I use the free version for my Win10 VM. It works well, plus it’s super easy to share folders between guest and host. I’m not sure about 3D though, I use it for Photoshop & Illustrator.
I already used QEMU which was a heck more complicated than VirtualBox, although I got MacOS Big Sur running with acceptable speed at the end. Sadly no-joy with NVidia single GPU passthrough in the apple garden. But I plan to do it for Windows 10 because I want that fucking 1TB NVMe that the big ass of my Windows install is hibernating on for the second year.
What GPU are you using and if it’s Nvidia, was it difficult to enable?
Valve be like: Jo we make like a wayland compositor, ya’now?, and it will be like super performance oriented for games ‘n stuff, ya’now?, and have dis super bleedin’ edge hdr pipeline, ya’now?, and then it will only support xwayland, ya’now?, dude why ya leavin’?
It’s more expensive than it needs to be, but it looks really pretty, and fundamentally it’s still coffee, just like MacOS is Unix-based under the hood.
A chromebook is more like a can of coke. It’s caffeinated, has mass-market appeal, but nobody’s going to be spending hours talking about just how great their can of coke is vs. someone else’s can of coke. A high-end chromebook is maybe a glass bottle of Mexican Coke.
Here’s my experience using Linux for 3 yrs now. I was excited enough to try a new OS that I learned how to install a new operating system on a new laptop I bought. I never could get rid of a drivers alert on every start up, even though I knew there was nothing wrong there. Googling the problem, the top 5 results were 5 completely different solutions. Whatever it’s a small problem so I ignored it. Months later my sound started screwing up, like distortions. (Ok, so maybe there is something wrong with my drivers.) But could never figure it out and could resolve the sound problem momentarily with a restart. With the sound issue happening more frequently, I thought I should get a new laptop, this time built with Linux pre installed by a company that knows what they’re doing. I bought a $1200 laptop from System 76, with specs that I could easily pay $500 less for. I don’t understand why the volume buttons don’t work out of the box and the auto update of snap packages has been ridiculously frustrating cause all my firefox tabs close and seem to be lost. Again, googling the issue gets a dozen different solutions and I don’t know what route to take. I only need an internet browser & word processor, ffs. I feel too stupid for Linux. I don’t even have kids or much of a time sucking job and I feel like learning this OS is too time-consuming. I’m probably getting a Mac for my next laptop and wish I didn’t feel like I have to.
I’ve had a lot of similar experiences that just make me not want to use Linux on the desktop. There’s always something breaking, and if you like to tinker with your computer and don’t mind spending an afternoon fixing audio or Bluetooth or a monitor configuration it’s not too bad, but if you just want something that works Linux is definitely not it
I have no idea how you’ve run into so many issues. People shit on Ubuntu here but I’ve always used it as a “Mac OS alternative” since the flavor feels similar. My wife uses it all the time and has very few issues. The only issue we run into is Bluetooth, but I have Bluetooth issues with every OS I’ve ever used: Android, MacOS, Windows, etc.
I’ve had no major issues with my Ubuntu distro. Snap updates work without closing any software - as far as I know. I just tested a snap refresh, but I didn’t have any out-of-date software.
I would argue I push the boundaries of common Ubuntu usage as well. I have 8TB of mixed HDD and SSD storage which I use for gaming, Unity development, Blender, Plex server, and random programming projects (e.g. k8s cluster work). I don’t have any major issues.
People complain a lot about Ubuntu and I just don’t get it. It’s a good software for the average consumer, in my opinion. My wife uses it for her computer and has pretty much no issues.
I do want to switch to Linux Mint someday since people are adamant that it’s better than Ubuntu but I think I’ll stick with Ubuntu since I’ve setup so many things on this machine and I don’t want to redo this work.
I use Xubuntu on my media server, and have never had that happen. I get a notification saying that the Firefox snap is going to update in 14 days, but closing the browser, updating, and reopening brings all my tabs and windows back. I get the same if I close the browser and restart the computer, letting the snaps update automatically.
