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I Miss BSD/Linux

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Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#221

Post by ziml77 »

tracker1 wrote: post #122
SpecialistK wrote: post #10

I suspect my next laptop will be a Framework, and although I wish they came with touchscreens, that is a blessing in disguise because it means I don't have to worry about touch support in a DE and can play with more BSDs or esoteric Linuxes. I have been tempted by the MacBooks, especially when on sale, but the closed nature and lack of repairability keeps me in check each time.

Yeah, I'm out after my M1 dies or I pass it to my daughter. Next one will be a Framework 13" AMD with PopOS, likely after the new Cosmic DE launches.

I have an M1 Macbook and can't bring myself to switch to the Framework I recently bought.

The trackpad is awful compared to the Macbook's. I keep zooming things that I'm trying to scroll. And the click is the kind where it's hinged at the top so you have to click at the bottom rather than anywhere. I tried switching to taps but those are far too sensitive and have no tactile feedback. And when I boot into Linux it's even worse, failing to interpret two finger scroll actions at all unless my fingers are perfectly aligned.

The screen is also... off. I was able to calibrate it with a colorimeter to look close to my Macbook, but it's still not quite right. It seems like the bright parts are a bit too bright for some reason which ends up being distracting.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#222

Post by tiagod »

pjmlp wrote: post #205
ginko wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normies use smartphones these days.

I would really like to see normies do regular computing tasks on their phones, then again HN is full of folks that rather buy an iPad and connect to a cloud VM via ssh, instead of a proper laptop.

What's a "normal computing task" for you?

I know a lot of poeple that don't own a computer nor feel a need to own one. They just use their phones for everything.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#223

Post by WorldMaker »

baq wrote: post #198
WorldMaker wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> or the other laptop manufacturers can get their act together Microsoft is willing to sell you an ARM-based PC if you like. Qualcomm's efforts aren't quite up to Apple Silicon's par, but they aren't terrible either. Of course, if you are looking to put Linux on a PC I can definitely understand why Microsoft wouldn't be your first thought for your hardware vendor. It's a weird time we live in, if you remember (or are…

Being arm-based is not important. They could still be Motorola for all I care. It’s how the final product works as a whole. macOS does a disservice to the hardware package, which is too bad, because the hardware is really unmatched.

The hardware package of Microsoft's Surface line is quite elegant at this point. They've taken a lot of notes from Apple and are doing some strong things. At this point Windows itself is doing some disservice to that hardware, too, especially as the current Windows design team seems stuck trying to turn Windows 11 into a watered down macOS clone.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#224

Post by rpigab »

MathMonkeyMan wrote: post #186

Buy a ThinkPad. Install Ubuntu. Don't think about it again for 6-10 years.

I have a T480/Ubuntu-Gnome at work and a T480/Debian-KDE at home, both work fantastic, however for some reason the Lenovo Universal USB-C docks with 2 1080p external displays connected (1 HDMI and 1 DP) cause a lot of Gnome crashes when docking, and when it happens, I lose external displays and/or the usb keyboard, and have to spend 15 minutes fiddling around deactivating and reactivating in settings, or unplugging the dock PSU, and other desperate methods. Windows users don't have these issues for some reason, and other usb-c docks seem to work better most of the time, with exceptions.

There's also specific issues unrelated to Thinkpads, like bluetooth headphones microphones, Bose QC 35 II can't be used with mic over bluetooth, maybe Pipewire will improve this, maybe not, IDK.

Apart from Thinkpads, I also have a gaming desktop PC with an Nvidia RTX, I don't use Windows anymore, Steam, Proton, WINE, third-party launchers like Heroic work wonders for gaming, but I can't use Wayland at all, it's Xorg only (probably because of Nvidia drivers), otherwise it's flickering and crashes. And you can't screenshare whole screen easily in Wayland yet.

We're getting there and right now, I think I'm better off on GNU/Linux even with all these issues than with the enshittified Windows, but there's still a long way to go, things are moving slowly, and somethings the whole Linux community relies on unpaid work from one dude that delayed good bluetooth audio support by years because someone insulted him in a PR comment.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#225

Post by tracker1 »

ziml77 wrote: post #221
tracker1 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I'm out after my M1 dies or I pass it to my daughter. Next one will be a Framework 13" AMD with PopOS, likely after the new Cosmic DE launches.

I have an M1 Macbook and can't bring myself to switch to the Framework I recently bought. The trackpad is awful compared to the Macbook's. I keep zooming things that I'm trying to scroll. And the click is the kind where it's hinged at the top so you have to click at the bottom rather than anywhere. I tried switching to taps but those are far too sensitive and have no tactile feedback. And when I boot into Linux it's…

Yeah, I think a lot of other touchpads are working around the Apple design patents on their touchpad. The software integration and gestures also tend to be better. Doesn't annoy me too much.

