
Is it time to swap your Mac for a Windows laptop? - salicideblock
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/07/mac-windows-pc-macbook-pro-microsoft-surface-book
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meesterdude
It's never time for a windows laptop. Actually, I'm really happy with
switching from mac to Fedora - after 22 years as a daily mac user.

I tried to get debian and its children & grandchildren to run on my PC, but
all had issues. The most frustrating being mouse clicks intermittently not
working. (seriously? 2017 and we can't figure out mouse clicks?)

But Fedora worked, it detected everything correctly, and I had a box that I
could actually just start using and not spend hours (or days) configuring to
get the basics working.

I would go so far as to say it's been relatively apple-esque in experience
polish - when contrasted with most other distros. I've also had more stability
and performance in general.

I still have nvidia screen tearing to sort out somehow. It's annoying but
tolerable. But I also have way more control over my machine, and can change/do
things that Apple would never let you.

Anyway, I recommend checking out Fedora if you're considering moving to linux,
and have had troubles with ubuntu & co.

~~~
dockinator
It may have been time better spent learning why it was broken and send the
patches upstream.

~~~
meesterdude
> time better spent learning why it was broken

What are you thinking here? a couple of hours and i'm done? Because this
offhand comment would take me months, possibly years to actually be able to
do. I know what I don't know - and it's a lot.

~~~
dockinator
There's no better time to start than now. The more people that contribute, the
better the platform gets. Bugs don't get fixed when people ignore them.

~~~
meesterdude
I think it would be far more useful of myself and others, to properly identify
and raise bugs so that developers with the proper knowledge and skill can
address it.

The assumption that just anyone can contribute and resolve these issues is
extremely generous, and unrealistic. Maybe if you're fresh out of school, you
have the time available to truly dig in. But when you're working a FT job, and
have a side project, and a life - there is no time for such a deep dive with
such little yield. Because not only do you not know the language, you don't
know the codebase and you don't know the domain. That's an awful lot to catch
up on to fix a bug.

I agree people can be more involved with the software they use. But I think
that can play out in many different ways, suited for what each person can
bring to the table.

~~~
dockinator
Oh, you properly identified and raised the bug? From the comment, it sounded
like you abandoned ship and installed Fedora (which may or may not eventually
have the same bug).

~~~
meesterdude
You're not wrong - I jumped to fedora (which did not have any of the bugs I
experienced). But FWIW, many of them already had been identified elsewhere.
Fedora has had it's own bugs of course - though minor ones. I have taken the
time to raise them within the Fedora community, but I couldn't do that with
debian and it's descendants because the system was in an unusable state (the
bugs)

~~~
dockinator
Glad to hear. Lots of users just consume, and don't give back. Reporting bugs
is a huge help.

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jabajabadu
I will happily swap my Mac for a laptop that could reliably run Linux if I
ever find one. I had a machine from System 76 where a video driver would break
with every major Ubuntu update. Dell XPS 13 developer edition seems to have a
surprisingly shitty Linux support too (e.g. see the comment section here
[http://goo.gl/wVKsDL](http://goo.gl/wVKsDL)). Are there other options?

~~~
adfm
Librem 13 is pretty slick, if you want a black MacBook Air knockoff with good
build quality, i5, and its own Linux distro tailored to run the hardware and
respects your privacy.

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jetbeau
All everyone wants is the mac OS and to put it on any machine they want. Thats
all..

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oneeyedpigeon
I want that provided there's a laptop out there with comparable build quality.
I don't much mind who produces it, but - as an example - a trackpad that is at
least 75% as good as Apple's is an absolute must.

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phlyingpenguin
Nope. This touchbar Mac is actually the best machine I've ever had.

~~~
cpncrunch
Can you elaborate?

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johnsmith21006
Depending on your use case would also consider a Chromebook. Purchased son an
Acer 14 and love this laptop and want one for myself.

~~~
cpncrunch
It depends on what your requirements are. I have a chromebook, and it's fine
for web surfing. However it just doesn't compare to a Macbook pro:

\- crappy screen (missing pixel, and low viewing angle)

\- plastic case vs aluminium

\- much less powerful

\- can't run mac OS

My 2011 Macbook Pro cost about $1500, compared to about $200-300 for the
Chromebook.

~~~
_-david-_
You can install MacOS/hackintosh on at least one chromebook:
[http://www.omgchrome.com/install-mac-os-x-on-
chromebook-c720...](http://www.omgchrome.com/install-mac-os-x-on-
chromebook-c720/)

It doesn't appear to be the best experience but it does appear to be possible.

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camdenlock
No. D:

