Background
Debian released the latest version (13 Trixie) of its Linux distribution on August 9, 2025 and I installed it on my HP 14 laptop soon after. I chose to do a clean install instead of an upgrade, answered a few questions, and the installer did its job behind the scene. The laptop boot to the new version of Debian without any issues. Nice start, Debian 13.
Post Installation
Add myself to sudo group
The very first thing I did post installation was add my user account to sudo group. Yes, I do not really need sudo because I can become root and invoke commands from there. However, most CLI (command line interface) examples and instructions found on the web are shown with sudo. It just made life easier.
Customize Gnome
Since I like to setup my desktop environment like macOS, not Windows, I have stuck with Gnome all these years for better or worse. Debian had been shipping vanilla Gnome ever since they adopted it as the default desktop. There are folks who like vanilla Gnome experience, not me.
The first two things I did in Gnome was installing Gnome Tweaks (sudo apt install gnome-tweaks) and Extension Manager (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager). Gnome Tweaks has additional configurations not found in regular settings utility. Extension Manager let you browse and install third-party Gnome extensions.
Here is a list of extensions I use in every Gnome desktop:
- Activities Icon & Label
- Apps Menu (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-apps-menu)
- Bing Wallpaper
- Blur My Shell (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-blur-my-shell)
- Burn My Windows
- Caffeine (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-caffeine)
- Dash to Dock (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-dashtodock)
- Frippery Move Clock
- OpenWeather Refined (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-weather)
- Removable Drive Menu (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-drive-menu)
- User Themes (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-user-theme)
- Workspace Indicator (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-workspace-indicator)
Debian has a few extensions available in its library as indicated in my list and I used those first. The rest I installed through Extension Manager.
Using Gnome Tweaks, I enabled Maximize and Minimize buttons on the windows title bar and moved them to the left. Mac has those buttons on the left while Windows keeps them on the right. Vanilla Gnome has those two buttons disabled by default. By the way, not all applications follow these settings. Most of them do. Examples of those that do not: FileZilla and ksnip.
I enabled Locate Pointer in Settings > Accessibility > Pointing & Clicking so when I pressed left Ctrl button on the keyboard, the desktop will display a visual cue on the pointer location.
Putting the finishing touch, I installed icon theme MacTahoe for better looking icons. By the way, icon themes do not change all application icons and the coverage varies between themes. With these changes, I was able to transform vanilla Gnome into a viable desktop for my daily usage.
Setup Firewall
After customizing Gnome, I installed Uncomplicated Firewall (aka UFW) and enabled it in two steps:
- sudo apt install ufw
- sudo ufw enable
UFW is an easy-to-use CLI interface on top of nftables, an ip packet filtering and routing utility that is used to build a firewall in numerous Linux systems.
Replace Firefox-ESR with Firefox
Firefox may have issues, especially with the organization behind the browser, but I am sticking with it as my main browser. The other options, such as Chrome and its derivatives, are much less appealing to me.
Debian bundles the ESR (extended support release) version of Firefox and I prefer working with the latest release. Mozilla has instruction on how to install regular Firefox in Linux on its site. That instruction works for Debian 13 Trixie.
Install Applications and Development Tools
After Firefox, I went to work on the rest of software stack. Here is a list of applications and development tools I use on my HP 14 laptop:
- DBeaver CE (deb file) [database management]
- Docker (instruction) [container]
- Filezilla (sudo apt install filezilla) [file transfer]
- Firefox (see above) [browser]
- Geekbench 6 (tgz file) [benchmark]
- GIMP (sudo apt install gimp) [image manipulation]
- Gitolite 3 (sudo apt install gitolite3) [light-weight group access on top of Git]
- gThumb (sudo apt install gthumb) [image viewer]
- JetBrains Toolbox (tgz file) [JetBrains tools management]
- ksnip (sudo apt install ksnip) [image annotator]
- Postgres 17 (install via Docker) [database]
- PyCharm (install via JetBrains Toolbox) [Python IDE]
- Rhythmbox (sudo apt install rhythmbox) [music player]
- Tilix (sudo apt install tilix) [terminal]
- VLC (sudo apt install vlc)
I tend to avoid software from AI and big tech companies. The same for software with dubious open license. I have no problem using proprietary software though and even pay for some of them myself.
Run Geekbench
Before I install Debian 13, I upgraded the RAM in the laptop from single 8GB module to dual 8GB modules for a total of 16GB. It would not be appropriate to compare numbers here against those from my prior blog on Debian 12 because the laptop only had 8GB of RAM at the time.
Geekbench 6 for Linux is CLI-only and can be downloaded directly from Geekbench’s official site. The executable file runs fine in Debian 13.
Final Thoughts
It is nice to see Linux growing up and becoming a mature operating system. The desktop environment remains its biggest weakness though. While I can make Gnome work with the help of extensions, I can also see others not like what Linux has to offer in that area.
My HP 14 laptop will be 4 years old in November, 2025. With RAM upgrade and Debian, it can still handle general computing tasks. Not bad for a sub-$500 laptop. Hopefully it will still be around for Debian 14.
As usual, I composed this post in Firefox on my HP 14 laptop running Debian 13 Trixie. No AI tool was used.