Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom(linux-howto.org) |
Switching to Linux: Reclaim Your Freedom(linux-howto.org) |
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.
I think I read a blog of theirs to the effect that the apple developers clearly made a choice to leave the opening in the secure boot chain to allow for a separate partition to install, giving them a hat tip, it would have been easy to lock out alternate OSes (Windows secure boot with bitlocker does) but Apple lets you have it both ways.
I word of warning for others - I did manage to fubar my install when I wanted to undo it, I didn’t pay enough attention and deleted a partition I wasn’t meant to and got in a boot loop. Following recovery to reinstall macOS worked fine, just had to blow away my macOS partition, so, you know, back it up if you don’t want to lose it :)
Wait until your battery dies.
I keep thinking I'll get used to it, but it's been years and every day I hate it a little more.
My escape is to maximize a terminal on a large monitor and use https://zellij.dev/ as my "window manager"
Edit: Looks like there was twitter integration in OSX 10.8/10.9 according to ChatGPT and eventually removed in 10.14.
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.
GIMP users don't want to use Photoshop.
I'm very curious, as someone who is a hobby photographer and takes photos on both a phone and a decent mirrorless camera... What normal person needs Photoshop and what's the use case? Like, the phone and camera both do a good job of creating jpegs, both can adjust lighting, colour, highlights, etc..., and there's specific apps for adjusting lighting of photos. I can't say I've ever wanted to do intricate photo editing as a non-pro, even as a hobbyist.
Do normal people actually use Photoshop? Am I missing something in my life?
I could tune my way into making Linux do many of those things, but even in 2025, that feels like an exercise of putting lipstick on a pig.
So, I’ve made my peace and settled on a minimal MacOS on MacBook Air as the client, and do majority of my dev/admin work on a beefy Linux server that I can ssh into with ease. Play to each OS’s strengths..
Besides that the fedora gnome desktop has won me over, I was able to install everything I wanted from the software app (logseq, gnucash, thunderbird, filezilla), stable as a cow
A couple of QoL wins against macOS (besides coming with a package manager {even windows has winget now!} and, you know, being free): they’ve combined the functionality of Spotlight with Mission Control/alt tab, just tap cmd and switch apps or search for app/file/setting. I cannot reacclimate to having two different shortcuts on Mac now. Drag window to the side for split screen or top for full screen works fine. The other is small: when I mouseover the volume slider in the taskbar I can scroll to control it. Mac does not, have to click and drag. Call it a finishing touch.
I liked it so much I slapped an SSD into a 2014 Intel Mac mini (can you believe we had gigabit and usb3 over 10 years ago?) and put fedora workstation on that too. Truly the year of the Linux desktop (for me anyway).
EDIT: oh yea! Only other annoyance is Signal doesn’t work on either! Electron builds fail for aarch64 (not asahi’s fault) and even on x86-fedora it throws up warnings that it doesn’t know what secure keychain to use, would I like to store database plaintext? Uh, no! I’ll just go back to email ffs
I got constant bugs over time, I can't place a breakpoint directly in the Java Swing GUI thread because it will block my entire desktop, completely dead, so I have to ctrl+alt+fX login to a different virtual desktop and kill the Java process. No such bug on Windows. Also the browser sometimes gets crazy, jitters or something, I have to kill it and restart the app, not to mention the weird "chromium" processes taking up 100% of CPU that pop up every time I try to visit Yahoo Finance.
On games, which is the main strongpoint of Windows, I installed Counterstrike 2 and it would work .. provided I unplug the second monitor and run it on the small laptop one. There's no way to tell what happens if I leave the second monitor on, all hell breaks loose and I have to physically turn off the power to be able to reboot the machine.
I can no longer connect to the internet using the (faster) wired connection because a bug in the RTL8111/8168/8411 driver. I tried everything, update, configure, still unusable, works enything from seconds to half an hour then it's dead. On top of that, the WiFi connection also drops occasionally, it sometimes reverts when I turn off / turn it on from UI, but often I have to reboot to have it work again. Needless to say on Windows both wired and wifi work flawlessly.
So on a 2022 release of the most popular desktop Linux distribution, both the UI and connectivity are nigh-unusable to someone who actually knows their way around computers. And you want regular people switching from Windows and MacOS. Not gonna happen.
For me, it actually worked! Of course I did offer some help just in case she got stuck or something, but it went relatively smoothly.
I don't think you need user skills to use it. Gnome is super friendly to use (although maybe it needs to make the dock visible by default). KDE isn't bad and is Windows-like.
I don't think Linux is more complex than Windows. Folders are laid out in a common sense way. Ever tried uninstalling a Windows program that was installed in a weird way by some proprietary installer?
I don't think normal users particularly need to care about OSS either, Linux is more than functional enough nowadays that it's a great choice merely for utility, ideology isn't needed.
