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Linux Mint vs Mac OS

krause734

krause734

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 30, 2010
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Thinking of making the switch. Want to be in control of the hardware I use since Apple refuses to update the Mac Mini/Pro. Is Windows worth the price tag and frustration to run most programs (gaming) or is Linux nice and simple and free? What can't Linux do?
 
0989382 said:
It can't run macOS software, or Windows software. Normally the dealbreaker for most users
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But not bad for basic users like people that use Chromebooks that are really the majority of people. It's not like Mac OS is great for gaming. Linux seems cleaner than Windows and it's free and you're not limited by Apple's hardware. Photo/Video editing/Garageband type applications I occasionally use though.

This would probably be a secondary computer to experiment with Linux although I suppose I could put it on my Mini now and give it a try.
 
krause734 said:
But not bad for basic users like people that use Chromebooks that are really the majority of people. It's not like Mac OS is great for gaming. Linux seems cleaner than Windows and it's free and you're not limited by Apple's hardware.
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I've considered it a few times for myself. It's a very ideal thing to think about, but the majority of people use Windows and are spilling over to the likes of the iPad and Chromebooks now due to their very nature of being 'foolproof' and simple and stripped down, dare I say. That makes them reliable, hassle-free and they do exactly what they say on the tin (if nothing else!)

Linux though, well yes it's simple in some regards but if you don't know how to deal with it when things go wrong it'll be a headache!!! And things will go wrong when you get into the running Windows and Mac applications on it through Wine and other wrappers. It's a very powerful OS when used for specific purposes, and is normally favoured by people who are power users, not so much beginners! Unless it's a specifically stripped down distro, such as.. remember the old EeePC's? Which cut out a lot of what Linux is loved for in themselves.
 
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With Linux it's vital that one matches the distro with intended usage/workflow. Personally I looked in some detail, ultimately falling back to W10 due to software constraints. Mint is a good starting point for those willing to explore Linux, best bet is to run the "live image" off a thumb drive prior to installing on a primary drive.

Apple I give up on, as it's sole manta is thinner at all cost. I need powerful portable solutions, not streamlined eye candy for the coffee shop. W10 I can manage, updates and all, macOS and it's current instability not so much...

Q-6
 
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Linux can be fun and challenging to play around with. I've installed Ubuntu on several Azure VM servers to function as web servers and it works great. I also run an Ubuntu VM on my MacBook Pro just because I can. But for real productivity and work, I wouldn't be comfortable depending on Linux, but that's because I typically have to Google everything that breaks (and it will break). I haven't put in the time to learn all the commands and nuances for everything, which is why I prefer to use macOS. My work world is Windows based, and I am comfortable in that environment as well, but when I have a choice, hands down I use macOS.
 
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I stopped using Apple a log time ago. My wife still uses it for basic stuff but Windows and Linux are my primaries. Mint a a great starting point for diving into Linux. I prefer CentOS as it is similar to Redhat which I use at work.
 
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I wanted to use Linux so bad on my recent desktop build but the desktop was over powered for it and I found I couldn't be very productive on the machine.
 
daflake said:
I stopped using Apple a log time ago. My wife still uses it for basic stuff but Windows and Linux are my primaries. Mint a a great starting point for diving into Linux. I prefer CentOS as it is similar to Redhat which I use at work.
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Makes sense if that is the world you are in at work and are most comfortable with. I've always felt the tug towards Linux but have never had opportunity to completely commit and immerse myself in it. My work world is Windows and I tolerate it (even tho I keep my MacBook Air on my desk along with 2 Windows machines). Linux is just something I play with occasionally for fun.
 
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I run Mint and Fedora on my two primary ultrabooks. I prefer linux for the speed and it just works well for everything I do. I have Windows 10 in a VM if needed but I rarely ever use it.
 
krause734 said:
Thinking of making the switch. Want to be in control of the hardware I use since Apple refuses to update the Mac Mini/Pro. Is Windows worth the price tag and frustration to run most programs (gaming) or is Linux nice and simple and free? What can't Linux do?
Click to expand...

I run Linux on my home PC. There was a period where I had recurring issues with nVidia drivers breaking the boot process after kernel updates, or simply not doing what I asked them to (namely to drive my screen at 120 Hz rather than 60), but that hasn't been an issue for a year or so, and other than that it's good.
Linux like most operating systems is nice and simple if you're prepared to put some work in to learn how (and why) it differs from other operating systems.
Linux like most operating systems has quirks that sometimes make using it frustrating in edge cases the developers didn't think of.

For gaming, check out Steam's and Good Old Games' Linux game catalogs to see if you'll be able to live with the smaller library of available games. Classic DOS games can be run through emulators (DosBOX). Some Windows games can be run through API translation layers (Wine). Some (actually not that few) games have native Linux ports.
 
I've used Linux for a period of time, but I found the need to dive deep into the guts of the system at times to be tiring. I found I needed to mess with conf files to get all the components to work such as video drivers and sound. Then when it was time to upgrade, that was not as seamless as it is with OS X. That was many years ago, and I'm sure a lot has changed, but that was my experience. Maybe one of these days, I'll go and grab ubuntu or fedora again and see how it is.
 
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maflynn said:
I've used Linux for a period of time, but I found the need to dive deep into the guts of the system at times to be tiring. I found I needed to mess with conf files to get all the components to work such as video drivers and sound. Then when it was time to upgrade, that was not as seamless as it is with OS X. That was many years ago, and I'm sure a lot has changed, but that was my experience. Maybe one of these days, I'll go and grab ubuntu or fedora again and see how it is.
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You should at least take a peek at it these days. Ubuntu is a good safe bet for those that want a better desktop experience. In my opinion, Fedora is really meant for those who don't mind tinkering with things, but it's still a great distro.

