How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too • Hacker News Board

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#181

Post by doublepg23 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 2:26 PM UTC

gst wrote: post #47

I've used Linux since the early 1.x kernel versions, but for my next laptop I'm thinking about switching to a MacBook. Not because of the software (I prefer Linux to macOS), but because of the hardware. Apple seems to be the only manufacturer that so far escaped the race to the bottom and which still produces somewhat premium hardware. I want: a hidpi screen with lots of nits and a good contrast, a trackpoint or a hu…

I've heard good things about the XPS line, but I'm surprised you'd move to a Macbook over throttling. My understanding is Macbooks are notorious for throttling, the last MB Pro bug being the worst in recent memory. If anything I'd blame Intel.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#182

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 2:30 PM UTC

likeclockwork wrote: post #95

drb91 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it copies the user interface of windows, with all its problems, but it doesn’t carry over the reliable variable DPI support, a notifications framework, a unified reliable software management interface, and consensus on how to provide basic utilities like secret management, file associations, and accessibility controls for the visually impaired. That is, the features of windows ACTUALLY worth copying. Linux is stil…

> Until the FOSS community decides to unify behind a single experience [...] People always say this whenever Linux is under discussion. No one actually wants this. If you want "one-size fits all" use MacOS or Windows and see how that fits you.

>No one actually wants this. If you want "one-size fits all" use MacOS or Windows and see how that fits you

looks at user counts for each OS

reads parent comment again

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#183

Post by beagle3 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 2:40 PM UTC

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #180

beagle3 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s true, but on the other hand, you have some 15000-30000 packages installable from software center that are guaranteed virus free, with automatic updates. (And they are liver and gratis to boot), so the average user rarely if never needs to go there.

> installable from software center that are guaranteed virus free This is not true. Repos can, and have, been hijacked. Packages can and have had malicious code inserted. Hell, projects can and have accidentally accepted stealth backdoors in the guise of bug fixes or feature commits. The repo system is not a panacea for security.

This is all true for any distribution system.

However, in addition to e.g. hacking the actual developer/distributor, on Windows, you have to be wary of a rogue versions on e.g. download.com that rank higher than the genuine one, and of google ads for trojaned VLCs and stuff.

It is no panacea, but it is very significantly better than the Windows world (and the Mac world outside of the app store)

Furthermore, modern snaps have limited privileges and file system views, so a backdoor is much less effective; I assume appimages and flatpaks have similar mechanisms (and if not, they should).

Situation is far from perfect, but it is about a billion time better than Windows whichever way you measure it.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#184

Post by zozbot123 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 2:42 PM UTC

squirrelicus wrote: post #126

It's funny. I recently switched from Linux after 10 years back to Windows. I ran Arch Linux for about 7 years. After systemd I spent years justifying why I used it even though it would constantly break and require a reformat more often than Win7 did. I went to Ubuntu, and it was marginally more stable. But even there, I was bitten too many times. Libicu upgrades breaking everything, updating packages breaks the packa…

Because system upgrades never break things in Windows 10, right? Seriously, if updates are problematic for you and you don't care about running the "latest and greatest", move to a stably-supported distribution like Ubuntu-LTS, Debian or even CentOS. They won't be "out of date" as long as they're in their support period. Updating every 6 months like vanilla Ubuntu does is just pointless churn, and don't get me started on what Arch does...

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#185

Post by zozbot123 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 2:48 PM UTC

sdfjkl wrote: post #165

doxavore wrote: post #17

Is there a pleasant way to run a Linux laptop today with decent drawing/touchscreen support, HiDPI, and working dock/undock multi-monitor support? I have used various distros on and off over the years, but today I can run Windows 10 on a Surface Book 2, and the non-development portions of my experience are spectacular, for the low, low price of selling my soul: lazy file syncing with OneDrive, pen support combined wi…

I've looked into touchscreen support on Linux and it was very disappointing. You can fiddle most things to a workable level eventually, but no matter which implementation, there does seem to be a lack of integration for the virtual keyboard, i.e. it doesn't pop up when I touch an input field or won't go away when the input field loses focus. Overall it was pretty awful. Since I wanted to use the device in tablet mode…

Did you try the latest versions of GNOME? Touchscreen support seem to be improving quickly there, and I'm quite sure that the ongoing work on GNOME-Mobile will improve things even further down the road.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#186

Post by gst » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 3:23 PM UTC

doublepg23 wrote: post #181

gst wrote: post #47

I've used Linux since the early 1.x kernel versions, but for my next laptop I'm thinking about switching to a MacBook. Not because of the software (I prefer Linux to macOS), but because of the hardware. Apple seems to be the only manufacturer that so far escaped the race to the bottom and which still produces somewhat premium hardware. I want: a hidpi screen with lots of nits and a good contrast, a trackpoint or a hu…

I've heard good things about the XPS line, but I'm surprised you'd move to a Macbook over throttling . My understanding is Macbooks are notorious for throttling, the last MB Pro bug being the worst in recent memory. If anything I'd blame Intel.

