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From OS X to Ubuntu

nicolas.perriault.net

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Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#251

Post by thewhitetulip »

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%…

I never had any complaints with Linux on laptop except battery life, it sucks. MacBooks have a battery life of at least 8hrs, my 2012 model has a battery life of 8hrs, I have to charge it once a week, since I don't use it for more than 2hrs daily.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#252

Post by ldev »

Tried to switch to Linux like a month ago, main gripes:

1) Typing sudo before everything. Entering your password everytime OS farts. Geez. Even installing nodejs required to type sudo, meanwhile on macOS - brew install node. Also Ubuntu has outdated packages (nodejs version in their "up do date" repository starts with a zero, need to hunt down ppas, I mean at this point package repository loses it's point, because it's easier to go to the package's website and download it than googling out two ppas and checking which one is more legit, buut then you run into another issue - windows has exe files, macos has dmg files, linux has a zip file and it's not recommended to install this way, what a royal mess).

2) No good dock software. There's plank, xfce, kde provides almost "docks", but all plainly suck. What I want from dock - notifications in dock on app icon (you got 2 unread messages in skype, mail app, messenger, etc etc - show a little overlay on the icon with number "2") and tasks in submenu - right click on skype icon - common tasks like changing online status, right click on music player icon - show Play/Pause, Skip song, etc etc. There's a bazillion choices and every linux fanboy touts about the POWER OF CHOICE - but all choices suck (so you could say there's no choice, there's even no one option).

3) I really love global app menu. Well, I was told Linux has THE customizability... Apparently not when you want something more technically difficult than one of the same tilling wm or conky config - for the most part using jaytana and vala global menu worked, but IntelliJ IDEA's globbal menu entries did nothing on click and some gtk3 software didn't hid their own app menu, so not really working well. Customizability my ass.

I like linux on server, it's allright there (although FreeBSD with clearly defined base system and /usr is actually designed), but as a desktop OS - not even close.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#253

Post by majewsky »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #224
kriro wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree with the sentiment that the solution is "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" We don't need more closed, we need more open. What we need is massive rewards for open hardware via customer money. As long as wireless cards and graphics cards are closed by default and drivers are BLOBe…

That's not the Apple experience. The Apple experience means - well, used to mean - an entire ecosystem of hardware, software, content, distribution, marketing, branding, business partnerships, and development. Linux doesn't work with absolute consistency because FOSS people still don't understand that source code is a tiny part of the bigger user experience. The big challenge in the PC business isn't the OS, it's the…

> FOSS people still don't understand that source code is a tiny part of the bigger user experience.

I don't think that understanding is the major problem. The FOSS community just has a huge surplus of developers and practically no designers. From there on, it's a case of "if all you have is a hammer": If you're most adept at coding, you will try to solve every problem through code.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#254

Post by colemickens »

willismichael wrote: post #190
renownedmedia wrote: post #172

I've been switching back and forth between OS X and Linux for the past several years. I'm currently at a year and a half into a Linux streak and really enjoying recent advancements. My Dell XPS 13 typically gets 10 hours of battery life. Linux itself is quite stable. Simply install a recent distro and off you go. If you're using a heavy Window Manager you'll get all the convenient configuration applets you need. The…

Oh come on, I've been a Linux enthusiast for over a decade now and it's been years since I've even touched xorg.conf, installed a kernel that didn't come from a standard repo, or had trouble rebooting due to a change I made to the system. Linux has gotten significantly less painful over the years, and it's not just that I'm more familiar with it now. Installing a mainstream distro these days is easier than the last t…

Not only that, I don't even run X as my root display server. Sure, XWayland is around, but only because of Chromium apps (`google-chrome-unstable`, `visual-studio-code-nightly-bin`, `slack-desktop`, `riot-web`).

And the best part is, Wayland (Ozone) support is already in Chromium, it's just not really enabled right now.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#255

Post by kagamine »

throwaway729 wrote: post #34
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%…

Wireless hasn't been a problem (for me) for at least the past 3 years. The really dramatic improvements happened prior before 2010, and things have only gotten better since then. Bluetooth is still a damned mess. That, and battery life, and GPUs "just working", are the big differentiators IME. Of course YMMV.

ah, Bluetooth still involves a lot of googling and trial and error. I have no BT devices with a mic, but have achieved streaming audio to speakers. My set up is currently stable but after a reboot I have to repair the speaker (like an iPhone does, whereas OS X remembers and I can just choose the speaker from a list even after pairing it with another device) The first time I got it working I wrote it all down, step for step, repeated the steps after a reinstall and it failed.

Second time I did it differently and wrote it up on the distro forum,you can see it here http://forums.bodhilinux.com/index.php?/topic/14043-bluetoot...

Seems like it got a lot easier between Bodhi Linux 3.x and 4.0 (Ubuntu 14 vs 16).

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#256

Post by antouank »

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.

Almost everything is most up to date, in ubuntu you get versions that can be years old. And no, that doesn't really mean it breaks things. I have antergos for a couple of months now. I have about 1500 packages installed, never got anything broken like I had the `sudo apt -f install` every few weeks in ubuntu.

And ubuntu comes a bit bloated out of the box. At least for a "normal" power user that knows how to install the things he/she needs.

I'm also impressed from the support in the packages. For example, you need a new fancy editor? latest version? Atom, VS Code? sure, just install it from the package manager. Maybe need the latest of node.js? or vivaldi browser? It has them. It's much more complete than I thought. No need to look for .deb packages on anything.

And last, I won't have to change anything in 6-12 months when a new version comes out. There are no scheduled releases from what I understand. You can always be up to date.

Personally, I don't see any single reason to install ubuntu again.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#257

Post by metafunctor »

majewsky wrote: post #247
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%…

> Getting things set up can be a way bigger PITA on Linux, like function keys, sound, and god forbid, wirless. Still? When I bought a new notebook in 2012, the particular model had been out for 3 days. Yet there was a very detailed installation guide in the Arch Wiki for that particular model, and the only issues I had were with the brightness keys on the notebook (both for screen and keyboard backlight). The backlig…

It can be a huge PITA on Linux. You need to study the hardware and Linux support before you buy. Walk in a store, and buy a random laptop, chances are good something in it won't work very well.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#258

Post by dirtyhenry »

My main point to stick to macOS is the lack of any solid alternative to Xcode for iOS development. For a non-development environment, I think Raspbian provides a good enough experience. #stuckForever

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#259

Post by metafunctor »

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…

Is the Dell XPS 15" Developer Edition model actually available in Europe? Where can I buy one online? I would rather not talk with a Dell salesperson to buy just one. There don't seem to be any resellers in Finland who give a rat's ass about Linux.

Re: From OS X to Ubuntu

#260

Post by Sean1708 »

ldev wrote: post #252

Tried to switch to Linux like a month ago, main gripes: 1) Typing sudo before everything. Entering your password everytime OS farts. Geez. Even installing nodejs required to type sudo, meanwhile on macOS - brew install node. Also Ubuntu has outdated packages (nodejs version in their "up do date" repository starts with a zero, need to hunt down ppas, I mean at this point package repository loses it's point, because it…

It might be worth giving ApricityOS[0] a try next time you fancy delving into Linux, I've a lot of good things from ex-Mac users who switched to it.

[0]: https://apricityos.com/

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