this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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Linux is something I've tried to switch too a few times but but the cost of lost software would make it a more expensive choice than windows. Its gotten better and more things work but I'd still be losing some stuff I use quite often, both games and tools for work.
I have multiple machines for different use cases, so I switch between Windows, MacOS, and different Linux flavors constantly. They all have their benefits and drawbacks.
People like to push Linux gaming, but 90% game support still can't beat 100% support. Meanwhile, I wouldn't let Windows ever even touch a server machine. You can trust software like Ubuntu Server or Amazon Linux to be stable if you're not touching it, while Windows likes to keep you on your toes...
MacOS is a good middle ground but not one I would personally use outside of a work machine. It's fairly stable, and it has a Unix style base so it can run Shell happily. Meanwhile software is seemingly a horrible mixed bag that has only been exasperated with the Arm jump. For a computer noob however, it's great. If you don't mind staying in Apple's little zoo then you're not going to have issues.
I don't know why I went on this ramble.
I fail to see how it's a "middle ground" between the drawbacks you mentioned before.
When it comes to gaming, Mac OS is the absolute bottom of the barrel, compatibility is utterly atrocious. With Apple's insistence not to allow Vulkan drivers, they pulled the rug out of any leaps Mac OS could have made in that regard (like Linux did).
Apple also pulled the plug on any server capabilities Mac OS once had.
So, when it comes to gaming or server use, Mac OS would be my absolute last choice, not a middle ground.
Software choice is limited, but software quality is generally high and for some professions, the choice is flawless: when it comes to content creation, Apple's ecosystem is hard to beat.
'Middle ground for the layman' might have been better wording.
For my work specifically, native Shell support is a big plus over Windows.
Did they give any reason for that (no Vulcan) decision?
They're pushing their proprietary "Metal" API, which is iOS and MacOS compatible. Just Apple being Apple.
I haven't had this experience - The rosetta emulation is so good I honestly couldn't tell you whether much of anything is Apple Silicon native or running in emulation mode.
Might be specific to my ops job then, as I seem to keep running into software that goes 'lol the fuck are you doing'. Most of my Mac experience is post-Arm jump so maybe they're mostly general MacOS issues.
That's fair. I would also agree with your "If you don’t mind staying in Apple’s little zoo then you’re not going to have issues." sentiment. It used to be better in the Apple ecosystem where there were many ways to skin the cat, but it seems like if something gets "sherlocked" by Apple, most people seem to be fine with keeping the Apple thing and not straying too far afield.
Why Ubuntu? Just use Debian.
Just what came to mind first.
You don't get 100% support on Windows. “it works on my machine, format and reinstall Windows” is 99% of the support you will get on Windows. I can play dozens of retro games on Linux today that no longer work on Windows and never will ever again. And that's not even counting the myriad of game breaking bug reports that are reduced to “yeah, we don't care” that never get fixed.
I find Linux always breaks on me, and eventually it breaks in a way I am unable to fix. Windows never does this to me, I am always able to fix an issue on Windows.
I would love if Linux was as easy to use, but my personal experience is quite the contrary.
Sure it is easy to set up and get running, but windows is even easier , and then the breaking happens... inevitable and everything time.
Interestingly enough, the exact opposite happens to me. Just about every time I use Windows, it breaks horribly somehow and I can never seem to fix it without a complete reinstall. There's just no way to get into its innards to fix things.
I've never had that kind of problem on Linux.
I imagine this sort of thing comes down to what platform you know.
Can confirm; this is exactly why I switched to Linux. After my fifth-ish reinstallation of Windows, Microsoft pushed an update that caused the OS to use 80-90% of my CPU and I couldn't fix it because they locked down the service that was doing it despite it being entirely unrelated to my use of the computer (it was an Edge-related service that scanned web traffic for "optimization" if I remember right - one of those where Microsoft says "it's necessary but we won't tell you what it is and it wasn't in the OS before a couple months ago").
Quite true.
funny how peoples experience differs. Been using linux for years, and never had something break in a major way. I understand your point but would encourage you to try again someday.
Never had something break on Linux that was not my fault (outside of running hardware so old I had to fix some boot options). Meanwhile, using Windows feels like I'm back at my bug test job. Issues persist for years with no solution!
Yeah, I've run on some old as dirt hardware and the only non recoverable issues I've had would cripple any OS because they were hardware failures.
I'm curious, what distro where you running? And do you run on hardware that's known to be incompatible with Linux?
I'm happy to help you get started, or at least sort out if Linux is the right fit for you.
Timeshift has saved my ass a few times
If you'd be open to try Linux again if it were less likely to break than your past experience, look into the recent trend of what they commonly call "immutable" distributions. This should give you the ability to always switch back to a working OS if anything goes wrong (which should be much less likely in the first place). It's similar in concept to Android or Chrome OS, from what I understand. I'm watching this space very closely because I'm concerned about experiencing the same thing as you if I switch to Linux, and not having the ability to fix the system myself.