Mac fanboy wants to convert. But how?

C

Chris1985

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Hi guys,

I used to be Apple fanboy for 6 years but I have grown to resent towards it. Can someone point me to a right direction when it comes to Linux? At this moment, too many different Linux choices is confusing for me.

Here's what I need my computer (13" MacBook Pro, 2 years old) to do:
Basic office suite that can open both Windows Office and iWork files.
Good email client.
Good address book that integrates with Google Contacts.
Skype.
Videos & music. Music program has to be able to update music in my iPod.
Some nice calendar app.
Torrent app of course :)

In a nutshell, I'm quite basic computer user. There are no special apps I need to run apart from few productivity tools (like Evernote). I'm looking for something that is minimalistic (but enough to have all those basic apps) and OS that has nice look (eye candy). Also, easy to use Linux version is a bonus, I'm new to this world.

Can you please give me your educated guess which Linux version I should look into. Thanks in advance.


Chris
 


Hi Darren,
I've actually used Ubuntu before (maybe 3 years ago). It seemed good but nothing breathtakingly beautiful. But it was easy to use, I have to admit that.
But it seems like things have changed over the years because it looks very impressive now.

I also played around with Mint 16 and it was nice as well.

What about lightweight & elegant Linux versions? I've heard good things about Luna, Arch Linux, Sabayan... Any comment on those?
 
Darren,
I saw your video about Luna and I'm gonna give it a shot through VMWare.

Any other suggestions about Linux versions?
 
Arch is a get your hands dirty approach downside there is no installer lots config files to do, updates can break the system, but the big plus is its speed and documentation is excellent.

I'm sorry I don't have much experience of Luna I would say ask Spatry at Spatry's cup of Linux. One of the links I gave you in your other posting.

In the world of Ubuntu there are many lightweight alternatives but main 2 options are distros that use LXDE or XFCE like Xubuntu.

As for Sabayon I hear it is a very solid distro and again refer to Spatry as he tries out a lot of distros by the way he has a Homepage here for contact
Spatry's Cup of Linux
 
First of all, thanks for all suggestions of different operating systems. I've checked them out and did little bit distro hopping (VMWare). Pear seems also nice but using it is like dumping a girlfriend and right after starting to date her twin sister. It's just too similar to what I already have. I'd rather avoid Mac look and go for something more unique. Probably I'll start & stick with Luna. Here's why:

1. It is lightweight. I'm running semi-decent laptop MBP 13" / 4GB RAM / i5 2,3GHz but I would still like exceptionally fast machine. Luna can probably deliver that speed.

2. It looks very elegant, especially after customisation (video:
)

3. It's stable & easy - perfect for Linux rookie like me.

Now, if there is anything else that seems similar, please let me know.


Few specific questions:
1. Apps. Does one app work in every version of Linux OS or is it only for specific versions?
2. Luna is based on Ubuntu. Does it mean everything that runs on Ubuntu, runs here as well?
3. Drivers. Is it going to be an issue? I'm aware at least two problems when installing Luna - wireless doesn't work and it needs some fan regulating software. Anything else?

Thanks for your help!
 
I feel the same way about Apple, and have been working on switching to/learning about Debian Linux by dual-booting with a PowerMac G4. At the moment, the OS X side is working really well, with exceptions of Flash, which doesn't work with PowerPC architecture. Learning little bits about Debian has been slow, so you may be better off with a distribution that takes less work to configure. I'll look forward to hearing how you do with Linux, though, and still hope someday to get at ease with Debian, too.
 
Marlon,
It seems like a forming trend - former Apple enthusiasts switching to something else. I'll keep you posted how it goes but probably under different thread.
 

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