Linux Images (ROCK64)

[gene83]

At present, I am finding Armbian the best of the images for desktop use, despite the Synaptic shortcoming that I mentioned above. Under Armbian, I can run almost all the packages that I want, and LibreOffice seems stable and quick when editing very large documents with many embedded photos. I assume that this is due, in part, to the 4GB of memory.
I understand that there will be some struggles using Armbian because, as Igor said in 2015

“Desktop version of Armbian is a basic one because main focus is elsewhere ... low level things.

 ”The last hurdle was getting a printer to work, but thanks to extremeshok's advice, aimed at the Raspberry Pi, I ran

Code:

apt-get install printer-driver-gutenprint
apt-get install printer-driver-cjet

and now have a working Canon printer again.

I just enable the cups.client browser, which sees all the printers configured and shared on this machine, a switch and 90 feet of cat5 away. At that point anything that needs a printer, like geany of even gimp, has those printers at its disposal. Biggest hassle is the trip to the house and this little man cave to get the printout from the chosen printers output tray.  There is only two printers, a cheap, doesn't do duplex little brother B&W laser that makes about 19 ppm, and a huge MFC color ink jet that makes about 1 ppm, but its configured as several printers because it has 2 paper trays and a back slot for feeding it tabloid if I need a big printout.  Its also a scanner, up to 11x17 too, with and adf if needed but tabloid, 11x17, is only by hand on the glass.. Not a great printer, but usable and very economical expendables.