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tl;dr linux + most laptops = subpar I spent years using Linux on the desktop. I wrote software for it, was active in the community, and was an active core cont
by aroman 13y ago
tl;dr linux + most laptops = subpar
I spent years using Linux on the desktop. I wrote software for it, was active in the community, and was an active core contributor to well-known distribution. I love Linux desktops.
Yet I stopped using them when I got my Macbook Air (before you flame me for using that machine, Linus himself uses one [0]). It's an absolutely phenomenal machine for my use.
Sadly, however, running Linux on it is a majorly sub-par experience. Touchpad drivers are awful (as is software which can support it), battery life is abysmal, and overall it's a pain in the ass. This is coming from someone who happily spent days configuring Gentoo and Exherbo[1] on his desktop just for fun.
True, I could invest in a laptop which is known to play nice with Linux, but frankly, there exists no machine on the market today which can compete with the Macbook Air for my use (ultra-portability, durability, extreme battery life, great screen and solid performance).
In short, I "succumb" because the portable hardware is the best. Plain and simple.
[0] http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-i-love-my-macbook-air/ http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds...
[1] http://www.exherbo.org/ http://www.exherbo.org/
- stefanix 13y agoMoved from MacBook Air/OSX to Ubuntu and super happy about it. The touchpad was tricky though. I had to deactivate the lower 20% (for clicking) and untrain me resting my thumb on the pad.
- aroman 13y agoHow's the battery life? How do you live without multitouch gestures? Any hardware incompatibilities?
- Tmmrn 13y agoDo you need to "live without multitouch gestures"? I don't have a macbook, so I have never tested it, but the Archlinux wiki speaks of two drivers xf86-input-multitouch and a fork xf86-input-mtrack https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Macbook#Touchpad https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Macbook#Touchpad
- aroman 13y agoThe issue is not so much that the low-level drivers don't exist (although they are unmaintained afaik), but rather that there is almost no software available for Linux which supports real multitouch gestures, and certainly none (I'd love to be proven wrong about this) which supports finger-tracking as OS X does. I rely on it heavily for window management and navigation, and the Linux community is sorely lacking in this department atm.
- Tmmrn 13y agoI have never really looked into it, but searching the archlinux aur for multitouch a few things come up: easystroke-mt - Use mouse and screen multitouch gestures to initiate commands and hotkeys. touchegg - Multitouch gesture recognizer Obviously I can't tell how well those work and whether there are better projects...
- fiter 13y agoI've found that ASUS's Zenbook Prime is well supported under linux, has a higher resolution screen than the MBA, good battery life (6 hr is still good, right?). It could use a magsafe-like power connector, though.
- aroman 13y ago6 hours being good depends on your frame of reference. It's half the battery life of the Macbook (12 hours for the current model). The zenbook looks like a competitor, but I'd need to be sure that it's built as solidly as the MBA. The MBA is even thinner and for about the same price you get hardware that is incredibly well designed and manufactured. For me, I've learned the hard way that going by raw specs alone is a poor way to judge a laptop (desktops are another beast) -- it's the build quality and the little things that make or break the pleasantness of the experience.
- pessimizer 13y agoI've been getting 9 hours on the Zareason Ultralap running LMDE.
- fpgeek 13y agoComparing the Zenbook Prime's battery life to a current-generation Macbook Air doesn't tell you anything about ASUS vs Apple. It just tells you that Haswell is much more power-efficient than Ivy Bridge, which should have been obvious. ASUS and other manufacturers should be out with their Haswell refreshes soon enough. Then you can make a more meaningful comparison.
- aroman 13y agoFair enough, but I wasn't trying to make a claim about ASUS vs Apple. I was responding to his question about 6 hours being "good". The previous generation Macbook Air (Ivy Bride) still gets more at 7 hours anyway.
- fiter 13y agoFair enough. I didn't realize the new MBA was so far ahead on battery life. While most of the build has been solid for the 9 months I've owned it, the durability of the power plug (an element that can hose the computer) worries me. Coming from a 12" ThinkPad with 1024x768 screen, the 1080p sold me on the ASUS. I'm sure the MBA will get "Retina" display screens soon though.
- VMG 13y agoI'm gonna plug the Lenovo s400 here. Best Linux device I've ever used.
- wtetzner 13y agoLinus uses a Macbook Air, but he runs Linux on it: http://meta.slashdot.org/story/12/10/11/0030249/linus-torvalds-answers-your-questions http://meta.slashdot.org/story/12/10/11/0030249/linus-torval...