4 ms·

Maybe I am just getting old but in 2015 it shouldn't be this much work to get an OS installed on a computer. Getting pretty much any Linux or Windows installed

by bithush 12y ago

Maybe I am just getting old but in 2015 it shouldn't be this much work to get an OS installed on a computer. Getting pretty much any Linux or Windows installed on my ThinkPad is a piece of cake. As pretty as a Bacbook Pro is I just don't have the time for this kind of thing anymore. #GetOffMyLawn ;)

wampus 12y ago
Same here. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to come by older machines where installation is a breeze. Most support HD displays and some might even handle 4K. But I'm really grateful for posts like these that document the issues with cutting edge hardware, so they might be resolved by the time I'm pulling the machines of the scrap pile for recycling. Some of my old workhorses had terrible problems with drivers when they were current, but now they Just Work.
carlosrg 12y ago
I have Fedora 21 on my MacBook Air and it was just insert the Live USB, click install, reboot and done ;) Arch has always been more complicated, regardless of the computer.
- DanBC 12y ago
  I have Fedora 20 on my 2009 MacBook Pro and it was a pig to install.
- fernandotakai 12y ago
  I installed Arch on my mid-2012 mbp and it was quite painless. the only thing that did not work out of the box was wireless, but after installing proprietary drivers, it worked. even multihead worked without issues, which made me quite impressed.
  - omarali 12y ago
    did graphics switching work?
jmspring 12y ago
I moved over to Mac/oSX years ago from Linux and FreeBSD because I was done dealing with tinkering with things I didn't care about tinkering with -- getting things to work -- wireless, multiple monitor support, etc. I've been more productive since. I still use both for vms for projects, but minimized my system administration headaches.
- alvaromuir 12y ago
  Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
  - grubles 12y ago
    Free* *If you purchase a computer that supports OSX, which just so happens to only be overpriced Apple computers.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
- alvaromuir 12y ago
  Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
- alvaromuir 12y ago
  Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
- babuskov 12y ago
  I agree. I used Linux exclusively from 2006 up until this year. In that period I ran Slackware, Fedora, Debian, Mint, Ubuntu, SuSE, Mandrake/Mandriva, Gentoo for at least 3-4 months each, but mostly stick to Slackware. I got tired of problems when compiling some basic software. For example getting Workrave and Inkscape to work on Slackware always took me 1-2 days to figure out which exact version of which package to install. So I finally switched to Ubuntu (14.04) once again, got almost bitten by automatic update which seemed like it got stuck, but actually did not and was upgrading kernel and Grub. Luckily I ran "ps ax" trying to reboot and noticed the grub install command. I imagine average user would not be so lucky. Some other stuff also randomly would not work, like wifi or printer and reboot would fix that, but I got so tired of it. Doing other stuff like screencasts, simple video editing, etc. is cumbersome or almost impossible on Linux. About a month ago I got MBP, planned to install Linux on it, but got stuff I need working easily in OSX and discovered that I'm way more productive than before (hello Brackets and iMovie). I just decided to postpone Linux install for now (maybe permanently). I still got some confusion with MacPorts vs Homebrew for example, but I'm already up and running faster than I was ever on Linux. After 8 years of tinkering with Linux I decided there's better use of my time. I still use Linux for servers and never plan to change that.
a1a 12y ago
It's like when you are buying a new suit. You have the mass produced suits that sort of fits you. They are not designed for your needs, they are designed to (almost) fit as many people as possible. Then again if you want something customized for your needs -- that really looks great on you -- you will have to hire a tailor. This will take some time. No matter what year it is.

by bithush 12y ago

wampus 12y ago

Same here. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to come by older machines where installation is a breeze. Most support HD displays and some might even handle 4K. But I'm really grateful for posts like these that document the issues with cutting edge hardware, so they might be resolved by the time I'm pulling the machines of the scrap pile for recycling. Some of my old workhorses had terrible problems with drivers when they were current, but now they Just Work.

carlosrg 12y ago

I have Fedora 21 on my MacBook Air and it was just insert the Live USB, click install, reboot and done ;) Arch has always been more complicated, regardless of the computer.

DanBC 12y ago
I have Fedora 20 on my 2009 MacBook Pro and it was a pig to install.
fernandotakai 12y ago
I installed Arch on my mid-2012 mbp and it was quite painless. the only thing that did not work out of the box was wireless, but after installing proprietary drivers, it worked. even multihead worked without issues, which made me quite impressed.
- omarali 12y ago
  did graphics switching work?

jmspring 12y ago

I moved over to Mac/oSX years ago from Linux and FreeBSD because I was done dealing with tinkering with things I didn't care about tinkering with -- getting things to work -- wireless, multiple monitor support, etc. I've been more productive since. I still use both for vms for projects, but minimized my system administration headaches.

alvaromuir 12y ago
Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
- grubles 12y ago
  Free* *If you purchase a computer that supports OSX, which just so happens to only be overpriced Apple computers.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
alvaromuir 12y ago
Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
alvaromuir 12y ago
Agreed. I'm too old to worry about drivers and compiling kernels. it's exciting when you are a young hacker/tinkerer. Now I just need to get work done. OS X basically 99% perfect for me. Most unix stuff compile no problem, and the OS is free.
babuskov 12y ago
I agree. I used Linux exclusively from 2006 up until this year. In that period I ran Slackware, Fedora, Debian, Mint, Ubuntu, SuSE, Mandrake/Mandriva, Gentoo for at least 3-4 months each, but mostly stick to Slackware. I got tired of problems when compiling some basic software. For example getting Workrave and Inkscape to work on Slackware always took me 1-2 days to figure out which exact version of which package to install. So I finally switched to Ubuntu (14.04) once again, got almost bitten by automatic update which seemed like it got stuck, but actually did not and was upgrading kernel and Grub. Luckily I ran "ps ax" trying to reboot and noticed the grub install command. I imagine average user would not be so lucky. Some other stuff also randomly would not work, like wifi or printer and reboot would fix that, but I got so tired of it. Doing other stuff like screencasts, simple video editing, etc. is cumbersome or almost impossible on Linux. About a month ago I got MBP, planned to install Linux on it, but got stuff I need working easily in OSX and discovered that I'm way more productive than before (hello Brackets and iMovie). I just decided to postpone Linux install for now (maybe permanently). I still got some confusion with MacPorts vs Homebrew for example, but I'm already up and running faster than I was ever on Linux. After 8 years of tinkering with Linux I decided there's better use of my time. I still use Linux for servers and never plan to change that.

a1a 12y ago

It's like when you are buying a new suit. You have the mass produced suits that sort of fits you. They are not designed for your needs, they are designed to (almost) fit as many people as possible. Then again if you want something customized for your needs -- that really looks great on you -- you will have to hire a tailor. This will take some time. No matter what year it is.