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From OS X to Ubuntu

nicolas.perriault.net

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Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#101

Post by flukus »

antouank wrote: post #29
ekianjo wrote: post #11

> So, is Linux ready for the desktop? > For me, the answer is yes. Honestly it's been ready for years on the desktop (of course, this does not apply if you are an expert user in Y software only available on Z platform and need to use it for your job/company, etc...). Ubuntu 16.04 did not bring anything significant on the table, it's just that most people have not noticed. I switched full Linux back in 2009~2010 and I…

I agree that desktop on linux is ready, with the main trade-off being: you have to spend more time setting things up, but you can customise your software/hardware to any level you want. ( and just like Y software, there's X hardware that might not work with linux. those damn printers... ) Btw, I also started with Ubuntu but I'm finding Arch a much better and up to date distro.

> and just like Y software, there's X hardware that might not work with linux. those damn printers...

The two biggest issues I've ever had with linux are printer support and modem support. Time solved both issues before developers did, no one uses dial up and I no longer print anything at home.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#102

Post by rhodysurf »

StavrosK wrote: post #65
antouank wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that desktop on linux is ready, with the main trade-off being: you have to spend more time setting things up, but you can customise your software/hardware to any level you want. ( and just like Y software, there's X hardware that might not work with linux. those damn printers... ) Btw, I also started with Ubuntu but I'm finding Arch a much better and up to date distro.

What is it that you like about Arch? Maybe I should give it a shot, although with Ubuntu you know you'll have both the solutions and the software available somewhere.

For personal use its the most up to date and because its rolling release i never have to actually upgrade or wait for releases. Also newer kernels for newer hardware.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#103

Post by artursapek »

criddell wrote: post #88
kinnth wrote: post #25

Im also going to make the switch with the Lenovo X1. Apple are just taking the piss with peripherals and cost now. Nice read, gives me more faith in my choice.

Will you miss the retina display though?

I just bought the highest-end 4th gen X1 Carbon and it has a high-density 2560x1440 matte display. It's as good as or better than the MBP's. And Ubuntu handles handles UI scaling surprisingly well.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#104

Post by developer2 »

timtadh wrote: post #44
sk1pper wrote: post #31

IMO if money isn't an object, OS X is a better call when it comes to laptops. If money is tight, going for a Linux box is almost as good. Linux on desktops - as in, not a laptop - has worked pretty much flawlessly for me for >10 years. Not much else to say there. If desktop or server, this shouldn't be a discussion. As far as laptops go, I've just had better experiences with macbooks. Linux on a laptop is still 100%…

Linux laptops: buy pre-installed. If you want linux and you want to be sure everything is functional, AND you don't want to devote lots of time to a "project" buy a pre-install. Dell Developer Edition laptops (XPS 13, 15) make great laptops. I hear good things about system 76 and purism as well. Save time. Support having good laptops and good drivers. Buy pre-installed. Paying the "windows tax" and installing a Linux…

>> Linux laptops: buy pre-installed.

The fact that hardware - though much improved in the past 15 years - is still a crapshoot on Linux, particularly when it comes to laptop hardware, is so frustrating.

Windows will work on practically any combination of hardware. OS X will work on any hardware it is permitted to operate on. Linux is the only consortium of operating systems that still suffer from the inability to "just work out of the box". I can't see how it's ever supposed to be "the year" for linux when just getting it to run properly on hardware requires buying OEM meant-for-Windows, but we-promise-it-works-with-linux garbage.

Is a "pre-installed" linux laptop even cross-distro compatible? If the laptop comes with Ubuntu pre-installed, what are the odds I can replace it with CentOS or Arch? Is the laptop "designed for linux", or "designed for exactly what is factory shipped, and nothing else"? Can I even do a fresh install of the shipped operating system, or do they hack in additional manufacturer packages/kernel drivers that require you to never reinstall on top of the shipped install? How about OS upgrades? Are they reliable, or do you risk running into compatibility problems, even with a new version of the same distro?

What we really need is a BSD/unix/linux[1] competitor to OS X. RedHat tried, and IMO failed. We need another closed-source unix/linux-based operating system that throws away X.org and its attempted modern replacements, that can directly compete with OS X. I'm tired of waiting for the open source world to try - and fail - to gather momentum. And tired of Apple, who has the best unix/linux operating system, fucking us over with every hardware release.

[1] How do you type a literal asterisk on HN? Backslash and double-asterisk don't work. nix. \nix. nix

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#105

Post by falcolas »

ekianjo wrote: post #11

> So, is Linux ready for the desktop? > For me, the answer is yes. Honestly it's been ready for years on the desktop (of course, this does not apply if you are an expert user in Y software only available on Z platform and need to use it for your job/company, etc...). Ubuntu 16.04 did not bring anything significant on the table, it's just that most people have not noticed. I switched full Linux back in 2009~2010 and I…

Opinion follows: I don't think so.

My three day old vanilla Ubuntu desktop install completely froze up on me the other day. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary - browsing Reddit with Firefox. It was a mostly default Ubuntu install (nvidia and broadcom drivers) and otherwise completely up to date.