I wonder if OP has got the restore open tabs setting turned off.
You’re getting ratio’d but you’re right. Core parts of the user experience are steaming piles of dogshit while people praise MacOS for its many gimmicks.
Finder is an absolute pile of shit and gets first time users addicted to bad habits. It takes digging through hidden settings to even make it match the out of the box functionality that Windows Explorer offers and it still can’t match the full potential of Explorer for file management. The integrated search is unpredictable and fuzzy so they went and made Spotlight its own thing.
Window management is a nightmare if you’re actually trying to do multiple things at once without switching windows. Mac OS has not implemented window snapping for years and they still managed to make it suck when they did. Not once have they considered stealing great ideas from the tiling window managers, Apple simply decided to reinvent the wheel and make it square.
Got multiple applications running at the same time while minimized? Lol, get fucked. The only way to know what’s actually running at a glance is the shitty little dot below the dock icon and restoring a specific window takes either way too many clicks or requires you to know the magic keyboard shortcut for untangling your windows (another gimmick they added later in order to actually make the OS usable bearable).
Got any sort of issue during startup? Here, take this black screen with a single icon. Not even a slight hint as to what the actual problem might be and if you should worry about it. MacOS might seem like a stable OS but that is mainly because it is very well integrated with the limited set of hardware it can actually run on. If any real issues do come up, the troubleshooting experience is basically just a giant “get fucked” sign pointing to the nearest Apple store.
Sometimes simplicity is a good thing, but usually designing something to be accessible means severely limiting the amount of depth you can go into as an experienced user. Every aspect of the OS and the tools that come with it share this overall problem that there’s just not much depth to what you can do with it. Can’t have a steep learning curve if there’s just nothing to learn.
And I feel like none of these are unreasonable. I like using the right tools for the right jobs, which is why I run Windows for heavy productivity and engineering work. Desktop Linux has come a long way but it just doesn’t (yet) have the required toolset to support engineering workflows. While programming of any kind and getting more complex data wrangling done is best done using Linux. My server needs are also best covered by Linux as most distributions can be run without all the bloat that Windows comes with. And I am sure as shit not paying for Windows Server.
I just can’t find a valid reason for using MacOS. It seems to combine the worst of both worlds into an OS that’s like a trial experience of actually using a computer to get things done.
What out of the box functionality are you missing? As for search, from context I’m going to assume you are not being sarcastic. Windows search has to be the single worst search I’ve ever fucking encountered. Say I made a picture of a bird. I called it bird.jpg, and saved it in my pictures folder. Now, I type ‘bird’ into explorer search, and it gives me a fucking DLL FILE called matrixRRT.dll. I waited literal minutes for this? Literally the advice on all over the internet for making windows search better is to use something else instead.
*Agreed, window snapping is better in Windows.
*It’s been a hot minute since I used anything other than Expose to choose which window I want (Which is great, btw) but don’t you just click and hold on the dock icon?
*Agreed, more troubleshooting on startup would be handy. But to be fair, I’ve had way more startup issues with my windows box than my Mac. In fact, the last Mac startup issue I think I had would have been about six years ago. Whereas I’ve probably had six in the last year alone on the Windows machine. Sample size of one, of course. shrug
I’m not blind to the fact that Windows has a terrible search experience, but I won’t say it’s the worst. Out of the box it is fucking useless, but if you actually take the time to index specific paths and make use of the metadata options in Explorer you can actually get some decent results in reasonable time.
Apple had the right idea with Spotlight, it’s just sad that both parties can’t properly integrate the functionality into their file managers.
My search needs are mostly covered by Voidtools’ Everything, which is able to scan through the whole NTFS partition in a matter of milliseconds for realtime results. The caveat being that you have to know the name of the file you’re looking for. Otherwise I just use Powertoys Run for search and application launching needs, which is what Spotlight could have been if it was made by passionate nerds.
