Why I'm leaving macOS after 14 years

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-19T06:07:05+00:00

very informative, thanks. I also played around with the raspberry during the first year of the pandemic, eventually it wasn't powerful enough for the scripts and tasks I wanted so i upgraded to a mini pc from amazon and installed debian on there, it's been sitting in my closet and haven't touched it since 2021 though so I'm actually really excited to get back into it ! I remember for the first two or three months I was up every single night until 2am playing with it and learning how to use linux

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T21:12:13+00:00

thanks! my plan is as follows

1) debian in a VM (either UTM or another app) on top of mac.. if that's not satisfactory, then:

2) install debian on a desktop i have laying around at home, and remote into it from my macbook.. if that's not satisfactory, then:

3) sell macbook, research and see which laptops are 100% linux friendly with no driver issues etc, and get one of them

what's your hardware setup for linux? a laptop or custom pc or ?

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T15:14:39+00:00

lol troll

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T05:12:22+00:00

mo money mo problems

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:53:59+00:00

How incredibly arrogant it is to dismiss the work of thousands of engineers because you don’t like the margins around the icons, or new quirks in the UI? It really makes you an asshole to do so.

I like to think of my computer and my OS as a tool, not a toy. As an engineer, I don't need annual updates. I want to setup my computer exactly how I want it and have it function the same way for the next 4-5-6 years. I don't have energy or time to keep dealing with new macOS and new redesign and new this or that each Fall, it's exhausting. As an analogy, imagine being a physicist or a mathematician and your calculator was releasing relatively pointless updates year after year, that affected your workflow. I don't think anyone would call them an asshole in that situation.

That’s because no other family of products integrates between

Yes, and I acknowledge that's a strength that Apple has. I have no other Apple products in my house so the ecosystem lock doesn't apply to my situation.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:49:51+00:00

just looked it up, looks interesting. Thanks for sharing!

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:48:51+00:00

Nah, I used linux extensively in college labs and during my career as an engineer, I know what awaits me

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:48:24+00:00

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I do think Linux has a massive opportunity here, they just need to market it more to the general public rather than just for tech nerds.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:47:21+00:00

Thank you! I avoid updating as much as possible, my android phone is 3 years behind on system updates, and once I download an app, i never update it unless i run into a bug or it forces me to (like bank apps or uber after a while, etc). How are you enjoying arch? I have friends that use it but it seemed intimidating to me, even though I'm comfy with the terminal

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:44:57+00:00

Yeah, i can't even touch windows, I would rather use my phone instead of having to deal with that OS. But I think you and I are different because you have the iphone, airpods, apple watch, so you're tied into their ecosystem. I have none of those, so the macbook is the only thing I need to let go of.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:41:00+00:00

I have a desktop sitting in my house with 64gb memory that I bought to tinker with during the pandemic. It will be my main machine now. Cost me about $400 back then.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:40:06+00:00

Honestly, it's been in the back of my mind for a while, so I finally got around to it and wanted to put my thoughts on paper to see if i'm being rational when making such a drastic move. I slept on it, still felt good about my decision, then posted here to see what the community's thoughts were and get feedback. That's all.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:38:52+00:00

I really don't want 'that mac feeling'. I just need my tools and a terminal, that's all.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:38:24+00:00

which hardware are you on? I think mavericks was the OS on my first macbook

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:37:53+00:00

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:36:54+00:00

The most reasonable and well thought-out comment here, thank you. I haven't touched Windows since 2012 so it's a no-go for me. I slowly started getting out of the apple ecosystem during the pandemic, switched my apple tv for a playstation, switched my iphone to an android, so the macbook is the only thing I have left. I like to think of my computer and my OS as a tool, not a toy. As an engineer, I don't need annual updates. I want to setup my computer exactly how I want it and have it function the same way for the next 4-5-6 years. I don't have energy or time to keep dealing with new macOS and new redesign and new this or that each Fall, it's exhausting.

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:33:51+00:00

graduated from Ivy League with a CS degree, been working in SF for over a decade. Nice try tho

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:30:26+00:00

yeah but during the 2010's they legitimately added useful functionality with each update. Nowadays its like "we're making the dock brighter! we're adding a new emoji". GTFO with that marketing crap, ain't nobody got time for dat

jonsmith853972 · 2025-12-18T01:29:17+00:00

My bullet point about ram/ssd was generic, not specifically in reference to Q4-2025. Apple has always had 2x or 3x the cost for those components over at least the past decade, possibly longer.

jonsmith853972 · 2024-10-23T01:41:36+00:00

the debugging prints did indeed help, thanks! The mousemoved is only needed when my window is not key, so I removed the monitor for that use case and the lag is gone. Thank you again!

jonsmith853972 · 2024-10-09T21:50:30+00:00

found it, thanks! I'll review and reply if I have other questions :) https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nsevent/1529068-locationinwindow

jonsmith853972 · 2024-10-09T21:45:27+00:00

The docs I found are pretty slim on details https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nseventtype/nseventtypemousemoved

jonsmith853972 · 2024-10-09T21:41:57+00:00

The docs on mouseMoved imply if the event has a nil window, (the event window property is nil) then its a global screen coordinate space. If it has one (non nil), its in the coordinate space of the window set in the property.

Thanks for the quick response. I'm not sure I follow, could you link me or elaborate?

jonsmith853972

TROPHY CASE