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Comment by max4c | Hacker News Reader

I really want to try Linux and escape the Apple ecosystem. The main things holding me back are two things.

1. I use Raycast(an alternative to spotlight) that allows me to search files, open applications, open browser bookmarks, chat with GPT 3.5/4 instantly all with my keyboard. They only work on MacOS and I don’t know how to attain those levels of personal productivity on Linux

2. Good design. I do not like the design of WindowsOS at all and really enjoy Apple’s design in general. My design tastes lean to towards minimal, dark mode, colorful, “rounded corners”. I am looking for an OS that would be designed like apps like Linear, Notion, Obsidian, etc.

If there’s a disro out there that can solve these two things. I would love to switch to Linux

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I’ve seen Raycast adjacent apps for Linux, but I don’t know what the current go-to all the kids are using these days. I used Quicksilver on OS X back in the day, which kind of defined the category I think. But these days I try to keep it simple.

Elementary OS seems to be trying to solve for the design issue, but it’s not as polished as macOS and there are still all the 3rd party apps to contend with. I’ve tried it, and it didn’t have me considering a full time switch.

https://elementary.io/

For me, one of the big things keeping me on macOS is the sync between devices. 20 years ago it seemed much easier to move to Linux, because I didn’t have to worry about my contacts, calendar, etc being in sync everywhere. Having all that stuff, and the handoff between devices, just work is a huge benefit. There are probably ways to sync various things between iOS and Linux, but then researching all the options, setting it up, and keeping up on it all, becomes a hobby. That’s not a hobby I want at this stage of my life.

I think you would like the modern default Gnome desktop. Your needs in regard to search are built-in, except for the GPT stuff. In Gnome you can almost always just type away to navigate by search, without memorizing shortcuts. It's really great! There may be extensions for your "AI" needs, but I don't know for sure. However, Gnome is still sometimes limited by the development status of basic apps and services like mail, calendar and online accounts. Ironically, mostly affecting free standards like CalDAV, while Google Mail and Exchange integration is there. Also some common UI tweaks like having a dock, are hidden away as extensions.

Apple made it quite painful to share with iOS devices and access iCloud services outside the Apple ecosystem. So if you got an iPhone, that's gonna be mildly annoying.

I'd say try Fedora in a virtual machine and see for yourself!

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