12 Steps you MUST do to Familiarize Your FxBlox Desktop Experience
The FxBlox Lite & Lite+ offer leaned down versions of Gnome desktop, out of the box. For many users, transitioning to it from a familiar desktop environment might seem daunting. Fear not! With a few simple steps, you can transform your FxBlox into a seamless desktop experience akin to your traditional setup. Here are 12 essential tasks to make your FxBlox feel like home.
1. Secure Your Device
Start by changing the default password to enhance security. Open the terminal (Ctlr+Alt +T) and enter sudo passwd to set a new password for your ‘pi’ account.
2. Update Your System Packages
Upon receiving your FxBlox, ensure it’s up to date by running sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade, in the terminal. This ensures your system is running the latest versions of available software and system packages.
3. Download GPU Drivers
Download Mali GPU drivers to unleash the full potential of your FxBlox’s graphics capabilities. It’s unfortunate the blob drivers are not as good as third-party ones, but you will see a huge performance lift. Execute the provided commands to install the drivers and reboot your device for the changes to take effect
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:liujianfeng1994/panfork-mesa
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:liujianfeng1994/rockchip-multimedia
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo apt install mali-g610-firmware rockchip-multimedia-config
reboot4. Desktop Environment
Okay honestly, the default desktop UI is not the nicest looking. You can’t minimize windows, scrolling is clunky, and it looks old. Enhance your desktop experience by installing the Ubuntu desktop environment. Execute sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop in the terminal to install it. Reboot to apply changes, but instead of immediately logging in, select the Settings (cog) wheel in the bottom left-hand corner, to select Ubuntu. Enjoy.
5. GUI Software Center
A modern operating system isn’t complete until we have an App store, that is why you can download the UI by simply installing the GNOME Software Center with sudo apt install gnome-software. Now you can graphically install and manage any apps.
6. Flatpak Support
Flatpak is another software repository that has been gaining in popularity. It’s known for hosting all your favorite apps like Spotify, Steam, Chrome, and more. For access to a wider range of applications, consider installing Flatpak. Execute the provided commands to enable Flatpak support and reboot your system.
sudo apt install flatpak
sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
flatpak remote-add - if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
rebootIf there is an aarch64 version of the app, it will download properly.
7. Web Browsing
We recommend downloading the Chromium browser for a reliable and feature-rich web browsing experience. Specifically, it runs faster than Firefox and it doesn’t cap you at 720p when playing YouTube videos. To view those high-quality videos, make sure to download the GPU drivers first!
Now you can install chromium with hardware acceleration enabled with:
sudo apt install chromium-browser chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra libv4l-rkmpp8. Power Management
Unless fixed in a firmware upgrade, the FxBlox may go to sleep after some time. You can turn off Sleep Mode through the system settings. Navigate to Settings -> Power and change the “Screen Blank” setting to “Never”. We don’t want to experience interruptions when running this as a miner or server.
9. Network Settings
Unless fixed by a firmware upgrade, after you initially set up the FxBlox, it will continue to broadcast a connectable Hotspot. As it turns out, anyone who connects to the Blox hotspot will be able to also use the internet connection you set your Blox up with! You can easily disable the hotspot feature by navigating to Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Hotspot and turning it off.
10. Timezone Configuration
You might have noticed that the time and date are off. You can fix this by adjusting the timezone settings. Navigate to Settings -> Date & Time and select your timezone. You can also deselect/select the auto-connect radio button to force a re-check.
11. CPU Clock Speed
The RK3588’s CPU clock speed isn’t able to reach its highest rated speed out of the box? You can unlock the full potential of your FxBlox’s CPU by safely overclocking it. Use sudo armbian-config to access system settings and navigate to System -> Hardware. Select ‘opp-oc-24ghz’, reboot, and enjoy.
12. Maintenance
Lastly, as you play around and experiment with the system. Packages that you add and remove may have some lingering files or data. You can also clean up temp files and other junk bits by downloading BleachBit, a system junk cleaning software. Install it using sudo apt install bleachbit to keep your FxBlox running smoothly.
Bonus! Expansion
Customize your FxBlox further by exploring expansion options available in the Framework marketplace. Consider expansion cards to add in ports like HDMI, USB-A, Ethernet, and more. Or additional storage up to 1TB! You can find them on their website at Framework | Framework Marketplace | Parts.
Conclusion
With these 12 steps, you can transform your FxBlox into a familiar desktop environment, ensuring a seamless transition and an optimized user experience. Explore the possibilities and make your FxBlox truly yours!
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