41–50 of 306 posts
Been meaning to try dual booting my MacBook Pro (2015 model) since upgrading the SSD.
I have a VPS running for years now and I SSH into that when I need Linux in a hurry. Or the single board computer connected to my TV (LibreELEC).
For me it's the comms apps (e.g. Teams). These tools are selected at the team or corporate level. Whilst they typically have Linux support, the Linux implementations tend to have many more bugs and fewer features. If I'm in a call and someone's screen is frozen or they drop off unexpectedly, they are usually using something non-Windows.
But I do my day to day development in a Linux-like environment - either docker, WSL or a VM.
I would prefer to be linux native, but not at the cost of being a second-class citizen when interacting with the rest of my team.
There aren't any major showstopper faults any more. But everything is a little bit off and I'm not willing to spend the hours required to customise everything to my liking.
Also if I find a nice piece of software, it might just die because it doesn't have a business model, just 1-2 enthusiastic developers who may or may not suddenly burn out.
The old adage still holds true:
- Linux for servers
- Windows for games
- MacOS for work
1. Lack of good mobile hardware. ThinkPads used to be good, but sadly more than a decade ago they switched to 16:9 screens. Macbooks were 16:10. This was and still is an absolute dealbreaker for me. Fortunately, ThinkPads started bringing 16:10 back (but see below). There were a few non-16:9 PC laptops on the market, like the Microsoft Surface or some Dell XPS models. Absolute junk.
2. Even though we started to have 16:10 ThinkPads again, it doesn't matter, because Linux doesn't support non-integer display scaling factors well and these new screens come with dumb resolutions that would require a non-integer scaling factor. And the screens are crap compared to macBook screens still.
3. AMD ThinkPads only have crappy screens compared to their Intel counterparts. There exist Intel ThinkPads with Intel (non-Nvidia) GPUs that I would consider for buying, but they are unobtainium. They are either only sold to select countries, or require some kind of commercial agreement to buy.
4. When I used unix systems in the 90s and early 2000s the unix GUIs were better than the commercial counterparts. Now this situation is reversed. Gnome 3 is 10 years old now and I still have no idea how it works.
5. I used to use unusual window managers like fvwm and windowmaker. As things have become more and more integrated with the GUI, and as "popular" distributions like Ubuntu have taken the responsability of integrating everything in the GUI, it has become unfeasible for me to do the integration myself, so I'm stuck with crap software like Gnome 3, which I do not want.
6. RawTherapee and Darktable are usability nightmares compared to Capture One. Plus, what would I do with my C1 sessions anyway?
7. I use an iPhone and make heavy use of the integration between iOS and macOS. Specifically things like iMessages, Photos.app and Facetime. I can't do any of that on Linux.
8. Ubuntu is doing things I don't want (e.g. Snap) while Debian refuses to package useful software. if you think that niche Linux distributions like NixOS solve anything you are part of the problem.
People like to talk about "year of the Linux desktop", but I've been using Linux on the desktop in the 90s, and let me tell you it's been only downhill since.
1. The Handbook. I get the distinct feeling from most Linux distributions that they’re trying to do things for me. FreeBSD, in contrast, is trying to teach me how to do things. 2. Lower churn. I enjoy finding manuals from the 90s that are still relevant to how my system does things. 3. Simpler system. Feels less magical, like I have a chance at groking the system in front of me. The installer includes sources. Building from source is a Makefile. I’ve found myself reading the source code as a frequent first step before a web search since switching to FreeBSD.
A better question is; why on earth would I? Mac OS just works, brilliantly. Windows isn't as great for web dev stuff. So Mac OS it is.
Linux is the best for servers. The command-line experience is far superior.
Windows 10 is tolerable for VS Code development, but I'd use a Mac if I were allowed.
macOS 10.13 is best for Time Machine, MS Office, Skype, and the AppleScript API to let me script everything.
macOS works better with my iPhone 4S using iTunes 10.6.3 for offline sync over USB, Contacts, Calendars, Music, Bookmarks, Apps, and Photos.
Apple hardware (on my MacBook Pro 2014) is better for MagSafe, replacement parts/schematics/boardviews, and has a better trackpad (though I use an Apple Magic Trackpad on the Windows 10 PC at work), and high-resolution screen. I wish I had a removable battery, but many competitors don't even have that.
The reason I don't like Apple is because MagSafe is gone, offline sync is discontinued (even macOS Server no longer supports Contacts/Calendars/Notes), and repairability is at an all-time low. But the inconveniences of using an old Mac are still less than the inconvenience of running Linux on a new ThinkPad.