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Sometimes users have problems installing Linux, not because of lack of ability, but because of lack of driver support. This is especially true for laptops. I
by linguae 5y ago
Sometimes users have problems installing Linux, not because of lack of ability, but because of lack of driver support. This is especially true for laptops. I remember installing Linux on my desktop in 2004 as an 11th grader, and I remember having to purchase a $50 serial port modem at Fry's (yes, my parents were still on dial-up at the time) because the modem that shipped with my PC was a "Winmodem," one that had many of its core functionality implemented in software that was only available for Windows.
After my freshman year of college ended, in the summer of 2006 I replaced my desktop (which was dual-booting Windows XP and FreeBSD) with a Core Duo MacBook, which was just released two months before. It felt great using a Unix machine where I didn't have to worry about driver support, and where I can run Unix applications and various proprietary software packages such as Microsoft Office without dual-booting, emulation, or virtualization.
I've stayed a Mac user since, though lately I'm in the slow transition of switching away; I just replaced my 2013 MacBook Air with a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 running Windows 10 (I love WSL!), and I plan to replace my 2013 Mac Pro with a Ryzen 7 or 9 build sometime in 2022 or 2023, which will most likely run FreeBSD. In the interim I've installed many Linux and FreeBSD systems for work and for play.