In the end of November 2022 (1 year ago), I switched from MacOs to Linux (Debian with KDE Plasma) on my MacBook.

No regret! Was a very good decision.

I think, I’ll never go back.

Experience:

  • I did not know about KDE Plasma until 1 year ago. The picture in my head about Linux was pretty much GNOME. I’m a huge fan of KDE Plasma now. KDE Plasma 6 in 2024 will probably be awesome.
  • The GitHub repository “Awesome-Linux-Software” was awesome during the first weeks. It made me realize that most of the stuff I was already using, is also available for Linux. Only software I had to leave behind: Affinity Designer (IMO far more intuitive to use than GIMP, sorry FOSS community) and Visual Studio for Mac (which is dead anyway)
  • The only advanced thing I had to do in the beginning: My WIFI connection is always gone when I close my MacBook, but there is not automatic reconnect when I reopen it. None of the usual stuff recommended when using Debian on a MacBook helped. So, I had to write a service that checks for this (something with rmmod, modprobe, brcmfmac, …). Probably too much for a casual user and hopefully not necessary for them…

TODO in the next year:

  • Trying out gaming on Linux, maybe buying a Steam Deck
  • Migrating to KDE Plasma 6 (and switching to Wayland)
  • Recommending our religion Linux to others
    • 0x4E4F@infosec.pubEnglish
      41·
      11 months ago

      • It doesn’t use systemd, it uses runit.

      • The repo is full of any software you might need, including proprietary (through xbps-src).

      • Everything just works, if it doesn’t it’s probably your fault.

      • It’s a rolling release distro, yet focused on stability and usabilty, so you won’t get the latest and greates, but instead builds that are known to be solid. For example the kernel, it’s not the latest, as is with Arch, but it’s maybe one or two minor versions behin. The same applies to software, they’re known to jump versions if the current build proves to be unstable.

      • Lightning fast boot up. It’s also the fastest distro there is, apart from the *BSDs.

      • Compiling and testing is a breeze thanks to xbps-src.

      • A lot of tools and scripts that make building templates for software not in the repo very easy.

      • Supports a lot of architectures. NetBSD is the only other POSIX OS that supports more architectures than Void.

      There are other things, I’m sure, but these are the ones I can think of ATM.

      • vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de
        41·
        11 months ago

        it’s pretty much just arch without systemd then. which is enough of a dealbreaker for me, as I think that systemd is the best thing to happen to linux since sliced bread.

        • 0x4E4F@infosec.pubEnglish
          2·
          11 months ago

          No, it’s not Arch without systemd. Arch breaks a lot more than Void does. Ask Void users when was the last time a Void update broke their system. I use it as a daily driver, plus for a lot of other things (at work and home) that are considered mission critical. I would never use Arch for that. Also, it’s faster than Arch, it supports A LOT more architectures than Arch does… or any other Linux distro for that matter (LFS excluded).

          • Cwilliams@beehaw.org
            1·
            11 months ago

            Personally, I’ve never had an Arch update break my system. But it’s probably only a matter of time

      • uis@lemmy.world
        1·
        11 months ago

        Supports a lot of architectures.

        I can only see x86 and ARM though. Where MIPS? PPC32BE? And I’m not even asking for some obscure architectures like SuperH.

        • 0x4E4F@infosec.pubEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          Do you know any other distro that’s not LFS or Gentoo that still supports x86? I said a lot, not everything. Most distros don’t support anything below 64-bits.

          A fork supported PPC up until a while ago. That project halted though. There was a new spin on it, can’t remember the distro’s name though.

          xbps-src can cross compile for MIPS. There are no packages in the repo for MIPS though.

          • uis@lemmy.world
            1·
            11 months ago

            Do you know any other distro that’s not LFS or Gentoo that still supports x86?

            You guessed it:

            But also OpenWRT.

            Most distros don’t support anything below 64-bits.

            How to they even support early raspis?

      • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
        1·
        11 months ago

        Everything just works, if it doesn’t it’s probably your fault.

        Not even console locale did on my notebook, have to fix that setup sometime. And the installer is pretty barebones and a bit buggy.

        Supports a lot of architectures. NetBSD is the only other POSIX OS that supports more architectures than Void.

        Nononono, there are only two POSIX certified linux distros: K-UX and Huawey’s EulerOS.

        • 0x4E4F@infosec.pubEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          Not even console locale did on my notebook, have to fix that setup sometime.

          What exactly did you do that you couldn’t change your locale? You do know that you have to reconfigure glibc-locales afterwards.

          And the installer is pretty barebones and a bit buggy.

          What exactly is buggy about the installer?

          Nononono, there are only two POSIX certified linux distros: K-UX and Huawey’s EulerOS.

          POSIX certification costs money. There are a lot of distros and OSes that are POSIX compatibe, just not certified.

          • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
            1·
            11 months ago

            You do know that you have to reconfigure glibc-locales afterwards.

            Oh, i did? Thanks anyways!

            What exactly is buggy about the installer?

            I had to work around it so that it doesn’t send me to (disk? network? not sure anymore) setup again and again.