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Elementary OS

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Re: Elementary OS

#341
post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree but how does a mac deliver that experience? How hard is it to fuck up installing the required dev toolchain and then jumping into Vim or your IDE of choice to get work done? How does a mac help with any of that? I've never run into any issues with my dell machine and it started with ubuntu 12.04 when I first got it. Each upgrade has gone without any hitches or glitches.

Simply getting Linux onto a lot of my machines with working graphics, audio, and other drivers is a pain a lot of times.

If you intend to purchase a system with the intent of running linux on it, please consider a system76, (or any other Clevo reseller, such as Scan Computers in the UK) or a Lenovo that is known to work well or the XPS Dev Edition and you'll have much better time getting all these things to work, (usually out-of-the-box) than on a random PC meant to run Windows and nothing else.

Re: Elementary OS

#342

I bought a 2015 MBP back in January, so I'm all set for a few years at least. Whether OSX goes down the pan even more, I don't know. Moving to Linux seems like a romantic idea, but I can forsee there being a number of problems that would make it unfeasible for me 1. I use 1Password, no Linux client 2. Spotify client is no longer being developed for Linux 3. YouNeedABudget software is not Linux compatible - I have 2+…

> 2. Spotify client is no longer being developed for Linux As a consolation, I'm aware of a number of music clients on Linux that can stream from Spotify via their API. Ad-supported accounts don't have access to the API, of course.

There's [1] if you don't mind Google Music.

[1] - https://www.googleplaymusicdesktopplayer.com

Re: Elementary OS

#343

I am really intruigued when people say they do most of their computer usage on an iPad. I get massively frustrated anytime I try to do almost anything other than consome on an iPad. As just one example trying to copy snd paste almost anything makes me want to tear my hair out it's so frustrsting. Moving the cursor or trying to fight with the os about what I really want to select as it keeps trying to expand my select…

You can use two fingers over the keyboard for moving the cursor on an iPad (force touch on the keyboard with iphones)

Re: Elementary OS

#344
post #316

For me a downside of Elementary OS is that, like all Ubuntu-based distros, I've found installing it on my apple hardware to be such a pain. Fedora-based distros on the other hand have worked wonderfully out of the box. If I were to advise a friend on which distro to install on their MacBook, I'd recommend the beautiful Fedora-based Korora over Elementary OS any day. https://kororaproject.org/

Arch (Antergos if you want nice out of the box setup[1]) works very well on my 2015 work MBP, perhaps give it a try.

[1] https://antergos.com

Re: Elementary OS

#345

As a slight aside. Can anyone point me to any recent work being done to get working Linux drivers for the various Mac hardware bits that have been problematic in the past? I'm only finding old howtos for Linux on Mac which usually end up with some hardware or other not working. I'm specifically interested in Linux on MacBook Air. Thanks.

Arch (or Antrgos[1] if you want an out-of-the-box experience), work very well on my MBP, can recommend.

[1] - https://antergos.com

Re: Elementary OS

#346

My mini Ask HN: After over a decade of using Mac OS X, I am considering switching to Linux for my dev laptop. The tools I worry about are those that interact with audio and webcam - Go To Meeting, Google Hangout etc. My work involves me having to teleconf with others often. Does anyone here have experience using Linux well in such scenarios. If so, what hardware are you using? Also, does sleep-on-closing-lid work wel…

This is why I still choose to go with Mac OS X, even if their most recent hardware is very, very expensive. I don't have time to tinker with compiling kernels, configuring X11, figuring out which photo management software to use, setting up reliable backups, getting my Bluetooth headset to work, and, yes, getting the machine to suspend when I close the lid and wake up when I open it. These are basics that will just w…

For personal use, I decided to move away from a laptop entirely. I'm very much enjoying having a workstation that enforces me going to a specific place to do work. If that appeals to you, then it's very easy to find 100% compatible hardware.

If not, then I can vouch that my wife's Thinkpad runs Ubuntu with no issues. I concur with others that kernel compiling and X11 configuration have long been non-issues.

Re: Elementary OS

#347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

linux works perfectly well in all these scenarios and is actually better than Windows. hangouts works brilliantly. skype (even the old version) works great with both audio and video. in fact i have switched over to the skype web version which works on the chrome browser (no video call for now.. but audio works brilliantly). i use fedora 24..which just works and is pretty cutting edge. i switched over from Ubuntu pret…

Nice to see another Fedora user! I find it runs better than Ubuntu. Faster and more stable. Recently I have been using Cinnamon over GNOME3. What DE do you use?

May I ask what are you using to get media and crypto? As far as I know, Fedora doesn't ship media codecs (including mp3) and has limited cryptography, right?

Re: Elementary OS

#348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. It's UNIX (more or less, but it's much more UNIX, than Windows), it's familiar bash, grep, awk, etc. It also has proper and popular package manager for command line programs (actually 2, macports and homebrew). 2. It just works. You don't have to configure anything, every hardware part functioning properly and it's guaranteed that this will work in the future without any hassle. You don't have to think about drive…

It's not more or less UNIX, it is a UNIX. It's certified by the Open Group. See http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/brand3627.htm

When OS X was released, this claim to fame was more exciting than it is today. Nowadays, Linux / GNU dominates what it means to be a mainstream Unix-like operating system.

The extent to which other *nixen deviate from this determines how much of an uphill battle one will face. And I say this as a lover of OpenBSD, and someone who wishes Linux weren't such a dominating de facto standard.

But the Open Group--I can't think of one reason why UNIX certification has mattered for a good number of years now.

Re: Elementary OS

#349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have yet to see a device which will claim that it support Linux. I may have misunderstood this, but System76[0] specifically make 'designed for nix' desktops and laptops. [0] https://system76.com/

I was referring to something like modem, audio card or gaming mouse. System76 looks really interesting and if it works like Mac, it's awesome.

As others have mentioned, those System76 machines are rebranded Clevo laptops. Thinkpad's dominance among the OpenBSD developers is a strong hardware compatibility endorsement as far as I'm concerned.

Re: Elementary OS

#350
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe because after decades I'm frankly pissed of all the infinite glitches in windows and Linux and I want something that just works? Every hour spent in fighting those problems is real money that I lose, but above all I want to write code, not to fight with a machine. I'm not 16 anymore (when I had all the time of this world and when I even enjoyed the fight), now I just want to use my time to write code instead of…

I spent a lot of time fighting with macs to get it to behave like other operating systems. Like setting up the terminal to not look stupid. A lot of time was spent fighting to get tap-to-drag without a release delay. Still nope. Overall, it can be a pretty infuriating operating system as well.

I don't remember when it happened, but there came a time when the amount of effort to strip and disable stuff in Mac OS X became more of an effort than free *nixen. Sometime later, I made a small investment in swapping a desktop environment for a vanilla xmonad, and I couldn't be happier with the minimalism and lack of distractions.
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