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Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

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Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#51

Post by abhixec »

palata wrote: post #15

It's a question of preference. * Recent Macbooks have an incredible battery life, that's for sure. * macOS is not Linux, and Linux is not macOS. I personally like Linux a lot more than macOS, therefore I run Linux on my laptop. It's not a pain at all: just make sure you get a laptop that is well supported (seems a lot easier than 20 years ago, I personally run on ThinkPads). The way you write (e.g. you see running Li…

One thing I think macos is better is connecting to high resolution monitors without issues. My attempts to connect my thinkpad x1e to 5k (could be the dreaded nvidia which is causing this) causes so much headache.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#52

Post by abhixec »

jauco wrote: post #18
palata wrote: post #15

It's a question of preference. * Recent Macbooks have an incredible battery life, that's for sure. * macOS is not Linux, and Linux is not macOS. I personally like Linux a lot more than macOS, therefore I run Linux on my laptop. It's not a pain at all: just make sure you get a laptop that is well supported (seems a lot easier than 20 years ago, I personally run on ThinkPads). The way you write (e.g. you see running Li…

Just to provide a counterpoint (and to show that there is no 1 true answer) I switched from my linux machine to a mac when my carefully selected hardware kept having a graphics card crash when closing/unclosing the lid. And this was the last straw, it’s an endless sequence of micro cuts (power throttling bugs, scroll being different across apps, issues with crappy hardware at a client) On the other hand most of these…

I think the laptop lid atleast for me hasnt been an issue lately on my thinkpad.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#53

Post by fxtentacle »

exe34 wrote: post #34
jauco wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to provide a counterpoint (and to show that there is no 1 true answer) I switched from my linux machine to a mac when my carefully selected hardware kept having a graphics card crash when closing/unclosing the lid. And this was the last straw, it’s an endless sequence of micro cuts (power throttling bugs, scroll being different across apps, issues with crappy hardware at a client) On the other hand most of these…

> With my mac I have far fewer, but the ones you have, you’re often stuck with. Generally these are about flakiness with the automagic stuff. Like the camera feed switching to your iphone for a while (whether you want it or not), then suddenly refusing for weeks even when you do want it This is the kind of thing I could absolutely not stand unless I was getting paid for it. I paid for the laptop. This button does X.…

With that attitude, you will hate all Apple products. If stuff breaks, you drive to the genius bar and they’ll helpfully exchange your hardware for another one. And if it’s a software bug, your only option is to patiently wait.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#54

Post by fxtentacle »

abhixec wrote: post #50
sevensor wrote: post #49

Buy the Mac. If you’re using Arch and Linux feels like “trouble” instead of a breath of fresh air, it may not be for you. That being said, if you really want to be persuaded, give Linux a little more time, and accept some friendly advice. First of all, make sure you’re running hardware that’s not going to give you trouble. If you have the resources to buy a new Apple laptop, you can afford a refurb from eBay with com…

Sorry i should have made it clearer in my post, I have been using archlinux and xmonad for more than 10 years but i do reevaluate the choices i make/made. While the power settings has gotten a lot better over the course i was wondering if there is any laptop+os that gives close to macbook battery life.

The issue in most cases is that hardware that also runs windows will only support S5 Sleep so that Windows 11 can download fresh advertisements while your laptop is “sleeping”. In some cases, you can patch the DSDT tables in the firmware to reenable S3. But also many recent laptops will just not fully support deep sleep. And that means the MacBooks are superior on the hardware level and there isn’t really anything that Windows or Linux can do.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#55

Post by exe34 »

fxtentacle wrote: post #53
exe34 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With my mac I have far fewer, but the ones you have, you’re often stuck with. Generally these are about flakiness with the automagic stuff. Like the camera feed switching to your iphone for a while (whether you want it or not), then suddenly refusing for weeks even when you do want it This is the kind of thing I could absolutely not stand unless I was getting paid for it. I paid for the laptop. This button does X.…

With that attitude, you will hate all Apple products. If stuff breaks, you drive to the genius bar and they’ll helpfully exchange your hardware for another one. And if it’s a software bug, your only option is to patiently wait.

> your only option is to patiently wait.

I have a mid-2012 mac book air but I've been running nixos on it since 2016. Hasn't failed me yet.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#56

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

Fedora Kinoite has been a fantastic experience. Everything has worked out of the box on many different machines, including Wi-Fi and fingerprint readers, and being image-based it makes rollbacks easy in case an OS update goes sideways.

If you really don't want an image-based OS, then Fedora KDE (macOS is disqualified too).

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#57

Post by sandreas »

I think technically MacBooks are superior. Another aspect is that most vendors support their Apps on macOS while Linux support is much less common. Software development for Apples ecosystem is also much easier on Apple devices.

In my case it is not a decision against the better tech, but more against a company that I don't want to support any more (because anti-repair). That might be really a niche tbh.

The only thing i really think is Superior on Linux is (bootable) ZFS, General flexibility and some other minor but interesting stuff (mostly security like debugging and low level networking)

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#58

Post by ciconia »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #24
0manrho wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyone who says mac is unix and is just as good as linux is a fool and should never be trusted. Seconded. > Linux just works While there are instances where this is the case (System76 hardware w/ PopOS for example), This is certainly not true in the general, and this is coming from someone that's been on linux since the dotcom era. It's very very important you get a well supported device or it most certainly does…

Thirded! I jumped from DOS in the mid 90s to Solaris to Linux in about 2001. BEen on it since. I got my first personal laptop in 2004 or so (IBM thinkpad T42). Then went through 2 X series laptops and am currently on an X1 carbon. I consulted for a company for 2.5 years where I used a mac. Maybe it's just me but I found the mac ecosystem very crummy. On Debian, when I wanted postgres, I did an apt-get and got it sort…

Fourthed!

I've had Macbooks, I've had Windows laptops, and have been a happy full-time Linux user since 2020.

Windows is just impossible for anyone that cares about their digital hygiene. MacOS is slow (for software development) and there's always stuff that doesn't work.

For me Linux (plain Ubuntu) hits the sweet spot: it just works and I can do whatever I please, no ads, no walled garden.

Re: Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?

#60

Post by ofalkaed »

lproven wrote: post #22

Buy a used Thinkpad. Their compatibility is superb, as many major Linux vendors develop on them. Better to buy older higher-end models than spend the money on newer models. Buy the highest-end model you can afford. Don't use an ideologically-motivated distro that omits drivers and firmware because they are not Free enough. Use something fairly mainstream, like Ubuntu or Mint. Update its firmware before you install. S…

Many modern Thinkpads have superb compatibility as well these days, they sell linux laptops and many of their non-linux laptops are fully linux compatible. From what I saw when I was last laptop shopping much of their lineup works out of the box with linux as long as you use a recent kernel. Just search their support forums for the models you are interested in, there generally will be threads on installing linux on them and Lenovo staff will generally be there providing solutions.
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