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Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

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Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#591

Post by fsflover »

memetomancer wrote: post #343
fsflover wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Drivers all work very well, it's like they built them on purpose for their hardware (!). No more fighting with pulseaudio. Same with Linux - if you choose appropriate hardware designed for Linux, instead of installing it on random hardware.

"Lusers are stoopid" is no mantra, it is childish nonsense.

This is not what I'm saying. Most people install Linux on their Windows-certified laptop and complain that suspend/WiFi/sound doesn't work. If you bought preinstalled, everything would be flawless (it is for me).

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#592

Post by Klonoar »

marlowe221 wrote: post #562
rich_sasha wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My personal laptop is a mac os, and agree with some of the criticism. However, stability-wise, it has been rock-solid. I also manage my own Ubuntu desktop for work, and had to reinstall the system 3 times from scratch because it magically stopped working. In the end it turned out to be something with a new kernel, but it took me, dunno, 2 days to debug.

I don't know what I have to do to get the sublime desktop experience that macOS is famous for... My work-issued Macbook Pro regularly forgets which monitor (my external monitor or the built-in display) is the primary monitor and moves the dock and task bar between them seemingly at random. My mouse sensitivity is cranked all the way up but my mouse still feels like it's mired in tar compared to my Windows and Linux m…

If you want to “get rid” of the dock, there’s an unconventional trick for this I use: you can set a much longer hover timer via defaults in terminal.

I set mine to around 40 seconds. I haven’t seen my dock a year or so.

Note I’ve not jumped to Monterey yet so this is untested there.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#593

Post by vetinari »

cyberpunk wrote: post #523
SXX wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally used advanced PulseAudio features all the time by playing different audio in headphones and speakers, but it's still rarely used feature compared to audio volume control. One of neatest things I did on Linux is playback of multiple audio streams while watching series when using VLC. It's very cool when you have some international group of friends together and e.g someone prefer to watch in German, someon…

How do you rig all that stuff up? Commandline or is there a pretty gui for doing it?

Getting VLC to output multiple tracks simultaneously (or more correctly, all tracks) is via command line parameters (--sout-all --sout \#display).

Mapping the streams to specific devices can be done via clicky GUI in pavucontrol.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#594

Post by rubinlinux »

I got introduced to focus-follows-mouse mode when it was the default on some X11 unix system I used years ago. I have been using linux as a workstation for decades with this feature, and loosing it is the biggest barrier to my using a Mac or Windows machine for anything serious. (For a few years you could feasibly enable this in windows, but it doesn't work well enough to use anymore.)

It saddens me that there are so many cases where the 'better' way to do things gets lost in the noise of the beginner-friendly masses, and can't be standard because people aren't used to it.

Another example of this is electric vehicles and one-pedal driving. Only a few EVs (BMW i3, for example) allow you to mainly drive with the accelerator, where releasing it slows the car to a stop, without use of brakes.

A lot of our electronics suffer from this too. You notice it sometimes if you compare electronics sold in Japan to those sold in the US. The market here is seen to not support 'too many' buttons and features so we get a dumbed down version.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#595

Post by LeFantome »

sylens wrote: post #461
chrisseaton wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In return, I'm amazed that people don't just use the software as it's designed. Why do people want to tweak like this? Like he wants to move the clock. Oh my god just leave it where it is and get on with your job. Lack of customisability gives us more stable software. And he wants his windows to wobble? What on earth is the point of that?

I'll agree with you on things like the clock - never felt the need to move it, that's just how it is on macOS. But I would expect a mature desktop operating system to have improved window management capabilities in 2022

Alternative point ( as somebody that uses macOS, Windows, and Linux about equally )…

Apple may leave “wobbly windows” or even window manager behaviour as the kind of thing a third-party could add. They might do this because they want software companies to be able to make money making software for the Mac. A rich community of software providers is good for a platform.

As a user, this means that high quality software is more likely to be available for the Mac than it is for Linux. Companies struggle to make money on Linux and so fewer companies try. Microsoft used to get roundly criticized for adding stuff into Windows for free that third-parties could be selling for money instead. In fact, Microsoft was branded as “evil” by many for including a web browser for free shortly after Netscape had biggest IPO in history selling theirs for money.

I prefer the “everything in my distribution” model myself but calling an OS a “toy” because it does not bundle a utility or functionality that is hardly universal in utility or preference does not resonate with me.

Not being able to run the software I need for work is a more legitimate beef. I love Linux and I can use it for almost anything. I have to admit though that even just using it for my work email or calendar is a far inferior experience to either Mac or Windows.

