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Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

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Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#61

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

jitl wrote: post #22

I think my ideal Linux OS is probably Ubuntu/CentOS + something like macOS’s .app bundle file format for distributing end-user applications. When running personal Linux, I want things to generally “just work”, which means staying away from the distro package managers on Debian/Redhat derivatives. Given enough “hobby time” I manage to twist my base system’s packages into pretzels and/or break workflow critical softwar…

> In short I want the ROX desktop dream, but for all Linux apps. http://rox.sourceforge.net/desktop/about_rox.html

Seconded. AppImage is admirable and FlatPak is tolerable, but Linux has become a hopelessly fragmented and complex ball of abstractions and everyone's best efforts to deal with that so we can just install some goddamned applications already have been significantly hindered by it.

Best I've managed so far without getting into hopelessly niche distros is Fedora Silverblue. Immutable base system (OSTree) with FlatPak for most application installs and Toolbox (see Distrobox as an alternative) for things that don't have a FlatPak. It's still a pretty rough experience, especially because of GNOME and its hatred of configurability, but it is the least-suck I've managed to wring out of Linux.

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#63

Post by lproven »

jagger27 wrote: post #9

Ubuntu shouldn't be recommended anymore. Flatpak won. Snap is a disaster. If you ask me, Fedora is the new Ubuntu.

So disable and remove it, then. That's what I did on my Ubuntu server. Remove and purge the snap stuff. No problem.

And if you wish you can install Flatpak too, but note, Flatpak is desktop-only, whereas Snap is desktop and server.

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#64

Post by kitsunesoba »

meibo wrote: post #27
erwan577 wrote: post #11

If Mac are so expensive why are hackintoshes still out of favor ?

They fall apart at every occasion/update and you're missing out on most of the Apple ecosystem bonus/online infrastructure, which is a big part of why people buy Apple products. They're also naturally stuck on Intel CPUs and the hardware choice is very limiting.

As someone who used to maintain a hackintosh, you can get them to work with iCloud, iMessage, Airdrop, Continuity, etc but you need to set the Mac-faking bits in your bootloader (probably OpenCore) correctly, and you might need to select for particular models of wifi/Bluetooth cards. Not particularly straightforward but plenty doable.

From what I can see, the popularity of hackintoshing has dropped steeply with the introduction of M-series macs. The biggest driver of hackintoshing was Apple not selling compelling hardware, and that’s mostly been solved.

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#66

Post by throw93232 »

windowsrookie wrote: post #47
throw93232 wrote: post #20

Macbook air is like $1000. People can afford it. Problem is shitty hardware. SSD soldered to motherboard, bad cooling, no touchscreen, broken keyboard, no way to replace battery...

The M1 MacBook air has been on sale for $799 several times. "shitty hardware" ??? I am not aware of any PC laptop that comes close to the build quality of a MacBook Air for less. "SSD soldered to motherboard, bad cooling, no touchscreen, broken keyboard, no way to replace battery..." SSD soldered: It is a bit disappointing, but Apple ships the fastest SSD's in the industry. Bad cooling: The MacBook air is passively c…

If laptop breaks, I just swap SSD into spare machine. With mac I have to wait days maybe weeks for SSD desoldering and fix. Sorry it is a toy! If Apple can not invest $2 into connector, there is no build quality!

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#68

Post by dmitriid »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #13
unsupp0rted wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If millions of professionals are doing a thing a certain way, either they're all wrong and crazy or there's something I'm missing. It's a Chesterton's Fence situation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Chesterton's_fence

It's not. The reasoning behind the popularity of MacOS is very well understood: marketing.

What amazes me is that people who pride themselves on being smart when faced with Apple always resort to the laziest and most stupid of explanations for Apple's popularity: "marketing".

While marketing does play a bog role, it is still rooted in the reality: Apple makes good products (that are often leagues better than the competition in several areas), and as a whole the experience of using Apple products is better for a significant number of people.

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#69

Post by wazoox »

paol wrote: post #17

> It is a truth universally acknowledged that all operating systems suck. This could be engraved in stone. I know the title isn't really serious, but not being able to afford a Mac is not a good reason to use Linux. Use what you want/need/feel comfortable in, otherwise the experience will be miserable.

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 proprietary music files).

Re: Sick of Windows but can't afford a Mac? The cynic's guide to desktop Linux

#70

Post by kitsunesoba »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #2

I honestly cannot believe that a person that uses both Windows and Mac frequently in 2022 would choose Mac if they had to choose a single platform. Not even a developer. MacOS is a masterclass in bad design and lackluster features. I always considered buying a Mac but was always hesitant to change. Once I got one for work I swore to never ever spend a dime on a Mac. People that will disagree haven't used Windows in y…

As a dev, if I had to choose a single platform it would never be Windows.

It’s fine as the OS that I use to play games or occasionally poke at a hobby project in Visual Studio (full fat version, not VS Code) with, but the moment I start trying to use it for actual work it starts driving me insane. It has just as many papercuts as desktop Linux does, just in different places and with far less flexibility to fix any of them. Like yeah, Linux has some legit annoyances but at least I could fix them either by installing a different package or writing something of my own if it’s bothering me badly enough.

I certainly wouldn’t choose Windows over macOS. Among macOS, Windows, and Linux, easily Windows is the one that gets booted out.

> People that will disagree haven't used Windows in years.

Nah, I have a Ryzen 5950X/3080ti tower running Windows 11 (and formerly 10). It gets used at least every other day. I’m plenty familiar with Windows, and it still drives me crazy when using it for anything more than a fancy game console.

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