I was frustrated enough I haven't bothered to troubleshoot it yet, but my best guess is somehow I ran it out of the 16 gigs of memory in my desktop, and the default install either didn't create a sufficient swap file, or it was not very proactive in swapping.

If I can freeze a basic install by browsing Reddit with the default web browser, there's something fundamentally broken.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#106

Post by jronald »

criddell wrote: post #88
kinnth wrote: post #25

Im also going to make the switch with the Lenovo X1. Apple are just taking the piss with peripherals and cost now. Nice read, gives me more faith in my choice.

Will you miss the retina display though?

The new Macbook Pros come with similar resolutions: 13" Macbook pro: 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch 15" Macbook pro: 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch 14" x1 carbon: 14.0" (355mm) WQHD (2560x1440), anti-glare (209.8 PPI)

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#107

Post by colemickens »

sk1pper wrote: post #31

IMO if money isn't an object, OS X is a better call when it comes to laptops. If money is tight, going for a Linux box is almost as good. Linux on desktops - as in, not a laptop - has worked pretty much flawlessly for me for >10 years. Not much else to say there. If desktop or server, this shouldn't be a discussion. As far as laptops go, I've just had better experiences with macbooks. Linux on a laptop is still 100%…

Does anyone ever try to install Windows from scratch on these new laptops? They have far more problems than Linux out of the box - no Wifi drivers, no correct display driver so everythings stuck at 1024x768. No touchpad driver on one of them.

Meanwhile, I've installed Arch and NixOS on a Chromebook Pixel 2013, Chromebook Pixel 2015, Lenovo X1 Carbon and a 2015 Macbook Pro in the last 18 months. Never had a significant issue, other than sound not working on the Pixels until I ran `yaourt -S linux4-samus`.

When these threads pop up, I often get the impression that people are relaying experiences from 5+ years ago and assuming nothing's changed since then.

Meanwhile, I don't have to deal with OS X's obnoxious behavior: the fact that I can't have a touchpad be natural scroll with an external mouse that is normal scroll. The fact that PageUp/Down/Home/End act completely inconsistently when using a "Windows" external keyboard with OS X. The feature-less window manager. Finder. Etc. If I have to spend 20 minutes tweaking Linux on my laptop, it's a small price compared to bending to OS X's quirks. In my opinion, of course.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#108

Post by dyukqu »

ekianjo wrote: post #11

> So, is Linux ready for the desktop? > For me, the answer is yes. Honestly it's been ready for years on the desktop (of course, this does not apply if you are an expert user in Y software only available on Z platform and need to use it for your job/company, etc...). Ubuntu 16.04 did not bring anything significant on the table, it's just that most people have not noticed. I switched full Linux back in 2009~2010 and I…

I agree.

I installed Ubuntu MATE on my sister's netbook ~2 years ago and when I asked her a few months ago if the netbook still runs the system I installed, she said "yeah, no issues".

I know so many people that use their computers just for web-surfing, image viewing, watching movies and listening to music (+ skype maybe) and since they are (generally speaking) not interested & uninformed in any other things (e.g. Photoshop), Windows OS is even frustrating for them - just because it ends up installing tons of malware through clicking pop-ups while they are web surfing. They have no idea how to get rid of those toolbars and they don't know they can try google for help. Linux is a safe neighbourhood, a peace of mind and ready (at least) for these users - and I guess there are millions of them.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#109

Post by jjawssd »

sk1pper wrote: post #31

IMO if money isn't an object, OS X is a better call when it comes to laptops. If money is tight, going for a Linux box is almost as good. Linux on desktops - as in, not a laptop - has worked pretty much flawlessly for me for >10 years. Not much else to say there. If desktop or server, this shouldn't be a discussion. As far as laptops go, I've just had better experiences with macbooks. Linux on a laptop is still 100%…

It is very dishonest to claim that Linux is 100% usable when wireless drivers crash frequently and wireless throughput never matches that of proprietary drivers.

Not to mention battery life is almost always worse.

Sad, but true.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#110

Post by artursapek »

timtadh wrote: post #44
sk1pper wrote: post #31

IMO if money isn't an object, OS X is a better call when it comes to laptops. If money is tight, going for a Linux box is almost as good. Linux on desktops - as in, not a laptop - has worked pretty much flawlessly for me for >10 years. Not much else to say there. If desktop or server, this shouldn't be a discussion. As far as laptops go, I've just had better experiences with macbooks. Linux on a laptop is still 100%…

Linux laptops: buy pre-installed. If you want linux and you want to be sure everything is functional, AND you don't want to devote lots of time to a "project" buy a pre-install. Dell Developer Edition laptops (XPS 13, 15) make great laptops. I hear good things about system 76 and purism as well. Save time. Support having good laptops and good drivers. Buy pre-installed. Paying the "windows tax" and installing a Linux…

Just a PSA from my own research recently: be careful with the XPS. https://www.google.com/search?q=xps+coil+whine

As far as I know they haven't resolved it yet.

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