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What's the alternative though? I don't want to buy the overpriced hardware that comes with Apple. For Linux, I'd like something that provides some kind of sta

What's the alternative though? I don't want to buy the overpriced hardware that comes with Apple. For Linux, I'd like something that provides some kind of stability without me having to search for obscure shell commands for fixing new issues every 2 weeks, which unfortunately has been my experience with using it on my laptop in the past. Maybe it has gotten better, I'm open for recommendations.

oliwarner 4y ago
I said I wasn't here to eulogise but most of the problems I've had with Linux have been temporary and I have gained transferable skills in fixing them. I have earned a fair chunk of money with those skills. It's absolutely not perfect, and part of that is there's too much choice, but if you're willing and able, you can make it work for you and yours most of the time. And yes, I do think it's much better than it was.
Gasp0de 4y ago
I've been using Arch Linux for the past 6 years and I have rarely had anything break. In between I had to use Ubuntu for 6 months due to some software that would only run on Ubuntu, which I found horrible. Arch Linux might be difficult to set up for someone new to Linux but once it's installed I found it a breeze to use. There are distributions based on Arch that are easier to install, e.g. Manjaro.
- Last5Digits 4y ago
  This has been my experience as well. The simpler you keep your Linux install, the less likely it'll be that something breaks - and if something does break, then you'll have a much easier time finding the culprit.
globular-toast 4y ago
For laptops you need to do a bit of research to make sure they have good Linux support. There are websites to help with this. You'll also gain an intuition for which manufacturers to avoid. For the software side, you need to learn it, just like anything else. You've spent years, perhaps the majority of your life, learning Windows. Of course there are going to be things you'll have to learn again. But you'll be better for it. I'd rather learn to use a system that respects me than one that treats me like a commodity.
- trelane 4y ago
  > For laptops you need to do a bit of research to make sure they have good Linux support. Or, you know, you could buy it preinstalled, with support, form a vendor that actually supports Linux on the hardware.
maqnius 4y ago
When someone complains about problems with Linux, I have a hard time to think of anything like that in my experience with Linux in the last 10 years. But when I put my experience in a wider context, I notice one important aspect: When buying new hardware, I make sure to check Linux compatibility before I buy something. In general, I prefer widespread and quality over new or cheap. That is probably (next to using a enduser-friendly distro like Ubuntu) the most important point to circumvent nasty bugs and digging deep into the OS. What is left are problems, that are mostly easily solved with a quick internet search and maybe copy pasting something in your command line. That will probably happen at some point, but not every two weeks. More like in the first month after setting up your system and then once a year or when you add new hardware to your stack.
- nailer 4y ago
  > When buying new hardware, I make sure to check Linux compatibility before I buy something. In general, I prefer widespread and quality over new or cheap. I did that once. Every single component had an OSS in-kernel drivers. Compositing wouldn't work with an external display connected. After about 10 years of Linux on the desktop that was the last Linux desktop machine I ever used.
rijoja 4y ago
Ubuntu
petepete 4y ago
The best recommendation is to buy hardware that's well supported. Every piece of hardware on my ThinkPad X1C (including the fingerprint reader) worked with no extra config or messing around.
qumpis 4y ago
When it comes to laptops, I don't see how apple is overpriced. I'm currently in search of a well-built CPU-performant laptop with a decent bettery, and the likes of XPS and Thinkpads cost about the same or more than a similarly decked Macbook m2 pro. Only the GPU and upgradeability could be considered limiting factors.
- hgsgm 4y ago
  The main thing that makes Macs overpriced is the lack of 15" MacBook Air, so to get a large screen you need to buy a CPU/GPU you don't need. And the hardware is too good for the software longevity. A 10 year old Windows machine works fine if you have decent hardware (so, desktop, not laptop) but Apple EOLs and rots the software compatibility of your perfectly functional hardware after 7 years
KoftaBob 4y ago
The most user friendly Linux distro I've come across that provides what you're describing would be ZorinOS, it's awesome. https://zorin.com/os/ https://zorin.com/os/
fortran77 4y ago
The alternative is to buy Windows and spend 10 minutes turning all this off.
oneeyedpigeon 4y ago
You've probably already got a monitor; if so, I'd recommend a Mac mini. Very powerful, slightly affordable, all the great Mac experience.

oliwarner 4y ago

I said I wasn't here to eulogise but most of the problems I've had with Linux have been temporary and I have gained transferable skills in fixing them. I have earned a fair chunk of money with those skills. It's absolutely not perfect, and part of that is there's too much choice, but if you're willing and able, you can make it work for you and yours most of the time. And yes, I do think it's much better than it was.