If you decide to dabble, try installing Ubuntu 16.04, play with it a little and do some customizations, then do an upgrade to 17.10. Both versions are still available, and you'll get to see what an upgrade looks like these days.
 
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belvdr said:
You should at least take a peek at it these days. Ubuntu is a good safe bet for those that want a better desktop experience. In my opinion, Fedora is really meant for those who don't mind tinkering with things, but it's still a great distro.

If you decide to dabble, try installing Ubuntu 16.04, play with it a little and do some customizations, then do an upgrade to 17.10. Both versions are still available, and you'll get to see what an upgrade looks like these days.
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'tis true the upgrades aren't as bad as they used to be... but there can still be those few gotchas along the way. I run Ubuntu 16.04 on a VM for personal tinkering, and I have a few Azure VMs at work running Ubuntu Server 16.04 as web servers. Doesn't require a lot of work, but I don't ask a lot of the systems either.
 
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belvdr said:
You should at least take a peek at it these days. Ubuntu is a good safe bet for those that want a better desktop experience. In my opinion, Fedora is really meant for those who don't mind tinkering with things, but it's still a great distro.

If you decide to dabble, try installing Ubuntu 16.04, play with it a little and do some customizations, then do an upgrade to 17.10. Both versions are still available, and you'll get to see what an upgrade looks like these days.
Click to expand...
I run Linux VMs at work, for specific purposes and so I still get my hands dirty so to speak :). They're specific images for a specific purpose, so there's no need to deal with upgrades, I just download the next image that contains everything I need.
 
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MacDawg said:
'tis true the upgrades aren't as bad as they used to be... but there can still be those few gotchas along the way. I run Ubuntu 16.04 on a VM for personal tinkering, and I have a few Azure VMs at work running Ubuntu Server 16.04 as web servers. Doesn't require a lot of work, but I don't ask a lot of the systems either.
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I don't run any Ubuntu systems; they are exclusively RHEL/CentOS. I have some heavier workloads in both VMware and Azure, and for upgrades, we do migrations to new VMs. It gives us an easy and quick failback, if needed, and the ability to easily test.

maflynn said:
I run Linux VMs at work, for specific purposes and so I still get my hands dirty so to speak :). They're specific images for a specific purpose, so there's no need to deal with upgrades, I just download the next image that contains everything I need.
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Ah, so those are more like appliances. I think you'll find for modest dekstop work, the upgrades are (fairly) painless. Like @MacDawg said, there can be gotchas, but they are getting fewer. It's better than the Windows upgrades from days gone by.
 
belvdr said:
I don't run any Ubuntu systems; they are exclusively RHEL/CentOS. I have some heavier workloads in both VMware and Azure, and for upgrades, we do migrations to new VMs. It gives us an easy and quick failback, if needed, and the ability to easily test.

Ah, so those are more like appliances. I think you'll find for modest dekstop work, the upgrades are (fairly) painless. Like @MacDawg said, there can be gotchas, but they are getting fewer. It's better than the Windows upgrades from days gone by.
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Exactly, they serve a specific purpoes, though I still need to go in and edit various files to get the appliance to work the way we need it. For example editing the samba.conf file to allow a specific ID read/write access to shares
 
maflynn said:
Exactly, they serve a specific purpoes, though I still need to go in and edit various files to get the appliance to work the way we need it. For example editing the samba.conf file to allow a specific ID read/write access to shares
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You have my condolences. I despise Samba. :)
 
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Linux is a great platform for any level of complexity.

I have a Raspberry Pi (Debian) for home surveillance , another being a Time Capsule for my Mac Mini and Apple TV

Workwise I manage Redhat Servers, using Fedora as a work machine to connect to them (and that probably the simplest set up of them all, as it's primarily Web and ssh based work)

Most Linux Distributions have a "Live" version - a bootable image, that you can play with before you install on the systems hard drive.

Check several of them and see which one you feel happy with, because I found, once you go Linux with all its versatility, you seldom go back to another OS.
 
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krause734 said:
Thinking of making the switch. Want to be in control of the hardware I use since Apple refuses to update the Mac Mini/Pro. Is Windows worth the price tag and frustration to run most programs (gaming) or is Linux nice and simple and free? What can't Linux do?
Click to expand...
When the time comes for our household to depart from macOS, it'll be to go to Linux. The state of Linux distros has greatly improved over the past few years.

When I replace my wife's 13" MBA, it'll be for a notebook running Elementary OS. Elementary is clean, bright, consistent, and un-cluttered. She's not a hardcore techie, so the apps optimized for it will serve most of her computing needs.

For me, it'll be a toss-up between Linux Mint Mate and Peppermint OS. Which I land on will be decided by how many Windows apps I'll still need to run at that time. Peppermint OS has WINE baked in and is integrated well into the Linux system. (well, as well as it can be)

I had purchased a 14" Dell Inspiron w/4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC preloaded with Win10 for $120 on some cyber-Monday deal. It was unusable as a Win10 system (only 4GB storage available after all system updates and system clean-up). But wiping it out and installing Linux Mint Mate was a pleasant surprise. Performance and battery life were good enough for it to be my daily driver. And after Linux was installed, there was 19GB free on the internal eMMC storage. All that shows me that I can spend the princely sum of $300 and get a great system for Linux. :)
 
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