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Sure. "Without sound". That's probably it.
"Seriously", don't post FUD please.
What's FUD here? Here's someone's writeup of using OpenBSD 7.8 on an M1 Air:


No GPU acceleration, no sound. Some people maybe get sound apparently. OpenBSD doesn't have support for the M1/M2 GPU because the driver is written in Rust.

If you like OpenBSD, great, but it's even more niche and limited than Linux for most . I'm not going to recommend people use Haiku even though it runs pretty well on my ThinkPad W520 and has a sick interface.
 
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What's FUD here?

Apple Silicon sound drivers are in OpenBSD, they have been for quite a few versions.

OpenBSD doesn't have support for the M1/M2 GPU because the driver is written in Rust.

OpenBSD does support Rust.

If you like OpenBSD, great, but it's even more niche and limited than Linux for most .

Here is a complete list of operating systems that are generally a good recommendation for most people:
-

Everyone has their own set of requirements. OpenBSD does fit me, yes. Linux might fit others, also yes. Haiku is an amazing choice if all you need is a browser and a GUI, yes too.
 
I've got as much of a nerd streak as the next guy, and I'll download BSD if I drink a bunch of IPAs and suddenly decide I'd like to play Doom on my toaster oven.

But for my daily driver desktop, Linux is a much more reasonable choice.
 
Until today, I had never heard of Elementary, and would have recommended Ubuntu for this purpose. I would love to hear more about people using Elementary with unsullied users.

This comment was made some 5 years ago. None of those systems will run on modern M-series Macs, except under VMware or equivalent.

There are a number of other distros worth looking at as well, that will run in Intel hardware -- Pop!_OS, Zorin, EndeavourOS are only a few of the systems that aim to bridge the gap between Windows/Mac and hard-core Linux.

Have a look at Distrowatch
 
There are a number of other distros worth looking at as well, that will run in Intel hardware -- Pop!_OS, Zorin, EndeavourOS are only a few of the systems that aim to bridge the gap between Windows/Mac and hard-core Linux.
PopOS is good, though it seems a bit slower in releasing updates, at least that was the case when I was trying/using it. I settled on CachyOS, I think the rolling release falls more in line with my comfort level and the game packages make installing/playing games very simple.
 
If all you need is something that runs Windows software, Linux is an even weirder choice.

Don't you run FreeBSD? thats even weirder.

Honestly, if all you need is "a good operating system that also runs Wine", Linux can't do much better than the alternatives.

what alternatives? I hope you are not suggesting FreeBSD as daily driver for the average consumer.

I tried to boot FreeBSD last night from a "memstick" image and it didn't even do THAT. Immediately rebooted into my Linux environment and all was well. Not the same for everybody, obviously, but a bad first impression for a curious new user.

same, an OS that i will have to fight with to boot doesn't give good indication for future personal use.

Try OpenBSD.

OpenBSD runs on M chips macs?
 
Yes, using the Asahi Linux bootloader and the OpenBSD ARM version. I think some other BSDs do the same. I haven’t tried any of them.
So you need to use Linux components, just to get the OS working?

Again, as @MacBH928 mentioned this largely means its not going to be a feasible option for the consumer.

If openBSD needs Linux frameworks, and code just to work, or run applications, why not skip the complexity and just run Linux?

I get that some folks like flex the nerdiness of doing this, heck I remember doing similar flexing back in the day with OS-9 on a floppy disk based computer with only 64k of ram - but the thing about that, is that its more about the accomplishment and less about using the computer doing actual work/activities.
 
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Ubuntu for me is the most complete and user friendly. I've also setup Ubuntu Pro.
Ubuntu is a good option, huge userbase, lots of support. I personally am not a fan of them pushing the SNAP packages, but I'll not make a bigger deal out of it. I think many people don't really care one way or another as long as their apps are available.
 
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Until today, I had never heard of Elementary, and would have recommended Ubuntu for this purpose. I would love to hear more about people using Elementary with unsullied users.
I used ElementaryOS on my 2007 crackbook for awhile. It was good, but still I was in the mindset of windows. I would love to give it another shot. But for my needs, I think Zorin wins. I do love the visuals of PearOS as well, but it's not fully stable....YET.
 
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Don't you run FreeBSD?