Gasp0de 4y ago

I've been using Arch Linux for the past 6 years and I have rarely had anything break. In between I had to use Ubuntu for 6 months due to some software that would only run on Ubuntu, which I found horrible. Arch Linux might be difficult to set up for someone new to Linux but once it's installed I found it a breeze to use. There are distributions based on Arch that are easier to install, e.g. Manjaro.

Last5Digits 4y ago
This has been my experience as well. The simpler you keep your Linux install, the less likely it'll be that something breaks - and if something does break, then you'll have a much easier time finding the culprit.

globular-toast 4y ago

For laptops you need to do a bit of research to make sure they have good Linux support. There are websites to help with this. You'll also gain an intuition for which manufacturers to avoid. For the software side, you need to learn it, just like anything else. You've spent years, perhaps the majority of your life, learning Windows. Of course there are going to be things you'll have to learn again. But you'll be better for it. I'd rather learn to use a system that respects me than one that treats me like a commodity.

trelane 4y ago
> For laptops you need to do a bit of research to make sure they have good Linux support. Or, you know, you could buy it preinstalled, with support, form a vendor that actually supports Linux on the hardware.

maqnius 4y ago

When someone complains about problems with Linux, I have a hard time to think of anything like that in my experience with Linux in the last 10 years. But when I put my experience in a wider context, I notice one important aspect: When buying new hardware, I make sure to check Linux compatibility before I buy something. In general, I prefer widespread and quality over new or cheap. That is probably (next to using a enduser-friendly distro like Ubuntu) the most important point to circumvent nasty bugs and digging deep into the OS. What is left are problems, that are mostly easily solved with a quick internet search and maybe copy pasting something in your command line. That will probably happen at some point, but not every two weeks. More like in the first month after setting up your system and then once a year or when you add new hardware to your stack.

nailer 4y ago
> When buying new hardware, I make sure to check Linux compatibility before I buy something. In general, I prefer widespread and quality over new or cheap. I did that once. Every single component had an OSS in-kernel drivers. Compositing wouldn't work with an external display connected. After about 10 years of Linux on the desktop that was the last Linux desktop machine I ever used.

rijoja 4y ago

Ubuntu

petepete 4y ago

The best recommendation is to buy hardware that's well supported. Every piece of hardware on my ThinkPad X1C (including the fingerprint reader) worked with no extra config or messing around.

qumpis 4y ago

When it comes to laptops, I don't see how apple is overpriced. I'm currently in search of a well-built CPU-performant laptop with a decent bettery, and the likes of XPS and Thinkpads cost about the same or more than a similarly decked Macbook m2 pro. Only the GPU and upgradeability could be considered limiting factors.

hgsgm 4y ago
The main thing that makes Macs overpriced is the lack of 15" MacBook Air, so to get a large screen you need to buy a CPU/GPU you don't need. And the hardware is too good for the software longevity. A 10 year old Windows machine works fine if you have decent hardware (so, desktop, not laptop) but Apple EOLs and rots the software compatibility of your perfectly functional hardware after 7 years

KoftaBob 4y ago

The most user friendly Linux distro I've come across that provides what you're describing would be ZorinOS, it's awesome. https://zorin.com/os/ https://zorin.com/os/

fortran77 4y ago

The alternative is to buy Windows and spend 10 minutes turning all this off.

oneeyedpigeon 4y ago

You've probably already got a monitor; if so, I'd recommend a Mac mini. Very powerful, slightly affordable, all the great Mac experience.