this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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I've been a user of Apple devices since I got my first MacBook in 2007. I now have an iPhone, iPad, a selection of Macs of various ages, and a couple of Apple TVs. As much as I'd like to switch to Linux, I don't really see it happening because I like Apple's hardware too much.
With all that in mind, I think the EU are doing sterling work. Shame my country voted to leave it...
What do you like so much about apple? I am genuinely curious as I always thought their products are always dumbed down too much to keep their branding clean, my only experience with apple has been with my mom's iphone.
Speaking personally, I don't think they're dumbed down. They're pretty straightforward to use, sure, but they do what I need them to.
In terms of the hardware; I have a 2011 MacBook Pro at home that's still just about as solid as the day I bought it. The battery's dead, but that's to be expected for its age. I'm typing this on a 2014 Mac mini that's running the latest macOS perfectly through OCLP. My main computer is a 15" M2 MacBook Air that is a genuinely impressive machine. If anything, Apple have kinda shot themselves in the foot, making devices that last far longer than their software support allows.
That's true of Linux too though.
I was running Linux on my desktop from 2009 until I finally decided to swap the hardware last month. It started as my computer for school, I later added a GPU to play games, upgraded the GPU, then removed the GPU to turn it into a NAS (in 2017) when I upgraded the hardware (CPU was lagging in games). So I got ~8 years out of it as a desktop, then another 7 years as a server, and I only replaced it because I had better hardware doing nothing (faster and lower power).
Likewise with my laptop. I bought a Lenovo T series in 2012-ish (replaced a POS HP that was falling apart from 2009), accidently killed it with water damage (a lot of water, like a full cup) in ~2017, then got a Lenovo E series to replace it, which I still use today. The E series has been dropped multiple times (once from almost 2 meters onto a hard floor), stuffed in bags, used by kids, etc, and the only issue is a small chip in the back (fall damage) and a slightly loose USB-C charge port (mostly from kids tugging on it; still works fine). I still get 3-ish hours battery life and my kids love playing minecraft and Lego games on it. I expect it to last years still.
I've never had to replace a computer because of Linux support. It's never even come across my mind as a thing to think about. Everything just works, even if I move my boot drive from one computer to another (upgrading my 2009 system to my 2017 system was just moving the boot drive).
I don't think Apple hardware is special, they just don't ship crap like the budget end of the market. If you buy something quality, it'll be just as reliable, if not more. If I cared to fix my Lenovo T series, it would probably be with me today, but the newer, faster model was <$500 so I didn't bother.
So I’m a die hard apple boi as well, but I’ve been getting into Linux a bit lately (to replace my windows machine that was solely for gaming)
I think the main reason I still stick with Apple over Linux for most things is that Linux requires more tinkering.
Every time I wanna play a new game I need to try out different versions of protons until it works. When I need a new software, I have to go google if I CAN have it, how to get it, or to find out what exact version I should use for my distribution, etc.
Linux, as impressed with it as I am so far, is like having an old classic car I’m fixing up. It’s a hobby. I need to dedicate time to learning, maintaining, and optimizing my experience. So it’s great for my hobby of gaming!
My Mac just works when I need it to work, no tinkering, no second thoughts. It’s the boring but reliable modern car I take on long trips. I just use computer, get work done, without roadblocks I have to google derailing me every 10 mins.
I’m all for Linux, I’ve very much enjoyed it so far and will continue learning, but as a “normie” using Linux, the simplicity of Mac is often missed.
For software, I can understand you. Linux has fewer native games but significantly better support for Windows games through Proton compared to macOS.
That's only true if you need specific software, if you can generalize your requirements a bit, there are a lot of options. For example, if you need Photoshop, you'll probably have a bad time, but if you just need an image editor, GIMP, Krita, or a number of simpler apps could work. If specific, proprietary apps exist in Flathub, it'll probably just work on whatever your distro is. If it's not there and not in your distro's repo, you're back in "tinker" territory.
So it's kind of like macOS in terms of app support, but with a bit less official support and a bit more unofficial support.
And that's also true with games. If you're using Steam, then check the Steam Deck compatibility; if it's "playable" or "supported," it'll probably just work without any effort, otherwise it'll probably work and may require some effort. On macOS, if it doesn't have explicit support, it probably won't work. If you use another store (GOG, EGS, etc), then you're firmly in "tinker" territory.
If you don't want to tinker, stick to stuff in distro repos, flathub, and Steam Deck "playable" and "supported" games. That should meet most needs (it solves mine), but you need to be okay with replacing some apps here and there.
The 2011 MBP "supported" macOS isn't receiving security updates anymore, for almost 4 years now. It's pretty much an Apple Brick.
...unless you install an OS that continues to receive security updates. Insert penguin here.
Until last week it was running Sonoma. Then I put Mint on it, which somehow buggered up the macOS partition.
Long story short, it’s not run High Sierra for a couple of years now, not since I discovered OCLP.
OCLP is pretty darn cool, for sure. Note the quotation marks on the "supported".
I'm rather anoyed that I've accrued so much Apple hardware passed down to me, which is absolutely mint condition, but is "no longer supported". It just means that the vendor no longer finds it profitable to keep it secure, and sort of shrugs it off; "just buy a new one lol, and bin your perfectly good hw". Wasteful.
Asahi Linux is a thing... check it out when you've got some free time
I use this, it’s not yet perfect but it does what i need.