For most people, an article about how Linux is still a toy because it poorly integrates with iMessage or Face Time may even make more sense than complaints about NFS.

I do not like macOS as much as I used to but there is a lot bundled into it. Even simple apps like Preview work a lot nicer than what I have on Linux. The Linux printing subsystem ( CUPS ) is a gift from Apple.

Again, I like Linux more than Mac these days. I am thinking of putting Garuda Linux on my MacBook Pro later today in fact. That said, this article did not hit with me.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#596

Post by patrickserrano »

arinlen wrote: post #23
ilikejam wrote: post #3

I'd pay good money for an 'Always on top' window option on mac.

> I'd pay good money for an 'Always on top' window option on mac. I'd already be happy if maximizing a window on macOS worked reliably.

Out of the box macOS doesn't have a button to maximize the way Windows does. The green button in modern macOS is for full-screen and option-clicking that button will bring back the old "zoom" behavior which expands the window to fit the content being displayed. It's a lot less frustrating of an experience when you realize that the button doesn't do what you assume it does.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#597

Post by fsflover »

dwighttk wrote: post #579
dahfizz wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, except this is nothing like that. Computer programs can have defaults. When you don't like the default, you go to the settings screen to change it. If you don't want to deal with settings, you never have to open up the screen. But the scroll settings is much more annoying than that. Apple provides two completely independent settings for "Mouse" and "Trackpad". Under each, there is a toggle for scroll direction.…

> Okay, except this is nothing like that. And yet… desktop Linux isn’t widely popular.

Probably because it's hard to come to a store and buy one.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#598

Post by caycep »

dahfizz wrote: post #553
caycep wrote: post #547

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it sort of reminds me of an interview someone did w/ a farmer's market vendor of gourmet jams/jellies....when they had a spread of 29-30 jams, no one bought any because it was too intimidating/confusion/bred indecision or whatever They changed their lineup to 6 jams and sales went thru the roofff

Okay, except this is nothing like that. Computer programs can have defaults. When you don't like the default, you go to the settings screen to change it. If you don't want to deal with settings, you never have to open up the screen. But the scroll settings is much more annoying than that. Apple provides two completely independent settings for "Mouse" and "Trackpad". Under each, there is a toggle for scroll direction.…

versus ubuntu where the kernel may be fine, but it's certainly nontrivial to bork some random config file or the nvidia/xwin/wayland configuration setup or some other part of the app layer on top of it, and rather than spend the next few hours trying to google whatever arcane setting it is, I've just thrown up my arms and wiped the drive and reinstalled the OS from scratch...

Don't get me wrong, I run ubuntu on a home fileserver/nas box but when I need it for some scientific computing package or something, the best way to run it is on top of Mac OS in a VM....

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#599

Post by microbass »

nopcode wrote: post #500
larrik wrote: post #467

I switched from Linux Mint desktop to an M1 Air last year. Performance-wise, the M1 is very impressive, probably feels about 80% as fast as my 6 year old desktop (that sounds like snark, but it isn't). Meanwhile, the battery life is insane (I've never brought the charger anywhere but my desk, and will often use it for a week out and about). I opted for the Magic Keyboard and Magic Touchpad, because I had a lot of tro…

For those using Windows, macOS and Linux regularly with Keyboard/Mouse I recommend for mac: CursorSense to customise the acceleration graph (or disable). SensibleSideButtons so you can use mouse4/5 in the browser. ScrollReverser so scrolling on mouse and touchpad both make sense. Rectangle for window snapping.

I love Rectangle. I have a couple of external displays, and a 25 key macro pad. I've assigned various buttons on the pad to move my windows around using Rectangle.

Re: Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu (2020)

#600

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

ryandrake wrote: post #521
dahfizz wrote: post #487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mouse acceleration curve on Mac drives me insane. There is a way to set it to "0" with some command line incantation, but it still does not set it to 0. Also, the fact that I can't independently control the scroll direction of mice and trackpads is insane to me. The whole selling point of Apple is that "it just works" , but I can't even get my mouse working properly! That's like the lowest bar for an OS.

How do you "zero mouse acceleration" people survive? I have three monitors side by side. If I went with zero mouse acceleration, I'd need a 3 meter wide mouse pad in order to be able to move the mouse cursor edge to edge! Or do you do that mouse bicycle move where you constantly pick the mouse up, bring it back to its original position, move it some more, pick it back up, and so on? Such a weird subculture :)

...by turning sensitivity up?

I don't understand how this is even a question. It's such an obvious answer.

My sensitivity is configured so that it takes about an inch and a half of mouse movement to move across one monitor.

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