What's up with everyone thinking they need Photoshop/GIMP? Those are photo editing tools. For design/content creation Krita is the best tool for raster images by far...
And NetBeans? Really? Is this article from 2005? IntelliJ Community is open-source. VSCode is kinda, VSCodium more so. Gnome Builder is really good now. So is QtCreator and KDevelop. Plus Vim/Neovim and Emacs, especially nowadays that distros make it easy to get started.
Linux nerds still don't quite get normies...
Here's my pitch: it's easier and less annoying than Windows. It's free. For normal everyday use, it has everything you need.
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
While it was pleasant while it lastly, I ended up reinstalling Windows on my Surface Pro 9 since the machine began randomly freezing after installing a set of updates (I was running Ubuntu with SurfaceLinux kernel).
Surprisingly, Windows with WSL has been more pleasant to use than I remember. I haven’t run Windows in 10+ years, but so far im encouraged to continue trying it.
So if someone's suggesting a distro that's good for "reclaiming your freedom", then one of the simplest distros out there, made and maintained by a single person and well docummented, but still challenging enough that you end up learning something, should be a legitimate way to go.
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 there.
Also, if you're using esoteric hardware: Forget it.
The other thing is hyper-specific and proprietary peripherals, but even then, most things work well. I have multiple drawing tablets for example, and these guys even release Linux drivers these days.
If you specialize in using Microsoft Office daily, or Photoshop, then sure... but thats not most people.
Besides that, you don't need to be super absolutist about it, you can throw Asahi linux on a mac, or an older laptop/pc. Its not all or nothing.
The only reason I don't always play on Linux is games with an anti-cheat that doesn't like Linux and not having access to a some Nvidia software like DLDSR and RTX HDR. Nvidia has devoted far more resources to it recently. Linux even has DLSS frame gen now.
It's not 2005 anymore... Most Steam games run on Linux via Proton. There's even a console that runs Linux.
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..
switching to Linux is not some stroll through a digital park. It’s more like trying to navigate a labyrinth blindfolded while simultaneously herding cats. The potential drawbacks are like those pesky little flies at a summer picnic—annoying, omnipresent, and difficult to swat away.
One of the most immediate challenges that new Linux users face is the formidable learning curve. Unlike the user-friendly interfaces of proprietary operating systems, Linux can feel like a maze designed by someone with questionable intentions. For the uninitiated, the command line might appear as an ancient script etched on a stone tablet. It’s not uncommon for beginners to experience bouts of frustration reminiscent of a toddler trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.
WAT?
for one, i have never seriously used windows, and every time i do, i feel like the above. what does that tell you? for one, part of the problem is in the switch itself and in dealing with problems in an unfamiliar system. that goes for any switch, whether it is to linux, to mac, to windows or anything else. for two, i actually believe that linux is easier to use than windows. on linux, when i have a problem, i actually get help and answers. on windows when i have a problem, i often simply can't find any solution, because it's not FOSS and many solutions depend on microsoft who does not care to fix them. on linux, when problems amount that an app developer does not want to fix we get a fork.
and also this:
Another common myth claims that all Linux distributions are command-line driven and devoid of graphical interfaces. Spoiler alert: that’s as far from the truth as you can get.
yet a few paragraphs earlier there is the following:
Think of it as a workout for your brain; you’re trading intuitive GUI interactions for the raw, exhilarating power of the command line.
which one is it now?
Many popular applications, especially proprietary ones, do not have direct Linux versions
but no mention of wine? and how some windows apps run even more stable under wine than they run on windows?
i have yet to find any windows program that i needed or wanted to use that i could not run under wine. and most of the ones i did use are games.
your favorite video game might not run as seamlessly
not true in my experience. again, no mention of steam. why?
in summary, this article claims to clean up myths and misconceptions, yet it is perpetuating them.
How would you make a case backing this up?
"Gnu IMAGE Manipulation Program"
Versus Krita which is very obviously geared towards creation (from scratch) with it's plethora of painting tools. Or Inkscape for vector images.
Same goes for PHOTOshop versus Illustrator...
Every time the Mac decides today's another day when flipping it shut will randomly also disable the external display, I get a little more frustrated, or when it's dumb about not switching my headphones out of bi-directional headset mode to a HQ audio profile once a call ends. These things are just flawless on my Linux system.
Battery life on the M1 Mac is absolutely stellar and probably about double of the Intel-based Linux one, though, which I agree is a valid deciding factor for quite a few users because it can really change how you go about your day.
I’ve only tried the System 76 Lemur Pro and the Framework 13, both of which worked smoothly. The Framework has better build quality, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to try a Linux laptop.
Arch Linux ran without a hitch. KDE on Wayland is now incredibly polished and, surprisingly, a far better UX for me on a laptop than Apple's.
