was construct a cover letter, telling the potential employer why I was a good match for the job and give examples to that extent.   Indeed even has an example of a good cover letter to use as a template.   I did use that to at least get ideas on how to make my own cover letter, you can even find some good sample cover on the web for IT support.  Draw on what you have done, or what you have learned in the past to show how you can be a valuable employee to the company that you are applying to.

Have Relevant work experience

I don’t say this lightly, if you are going to try to go into technical support, then you will most likely have to something to show that you have experience working on computers or know how a computer works.   I’ve heard time and time again people applying to a job and not having the experience to back up the job.   They aren’t going to make you have all the requirements but they will want you to have some experience with customer service and even computers to do the job they might be looking for.   This guy I talked with today he’s had people who would apply and only put down they work for burger king or some other fast food restaurant and not show they know anything about technical support for the job they are looking to hire.   This might be a reason why they didn’t call back or consider your application.

 Be Honest on your Resume

Some people try to embellish there job skills but a hiring manager will know when they talk to you that you might not have the experience they are looking for.  You might not even get that job that you wanted because you wasn’t completely truthful on your resume.   I’m not saying it will stop you from getting that job or it might not even matter in the long run, it however will be hurdle if the hiring manager suspects you weren’t completely truthful on your application or resume.   So why not start off on the right foot and just be honest with them in the application process.

These are just a few things you can do to help get you that job you are looking for.   I’m sure these are nothing new to some of you but I thought I would at least talk about it as I go through the hurdles of getting hired and trying to find a job that I have always wanted to do.   It can be difficult to find that job and this might just help someone out that is looking into the job field.

More advice for new computer technicians

Photo by Dmitriy on Pixabay

Job Searching is outdated!

In My previous post, Some advice for computer technicians, I did talk about what a technician usually has to do to fix or repair a system.  He even has to deal with some very difficult customers.

Now with that said I wanted to change directions and talk about the job search area and what you should expect.  Being a computer technician that has the educational background but not the experience of actually being a computer technician, can be quite frustrating sometimes when it comes to job searching.  It can just make me scratch my head when they require a 1 to 2 or even 5 years of experience to even start doing the job we went to school to get the education to do the job.  How is any employer going to over a entry-level job and still require some sort of experience that shouldn’t even be a requirement to get the job.

This just seems like someone is not understanding what the word entry-level means and why it shouldn’t require much to get that job or position.

Don’t Apply for every job

This one just seems like it needs to be said.  Just because you have the education, don’t apply to all the jobs that you are interested in before doing a little research.  Figure out what you want to do and how much you are worth.   Use places like Glassdoor and indeed to make sure the company you are considering applying for has a good reputation or at least got some good reviews by previous employees.  You know you will have to deal with bad bosses from time to time, so you can figure out if you want to apply for a job that has a bad boss or if you might just hold of on taking that job or applying for that job.

You are worth more

This one is even better because some people will take these low paying jobs because they want to get their foot in the door or get the experience.   I say don’t do it, find an employer who will pay what you are worth.   I could go down the street and get paid to bag groceries than maybe an employer who only wants to pay me 12 or 13 dollars to start off on.   That just boggles me, that I went to get an education and still can get a job that pays more than what I got my education for.   If we stopped allowing them to do this by not applying or accepting those jobs, the pay will eventually go up but we must be able to say no.

Don’t expect that Dream job

I say this with some trepidation that we shouldn’t expect to find that dream job right away.   In fact, we will probably have to work at a dead end job for a year or two at the very least to be able to have the requirements to get that dream job.   In truthfulness, you could easily find that dream job right after getting your education but the chances on that are slim to none, I’d say.  This is something, I’ve seen time and time again that people loss hope right after getting their education to be stuck in a dead end job.   This is the time to keep looking for a better job and create notifications to help keep you looking for a  better job down the road.

Avoid Job text Bots

This one seems quite common.  You get the text that says you’d be a great fit or something along the lines and you ask a question in text and it says “Perfect . . . .“.  These are just bots that I have come across, this is how lazy recruiters are trying to recruit people for their job.  If anything, his means the job might not be all that it is worth and they are having people quite left and right and this is the easiest way to try to find people to fill the job position.   Seems kind of a catch 22 in my book, if they aren’t going to actually read my question and answer it then the job isn’t for me.  I’ve turned them off by texting stop when I find out it was bot that answered me or when I get the perfect or some other way to say we want to talk to you before they even read your text.

These are just what I’ve seen in the job market as of late and thought I would talk about some of these and others ways to find a job in the computer repair or a technician jobs.  You can even figure out how much a computer technician should make by using Glassdoor or even Indeed to find out the salary rages someone would be making in your area.

What are some things you’ve seen that makes you cringe when looking for a job as a computer technician?  Have you seen some of this?  Leave a comment below and tell me your experiences as a job seeker.  If this post has helped you consider using my affiliate links to say thank you for this great post.

How to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Steam version on Linux Mint 20.1

MSFS2020 on Linux Mint 20.1

Run Microsoft Flight Simulator

I’ve been trying to get this to work the last few days on Linux because of Windows 11 set to come out in the follow months.   However, I was also wondering if this would work on Linux as it should be able to to do.   As you know steam has some great ways to run windows games on it.   The problem that most people have is just to figure out the right way to run it.   I am here to help those who might still be having difficulty in running Msfs2020(Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020) on Linux because it seems to have so many people having issues with running it.   According to ProtonDB, This game should be playable with Gold standards which means it should run perfectly after some tweaks.   I don’t know about the rest of you but It’s more than some tweaks but I digress.

