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MacOS (or whatever they're calling it now) for all its faults is still probably the best desktop OS for getting things done without having to fiddle around much

MacOS (or whatever they're calling it now) for all its faults is still probably the best desktop OS for getting things done without having to fiddle around much. ChromeOS is close but still so far in many ways. And for audio production - I'm just a dabbler, really, but I've been able to do some really impressive things with just GarageBand and a Fender Mustang Micro amp-plug over USB-C. It "just works" unlike my experience on Linux recently, where there are lots of little bits that are genius, but I couldn't manage to figure out how to get a basic midi synth working with a DAW that had a UI that was designed for humans. (Jack is amazing, though - being able to do arbitrary audio filter chains with random pieces of software is seriously cool.)

heresie-dabord 11mo ago
> ChromeOS is close but still so far in many ways. I continue to be impressed by ChromeOS. With the Linux development environment (Debian VM), it is a brilliant work environment. Add Android apps as well and ChromeOS is an awesome convergence platform. There are Chromebooks that are high enough quality that I don't miss anything about Apple OS or Microsoft Windows. > And for audio production For specialty use-cases, driver support will favour Windows and Apple OS. And gaming is still Windows-first, although Linux is improving.
- QuercusMax 11mo ago
  It's not driver support for audio stuff. Drivers are great; haven't had any issues at all. The UI for the software, especially DAWs, is just plain garbage. It shouldn't be this bad; I'm halfway tempted to start my own project to put together a fork of one of these DAWs with a UX that doesn't suck. Technically a lot of stuff for linux audio is amazing; it just lacks the level of polish to enable someone to actually just use it out of the box.
- seec 11mo ago
  Yep, Chromebook are basically a sufficient information appliance for most people. I think this is why Apple is going to try a cheaper MacBook. The MacBook Air is nice but it still too expensive for most people that only want to browser the web, use social media and edit a few documents once in a while. Their advantage in chip power and efficiency is not enough because people buying this won't make use of the power anyway and will rarely use it long enough at once for battery life to matter that much.

heresie-dabord 11mo ago

> ChromeOS is close but still so far in many ways. I continue to be impressed by ChromeOS. With the Linux development environment (Debian VM), it is a brilliant work environment. Add Android apps as well and ChromeOS is an awesome convergence platform. There are Chromebooks that are high enough quality that I don't miss anything about Apple OS or Microsoft Windows. > And for audio production For specialty use-cases, driver support will favour Windows and Apple OS. And gaming is still Windows-first, although Linux is improving.

QuercusMax 11mo ago
It's not driver support for audio stuff. Drivers are great; haven't had any issues at all. The UI for the software, especially DAWs, is just plain garbage. It shouldn't be this bad; I'm halfway tempted to start my own project to put together a fork of one of these DAWs with a UX that doesn't suck. Technically a lot of stuff for linux audio is amazing; it just lacks the level of polish to enable someone to actually just use it out of the box.
seec 11mo ago
Yep, Chromebook are basically a sufficient information appliance for most people. I think this is why Apple is going to try a cheaper MacBook. The MacBook Air is nice but it still too expensive for most people that only want to browser the web, use social media and edit a few documents once in a while. Their advantage in chip power and efficiency is not enough because people buying this won't make use of the power anyway and will rarely use it long enough at once for battery life to matter that much.