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Switching from macOS: The Basics

blog.elementary.io

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Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#231

Post by snowwrestler »

nicolas_t wrote: post #198
nsxwolf wrote: post #159

So USB-C is what it takes to get you to switch to Linux? What are you going to do when all other laptop manufacturers follow suit - switch back? Mac users who make this threat sound just like people who threaten to move to Canada every election cycle.

Personally, USB-C is the least of my problem. I care about having a fast, powerful laptop with 32 or 64GB ram (I run a lot of VMs for my work, I could offload it to the cloud but then it's more of a hassle). I complain because Apple decided to make the macbook pro 15 inch lighter and thinner resulting in 25% less battery (going from 99.5 watt-hour to 76.0-watt-hour), this means that they have to make more compromises…

> Since, apple is unlikely to decide to go back to the previous form factor, they are unlikely to ever sell a laptop with decent performances compared to their competitors.

Once the next generation of Intel processors land, I bet we'll see Macbook Pros with faster processors and 32GB or more of RAM. At that point they will catch up to their competitors.

But it's important to remember who Apple considers their competitors. They've never competed on the cheap end--everyone knows that--but they've also never competed on the high-power end. For at least the past 8 years it's been possible to buy laptops that deliver more horsepower than a Macbook Pro, by caring less about size, weight, and battery life. I think that will always be true.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#232

Post by wlesieutre »

dharma1 wrote: post #204
matzipan wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, Linux lacks in the creative market. There's no way this can change soon without support from big players, like, for example, Adobe.

I'm not sure what toolkit Adobe use but I have a feeling it's not easily portable to Linux. Inkscape and Gimp are the stalwarts, but for someone coming from Sketch or Photoshop they feel quite ancient and somewhat messy. https://www.figma.com is cross-platform (web based), and a pretty good Sketch competitor For a Lightroom replacement, Darktable is actually quite good (though I really miss the high quality shadows/h…

Check out Krita sometime as a Gimp alternative. It's geared toward digital painting a bit more, but it works for general image editing too.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#233

Post by mohanmcgeek »

kybernetyk wrote: post #33

So I went to their main page to download an ISO to give it a try in a VM. They hid the download button really well: You have to type in "0" into the "how much you'd like to pay" field for the "Purchase" button to change to "Download". I mean I understand that open source projects need funding. But if you want people to try your niche OS at least make it obvious how to download it. Ask for money later after people had…

They caught a lot of flak when they first introduced it. Not only did they introduce this, but they also shamed the people who did not pay

http://m.slashdot.org/story/213469

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#234

Post by Freak_NL »

dagw wrote: post #94
Freak_NL wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

System76 is a solid choice (I love my four year old Gazelle, with 16Gb or RAM from the start), although ordering a laptop there is slightly cumbersome if you are living outside of North America. https://system76.com/laptops The build quality of their offerings seems to get better with each successive generation too, and of course everything works out of the box. I just wish they would partner with someone in the EU;…

Where in the EU are you? Several companies sell essentially the same laptops under a different brand name: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptops/ and https://www.mysn.de/ where the first two I found with some quick googling

Those appear to be laptops preloaded with Windows with an option to ship without an OS. The benefit of ordering from System76 is that the hardware all just works with Linux.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#235

Post by ajford »

fizzbatter wrote: post #157
INTPenis wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I had known that trick. I payed some money for it, which isn't unusual since I often donate money to open source or activism. But this time I regret every cent. Coming from Mac OS, or even Fedora, Elementary seems unpolished and unstable.

I really wish someone would start a paid OS based on Linux and OSS tools. I'd happily pay $100/y (year being, new versions/etc) for a stable and awesome UI/UX. As it is, my Macbook Pro Retina has been crashing a lot and doing weird things frequently since i upgraded to Sierra. Between that and the latest Macbook Pro notebooks, i just don't like Apple anymore. I'm pretty set on buying a highend laptop _(similar build…

Is that not what Red Hat is? I thought that's what the Red Hat license provided?

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#236

Post by benmcnelly »

unknown2374 wrote: post #200
r3bl wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe elementary OS is the closest thing to what you're looking for. They're an LLC with the team that focuses on building a good looking UI and a nice UX. Pantheon is the only desktop environment which I wouldn't call outdated in the Linux world and somewhat stable and easy to get (Solus project is attempting to do the same, but I think they just don't have enough man power to pull it off).

I am not sure why you think that Pantheon is the only one in this category. Have you not seen the Cinnamon DE?

I agree, been using mint linux (Debian based, borrows some "just works" stuff from Ubuntu) plus the Cinnamon Desktop, is a dream, on high end hardware or not. I will concede though, most people coming from iOS/Mac will want something tailored and curated for them, even though *nix offers unlimited possibilities in customization and software.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#237

Post by makomk »

vetinari wrote: post #82
toyg wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Linux world should really get together and bang out a solution for the hiDPI problem that is consistent across X servers and window managers.

The Linux world[1] has got together and is banging out a solution for a somewhat bigger problem that the multitude of X toolkits and their different (non) approach to HiDPI. It's called Wayland, it took some time to make and next week, new Fedora is coming out that uses it by default (until now you could "only" opt-in during login). [1] Except Ubuntu, they have their own NIH solution, of course.

Wayland, the solution where not only does every toolkit have a different and often incomplete approach to HiDPI, they now all have their own implementations of window titlebars and widgets too?

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#238

Post by mohanmcgeek »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #213
fizzbatter wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish someone would start a paid OS based on Linux and OSS tools. I'd happily pay $100/y (year being, new versions/etc) for a stable and awesome UI/UX. As it is, my Macbook Pro Retina has been crashing a lot and doing weird things frequently since i upgraded to Sierra. Between that and the latest Macbook Pro notebooks, i just don't like Apple anymore. I'm pretty set on buying a highend laptop _(similar build…

As a daily Linux user I feel your pain, but have you considered Windows 10 with their Ubuntu coop install? I'm seriously considering it for user-space apps.

It doesn't work for GUI apps yet.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#239

Post by natch »

nicolas_t wrote: post #198
nsxwolf wrote: post #159

So USB-C is what it takes to get you to switch to Linux? What are you going to do when all other laptop manufacturers follow suit - switch back? Mac users who make this threat sound just like people who threaten to move to Canada every election cycle.

Personally, USB-C is the least of my problem. I care about having a fast, powerful laptop with 32 or 64GB ram (I run a lot of VMs for my work, I could offload it to the cloud but then it's more of a hassle). I complain because Apple decided to make the macbook pro 15 inch lighter and thinner resulting in 25% less battery (going from 99.5 watt-hour to 76.0-watt-hour), this means that they have to make more compromises…

Which adapters do you need to carry?

I would love a 32G or 64G machine too, but did you see what Phil Schiller said about the 32G issue? It sounded like it wasn't a matter of a little bit more power, it was a LOT more. We really don't know how much more. Apple does know. If the new design was two inches thick people would be complaining about that.

Personally I'm expecting that no matter what the vendor. desktops will always be more powerful than laptops, and some people will always complain that the gap is too large.

For your VMs it might help that the new SSDs are reportedly quite fast in this generation.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#240

Post by anderber »

nsxwolf wrote: post #159

So USB-C is what it takes to get you to switch to Linux? What are you going to do when all other laptop manufacturers follow suit - switch back? Mac users who make this threat sound just like people who threaten to move to Canada every election cycle.

Honestly I like the switch to USB-C. For me it's the price hike with year old processors, 16GB max for RAM, and that Touch Bar. And I only complain because this is supposed to be their 'Pro' version, while I see this is more focused toward general consumers.
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