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agupta628
6y

Unpopular opinion: macOS is better for working on the go than Linux.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Linux... for servers and desktops. Linux, particularly Arch, is incredible at running only the bare minimum of what you need in a system, so that you use the power of the machine to fullest. Don't get me started on the out-of-the-box compatibility with development in general.

However, I just spent 2 days trying to get the freaking wifi working on my Linux laptop. When I opened up my Macbook, it *just worked.* I really don't have the time to be dicking around with configs when I am working on the go.

Especially with technologies such as Docker, Git, and SSH, it's actually really easy to have the same development environment on my macbook and Linux desktop... and as much as I hate to say it, I think it's no more Linux on laptops for me anymore.

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  • 1
    6y
    @lelp I guess... Where I come from, having to deal with Linux's bullshit is almost a right of passage.

    While Linux is vastly superior in desktop/server/actual use, when I'm in a hotel, I just want to get my work done!
  • 0
    6y
    @fuck2code If you have tried to configure WPA2 Enterprise on Ubuntu, you will know that it isn't much better.

    The only reason I'd used linux on my laptop before was for i3, but I realized that the only software that I used was vim, tmux, docker, and ssh. Those tools are really easy to install on macOS as well, and helps me recreate my dev environment really easily.
  • 1
    6y
    @Torbuntu The probably isn't setting up the wifi... the problem is how many times I have to set it up.

    I'm totally ok dumping a couple days of time into the computer if it will run smoothly afterwards. I'm not ok with having dumped a couple of days, and still having to configure it every time I connect to a new network.
  • 0
    6y
    @oudalally You also have to take into account the popularity of the software. As macOS is getting more and more popular, it is beneficial for companies to increase support for macOS in order to appeal to the larger demographic.
  • 0
    6y
    @Torbuntu Sure, arch is notorious for this type of behavior, but for my purposes, its benefits far outweigh its drawbacks. However, some services, such as bluetooth and WPA2 Enterprise are known and constantly recurring issues across distros.

    If your workplace recognizes that there is a linux community, and accommodates for it, then linux is the obvious choice. If not, then having to deal with something as fundamental as networking can be a huge productivity sink.
  • 0
    6y
    @Torbuntu Well, yeah.. duh. But I'd rather deal with the bloat of macOS (and believe me, there is quite a bit of it) for the certainty that it will work. I understand that having a minimal install will have its problems, and that's why I've stopped using that for OTG work. However, the reason why I'm not switching to a more popular distro like Ubuntu or Fedora is that for the amount of bloat that I'm getting (less than macOS for sure, but way more than I would like), I wouldn't want to ever run into any problems. As we all know, that is not often the case.
  • 4
    6y
    lwlwifi package solves the wifi problem.
  • 0
    6y
    Bookmarked because this is a really interesting thread.
  • 0
    6y
    Well, i see your point, but i still find a GNU/Linux laptop a perfectly usable OTG solution. I've been running Arch with KDE Plasma (i know, it's not i3, but still) in my laptop for a few months now and, aside from the initial setup and the occasion AUR fuckup, it has been a smooth experince overall
  • 0
    6y
    Here I am getting sad that my days with arch are numbered. Probably getting a MacBook Pro and given that the 2017 one worked horribly with Linux, there isn't much of a chance of improvement and I will be stuck in a walled garden just so I can have access to a godamn OS.
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