End-user Linux has definitely improved in the last few years. It offers a lot of attractive features for what I imagine to be the typical HN demographic. That being said, it's still got rough spots that OSX doesn't. It works great when it works, but when it doesn't.... Font rendering, display/compositor fragmentation etc... Inb4 the anecdotal "well it works for me I just had to download the xf86 font library and comp…
So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
331–340 of 531 posts
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#332This is a shameless plug, but if anyone wants a nudge toward Linux (Ubuntu), coming from Mac, I have a recent write up of things things that I personally gain by using Ubuntu over Mac. https://code.mradford.com/post/ubuntu-vs-mac/
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#333End-user Linux has definitely improved in the last few years. It offers a lot of attractive features for what I imagine to be the typical HN demographic. That being said, it's still got rough spots that OSX doesn't. It works great when it works, but when it doesn't.... Font rendering, display/compositor fragmentation etc... Inb4 the anecdotal "well it works for me I just had to download the xf86 font library and comp…
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#334Earlier quoted context omitted.
With Apple, you can take it to any store and they'll diagnose it immediately. With business support (which isn't even expensive for individuals; it was $500/year when I had it) they'll give you a loaner on the spot. If you've got backups, your downtime for a dead machine maybe a few hours.
I appreciate the convenience of such stores where they exist, but neither Ireland nor Norway has any apple stores. Only third-party resellers, none of which are nearly as good.
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#335Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#336https://bartongeorge.io/2012/05/07/introducing-project-sputn...
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#337There are different issues with OSX though, that colleagues of mine had, that never occur with Linux. E.g. the chore of somehow managing different software versions such as the outdated default one and a second one installed with homebrew. Almost all my colleagues struggled with setting up python 2 und 3 correctly at some point, whereas this just worked for me on Linux. Some struggled with font rendering between a 10…
I have a feeling that Apple doesn't want their users to install that kind of development environments, other runtimes, etc. to their MacOS installations. Time Machine also sometimes doesn't Backup these installations correctly. Similarly, TeX installation is hard and it's forcefully shoehorned on the installation, and you can't do anything better in the current situation. My solution is to run a Linux VM for these si…
Installing MacTeX has always been one of the most straightforward things I can imagine.
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#338I so wish the Linux community would get its act together and implement a working usable clipboard. It's the one thing I miss the most whenever I switch from Mac OS to Linux. On a Mac, you can cut/copy/paste using predictable keystrokes in any application, anywhere. And there is a single clipboard. On Linux, you have to deal with a multitude of behaviors (middle mouse button, Ctrl-C, others, and does it paste where th…
It won't happen because Linux users like it the way it is. It is consistent, it's just not the way you want it to be. I love middle click paste. It makes sense that it doesn't follow the text cursor because the mouse is separate and this adds extra flexibility. Ctrl+A should select everything and put the cursor at the end. Actually, in some apps the cursor disappears and in some the cursor goes to the end, but the be…
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excellent analysis. After using i3 for about 3-4 years, I have to admit that I'm always a bit lost on floating WMs now and feel like an idiot for a few minutes until I'm somewhat comfortable again. To me tiling WMs are just vastly superior. Anecdotally, most people I know that have seriously tried to use a tiling WM usually end up sticking with them.
Is this true for you on a laptop as well? I could imagine this on something where I had a lot of screen real estate. But when I'm coding, in one virtual desktop I'll typically have the IDE, a few terminal windows, and a couple of browsers going. With a 14" screen, I can't imagine how I'd make a tiling window manager work.
Re: So Long, Macbook. Hello Again, Linux
#340Hooking up three monitors, 2 of which are 4k onto Ubuntu is the most frustrating thing I've done with that OS. It just works on OSX though. Rough spots is a good way to describe it. Overall it works... But not without effort and competence.
It sounds like you hit the point in Linux where this is painful: mixed DPI displays with mixed display scaling. Wayland fixes that. And soon, we'll finally have fractional scaling, too. GNOME is close to delivering that. So, it's getting better.