Regular thermal throttling is fine. The Thinkpad issue that I mentioned is a software bug in the firmware that throttles the CPU way too early/often.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#187

Post by SomeHacker44 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 3:37 PM UTC

BossingAround wrote: post #174

rv-de wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Linux Mint 19 with xfce desktop icons are absolutely no issue whatsoever. But who needs them anyway? - [Super Key] - First three letters of the program name - [Enter] Boom! Much faster.

This is pretty much exactly how it works on Windows.

Yep. I use Alfred on Mac (although spotlight hotkey also works), but a tap of windows button on Win 10. I almost never use the mouse or GUI to launch apps.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#188

Post by SomeHacker44 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 3:49 PM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #21

joe_the_user wrote: post #3

I switched to Linux about ten years. I basically got tired of having an OS I paid for (in buying a computer) not really be "mine". Lately, I have had few problems installing and running Linux on the various cheap laptops I've bought. Ubuntu with a Mate GUI "just works", has all the software I need and lacks BS like the Windows 10 interface. I don't really think there's any objective barrier to using Linux for a signi…

The big reason people run windows at home is gaming. Valve for linux very much exists, but definitely not everything is ported.

This is true for me... Windows for gaming.

There are a few other things I need it for (like FPGA/circuit tools, home theater programming, etc.) but those can be easily handled by a VM.

That said, I am thinking of switching back from Mac to Windows for a daily driver, or to Linux, because these new MBPs are so bad. I need another keyboard replacement and I do not want to be without my computer for a week. This time double keypresses instead of none. What a joke, and the TouchBar makes VI hard (and no, after 31 years of VI I am not switching to caps lock).

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#189

Post by SomeHacker44 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 3:56 PM UTC

AsyncAwait wrote: post #148

kdamica wrote: post #112

I've been using Linux as my primary OS for about a year now, and while I agree that Linux has come a long way, it's definitely not ready for prime time just yet. Here's why: - GUI performance is bad. I have a reasonably high end system, but switching between desktops is choppy unless I turn my resolution down to 1600x900. - Trackpad support is bad. It works but feels clunky. You really feel the difference when you us…

> GUI performance is bad. This depends heavily on the GPU drivers used, which in itself is probably a problem, but is far from universal. I didn't have any issues with Bluetooth & hibernate for years now, I am surprised you'd have hibernate problems on a System76 laptop as I don't even have a 'Linux-friendly' laptop per se and hibernate works. > The next time I'm ready to drop $1500+ on a laptop, I'll probably just g…

I would pay a lot for the internals of a 2018 15" MBP in a 2015 13" MBP shell, even with much more limited battery life and only TB-3 (and audio) ports.

Re: How and why I transitioned to Linux, and how you can too

#190

Post by SomeHacker44 » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

davidscolgan wrote: post #19

doxavore wrote: post #17

Is there a pleasant way to run a Linux laptop today with decent drawing/touchscreen support, HiDPI, and working dock/undock multi-monitor support? I have used various distros on and off over the years, but today I can run Windows 10 on a Surface Book 2, and the non-development portions of my experience are spectacular, for the low, low price of selling my soul: lazy file syncing with OneDrive, pen support combined wi…

My strategy has for a long time been to run Windows 10 for all of my browsers and games and paint programs and then run a virtual machine of linux with VirtualBox. I just use terminal Vim, so I run the virtual machine headless and ssh into it with a cygwin terminal. It's a bit janky but no more janky than actually running Linux on a laptop. No worries about my HDMI projector connection working, no fighting with wifi,…

I love this. Thanks for sharing. I wonder if there is a way to make a true dual system on Windows, with full graphical support (even if it is the Linux console), where you can flip between Windows desktop, Linux Desktop (if desired), and Linux console with a "switch desktop" hotkey.

I think I will try this on one of my windows computers. I can't switch from Mac to Linux because I use too much non Linux software, but most of it is on Windows. Adobe suite, Ableton, Native Instruments, etc.

Does anyone know a way to virtualize Linux like the thought above please?