From OpenSuSE 32 bits to Mint 64 bits: The Problems of Idealism

From 32 bits to 64 bits: the theory

After 8 (eight) years I decided that it is time to change my good old laptop. Not because it was not working anymore, but because it was just too old. So, I bought a new i5 with 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD and nVidia GeForce 940MX video card. 

Everybody is saying: 32 bits is dead, has no future, so switch to 64 bits as soon as possible. I keep hearing this for some years... So if I have a new system, let's install a 64 bits OS. And since OpenSuSE no longer came in 32 bits version and because I'm using it since 2011, the new SuSE Leap was the obvious choice...

From SuSE to Mint

I really don't know what's the problem with SuSE Leap. I'd prefer a longer release cycle in order to have a more trustworthy system. I knew that there will be some issues, but I never expected not to be able to install the nVidia drivers so that the system can work acceptable.

I started to install SuSE Leap... everything was fine. The video card started with the "nouveu" drivers, as expected... So I installed the proprietary nVidia ones. But the video card just didn't work. I tried everything I knew... I made another clean installation.. then another and then another. I read everything I could find on forums, blogs or articles. After 3 days and some 10 clean installations, I decided to try another distribution, because I was beginning to suspect that my new laptop might have an issue...

So, I downloaded Mint 64 (for a moment I even considered Windows), I installed it, and the first thing it asked me (after installation) was that if I want to use the proprietary nVidia drivers. I said yes, it installed something, asked for reboot, and... everything was just working! 3 days of failures were solved in less than one hour.

The reason I chose SuSE back in 2011 was that I liked that distribution: it was secure, reliable, faster than the popular Ubuntu (at least on m computer), "made in Europe" and I really loved YaST (I still do, it's superior to anything Mint had to show so far - my opinion, of course). By using it daily, it was my way of supporting it. But... I didn't have more days to spare, so "good bye SuSE". After all, Linux is, by definition, the freedom of choice. I just don't like the fact that I HAD TO change in stead of WANT TO. But that's the problem with idealism...

From 32 bits to 64 bits: the reality

Well, my idealism was about to be forced again. For years I was using Mozilla Firefox, for the same reason: I could choose. So, I chose to support a certain organisation (Mozilla) because Google does not need more support (it has plenty). Everything appeared to be fine, until I tried to play AngryBirds from Facebook. It wasn't working. I started to google for that error, only to find out that it was something about the 64 bits version. So, 32 bits is dead, 64 bits is the future, but the first is working and the other one is not?! Ok, I don' really need AngryBirds. Then I tried to access my Netflix account (I am also a StarTrek fan) and it wasn't working either. That moment I decided to give Chrome a try, to see if it's a Firefox problem, a 64 bit problem or a Linux problem. Like in SuSE case, everithing just vorked in Chrome (AngryBirds, Netflix, even HBO-Go, although I was told that HBO-Go does not work on Linux). Maybe those issues can be fixed; maybe there is a workaround; with no more time to spare, I uninstalled Firefox and made Chrome my default browser.

Another problem is with the 32 bits applications. They have to work. like I said, 32 bit is dead, but for some strange reason, everybody is still using it and most applications are still created for 32 bits OS. I don't know how many packages I had to install in order to get things work... maybe I will write another blog about this, if I can remember everything.

Then came my real problem and test: how many issues will I have with Lazarus on a 64 bits OS? Will I be able to compile my projects? In short? yes, but in another 3 days of try, error and search.

Ready to work. Really?
I installed Lazarus for Debian with very little problems, except for the software management of Mint (did I say that I miss YaST?). No problem, I'm starting to know how to use "apt-get install". I knew that there will be issues with the "integer" type, but again I had problems finding the documentation for 64 bits... everybody is writhing about the dead 32 bits version, with little reference to what might happen if you try to compile for 64 bits. My people has a saying with the following approximate translation: "about the dead ones we will say only good things".
So, I have to compile in Lazarus for 32 bit systems, both Linux and Windows. It took me about 3 days to figure it out and that's another story...