I do realise this makes my argument lose it’s bite somewhat, but it comes down to user experience. MacOS has a terrible out of the box experience that can’t be fixed, use something else instead. Windows has a terrible out of the box experience that can be fixed to some degree if you take some time to learn how it works, but you can still opt to not bother with any of it and use something else instead.
Linux was always going to be the clear winner here.
Now for the dock icon strategy: try doing that repeatedly with multiple instances/windows from the same application and compare the experience to the “never combine, show labels” taskbar in Windows. I guarantee there is going to be a clear winner in terms of usability. As always, under Linux is not an issue because you can just do whatever the fuck you want.
The troubleshooting bullshit a pattern seen in all of Apple’s products. They have a habit of hiding all important information in case of an issue, and I have had this complaint about all the iDevices I’ve had the displeasure of touching over the years. iPhone update failed? Tough shit, have a red message saying “something went wrong, try again”. Fan controllers randomly stuck on 100% speed on an iMac without the ability to get any information about the sensors. None of the system tools provide any information beyond the bare minimum. I’ve come to a point where I just refuse to help any family member having trouble with an Apple device because it turns into a multi-hour wild goose chase.
I’d argue having an overall stable experience with the occasional vague issues that can’t be troubleshooted is worse than having slightly more frequent issues that actually lead to a solution. Apple’s products by design teach the user nothing about technology because there’s no entry-point to the knowledge itself. Meanwhile Windows, while flawed, does provide the user with an incentive to learn about proper maintenance and troubleshooting which leads to more competent users overall.
Last but not least, the command line: I love my experience using package managers on both Linux and lately also on Windows with winget. It has quickly become the main way I install and manage most utilities. MacOS has options but none of them are integrated neatly and have to be installed separately.
Even on Windows I use command line utilities where I can and GUI functionality where it makes sense. While the realm of possibilities is not as broad as the GNU/Linux world provides, I at least feel I have a great deal of control over what I do. MacOS is an impostor that has murdered a UNIX distribution and is wearing its skin. The terminal experience feels like it’s a remnant from the early days that they never bothered to put any more love into but they can’t get rid of it either. Just like some of those Windows 3.0 components you can still find in the modern versions of the OS.
I’m 100% done with Apple and their products because they make everything I’m trying to do slightly more difficult and annoying than the alternative. And those are just limited to my issues with the way they do software. I also have very valid issues with the way they design hardware and with the way they conduct business (ethics, monopolies, their overall effect on tech markets in general).
Yes this makes sense. Linux running a 25yr old binary would throw errors for shared libraries, or kernel compatibility or just the fact it’s the wrong arch type.
Did that as a work project on Unix. My peer had a similar porting project.
I thought I was screwed: 20-year-old c-based backup tool. His was easy: this perl web app is installing on a new box because its old one is being lifecycled.
Actual: after 3 weeks of dependency hell he tossed it all and rewrote the thing in c from scratch overnight. My c project was make;make-install with no errors.
I think it’s been recompiled a few times since then, without any code changes.
In my experience, on Windows a lot of old stuff runs as long as you have whatever registry setting enabled that lets you run non 64 bit programs. This isn’t available on every windows pc but if you’re running it on your home pc, you can probably get it. A lot of old games don’t work but old things that don’t use graphics almost always run.
In wine, it’s basically the same story. A lot of old stuff runs especially non graphical old stuff. Some old windows games don’t work on wine but just because something old doesn’t work on Windows doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work on wine and vice versa.
I would rate wine as slightly more compatible with late 90s and early 2000s games than Windows is but ymmv. Graphics stuff tends to work a little more often on wine. Some mid 2000s games use obscure hacks that are impossible to ever get running on wine.
registry setting enabled that lets you run non 64 bit programs
Do they seriously not support 32bit software out of the box anymore? I know getting 16bit software to run on x64 is close to impossible (look up NTVDM x64) for obvious reasons but there is still lots of x86-only stuff.
That’s what I thought because that was my experience last time I used Windows; that’s why it surprised me that the previous comment suggested otherwise.
