Ubuntu shouldn't be recommended anymore. Flatpak won. Snap is a disaster. If you ask me, Fedora is the new Ubuntu.
Pop_OS is Ubuntu without snap but Flatpak instead. I love it :)
So is Mint, to pick a random example.
Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
111–120 of 140 posts
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
It depends on the market segment of the device. Many of the segments that ARM devices compete with are also segments where sockets aren't common in x86 either. I mean, we all know Ampere devices typically have socketed RAM, but that's because different compromises were made in those devices vs. the compromises made in a thin low-power laptop. The thin-and-light segment has some pretty tough competition, and the best…
>The thin-and-light segment has some pretty tough competition, and the best sellers are not the devices with the most sockets. Again, the original comment I addressed was the fallacy that it's technically impossible to have socketed RAM on SoCs, which is false, not whether the device with more sockets is better seller which is probably also false, but again, this was not the main topic and we can continue to discuss…
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Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#113That was a strange article: skip it and just read the discussion thread here. I downloaded Slackware over a 2400 baud modem, so I was early on the Linux train. Now, I occasionally use my System76 laptop. My workhorse is using VPSs with mosh or ssh and tmux. A wonderful Linux experience. Either my M1 MacBook Pro or my very nice and very inexpensive little Lenovo Chromebook suffices to reach various VPSs. Since there i…
What was strange about it? I wrote it; I'd genuinely like to know.
Hello Liam, sorry to sound judgmental. I was expecting a short list of recommendations or more positive, to go along with the list of things wrong with current distributions. I enjoyed it up to the point when I realized there wouldn’t be any recommendations.
That said, the subtitle “ A reasonable list of the least bad distros” accurately represents what the article is about.
Again, I didn’t intend to be insulting, so I apologize for that.
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#114I have two macs. And, yes, I surely I can afford many more of it. But, whether you own a mac or not, once you start using Linux (and it takes patience to do so _effectively_), I can guarantee that you _will_ never want to use anything else. - Linux user for the past 22 years (for the most part been so much fulfilling).
I have a similar experience. Had a Mac from my previous job. I insisted on a Linux laptop when I switched because I just couldn't use macos as effectively as my personal Linux laptop. I didn't find the hardware all that special either
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm pretty sure the finder lacking basic features such as cut-paste or copying the path to the current folder is a fact. The finder alone would be enough to justify my statement, but it's just a small part of the numerous issues of MacOS. The dock leaving empty space on 50% of the width of your monitor is also a fact. Or having to run a weird command in the CLI to add an empty space as separator in the dock. Or havin…
Try to bear in mind that while there is nothing wrong with wanting what you want, others may not share your desires. I've been using Macs since 1988 and I've never wanted your point 1, 3, or 4, and my dock doesn't take 50% of the width of the screen, it takes about 5% of it because it's on the side where it belongs and where it was on NeXTstep. So none of this has ever applied to me, and TBH, I can't even imagine it…
Did you miss the part where I say that you shouldn't bother commenting if you aren't using Windows frequently?
You just don't know how bad you have it, that's it.
But sure, MacOS is great, go back to installing a 3rd party software to snap windows xD
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
It depends on the market segment of the device. Many of the segments that ARM devices compete with are also segments where sockets aren't common in x86 either. I mean, we all know Ampere devices typically have socketed RAM, but that's because different compromises were made in those devices vs. the compromises made in a thin low-power laptop. The thin-and-light segment has some pretty tough competition, and the best…
>The thin-and-light segment has some pretty tough competition, and the best sellers are not the devices with the most sockets. Again, the original comment I addressed was the fallacy that it's technically impossible to have socketed RAM on SoCs, which is false, not whether the device with more sockets is better seller which is probably also false, but again, this was not the main topic and we can continue to discuss…
I think that's an unfair interpretation of that comment. They most likely meant that you couldn't just lift the DRAM off the package and put it on a standard module, all else equal. It would require other significant design compromises to accomplish that. LPDDR4X socketed modules don't even exist.
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
iTunes doesn't even exist anymore on macOS. > Try to rename iTunes, because that's the only way to keep it from opening every time you connect your non-Apple Bluetooth headphones (there's a convoluted procedure to do so) Never happened once with any of my non-Apple Bluetooth headphones. What the ** are you talking about? Do you constantly hit the play button on the headphones when you connect them? That's the only ti…
If by Retina display you mean an Apple display and not resolution, then yes. Because my monitor is 5k and should be able to be handled. And I already use the Thunderbolt port on the right side, having researched this a bit. Auto-updates can be turned off on Windows as well. I still get updates I didn't expect on macOS, often when I've told it explicitly not to do so (like when you get the notification requesting it).…
> If by Retina display you mean an Apple display and not resolution, then yes. Because my monitor is 5k and should be able to be handled.
Really? You have a 5120x2880 monitor that macOS is messing up? I've never heard that before. Talk to LG, there's got to be something wrong with it.
>Auto-updates can be turned off on Windows as well. I still get updates I didn't expect on macOS, often when I've told it explicitly not to do so (like when you get the notification requesting it).
Not Apple's fault that you don't know what you're doing. I've turned off auto-updates and nothing updates unless I tell it to. There are some apps that auto-update on their own, like Chrome and Firefox. But they do that on Windows too.
> Regarding the headphones, it's a common issue. In our case, it was done when the Bluetooth headphones (a model sold in Apple stores!) simply connected, as another commenter mentioned.
Basically the headphones that do that send a play command when they connect. Apple will auto-start iTunes/Apple Music when nothing is loaded and play is hit. Yeah, that's annoying. I wish Apple didn't program iTunes that way, but that is entirely the fault of the headphones. That's why bluetooth headphones today don't do that.
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Frankly, I have a Mac too and I don't like it much. I keep it for the ability to run some pieces of proprietary software like Cubase and Garmin Express and similar tools to keep my gear updated, but OTOH I really dislike the overall software experience. If only it wasn't so painful to dual-boot linux on it, it would probably live running Linux 99% of the time (but when I need to flash some gizmo or import some propri…
Which MacBook is this? I was dual booting Arch on my MBA2015 and it ran Linux 99% of the time. Worked fairly well.
It's a Mac Pro 2013 (got it as a gift).
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#119I discovered the other day that I've been using Linux Mint (MATE) for over 10 years. In other words, that's a good plug for the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux
#120They missed Elementary OS - Linux distro designed to look like open source/bootleg version of Mac.
Hi. Article author here. No, I didn't. Also, if you wish, you can read my review of Elementary from a few months ago: https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/21/elementary_os_61/ To counter your points: • I tried to pick 10 of the most widely-used distros. I do not think Elementary would make that list. • I don't think it has any more than a trivial cosmetic resemblance to macOS. • While I admire the coherence of its des…
I dont understand how you could have a cynics guide and not include Gentoo.
Gentoo is the distro for people that dont believe ANY distro is properly compiled for their particular hardware. Gentoo users spend hours/days/weeks compiling and recompiling kernels and applications so they they might squeeze and extra millisecond or two of performance from their PC. Its pure cynical masochism for the consumer market.