macOS

How painful is the Linux to Mac transition?

it's expensive. This may sound obvious but since you mentioned cost, it's worth mentioning. Also, as an ex lifelong Apple customer (started in the early 80s and quit some 7/8 years ago) I've seen how it went from being not cheap to being really expensive (non upgradable hardware is not cheap).

It's also not Linux nor Gnome despite macOS being unix-based. macOS is more and more like iOS (aka, limited/controlled). Some like that, I did not.

The Mac also don't like to communicate with non-Apple hardware. The experience is great between anything Apple, like incredibly and most likely uniquely smooth, but with Linux... not so much.

Edit: why not purchase a used laptop (say a Thinkpad that should work wonder with Linux) or even one of the Framework new model (they're not as expensive as Mac)?

Well if you thought many Linux DEs were too windows like then you’ll love Mac OS. Windows (and most Linux DEs) are focused around maximizing a window, snapping it to the side etc. Mac OS wants you to pile (non maximized) windows on top of each other. If you’re hell bent on maximizing (and not full screening) windows then you’re gonna have a “fun” time. You have to break that habit.

I switched from Linux to Mac OS about 10 years ago and never looked back. I don’t think I can ever go back to Linux being my main OS again. I still use it all the time, but not as my main. It pisses me off too much.

The biggest sacrifice in the transition is re-learning certain stuff because Mac is very opinionated, while Linux gives you a lot more freedom w.r.t. certain preferences. It's also a walled garden. Depending on who you are you could find it incredibly frustrating to use.

Installing/uninstalling applications suck imo. It's intuitive enough (drag a application to the trashcan). I feel like it doesn't clean things from startup or background services properly sometimes. As a result you could get an error stating that it can't find a service from an app that isn't even installed anymore.

Alternatively I am very satisfied with the battery life of the apple silicon ( ARM ) laptop I got from work.

Not sure how well it holds up for gaming ( if you're planning to do that ).

The old "there's an app for that" still rings true as per my latest experience. Certain things are simply not in the OS for a reason that is beyond me. A simple example is window management. Moving an application to a different screen or making it half sized etc... there simply aren't any shortcuts for it and you'll need to install an app for something that's pretty basic.

I'd advise you to install most of your software through homebrew ( if possible ). Apple is expensive. The peripherals cost more than the average windows/Linux ones.

Generally speaking, I feel like you lose flexibility and you're forced into the Mac-way of doing things. This isn't necessarily bad, but depending on how much of a power user you are, it could definitely generate friction.

If you do jump to mac I can suggest the following apps:

Raycast ( as a replacement for spotlight ): override the shortcut CMD+space yourself, more flexible and the free tier is very generous/useable. https://www.raycast.com/

Amd64 architecture programs won't run on it unless you use rosetta2. It's a compatibility layer, keep in mind that going forward you'll be able to run containers using rosetta2, but pure amd64 binaries might become an issue in the future ( https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/787530 ). If this makes no sense to you it might also not really be relevant :).

Homebrew for software installs ( if supported ). You can think of it like a package manager for macos. Like apt and the like: https://brew.sh/ You can use brew to install a GUI if you prefer that ( https://www.wailbrew.app/ )

Caffeine prevents your mac going to sleep automatically: https://www.caffeine-app.net/

If you want to manage the menu bar at the top because it has too many icons you can use ice: https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice

Moving and resizing Windows using keyboard shortcuts: https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/rectangle

I've also used this to clean up background services and such which are no longer installed: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html It's worked to remove an error from an app that was no longer installed, but for whatever reason was still registered somewhere.

Note that there are alternatives. The ones I've listed are free, FOSS or freemium where the free tier is good enough.

You'll find more as you go along I guess. YMMV if you decide to take the leap.

I've seen fairly good results for Asahi Linux on an M1 Mac. Maybe you could try that?

That said, the hardware seems to be good from what I have seen, but getting it repaired is an absolute nightmare. If you want more of the Mac experience try Elementary OS, they have a very cool desktop environment which takes a lot of cues from Mac OS but it is familiar Linux territory.

I personal would recommend something repairable like a Lenovo Thinkpad with a Linux distro you like, or maybe a bunch to try. Much cheaper, repairable, and no difficulty transitioning to Mac OS.

I think I want to get a used m1 air.

A lot of people recommend this. I don't think those people understand that this device has ~1 year before Apple declares it "obsolete", and the pricing absolutely does not reflect that.

If you must get a Mac, your money is better spent on the Neo. Equally disposable, but at least they're cheap. And it will significantly outperform M1 as well in single-core tasks.

How painful is the Linux to Mac transition?

Its about 1/100 as painful as the transition to Linux so I think you'll be fine.

The worst thing about MacOS is the bloatware, but for the most part, it stays out of the way.

Oh and the "gatekeeper" you have to disable on a regular basis so you can run software Apple hasn't blessed with their divine hands.

Don't sign in with an account. Use Homebrew for app installs.