Need some Advice about possibly switching from MacOS to Linux

[JanetTheGreat]

I have been a long term user of MacOS for years. Main reason why I came to MacOS years ago was I grew tired of Windows 11 and Microsoft in general. However lately I've found myself annoyed with Apple's restrictions. I can't run some games I want to play on it due to the fact that I have an M4 which isn't compatible with Dual booting with either Windows or Linux natively on bare metal. I can't install some apps and stuff in VM's due to the fact that it needs the ARM versions of everything which not every app, etc is supported, and my hard drive is so small I can't do anything too big with it, and I don't want to buy an external drive just for VM.

So I am thinking about transferring from MacOS to Linux, by possibly buying a mini PC and moving to it.

I've tried Ubuntu and Linux Mint in the past. Not a fan of Linux Mint, however Ubuntu is a possibility due to the ease of use but I am open to discussing other versions of Linux. I've played around with Ubuntu a bit in VM and I do like the layout of it, but some of the limitations of using it in the VM is notable.

One thing I would need to do, if I am to switch systems at some point in the future is have a way to transfer all my passwords, files, etc to the new system. How would I do that? What advice would people here have for me?

 

[CaffeineAddict]

a way to transfer all my passwords, files, etc to the new system. How would I do that?

My method would be to copy to external storage and then copy back to new system.

Detach external storage prior installment of Linux to make sure data is free from accidental deletion.

 

[KGIII]

Main reason why I came to MacOS years ago was I grew tired of Windows 11 and Microsoft in general.

LOL I'm not really sure that you could have been tired of Windows 11 all that many years ago!

 

[JanetTheGreat]

LOL I'm not really sure that you could have been tired of Windows 11 all that many years ago!

What? Windows 11 came out in 2021. That is when I used it.

 

[KGIII]

What? Windows 11 came out in 2021. That is when I used it.

That's why I said 'all that many'. It's just four years. It was a joke (of sorts) meaning that you couldn't have been mad at Windows 11 for all that long.

It could be my age speaking, but 4 years doesn't seem that long to me. So, perhaps my attempt at humor fell flat.

That's okay, the only 'funny' I'm usually called is 'funny looking'.

 

[Brickwizard]

by possibly buying a mini PC and moving to it.

I am talking UK pricing here, a mini PC is about £200 for entry level up to around £460 for a top of the range, you will still need to get a keyboard and screen, the alternative is to spend around £200 for a refurbished laptop , if you look around you will find some with far better specification than the mini box I recommend Dell [business machines] or Lenovo both are very popular with members here.

 

[KGIII]

I recommend Dell

That's what I used for an experiment a while back. That refurbished Dell still happily works. It's the computer that runs Mint instead of Lubuntu. I do think I need to update it. The current version is still supported, but there's a newer version. I should go sit down at it and update it before the existing version reached EOL.

I gave myself a $100 budget for the computer itself. With taxes, I went over that by about $5. Everything else was stuff I already owned. It gave me a better experience than one might imagine. For the price, I have no complaints. I don't think it ever had a clean installation on it. I swapped the SSD with one that had an older version of Mint and upgraded it. It has been pretty much flawless. You can have a bunch of open tabs, open applications, and all that. It doesn't seem to mind.

 

[Brickwizard]

It's the computer that runs Mint

Mine is Mint LMDE and Parrot having had loads of machines across my bench over the years Dell and Lenovo have been the less problematic, ACER the worse just beating Media Star International and Asus to last place

 

[KGIII]

ACER the worse

My first exposure to AMD was via an Acer computer. I actually (sort of) had a good experience with it. Of course, that was a long time ago. Even though I had a good time with it, I don't believe I've owned another one. I think that's the only Acer I've owned.

Man, that was like 25 years ago. It ran Windows ME, and it actually ran just fine for me. I bought it like right when ME came out, or shortly after. It was my 'living room' PC, which means it was really for the family. I had no issues with it, and it was the first Windows to come with a 'restore' feature. When the kids broke it, and that happened a couple of times, I could just smash the restore button, and things were generally okay.

I didn't use it all that much, but it worked well enough when I did. It was the exact right hardware to run ME without problems. I believe it also said it was 'Windows ME Certified Hardware' on a sticker..

Ah, well... I suppose I won't derail the thread further.