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Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

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21–30 of 85 posts

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#21
post #20
post #19

Normal people will probably not read these long essays, but they might complain about their M$ OS getting worse.. and that is a great opportunity to present linux as the solution (because it is), you can then explain how programs they use will continue to work (it's 2025, they will in most cases) and how there's nothing to fear. For me, it actually worked! Of course I did offer some help just in case she got stuck or…

>you can then explain how programs they use will continue to work Microsoft Office and games. No, not LibreOffice and Tux Racer. Wine has gotten a lot better compared to years past, but if you need/want Windows software you still need Windows. You also only get one shot at convincing them, since first impressions are everything. A better argument might be recommending MacOS, at least Microsoft Office works just fine…

> Microsoft Office and games. No, not LibreOffice and Tux Racer.

Not everyone will be as displeased with LibreOffice since not everyone uses MS Office professionally.. I'd argue further: for MOST people this is acceptable!

> Wine has gotten a lot better compared to years past, but if you need/want Windows software you still need Windows.

Not the case for PhotoScape for example (which was on the "required" list in this case). Also fortunately more and more programs are cross-platform, and again, for MOST people they're acceptable.

> Also, if you're using esoteric hardware: Forget it.

What?? It was the opposite, Linux doesn't require TPM, runs fine on older laptops and even runs faster with lighter DE's..

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#22
I loathe macOS but stick with it mostly for the hardware. I use a beefed-up 16-inch M3 Max for work and a baseline 15-inch MacBook Air for writing and OSS work.

I love the Air’s hardware and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Before switching to Mac, I was running a maxed-out 16-inch Dell XPS and enjoyed using Ubuntu and Pop!_OS on it. But the hardware just wasn’t there—the trackpad felt cheap, and the keyboard would creak. There were just too many small issues for such an expensive device.

Otherwise, macOS is bloated, slow, and has horrible window management. I also prefer GNU tooling over BSD, and having to install everything separately is an extra hassle. Plus, it’s getting more restrictive over the years, which I’m not a fan of.

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#23
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a ThinkPad user, I disagree. I've been using Linux (Fedora + Arch) on my Z13 Gen 1 for three years now and it's been a first-class experience. Everything worked out-of-the-box, with literally zero issues. I can't think of a single thing that I'd want to improve, from a laptop user's perspective. For me, this is the definitive Linux laptop experience. I had a similarly good experience with my previous laptop, an HP…

It is disingenuous, yet also accurate. HN mostly agrees: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32964519 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42569926 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42122686

I've never used anything but Linux on the 20 or so laptops I've gone through. Suspend can be an issue, fan control can be suboptimal, but the only thing I find intolerable is the touchpad, so I use a mouse. I've had one or two bad laptops, but most were sufficient. If I had a laptop presently, it would be running Linux.

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#24
post #5

Linux in a nutshell: Just awful in a laptop, meh in a desktop, and first-class as a server.

This comment is unworthy of your user name. The modern experience of Linux is miles ahead of Windows and as good as Mac: https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-4-best-linux-desktops-base...

[deleted]

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#25

I'm in the middle of sorting out my next laptop (leaning towards an M4 Macbook). I've used a Thinkpad for years, but the the product direction of Windows has been annoying, and while WSL is decent, it's not great. Someone suggested I try Linux, and I did. This was on a 6-year-old X1 Carbon, so it's relatively well-supported. I ran into a few hard blockers. 1) Couldn't pair my Airpods Pro after 15 minutes of googling…

[deleted]

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#26
post #22

I loathe macOS but stick with it mostly for the hardware. I use a beefed-up 16-inch M3 Max for work and a baseline 15-inch MacBook Air for writing and OSS work. I love the Air’s hardware and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Before switching to Mac, I was running a maxed-out 16-inch Dell XPS and enjoyed using Ubuntu and Pop!_OS on it. But the hardware just wasn’t there—the trackpad felt cheap, and the keyboard would cr…

The other advantage I see to macOS is commercial app support. Like it or not, it can be a fact of life for many. Photoshop users don’t want to use GIMP.

While Electron has made Linux on the desktop much more viable in this respect, there is are some key apps that macOS has where Linux is lacking.

And of course there is also working between mobile and desktop, which macOS/iOS seem to do best. Part of me longs for the days when this wasn’t a concern, but this is a big thing these days and makes running Linux on my main computer a problem.

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#27

Linux in a nutshell: Just awful in a laptop, meh in a desktop, and first-class as a server.

Asides from what sibling comments have mentioned, this is in large part true for me because I've yet to experience a Linux desktop environment that I've found to be great from a UI perspective. On a server, that's not applicable.

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#28
post #22

I loathe macOS but stick with it mostly for the hardware. I use a beefed-up 16-inch M3 Max for work and a baseline 15-inch MacBook Air for writing and OSS work. I love the Air’s hardware and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Before switching to Mac, I was running a maxed-out 16-inch Dell XPS and enjoyed using Ubuntu and Pop!_OS on it. But the hardware just wasn’t there—the trackpad felt cheap, and the keyboard would cr…

I need a Windows laptop for work but really appreciate the exceptional build quality of my MacBook Air. I had a ThinkPad, but it creaked and didn’t feel nearly as solid. Are there any Windows laptops that come close to MacBook-level hardware quality?

Re: Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom

#30

I'm in the middle of sorting out my next laptop (leaning towards an M4 Macbook). I've used a Thinkpad for years, but the the product direction of Windows has been annoying, and while WSL is decent, it's not great. Someone suggested I try Linux, and I did. This was on a 6-year-old X1 Carbon, so it's relatively well-supported. I ran into a few hard blockers. 1) Couldn't pair my Airpods Pro after 15 minutes of googling…

Touching on UI. My experience is the opposite. I started by installing Xubuntu so XFCE desktop. I wanted the GUI shell to be fast and low reasources, and choose XFCE. 16 years later and my desktop shell is the same traveling with me through district hopping to Arch and now NixOS. Same UI and no one’s aiming to change it.

Disk encryption, straightforward luks w/ pass phrase. Setup was 3 terminal commands and and done. Pretty sure the GUI installers you just enter a passphrase and it’s done. All the knobs are available if the default isn’t good enough, using a key file on an external disk, etc.

Poor hdpi is real, it’s bound to change as us old graybeards finally get new monitors

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