It takes around 1 to 2 years for the kernel to catch up on more stable distros, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Asus laptops for Linux use.
Servers are configured differently (config files, puppet) with static configs. This works great for server deployments. On laptops, too much is always changing--new networks, powering on and off, etc.
The other issue is yes, drivers, but not only because of supplier pressure. There seem to be more peripheral devices (sound, webcam, bluetooth) from low-end vendors, so the devices are buggier and less likely to get support. Servers care about disk and network. There aren't as many vendors, and the have incentives to have decent Linux support.
I wouldn't recommend it for your laptop unless you're an enthusiast. Suspend/sleep is still janky, power saving is poor and dock support is hit and miss depending on the day. And this is after applying a lot of tweaks.
For desktop it's fantastic and I would recommend. It's not without some issues but what OSes is actually without any issues.
For server, I can't imagine using anything else.
I had a similarly good experience with my previous laptop, an HP Elite Dragonfly. Only niggle was that not all bits of firmware was upgradable via fwupd, so I had to ocassionally boot into Windows to do the firmware updates. But other than that, I don't recollect any issues with it either, suspend/resume/power management all worked as good as Windows. In fact, battery life was better than Windows when I applied powertop's tweaks.
And I'm sure the laptop experience is equally good on "native" Linux laptops, such as the ones from System76, Slimbook, Tuxedo etc.
So personally, I wouldn't make a blanket statement like "I wouldn't recommend it for your laptop unless you're an enthusiast". To be clear, I'm not claiming that the issues you describe don't exist, but at least for laptops known for having official support for Linux, the experience should be good.
I'd give this laptop to my grandma even. It's great to use. Gives me zero trouble, can't say the same for my wife's Windows laptop.
The only weirdness I've encountered is some crashing in some lid-open-or-closed software, probably because I tried to make sure it wouldn't sleep just because I wanted to carry it to a conference room.
My dad is a big into photography and while he does his management and RAW processing in Lightroom, he still uses Photoshop here and there. He’s been enjoying playing with their AI image generation to change up scenes, replace skies, etc. Even without the AI, it can be good for tweaking things in the image to your liking, like removing a random person from the background of your vacation photo. Depending on what you’re looking to do, this can either be easy or take incredible skill.
Myself, I have a bit of an obsession with desktop wallpapers, and will often make my own or tweak ones I find to my liking. At different points in my life, going back 25 years, I’d use it for various things in school, work, or socially online. Not because it was required, but because I enjoyed it and could make things that didn’t exist.
These days I use Affinity’s suite instead of Adobe, so I don’t have to pay a subscription. Apple recently acquired Pixelmator, which I also used for a while, so I’m interested to see what comes of that.
Its audio system is also fucked, if you plug in headphones tte thing will play from the headphones at the volume of the speakers. The system doesn't see the headphones, it only has a generic audio output and switching between speakers and headphones happens IN HARDWARE.
The battery life ain't great, though I don't know about hibernate 'cause I ain't wasting 32 gigs on swap. Suspend seems to work fine, though I don't know how much power it'd drain over the course of, say, a night.
Just last year we saw that an actual cybersec company like Crowdstrike couldn't prevent a massive screw up with kernel level code. Given that, I am stunned that people are willing to trust game publishers with access to their kernels. Even leaving aside abstract notions of freedom, do people not get that this is extremely poor security practice? Is any game worth the risks that come with giving random game companies (who are presumably less cybersec savvy than Crowdstrike) the keys to the kingdom?
But Slackware has much smaller initial commitment, so I'd think it would be better to start.
Definitely better than GIMP or PS.
I had a similarly good experience with my previous laptop, an HP Elite Dragonfly. Only niggle was that not all bits of firmware was upgradable via fwupd, so I had to ocassionally boot into Windows to do the firmware updates. But other than that, I don't recollect any issues with it either.
And I'm sure the laptop experience is equally good on "native" Linux laptops, such as the ones from System76, Slimbook, Tuxedo etc.
So to make a blanket statement like "'the modern experience' is dogshit sliding down a wet stick for laptops", is pretty disingenuous and very disrespectful towards all the developers who've worked so hard on making Linux viable.
HN mostly agrees:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32964519
If you wanted to prove that it's accurate you might include qualitative data, or, gasp, ignore HN since it comprises largely of marketers and not so many engineers.
I am unusually OCD with touchpads though, and have a history of actually smashing them during times of high stress. Why the touchpad isn't taken more seriously in Linux-land is a mystery to me and certainly a point of contention. For all the other benefits of Linux on a laptop, it is something I've always just accepted and been otherwise very grateful for.
In fact, I think Apple should take a page out of Linux' book and put cursor acceleration in system preferences instead of the terminal. The amount of work that Apple puts into enforcing controversial defaults is mind-boggling.
Just need to get a laptop to try it.