Install wine

The First step you will need to do is check out my other post about installing Wine on Linux Mint.  If you followed those instructions you are half way to getting it to run on Linux.   You’ll however want to install all the Wine DB and API’s that are associated with Wine to get it to work.  That includes but not limited to Q4wine, Playonlinux, Winetricks, All Wine Compatibility layers(Windows-Desktop-files also), Wine-binfmt  and the API layers that is associated with Wine.  I found sometimes they don’t automatically install these but they are necessary for several other games.

Install Graphics Drivers

Go to your driver manager app and make sure you have the GPU driver for your system.   I currently have a NVIDIA 1660 Super and an Intel 10-850 Core.   First I’d try the recommended but we’ll discuss this at the end.   Always download the recommended driver on Linux Mint but if you have a different Linux and want to download the NVIDIA drivers, check out the NVIDIA Unix Drivers for them to work with your system.  If you have an AMD GPU, you can visit the AMD website for your Linux Driver.  Once those are installed, you will probably need to reboot your system to make sure your drivers are active when playing on Steam or other games.   Each time there is an update, it will probably be a good idea to reboot just to make sure the drivers you want are being used by the system.

Install Steam

It seems Linux Mint 20.1 or some earlier version installs the Flathub version of Steam when they install Linux Mint.   Uninstall that version first,  I’ve found that it doesn’t do as a good as a job as the one you can get from the package manager.   I also found that it won’t run some games with Proton.   So that is the reason I say, just go ahead and uninstall it and install the real one.  This is the easy part of the installation.   Once done you are more than halfway there to be able to play your games like you want.

Download and Install Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Example of -FastLaunch

Once you have steam, You can now go ahead and download and install MSFS2020 into steam.   This will be a quick process.   Steam however will not allow you to download the game until you enable proton.  Go over to the Gear icon in steam and left click properties and go to Comparability tab.   I’d recommend trying Proton 5.13-6 first because that is what everyone else used to get it to work on their systems according to the ProtonDB. Once you do that, you’ll be able to download MSFS20 and install it.  Once installed, you’ll also want to add ‘-FastLaunch’ to the Launch options.    Once done with that, hit the little “X” button and try clicking the play button and seeing if it will run.

If it doesn’t work

Sometimes each system is a little bit different.   So I’ll talk about ways you can tweak it to get it to work on your system.    Some things to try:

  • Get a New or Older version of the GPU driver
  • Change the Proton version to a New or Older version or try the experimental version.
  • Check your Wine Settings(Although I didn’t have to do much with mine just install and try to run the q4wine once that was ran.   I didn’t do anything else but quit the program.)
  • Check the ProtoDB to see what everyone else has done to get the game to run.

I suggest making one change at a time and seeing if the game will run after the change.   If it is a GPU driver change, I suggest rebooting to make sure you are using the GPU driver you want to try to run with the program.  Also Don’t expect the game to run as smoothly as it does on Windows so be thoughtful when you are playing the game.   Sometimes there will be crashes and other things going on.  You can however try different configurations to see if you can resolve those issues also.  If you like this post please consider buying something from my affiliate list to support my blog and my time in write.

Dealing with the Distance on the hardest of days.

Picture by Damon Nofar on Pixabay

Long Distance and The Pandemic

If you are in a long distance and you had your life turned upside down because of the pandemic year of Hell, Then you are not alone. There are couples all around the world who haven’t seen their partner or fiance, or even wife or husband.  There is nothing that makes people like me so depressed.  I am sure I am not the only one who has had those ups and down days this past year.  Most borders haven’t fully opened up and the ones that do probably only have seen their Long Distance partner once or twice the whole.  I’ve heard rumors about how it could take up to 8 hours to get through the whole arrival process of immigration or other things that might take even more time to travel.

The Struggles are Real

It can be so hard for couples around the world.   Even sexually it can be so frustrating for even the most modest.  We’ve all had those days where the need to feel their touch from our partners and that can be the hardest part of this pandemic.   We don’t know when those international borders will open and I am hopeful and watching the Philippines that it will open in November or December.

Handling the distance

We all have our ways to handle the distance but I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of the things that I’ve learned over the years.   Even the idea of buying Airplane tickets can be hard for someone to save up the money to be able to see their partners internationally.  Some things to keep in mind while you are waiting:

  • Faithfulness — Try to keep true to your partner and try to not make any mistakes with your partner.   This has definitely been real hard for most to do.   I’ve heard about how hard it is and I can totally relate.
  • Patience — Seeing all what is going on with borders, we can have those days where we will have little or no patiences with Governments or even with your Partner.   You’ll need to walk carefully on how you deal with disappoint.   We’ve seen governments that have really disappointed us all.
  • Determination — After all you’ve been through this past few months to years.  You’ll have to keep your determination and keep reminding yourself why you are in an LDR.  Try to have fun and remember those really special times with your partner, that has helped me tremendously.
  • Understanding — This is also something you must do while you are waiting for the borders to open up.  We have to remember to keep understanding our partners and listen to their needs and wants.

Strategize the meeting

Finally, when the borders finally open up for your partner and you.   You should already have plans in place for the next meeting.   This can be so helpful to see there is going to be a time together.  This will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.   I am already doing this and we are planning for the time when we are finally together.   This has helped me so much and kept us rooted in what really matters.   We are also talking about closing the distance.   If you can close the distance this will help you keep grounded and knowing that there is more at the end of the tunnel.   These are just small tips to help you survive the distance and even the pandemic.