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abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
gonzalohm · 5 months ago
I mean... 256Gb storage in 2025 sounds like a joke. I hate that they can get away with that
abhixec · 5 months ago
Yes I am with you on that one. Not supporting Apple by any means here but if your workflow is cloud based you could get away with 256. As a software dev. my work laptop sadly or surprisingly is 256 and I haven't hit the storage limit on it. No running any code locally everything is on a sandboxed dev. machine.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
herbst · 5 months ago
That's a weird assumption. I am not talking about cd and grep I am talking about one of the thousands of tools available in any Linux repo.

It's more likely to get it run on WSL than assuming it would just work on a Mac.

abhixec · 5 months ago
But could provide one of the thousand that you are having trouble running on MacOS? Genuinely curious despite my comment sounding like I am trying to defend MacOS.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
herbst · 5 months ago
Apple has zero to horrible support. There is no community. It's tech is a black box, it may is working 98% of the time but when it isn't you are fully on your own and have no actual way to do anything.

Not to mention that it looks and feels old, which most people likely don't care as it's still more modern than windows ever was since 95.

You will constantly pay the differences. In the 1 year or so I worked with a Mac I bought like 10 <$5 tools for things that would be a single command in Linux.

Depending on your hardware and what you do it will be slower, or slightly faster. If it's faster in anything it will likely run hot enough to cook some eggs on it.

Edit:// maybe just try a stable distro first

abhixec · 5 months ago
If you you can single command in Linux, what prevented you to do the same on Macos? brew install <the_commandline_tool> and you should have been able to run the command in macos too.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
RandomBacon · 5 months ago
Do you want to fiddle with Linux?

If not, then maybe try a different distro, like Ubuntu.

If you want something that just works, Ubuntu on either a Dell XPS or Thinkpad is your best bet.

If you want something with nice hardware, I would suggest a Dell XPS. The Dell XPS designs are not perfect, but Ubuntu just works on it aside from maybe the fingerprint reader which I never bothered with.

abhixec · 5 months ago
I was using Ubuntu shortly, certainly a great experience contrary to the hate I see for it in some Linux communities. I do not like snap(probably gotten better in the last 6 months since I used Ubuntu).
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
v5v3 · 5 months ago
You should always have more than one machine (incase one breaks or is lost), so you can have both a Mac and a Linux laptop and switch between them.

I mostly use a Mac, but also use android and Linux devices. It helps me remain vendor neutral as I ensure all applications I use work across all of them.

abhixec · 5 months ago
Haha sadly I am a all in or nothing kind of a person. I have a Thinkpad X1E and Macbook pro m2. If I decide Linux then I will go complete anti-Apple denounce my Apple devices and same for if I chose for Apple :P. Maybe that is where I am having trouble :P
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
gonzalohm · 5 months ago
I'm not seeing any fairly priced MacBooks in the Apple store. Are you referring to second hand laptops?
abhixec · 5 months ago
Macbook Air is 999$ 16G RAM and 256Gb. I think if you look at the competition you would be right about the same territory but with better battery, perf of M silicon chip. For that price I think it is really hard to beat Apple. But once you go on the upgrade from base config that is when it begins to stop making sense and look elsewhere.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
bubblebeard · 5 months ago
I’ve used MacBooks since 2008, still do since the company I work for refused to supply PC laptops running anything but Windows.

They can be great if you have a large wallet and simply want a computer that will integrate easily with your iPhone or any other Apple products. I use an iPhone myself because I’ve had bad experiences with Android devices, but every few years I try a new Android phone anyway.

Apple does not care about their end users. The hardware they retail is overprivced and the M chips are over hyped, especially with ARM PC:s now available.

Their OS was great back in 2000-2010 but has since become more and more unstable, while Linux has moved in the opposite direction. Today I would argue Linux is at least as easy to manage.

Some apps integrate better with OS X, and the magnetic charger cable is a plus. Then again, using external monitors is difficult, and if anything breaks in your nice Apple laptop it will be difficult to mend and cost and arm and a leg. All in all, I would stay away from them.

abhixec · 5 months ago
But the sad thing is most manufactures are following apple and soldering the components so repair ability is questionable whichever way we look.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
jauco · 5 months ago
Just to provide a counterpoint (and to show that there is no 1 true answer) I switched from my linux machine to a mac when my carefully selected hardware kept having a graphics card crash when closing/unclosing the lid. And this was the last straw, it’s an endless sequence of micro cuts (power throttling bugs, scroll being different across apps, issues with crappy hardware at a client)

On the other hand most of these microcuts can be researched, solved or scripted away. With my mac I have far fewer, but the ones you have, you’re often stuck with. Generally these are about flakiness with the automagic stuff. Like the camera feed switching to your iphone for a while (whether you want it or not), then suddenly refusing for weeks even when you do want it.

Also, the mac has no tiling wm that comes within a parsec of i3. I miss i3 daily. So. Much. Especially with multiple screens.

But then again, I enjoy opening the lid of my laptop daily as well. And being able to close the lid and put it in my bag, without first listening if it succesfully went to sleep. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I guess what I’m saying is: pick the annoyances that give you the smallest emotional response at this time in your life.

abhixec · 5 months ago
I think the laptop lid atleast for me hasnt been an issue lately on my thinkpad.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
palata · 5 months ago
It's a question of preference.

* Recent Macbooks have an incredible battery life, that's for sure.

* macOS is not Linux, and Linux is not macOS.

I personally like Linux a lot more than macOS, therefore I run Linux on my laptop. It's not a pain at all: just make sure you get a laptop that is well supported (seems a lot easier than 20 years ago, I personally run on ThinkPads).

The way you write (e.g. you see running Linux on a laptop as "a trouble"), you sound like you like macOS better but were using Linux because it was cheaper. In that case go for a Macbook if it's now affordable!

abhixec · 5 months ago
One thing I think macos is better is connecting to high resolution monitors without issues. My attempts to connect my thinkpad x1e to 5k (could be the dreaded nvidia which is causing this) causes so much headache.
abhixec commented on Ask HN: Is Linux for laptop worth the trouble?    · Posted by u/abhixec
sevensor · 5 months ago
Buy the Mac. If you’re using Arch and Linux feels like “trouble” instead of a breath of fresh air, it may not be for you.

That being said, if you really want to be persuaded, give Linux a little more time, and accept some friendly advice. First of all, make sure you’re running hardware that’s not going to give you trouble. If you have the resources to buy a new Apple laptop, you can afford a refurb from eBay with compatible hardware. Don’t overthink the specs, Linux runs better on 10 year old hardware than windows did when it was brand new on the same machine. Steer well clear of NVidia. Their hardware is nothing but trouble.

Second, XMonad is a weird choice if you’re just starting out. It’s Fun with a capital F, but trouble free it’s not. It (a) still doesn’t support Wayland, which means you’re bound to the increasingly creaky and unsupported XOrg and (b) last I used it, XMonad was configured by recompiling a Haskell program. If you’re not a committed Haskell user, this adds a ton of friction. Just use sway if you want a tiling WM.

abhixec · 5 months ago
Sorry i should have made it clearer in my post, I have been using archlinux and xmonad for more than 10 years but i do reevaluate the choices i make/made. While the power settings has gotten a lot better over the course i was wondering if there is any laptop+os that gives close to macbook battery life.

u/abhixec

KarmaCake day15December 22, 2015View Original