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Comment by divan | Hacker News Reader

I switched from Linux to MacOS around 14 years ago.

With Linux it's not only that I could change everything (system font, acceleration of the mouse pointer etc), but I literally HAD to do it. First days after buying new laptop and installing Linux I had to spend of configuring everything – from mouse pointers to Google calendar integration, often with obscure command line or config setups.

That was fun.

Until I bought first Macbook Air and discovered that I don't need to reconfigure everything anymore. Touchpad had just perfect speed/acceleration of the pointer. Mail/calendar/contacts was syncing out of the box. Fonts were awesome. Screens and external montiors just worked. Wifi just worked. Hybernation/sleep just worked.

So this is true on Linux you can configure way more than on MacOS. But the reason behind it is what keeping me with Macbooks all these years.

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The last 14 years have seen a lot of changes to linux desktops and window managers. There are several high quality options that require very little to no configuration to have a pleasant experience.

Hardware wise, things are a bit mixed. I'm writing this from an LG gram that runs perfectly out of the box- screen, wifi, sleep, everything Just Works. The battery life is fantastic.

The only real configuration that I've done is the same configuration I would do on a mac anyway via karabiner / hammerspoon.

I've used Linux for 20+ years. I have to give it to Linux Mint, it's almost there, like 95% there. The remaining 5% is painful, but ignorable enough.

Desktop linux has come a long way since the Corel or Mandrake Linux days.

I use it in my PC nowadays and it's ok. I think the current iteration of the nonworking hardware (before it was soundcard/winmodem/bluetooth/graphics) are Laptop technologies like multi monitor with right resolution or fingerprint scanning.

Linux has always had problems with hardware though (not your fault, but still your problem).

> but I literally HAD to do it.

So much this. I realized I want to use my computer as a tool to perform work and consume entertainment, and not as a hobby in and of itself.

I used Debian sid for about a decade and later switched to Ubuntu for a few years before biting the bullet and buying a Mac around OS X 10.5 (Leopard). I'm extremely thankful for my Linux years, as I gained now-invaluable information about low-level system issues that I use nearly every day at my job. But I don't think I'll ever use it as a desktop operating system again.

Similar experience here. My macos (actually pretty much all my apple devices just work). Could it be better? Sure, in some cases…but does it work well enough…definitely.

I watch other folks spend hours and days tweaking up a new machine. For me, I could swap out my Mac in less than an hour and likely have an identical user experience. That to me has more value than hyper levels of control.

Lots of replies saying Linux has changed. My experience is that it’s exactly the same: potluck. For some people, things just work, for most people they mostly work, and for a good chunk of people it’s a lot of effort to get a usable machine.

I switched to Mac around 2009 and have regularly gone back to Linux. It’s just not appropriate for a workhorse machine that you don’t want to have technical problems with, sadly.

I have a friend who loves Linux, has used it and nothing else since the 90s, and he said he would still never recommend it for anyone but a tinkering hacker.

Linux machines are great for dev, but terrible for any kind of management, and the UX generally sucks. I love Linux but it is not the right tool for the job unless your job is pure dev or you enjoy tinkering. Mac remains the best compromise, but it is a major compromise.

True. But have you tried the latest Ubuntu for example? Everything works out of the box on my HP EliteBook. Touchpad works great as well. I didn't need to configure anything.

Time hasn't stood still. Both Windows and Linux have improved tremendously.

Sure, I have huge respect for Linux and confident that it provides decent experience nowadays. If I have had extra money, I would definitely buy some latest ultrabook and install one of the latest Linux distros. Not to much incentive though, as I'm a bit locked into Apple ecosystem now (M1 is sick, insane comfort with stuff like airdrop, copy/pasting text from phone/tabled into laptop, iCloud etc).

14 years? I tried cars in 1950 thy were hand crank drove like boats. Imgave up on cars.

Most people won't have this trouble with modern Fedora. It's pretty easy.

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