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There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

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Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#31

Post by cjk2 »

nilamo wrote: post #19
cjk2 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use windows. My point is roughly there isn't even a remotely comparable bit of software to the stuff built into macOS on Windows or Linux (calendar, contacts, notes, reminders, mail, maps).

On the other hand, almost all of that has moved to cloud services which work totally fine on any os.

Well there is some variability in that. A lot of the cloud services out there don't work offline at all, suffer from sync issues, have poor quality apps if they even have one or have poor or undocumented privacy architecture.

(I have Apple ADP turned on, so all my keys are on-device only. I also have period of up to 2 weeks where I am completely disconnected from the Internet)

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#32

Post by wafflemaker »

enceladus06 wrote: post #20
beart wrote: post #4

I recently switched back to Windows on my workstation. Multi monitor support with two different resolutions just doesn't work in too many scenarios. I have a long bullet list of issues but that one was at the top.

Multi monitor support is working on Ubuntu 24.04 with a 34" 4k monitor and 24" 1080p monitor. 4k is set to 1,5x scaling (scaled 1440p), and everything is being driven by the default intel drivers. Works perfectly.

I'm using Ubuntu Mate on desktop, and multi monitor is wonky. After each reboot I have to pluck out and put in cable for the bigger main screen so it can be detected by system. Then have to re-arrange position of monitors on the desktop. Might be an Nvidia issue tho. Still better than Windows.

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#34

Post by ugjka »

Was thinking of switching my mom's pc to linux because windows 10 is nearing its end and the pc doesn't have tpm chip for Win 11. But thankfully i found that windows 11 Iot LTSC version doesn't require tpm (or uefi secure boot) and doesn't have most of the crapware preinstalled. But the ethics of acquiring it and activating it is a different story (MAS)

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#35

Post by lostmsu »

nilamo wrote: post #19
cjk2 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use windows. My point is roughly there isn't even a remotely comparable bit of software to the stuff built into macOS on Windows or Linux (calendar, contacts, notes, reminders, mail, maps).

On the other hand, almost all of that has moved to cloud services which work totally fine on any os.

Mail has been a cloud service since forever, but since I got my work mailbox that can't just be forwarded to main, I use an app.

Geary seems to be almost exactly what I need UI-wise, but they do not support 2FA.

Funnily enough Microsoft says it will replace Mail with bloated Outlook, so bad decisions are everywhere.

If you read to this point and wanted to say "but on Mac" - that one killed itself for me by disallowing iCloud login in Virtualization Framework-based VMs and by extension any dev tools that require it. It also disrespected me as a user by not bothering to say that outright and wasting a couple hours of my time chasing "Something went wrong" around.

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#38

Post by eduction »

It’s amazing how far Linux has come, but it feels several years behind in terms of laptop battery life with default settings vs Apple Silicon laptop.

This is purely my impression, I have not run an apples to apples test. I just see sleep and hibernation and so forth as things people still tend to struggle with, especially if they are trying to get good battery life. As with anything on Linux, you can often make some real gains with sufficient research and time.

Basically it seems like Linux will always be several years behind on something and so it’s most likely to gain popularity when Apple and Microsoft stop figuring out how to make new laptops interesting.

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#39

Post by snide »

Right now Linux on Desktop offers:

- The best developer experience with the most hackable toolkit

- A great gaming experience that plays the vast majority of titles on Steam

- A "dumb by default" non-cloud enabled workstation

- IMHO the most well-design, does most things "vanilla" desktop environment with GNOME.

The tradeoff is

- You will need to learn to update your system and learn some new things. Things will seem difficult till you learn how they work.

- There are gaps in third-party applications (primary, video editing is sub par). The smaller apps you pay for now, you'll end up making scripts or small pieces of software to replace. Eventually this will be freeing, but it's a learning curve and you'll initially miss some things (Alfred, Screenshot tools...etc).

- Customization comes with a larger maintenance cost.

- Your phone is not really connected to your PC, and syncing systems is all manual. If it's not web-based, that app you like doesn't probably doesn't work.

I switched 3 or so years ago and it's been a revelation. Although I'd been using computers since the 80s I never really understood how an OS works. While you could argue I never needed to, I find myself much more digitally literate now. After a hump year, I mostly tailor the OS to what I need it to do, and it feels like an extension of me.

I wrote a blog post about this more generally here. https://www.davesnider.com/posts/im-a-linux

Re: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

#40

Post by Hasu »

Yeah I've been running Windows and Linux for years (I only use MacOS if my job makes me and pays for the machine), and I just spent the weekend setting up Linux on my former Windows machine. There really isn't much of a reason to run Windows anymore unless you have very specific software needs.
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