BSD might be an option. But this post is basically meant to ask the following question:
Windows or Mac, which OS do you dislike less?
For me, it’s Windows. Microsoft is shit, but at least there’s some flexibility in terms of how I can use my system and what hardware I can use it on.
One thing I disliked about the linux subreddit (and here too, I guess) is the hostility toward other operating systems. I just don’t get it. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I’ve never actually had an OS interfere with my work, and I’m generally a fan of all 3 major options. Every modern operating system is frankly a marvel of human accomplishment. If there is a task that you can’t achieve on a specific computer, it’s probably because you don’t know how yet. That said, macOS isn’t good for gaming, linux isn’t good for proprietary software like Office or Adobe, and Windows is inefficient with all of its bloat/spyware. None of them are perfect, but none of them are deal-breakers for me.
Every day I work on a 7 year old Windows PC that is locked down like crazy, but I still manage to make it do everything I need it to, including programming, image editing, collaboration, live YouTube streams, and much more. I also use an iPad at work and it, too, runs on an amazing OS, despite all of the things it is not designed to do. At home I have a Windows gaming PC and a linux server running several dozen containers, both of which are constantly being modified and never cease to impress me. When I was a kid I had Macs and learned how edit videos and use the Adobe suite, and OSX propped up the software beautifully. I also learned how to program and use the command line there. If I had the money I would love to get an M2 laptop - that thing is a beast by any metric, and if there’s a task that you can’t make that thing do, well, shame on you.
I guess my point is that while Linux is an amazing kernel, and freedom from major coporations is incredibly important, but writing off other operating systems is naiive, and I think is generally a toxic point of view.
All well and good but Arch is best and it’s what I use btw.
Preferably BSD, but between only windows or mac, probably Mac. The terminal is the main reason, coding without a good one is annoying
I used macOS and holy shit, I desire never to touch this shit again. Everything is tied and you cant do shit.
FreeBSD > other *BSD > Hackintosh > Windows > Mac OS in a Mac hardware. In this order.
linux
I wouldn’t use any of them, if not for Linux, I’d go BSD, if not I’d go Haiku OS
MacOS itself is fine but only runs on apple hardware which makes it a costly proposition of the bat as you’re throwing away all your hardware and buying apple hardware, which pretty much will lock you in to their ecosystem.
Then there’s apple hardware lockdown and their fast deprecation policy which breaks old but still working software and hardware. Apple dropped support for my 2008 macbook in 2012 because they didn’t care to develop graphical drivers for it, which meant I was forced to swap it to Windows 10/linux to continue using it.
Because of that, realistic only Windows would be a viable option for me, which was also my main OS up until recently.
Other smaller OS like BSD or Haiku could be interesting, but lack of mainstream support would probably prove too much work and limiting for daily use.
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MacOS. I ditched windows back in 2011 and will never go back. I used MacOS as my desktop OS from 2014 to 2022, so I’d probably go back to that if I wasn’t using Linux.
The only distro I find worth using is Gentoo, so FreeBSD might work, but ports is nowhere near as pleasant to use as portage last I tried (a decade ago).
Windows, it’s at least usable.
Windows. Last time I had to use it for work it was quite OK with the WSL 2.
If I really had to make a choice between Windows and macOS, it would without a doubt be in favor of macOS. Windows really gets into your way when you try to do anything, and macOS at least has a nice ecosystem. macOS is also (kind of) part of the Unix family, which makes it easier to transition to.
To be honest, if Linux magically disappeared I’d just lean more heavily on using my Android devices.
At least for now, there’s more capacity to have primarily FOSS on Android than on Windows or Mac.
I expect that will change with time and Google wearing away at the systems, but right now you can install a FOSS rom and have the majority of your apps from F-Droid, and the equivalent isn’t possible on x86 devices.
Watching the various Linux for ARM projects with great interest to hopefully take over when Google eventually ruins Android too.
Android is still based on Linux, so depending on how much of a stickler this magic disappearance is, Android might be gone, too.
You are indeed technically correct, sir or madam.
@ScruffyDux
@SexualPolytope
If linux disappeared it would be time for me to learn free BSD, that being said I really want to switch to mobile linux in my phone, lately even android (which is technically linux at it’s core) just feels to locked down
FreeBSD
FreeBSD probably.
