I'm switching from OS X to Linux because I'm tired of having to have a kernel extension to remap keys and a stupid "window manager" just so I can hit Caps Lock+Up to make a window fill the screen. But more importantly, I'm tired of every feature and option being taken away from me. OS X is just going downhill, so it's probably a good idea to switch as soon as possible.

There are a few things that I'd want in my new Linux distro:

- I'd really love to keep my OS X-style keybindings. It's really frustrating for me to be on Windows and try to paste the system clipboard into a command line. What is it again? Shift-Insert or Control-Insert? And how do I open a new terminal window? Alt-F2?

- The above also goes for Emacs text editing bindings (OS X comes with C-p, C-n, C-k, C-o, C-v, etc.). I want them around too.

So being able to rebind keys is really important to me.

I'm also looking to replace a couple apps:

- iTerm2. I was sure this wouldn't be a problem, but after looking more into it, apparently ... it is. I've heard that some emulators can't even wrap text properly. I'd also like if it could support profile switching via escape code and other nice things like that.

- Alfred. Not so much for searching for applications, more for having a mini-"command line" that I can use from anywhere.

Another thing is compatibility. Of course if that was my highest priority, I'd go with Ubuntu and Unity. It seems like more and more things are starting to say "Linux" when they mean "stock Ubuntu". I cannot stand Unity, so I'm thinking Linux Mint. I'm also giving Elementary OS a try in a VM right now, so we'll see how that goes.

user:	gpinkham
created:	April 2, 2012
karma:	1