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Switching from macOS: The Basics

blog.elementary.io

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Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#471

Post by bischofs »

tolger wrote: post #468
bischofs wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bravo sir, I could not have said it better myself. I purchased a brand new XPS15 ubuntu 14.04 and it was a disaster - The battery lasted about three hours, the $300 graphics card did not function at all because of poor drivers (graphics switching is still theoretical on even user friendly linux os' because of dark age xserver) I had to spend two weeks to get the wifi working by messing around with conf files The conc…

Did the machine come with Ubuntu out of the box, or did you install it yourself? That is one of the reasons my company went with System76. They ship with Ubuntu installed and will provide support, drivers for all the hardware, etc. The OryxPro is a nice desktop replacement.

Shipped with it from dell

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#472

Post by purple-dragon »

hayleox wrote: post #309
Void_ wrote: post #39

I'm really hoping this is just a phase. Hoping that Apple will reduce prices of new laptops and we'll be back to normal. Right now everybody is using Macs. Walk into the Bay Area coffee shop, you see Macs everywhere. I love that. I build desktop software for Macs (focuslist.co). My apps are prettier than any others. They are easier and faster to use. This is the reason why people pay me $5 while they can get the job…

I don't really see any issue with Electron apps -- Slack and Atom, both Electron-based, are some really good looking apps that really get the job done. For me, even as a Mac user, I avoid Mac-only apps as much as I possibly can because I want the freedom to switch platforms in the future. I will happily have all my apps be slightly less pretty if it means they work on any OS.

I like Electron apps too, and I am running a handful of them as I type this message, but they are notorious for hogging system resources (especially memory).

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#473

Post by bork_laser »

Void_ wrote: post #39

I'm really hoping this is just a phase. Hoping that Apple will reduce prices of new laptops and we'll be back to normal. Right now everybody is using Macs. Walk into the Bay Area coffee shop, you see Macs everywhere. I love that. I build desktop software for Macs (focuslist.co). My apps are prettier than any others. They are easier and faster to use. This is the reason why people pay me $5 while they can get the job…

> I build desktop software for Macs (focuslist.co)

You're scripting a fucking to-do app on the level of a first semester student.

> My apps are prettier than any others

No they certainly aren't.

> This is the reason why people pay me $5

Congratulations.

> They want to get the job done while winning an Apple Design Award.

Your chances to win any design award are equal to Bashar al-Assad's chances of winning the nobel peace prize.

So much jerking from somebody making a fucking to do app which needs absolutely 0.0 skills. I hope you were joking.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#474

Post by vamur »

fnl wrote: post #211

I try Ubuntu about once a year, in the hopes of getting rid of OSX. But each time, the reason for going back to Apple ID is interoperability : Try dragging stuff (images, fotos, links, files, formatted text ...) from one program to another, including the "dreaded" Finder; Works nearly always in OSX. While Ubuntu has come a long way with these things, I think it's still an even longer way away from what OSX can do. So…

This works in Gnome. And if it doesn't you can just copy/paste stuff instead of dragging. In any case that's no reason to switch OS, whatever the direction.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#475

Post by vsgxvhdxh »

kevinherron wrote: post #249
vsgxvhdxh wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is actually available to buy right now. The Xps 13 developer edition is not available and the Windows edition has different hardware which is not Linux compatible (WiFi).

Yes, it is available: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?3x_n...

Excellent I've been trying to buy one for a while. Now to find it in the UK site...

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#476

Post by vsgxvhdxh »

JonnieCache wrote: post #153
vsgxvhdxh wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is actually available to buy right now. The Xps 13 developer edition is not available and the Windows edition has different hardware which is not Linux compatible (WiFi).

>different hardware which is not Linux compatible (WiFi). link? I heard they had crappy broadcom chipsets but would be good to get some specific info. TBH the sites i looked at last night seemed to say the current hardware that ships with windows is well supported...

It used to be that you had to use Windows to update the bios and that grub didn't work so dual boot was not possible. Also broadcomm.

Glad if that has changed!

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#477

Post by claudius »

erikbye wrote: post #439
veidr wrote: post #357

My own burning hatred towards Apple runs a little hotter than most, and I have been seriously googling (and trying) alternatives since 2012. That was when my $9000 Mac Pro — which had been a great machine, and still was, except for the little detail about not having been updated since 2009 and thus being stuck with USB 2 (!!!) to say nothing of Thunderbolt and any kind of modern accoutrements — started to feel like a…

What I find really laughable is when people say macOS Sierra or the new MBP2016 is underwhelming, and then they start talking about something as inferior as Elementary OS and laptops that doesn’t even have a useable touchpad.

Meh. I was issued a Macbook with some version of Mac OS X by my employer as well. Shitty screen, no trackpoint. Very very sharp edge on the front making it very difficult to rest your hands nicely. Chaotic GUI, outdated software (esp. Bash etc.), weird keyboard with missing keys. No proper package manager, no proper development software (Intel Compiler?) and not even a compiler at all if I don’t sign up with an Apple account.

Honestly if you put together fancy slides in Keynote, it might work (though Beamer is still nicer). I even managed to set up the email client and read emails occasionally when my workstation was rebooting. After two years I asked for a laptop with Linux and nicer keyboards and I couldn’t be happier.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#478

Post by nerraga »

tomtheelder wrote: post #459
erikbye wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I find really laughable is when people say macOS Sierra or the new MBP2016 is underwhelming, and then they start talking about something as inferior as Elementary OS and laptops that doesn’t even have a useable touchpad.

You can get laptops with extremely good hardware at a better price than the MBP. For example, Dell's XPS series is the best example. Fantastic screen, fantastic trackpad, good build quality, and equivalent specs despite being a model year behind. In terms of hardware, the MBP is pretty bad value. The OSes are miles behind though.

I do agree that you can pick up a good linux laptop that will run circles around today's MBP (system76 fully spec'd lemur or gazelle) but, imo the overall industrial design leaves a bit to be desired.

I have a Dell XPS Developer edition - I definitely think it's a step in the right direction. I agree with you in terms of screen and build quality. The battery life is mediocre at best. The trackpad isn't terrible but it's certainly not something I'd compare to my MacBook (even a 2010 model). OS complaints aside, mac trackpads really stand out.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#479

Post by mikeash »

derefr wrote: post #421
mikeash wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because for most people, "0 dollars" is not a sensible answer to that question. Getting something for free is perceived as a separate kind of action from purchasing something, even if you can ultimately boil it down to the same "exchange $X for Y" process.

I mean, of course it is; but it's the obvious numeric way to encode the response "fuck you is how much." Like punching in $0 as a tip on a POS reader.

You're right, now that you mention it. It is a sensible answer, but it doesn't mean "I'd just like this for free, thanks."

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#480

Post by claudius »

tomtheelder wrote: post #457
AsyncAwait wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nothing works right, on any of them. Copy/paste, batteries, wireless networking, drag and drop, high-res displays, multilingual input, even like fucking word processing and email and image editors and terminal programs... Can you be more specific? i.e. - copy paste with a highlight+middle mouse button is frankly awesome in GNOME. - Batteries - yeah, Windows laptops usually don't have amazing battery life and it can…

> copy paste with a highlight+middle mouse button is frankly awesome in GNOME Oh my gosh, this is my least favorite thing about using gnome! I accidentally paste all the time and can't turn it off particularly easily. Very sad.

It’s a generic feature of X available in all desktop environments (essentially there’s two copy-paste mechanism which you can use independently). Much easier to use than manual C-c C-v, especially if you have a third mouse button also on your laptop.
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