Q4OS Forum

Ryan2025

Member

Registered: 2025-04-26

Posts: 4

This is the best Linux for desktop use!

I’m new to Linux and was searching for a lightweight distro for my aging MacBook Pro (4GB RAM, Retina display). First, I tried Bodhi Linux—super fast, but HiDPI support was shaky (tiny menus, fuzzy apps). Then, I discovered Q4OS—and wow, it’s been amazing!
Why I Love Q4OS:

✨ Smooth on 4GB RAM – KDE Plasma runs flawlessly, even with 20+ Firefox tabs + 1080p videos!
✨ Retina-Friendly – No more squinting; everything scales perfectly.
✨ Pretty & Customizable – The Look Switcher makes it easy to switch themes (I’m hooked!).
Two Tiny Wishes for the Next Version:

    Wi-Fi Driver Help – My Mac’s Broadcom Wi-Fi didn’t work out of the box (common in Linux).

        Fix? I used Bluetooth tethering (lifesaver!), but USB tethering would’ve been easier.

        Suggestion: Maybe include the driver or improve USB tethering detection?

    CJK Fonts Please! – Korean websites showed □□□ until I installed fonts-noto-cjk.

        Idea: Adding these fonts by default (or during setup) would help Asian users!

Final Thoughts?

Q4OS turned my old MacBook into a speedy, stylish machine—way better than I expected! If you’re on similar hardware, give it a try.

P.S. To the Q4OS team: Thanks for your hard work! This distro deserves more love. ?

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,847

Website

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

Welcome to the forum

CJK Fonts Please! – Korean websites showed □□□ until I installed fonts-noto-cjk.

What desktop profile did you apply upon the installation ? It should install fonts for your specific locale. If not, it's a bug and we will address it.

What locale are you using ? Type in terminal to get it:
$ echo $LANG
and post it back.

crosscourt

Member

From: Wash DC

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,262

Website

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

Welcome to the forum Ryan2025.  I also use KDE and its a lot lighter than people realize and runs well on 4gb of ram. KDE is really stable and works well on a variety of hardware with a ton of customizations and features.

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Q4OS Aquarius 5.x KDE   Dell Inspiron 3670, Dell Latitude 5450

Ryan2025

Member

Registered: 2025-04-26

Posts: 4

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

Welcome to the forum

CJK Fonts Please! – Korean websites showed □□□ until I installed fonts-noto-cjk.

What desktop profile did you apply upon the installation ? It should install fonts for your specific locale. If not, it's a bug and we will address it.

What locale are you using ? Type in terminal to get it:
$ echo $LANG
and post it back.

Hi! I selected English when installing Q4OS and manually installed the fonts for CJK.

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,847

Website

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

Yes, if you select Korean upon install, you will get cjk fonts automatically.

Ryan2025

Member

Registered: 2025-04-26

Posts: 4

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

Hello, I'd like to share one thing I found.

Last night I reinstalled Q4OS with the latest image. I chose English for display language and tried to install Noto CJK & Color Emoji fonts like before but I got a message that the packages are already installed in the new release. However, when I opened an website in Korean, broken letters showed up.

Also, when I opened Emoji Selector, grayed color emoji showed up. (Previously, there were only a few emojis so it's better than before.)

I installed CJK & emoji fonts with 'sudo apt install fonts-noto-cjk -y' and rebooted and finally the Korean letters and colored emojis showed up properly.

Not a big deal but I guess new release is not installing the fonts properly. Thank you.

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,847

Website

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

... and tried to install Noto CJK & Color Emoji fonts like before but I got a message that the packages are already installed in the new release.

What way exactly did you try to install the fonts ? Please post the application name you were using to install the fonts and exact sounding of the error message.

We are not able to reproduce the issue, so we need the info above for investigation. Thanks for reporting.

Ryan2025

Member

Registered: 2025-04-26

Posts: 4

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

1. Installed Q4OS KDE Plasma version without the Internet connection.
2. Right after first login, I opened Emoji Selector. Colored emojis showed up.
3. Connected to the Internet via mobile tethering.
4. Opened Konsole and type: sudo apt update && sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms
5. Reboot
6. Opened Desktop Profiler and selected Minimal Desktop
7. Reboot
8. Opened Emoji Selector & a website in Korean. The emojis are black and white. Korean letters on Firefox are broken.

q4osteam

Q4OS Team

Registered: 2015-12-06

Posts: 4,847

Website

Re: This is the best Linux for desktop use!

... Opened Desktop Profiler and selected Minimal Desktop

Yes, the cjk fonts are not part of the minimal profile. You can read in the profile description:

"For experts only. Ultimately minimal desktop, you will be free to set anything up by yourself"

so you need to install the fonts on your own. We don't recommend to install minimal profile unless you exactly know possible consequences. If you select Basic or Full profile, the cjk are installed.