My last ex-FreeBSD server runs OmniOS nowadays.

I hope you are not suggesting FreeBSD as daily driver for the average consumer.

The thing forgotten by many of those who talk about the perceived superiority of certain software is that there is no "average consumer". Frankly, if all you need is a web browser and a text editor, there is a whole world of Unix-like and Unix-unlike operating systems ready for you to explore.

OpenBSD runs on M chips macs?

Yes, with improved compatibility every six months (= release cycle).
 
Ubuntu for me is the most complete and user friendly. I've also setup Ubuntu Pro.

Ubuntu is a good option, huge userbase, lots of support. I personally am not a fan of them pushing the SNAP packages, but I'll not make a bigger deal out of it. I think many people don't really care one way or another as long as their apps are available.

do you lose anything from Ubuntu if you use an ubuntu based distro like Mint or Pop_OS?


I used ElementaryOS on my 2007 crackbook for awhile. It was good, but still I was in the mindset of windows. I would love to give it another shot. But for my needs, I think Zorin wins. I do love the visuals of PearOS as well, but it's not fully stable....YET.

pearOS is back from the dead? didn't expect that
 
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do you lose anything from Ubuntu if you use an ubuntu based distro like Mint or Pop_OS?
Typically these other Distros are built off of older LTS versions. For instance the current PopOS and Mint distros are based off of Ubuntu 24_04 LTS, where as Ubuntu is now on 26_04 for its LTS variant - so the current PopOS is built built off of a 2 year old distro .

Then there's the DE, Ubuntu is based off of Gnome, where as Mint is cinnamon and PopOS is Cosmic. I prefer Cosmic, and you certainly install a different DE.
 
I like the fact that you can restore an older computer by just choosing a bistro an load it what I have found over the years is Ubuntu generally works on everything and your accessaries usually will have the least amount of issues is it perfect no none are but if you feel brave you can try KDE/PLASMA you have total control of anyway you want to control it warning you will be using a lot of command line to get there. The new UBUNTU 26.04 looks very promising I will be trying it after .1 release.
 
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I prefer Cosmic, and you certainly install a different DE.
For the longest time if I wasn't using a WM and DE instead, I'd use XFCE on Arch. It worked great on a 1080p monitor and met my needs. I like XFCE but it runs on X11 and Wayland support isn't quite there yet for it.

I bought a new LG 4K monitor a few weeks ago and trying to use X11 and XFCE on it was difficult with integer scaling only. So I put KDE Plasma with Wayland on it and now I read things again.
 
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For the longest time if I wasn't using a WM and DE instead, I'd use XFCE on Arch. It worked great on a 1080p monitor and met my needs. I like XFCE but it runs on X11 and Wayland support isn't quite there yet for it.

I bought a new LG 4K monitor a few weeks ago and trying to use X11 and XFCE on it was difficult with integer scaling only. So I put KDE Plasma with Wayland on it and now I read things again.
I really like KDE, even though it's kind of like Windows. I heard good things about LxQt too, but I haven't tried that yet. Have you?
 
So you need to use Linux components, just to get the OS working?.
The boot stuff (m1n1) is OS independent, not a part of Linux. And yeah, it’s not at all feasible for a typical desktop user as we’re discussing in this thread. But your questions got me thinking and a Neo with OpenBSD would be ideal for specialized field technicians.
 
For future reference: Work is in progress on a new WM and DE for Linux and BSD called Gershwin. It's designed to look and act like the Leopard-era MacOS (top level global menu, Aqua-ish look, folder hierarchy). It has GNUStep so Cocoa apps can be ported easily. Many other Linux apps will run on it with a top level menu bar so they fit in to the look. They have live ISOs to try it out but to really install it you currently have to run a bunch of scripts manually.
 
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For future reference: Work is in progress on a new WM and DE for Linux and BSD called Gershwin. It's designed to look and act like the Leopard-era MacOS (top level global menu, Aqua-ish look, folder hierarchy). It has GNUStep so Cocoa apps can be ported easily. Many other Linux apps will run on it with a top level menu bar so they fit in to the look. They have live ISOs to try it out but to really install it you currently have to run a bunch of scripts manually.
How active is the project? In the past there was a number of similar projects, but none managed to gain any ground
 
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