Similar for the screen(s)... I mean, I have calibrated displays on my work and personal desks, and usually work docked, so my laptop use is generally casual content, email, forums, etc when traveling a few times a year.

The touchpad and screen has pretty much been the main two reasons I have been on mac laptops since 2010 or so. I'm just tired of the Windows and Apple games regarding locking things down, and would just prefer to have a Linux environment everywhere. The few key binding differences on Mac throw me off to this day, and I'm kind of over it all.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#226

Post by Jasper_ »

lproven wrote: post #215
tracker1 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize this... I was suggesting that Pop is every bit as ready to use as Mint.

How long have you got? • The tiling is clunky, and underneath it's still GNOME, my #1 most hated Linux desktop. • systemd-boot is clunky, does not play well with others, does not dual boot well at all, and it needs a huge ESP yet does not supply tooling to resize the ESP -- and Gparted can't resize FAT32 partitions as small as the typical ESP. • It replaces Snap with Flatpak, which is not an improvement in any meanin…

> architecturally, OStree is a Lovecraftian horror.

What makes you say this?

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#227

Post by tracker1 »

lproven wrote: post #215
tracker1 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize this... I was suggesting that Pop is every bit as ready to use as Mint.

How long have you got? • The tiling is clunky, and underneath it's still GNOME, my #1 most hated Linux desktop. • systemd-boot is clunky, does not play well with others, does not dual boot well at all, and it needs a huge ESP yet does not supply tooling to resize the ESP -- and Gparted can't resize FAT32 partitions as small as the typical ESP. • It replaces Snap with Flatpak, which is not an improvement in any meanin…

Generally I dedicate a drive to Linux and a separate drive to Windows, using a full disk option for Linux install. So, you are right, I'm unlikely to see a lot of the issues you mention.

I rsync my home directory, at least the subdirectories that matter to me, to my NAS and have scripts to do the inverse on a new config. A lot of what is important to me is either in my Dropbox directory, or in git(hub|lab) repositories. I don't have much else that concerns me generally on my local system.

I appreciate what Pop has done above/beyond Gnome, and looking forward to Cosmos, even if it may be a while.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#228

Post by baq »

WorldMaker wrote: post #223
baq wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being arm-based is not important. They could still be Motorola for all I care. It’s how the final product works as a whole. macOS does a disservice to the hardware package, which is too bad, because the hardware is really unmatched.

The hardware package of Microsoft's Surface line is quite elegant at this point. They've taken a lot of notes from Apple and are doing some strong things. At this point Windows itself is doing some disservice to that hardware, too, especially as the current Windows design team seems stuck trying to turn Windows 11 into a watered down macOS clone.

Not sure if the ARM Surfaces have WSL2 but if yes, that alone would be a very serious consideration for my next enterprise laptop requisition, because Apple very obviously doesn’t care.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#229

Post by WorldMaker »

baq wrote: post #228
WorldMaker wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hardware package of Microsoft's Surface line is quite elegant at this point. They've taken a lot of notes from Apple and are doing some strong things. At this point Windows itself is doing some disservice to that hardware, too, especially as the current Windows design team seems stuck trying to turn Windows 11 into a watered down macOS clone.

Not sure if the ARM Surfaces have WSL2 but if yes, that alone would be a very serious consideration for my next enterprise laptop requisition, because Apple very obviously doesn’t care.

I've heard WSL2 on ARM works as expected, with the caveat that you are still limited to ARM Linux distros and their quirks.

Re: I Miss BSD/Linux

#230

Post by LilBytes »

WorldMaker wrote: post #223
baq wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being arm-based is not important. They could still be Motorola for all I care. It’s how the final product works as a whole. macOS does a disservice to the hardware package, which is too bad, because the hardware is really unmatched.

The hardware package of Microsoft's Surface line is quite elegant at this point. They've taken a lot of notes from Apple and are doing some strong things. At this point Windows itself is doing some disservice to that hardware, too, especially as the current Windows design team seems stuck trying to turn Windows 11 into a watered down macOS clone.

I highly recommend against Microsoft Surface products. I bought them for my dev team and we saw 3 of the 10 or so devices fail and need to be replaced.

The RMA experience in other countries may differ to Australia, but it meant my team were without a dev spec'd laptop in total of close to a month across the whole team. They had to use off the shelf laptops and use a VDI for computational taxing workloads while waiting for a replacement device.

Throw in how ordinary the support process was with Microsoft, e.g., no phone contact number, only email, correspondance takes 1-2 days to start and the back and forth taking another few hours each way. We wasted a lot of time on these devices and the bullshit Microsoft support process.

Devs are now split between Lenovo ThinkPads and MacBooks now depending on their wants and needs. I've never seen a failure record like what we had with the Surfaces as we have with any other hardware provider.

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