I’ve seen a trend where people move the goalposts on the reasons they’re not able to switch. “If only this program worked I could switch”, but when that program is ported it’ll be a new excuse next. Sooner or later you’ll have to draw a line and say “99% of my stuff works, the 1% that doesn’t can get bent”.
I had used Linux before so I wasn’t too worried, but gaming for me was the reason. With Proton I had the desire to switch, but I needed something to just push me over the edge. I wasn’t taking the leap on my own. For one Windows update it put the search bar back on the Taskbar, which I had told it to remove. Microsoft, once again, ignoring what I had told it before to try to force me to use something is the thing that pushed me over. It’s such a small thing, but it’ll be different for everyone.
I don’t blame anyone for not switching. It’s a fairly large change (though not as large as some imagine). Most people will just stick with what they know until something comes along that makes them trip up, and then the thing they know is seen as a hindrance. That’s going to be different for everyone. We just need to inform people that, when that thing comes, there is an option for them that will handle pretty much whatever they need.
I switched to Ubuntu a few months ago and the only thing that doesn’t work are a few online games due to anti-cheat software and those games I’ll just play on PS5 now. I don’t see myself ever going back at this point. Every issue I have encountered I’ve been able to resolve with a quick google search. Google search has been getting kinda shitty so that’s the next thing I’m looking to replace.
If you’re willing to pay for a search engine, I highly recommend Kagi. I’ve been using it for a few months and I like the results better than Google or any other search engine I’ve tried.
And the reason is going to be “enterprise” software, which is usually a pile of a flaming wreck that barely runs in its native Windows environment in the first place. So it is with the point of sale/inventory software I have to use for work. I can run it in a VM, but it explodes spectacularly in Wine.
Moving goalposts is a concept that applies to debates. Choosing an operating system shouldn’t be a debate. It’s a personal choice, or sometimes a professional choice. Convincing people who don’t want to be convinced shouldn’t be anyone’s goal.
I didn’t mean my post to be read as trying to convince someone to use Linux, but as someone trying to convince themselves to use Linux. It’s fairly common that people want to switch but have convinced themselves that unless they have their exact same workflow from Windows they won’t be able to.
M$ has been the dominant OS for the majority of a lot of peoples lives, accordingly a massive, massive ecosystem has grown up around it.
My IT career has taken me some weird and wonderful places, and there is a lot of extremely specialised software that will only run on windows, and wine unfortunately still has a bit of a stigma with its interoperability. When you’re running shit a business literally relies on to exist, you don’t play games with it.
Fortunately m$ are shooting themselves in the face, which is driving a lot of vendors to rethink their software., but it’s still a slog.
It’s scary. Straight up. You don’t know if changing it will put you into a situation where there is no one there to help. All your information is on these machines and Windows for all it’s faults is a bought product with customer service.
Making a change without a safety net or someone to walk you through it is ballsy. Research is important and no offense, hard to find for Linux. Sure there are many “how to” videos and scenarios. But what if I play a game and I cannot absolutely live without it. And all of its plugins?
Not unless you’re a business customer lol, don’t get me wrong they do support but the quality really isn’t much above a community Linux forum (at least where I live). Not that the average Joe knows that so the claim is still a valid reason why people don’t switch.
I went to MS forums for remembering how to write “sfc /scannow”, “Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth”, because it was often the first answer on a post. How-To’s concerning “bootrec” and “diskpart” were always to be found somewhere else. At least with sfc and dism it was always pray and hope it does something useful under the hood.
With an unbootable Linux partition (which seldomly happens) I mount it, chroot it and then have a plethora of fixes I can try, tools I can use and logfiles I can check instead of putting my self in the hands of 2-3 blackbox-apps. Manual fixing under Windows is possible but nobody can tell me it’s feasible with the repair console.
That’s what everyone who starts learning it does. Then you.jjjj websites or :wq documents, and eventually end up installing vim-like plugins for everything
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