I really like Linux, but switched to macOS years ago because the quality of most Linux software outside of the GNU ecosystem is very unpredictable and commonly faulty. Companies seem to hate supporting Linux, and I've had enough distro updates break my OS in the past that eventually I just got beaten down. MacOS gives me a Unix shell, a consistent UI, and I've never had a system update lead to a black screen, or a new UI that I hate, or half my installed software being broken. Let's not even get started on the support for most Linux distros. Even Ubuntu has what I would consider to be dreadful support, unless maybe you're a corporate client of theirs.

Linux is good if you can configure it for a very specific purpose, like a server, or a graphics workstation, or even web development. For general purpose, its warts grow the more you use it. Hopefully someone has a dangerous looking Bash one-liner that will solve all your problems.

I switched from Mac to Linux a few years back, haven't regretted it for a second (well, there were a few seconds in there that were touch-and-go).

I now run a tiling window manager (i3wm) on a Debian distro (PureOS, came with the laptop) and I'm enjoying it immensely.

I still use an external Apple keyboard (a magic keyboard from 2015 - y'know, when they were good hehe). The trackpad has never been quite up to the Mac's standard, so I use an external mouse too. But I was using an external keyboard and mouse even on the MBP, so no change there (just the option to switch to trackpad isn't as awesome).

Which laptop or desktop hardware are you using for your Linux setup.

After the Mac I bought a Dell XPS 15, which ran Linux fine but I had issues with the dual-boot and GRUB setup - I could probably have fixed them, but meh.

I then bought a Purism 13, which has been awesome (apart from a niggling problem with the space bar). Having a laptop designed from the ground up to be open, maintainable, and running Linux is an amazing experience. I had a problem with the screen on this one and tech support said "open up the back of the case and have a look to see if anything looks odd". I had more or less the exact same issue with the MBP and had to do without my laptop for a week while they replaced the screen.

The integration with iOS/iMessages/keychain/homekit /FaceTime is extremely convenient for me. I don't mind paying extra for it, and I like that they have stores near me.

I would definitely agree with that. Having bought into the Apple ecosystem brings software features that you can't get elsewhere.

Yeah, I'm sorry but the idea of dealing with linux compatibility on a laptop or running Windows is a complete dealbreaker for me. despite how bad the macbook pros get i just can't switch.

Good thing the Dell XPS developer edition ships with Linux already set up.

> Dont make me jump through hoops to find computery stuff.

I'm curious what "computery" stuff you're looking for? If you're trying to modify stuff a "normal user" wouldn't touch, you'd be better off on the command line. Finder isn't meant for people who want to muck around with the system because everyday normal users shouldn't be messing with system files.

Personally I hardly ever use Finder. Cmd+Space to launch apps and then I use those apps to manage their document types. I develop using VSCode and I'm on iTerm I'd say 75% time anyways.

I don't get why power users shouldn't be afforded the power of graphical file management. The command line is not an adequate substitute for quickly navigating and managing the filesystem to me.

Maybe I'm not a "power user," but I'm using the Finder for graphical file management roughly every day and it's just not a super big issue for me.

These "Macs aren't for power users" threads always kind of fascinate me, because it's so clear how differently people define "power user," and at times it feels like a lot of people define it as "this system has defaults that I don't like" or, even more often around here, "If I ever feel like I have to touch my mouse the system is crap." Whereas for me, I want a launcher/workflow runner like Alfred, which very often is my "command line" for a lot of functionality. I can assign a keyboard shortcut to anything in any menu in any application at the system level. I can wrap Unix scripts in Automator actions and put them in the Service context menu, so I can highlight text in any application and run it through a filter with a single click. I drag the proxy document icon in the title bar of windows to perform actions on that file all the time. To me, these are totally "power user" things, while I've never once thought "man, if only I had a mouse-free tiling 'window' manager that just split the screen in multiple sections with no overlapping windows I would be so much more productive."

Also, I'm typing this on a 2020 Macbook Air and it has a terrific keyboard. With the release of this 13" MacBook Pro, AFAIK this eliminates the butterfly keyswitch from their lineup.

For managing files, the commandline is strictly more efficient than GUI if you ask me.

For navigating: try ranger.

https://github.com/ranger/ranger

I agree, and I think both options should always be available. to the user.

Seems really simple to open "Macintosh HD" in the Finder and find all the "computer-y stuff" I could want. I also added my homedir to the "favorites" list. There's also the very handy cmd-shift-g shortcut for "Go to folder" that autocompletes paths on tab (also under the Go menu which has a bunch of handy links, including Home, Computer, etc.).

I usually navigate directories from the command line. If I want to do something that needs Finder (like drag and drop a file) I run an "open ." to pop a Finder window with the current directory.

Shift-cmd-g, and you can put in any path you like, with autocomplete.

I live in the terminal and just `open .` when I need Finder for some reason (very rare for dev purposes).

I've actually found `open` to be the most indispensable thing on MacOs. The Linux versions don't cut it (`xbg-open` or something?) it opens applications in the foreground of the shell process so it takes over the terminal you were working in, so you have to write aliases to background the process.

You can write a script for that, something like `xdg-open $1 & disown` will cut it already. However managing the default applications on Linux is a ridiculous pain in the ass.

> Dont make me jump through hoops to find computery stuff.

Just press cmd+shift+period in the Finder to unhide all the hidden files and directories.

You can also write `open /path/to/somewhere` from any location in your terminal window to open the Finder at that spot.

CMD+up and you in `computery stuff`. Don't understand the problem