wanting to buy a M5 MBA but i have some questions

[alienmothership]

ive always been a windows or linux guy. i was on win 11 until a few months ago, now im on linux mint with MATE DE.

last year my partner upgraded her 2017 MBA to a M3 MBA, and its lowkey making me jealous AF. the battery life is wild on it, the build quality is unparalleled, its just a really slick machine and the SoC benchmarks are wild.

i was a hobby programmer and did a lot of 3d printing and all kinds of repairs and things.

now im going to college for programming, and i did a semester with my dell inspiron, and while i like the dell, it sucks that i average ~4 hrs of battery life on a 1.5 yr old laptop. i feel like im basically handcuffed to the wall outlet.

i went to the apple store at the west edmonton mall on the weekend and had a long talk with the associate and he basically sold me on a M5 MBA. then i went home and did some research and im probably going to get one.

but there are 3 issues for me:

1. i really liked windows phone link and how it worked with my samsung. looks like there isnt much for linking an android to a mac?

i had a iphone 8, SE2, then an iphone 11 before i switched to android and i will never switch back to an iphone. i was over it with iphones by 2021 and i upgraded to android and never looked back. nowadays if i use my partners iphone 17 pro, i find it clunky and confusing af.


2. coming from windows and linux, i have struggled to like macOS ui/ux, i found it obtuse, clunky, and confusing, despite dealing with all of the janky and broken Linux DEs.  i never really warmed up to MacOS.  however, 80% of my usage of macOS was OS X 10.6.4 OSX 10.3 on a imac g3 (the all-in-one with the crt) and OSX 10.6.4 a macbook 2.1 i found in a dumpster in 2022.

i did manage to get big sur running on a 2013 imac a few months ago and i did find myself warming up to it, but i sold the imac to my neighbor.

so has anyone been in a similar point? did you originally hate MacOS but have it grow on you over time?


3. USB...i use my USB-A ports all the time. mostly for connecting ESP32 or arduino boards, 3d printers, or flashdrives and HDD...plus my mouse has a 2.4g dongle that is only USB-A....

how has it been for power users to only have USB-C? unless you buy a adapter or hub? do you get used to it?

[Melooon]

10.6.4 on a imac g3

I don't think that's possible 10.6 Snow Leopard is remembered as the most golden of golden OS's, however it only ran on Intel macs made after 2006, definitely not on a G3 (Any version of OSX on a G3 would have been a painful experience - that computer would have been Mac Classic OS8 or OS9 )

That aside to your more overall question! I'll repeat what I said in the shoutbox to someone today. The macOS workflow is unlike anything on Windows or Linux, its supposed to be creative chaos, it should feel like sitting at a desk during a messy craft project.

For me, Windows and Linux feel oppressive because they are constantly trying to "organize" me, by positioning things and minimizing things. So you have to get out of that mindset. (That said recent macOS has added so much annoying junk to the desktop experience and I take 5 minutes to disable everything on new installs) - I can give you a detailed "how to de-annoy-ify macOS" guide if you like 

looks like there isnt much for linking an android to a mac?

Essentially no; I used an Android for many years, and you're lucky if you can even get it to transfer a file to macOS - you have to install a weird Android transfer program that bugs out all the time, and its best to treat them as separate realities. Maybe things have changed in the last few years, but I doubt it!

how has it been for power users to only have USB-C

Its a stupid choice that is wonderful if you exist in a reality where everything is brand new and USB-C only and you never have to interact with anything outside that reality. Otherwise, its just annoying. Getting one of those USB sticks that has USB-A and USB-C is a huge help, or doing network file transfers. For a mouse, you really need a Bluetooth one. That said, if you are using your laptop at a desk, and you invest in a serious dock like a CalDigit, all these issues go away; also some monitors support USB-C and will act as a screen, USB hub and charger for you - that can be a cheaper option and ok too.

[futurearcana]

Here's my personal point of view: yes, macbooks are pretty, the exterior build quality is outstanding and the screen is gorgeous. But, the way I see it, mac os is a toy by design. You said yourself that mac os's ui is obtuse, and I 100% agree on that. I grew up on macs, starting with mac os 8 up to lion, then in '09 I learned about linux and never looked back. I knew all too well what I was leaving behind, even at a time when using linux was truly hard and cumbersome.

Although linux support on macbooks is slowly progressing forward, it's not fully there yet, and I wouldn't invest that amount of money on a bet that the community will work a miracle.

If you're looking for an all around solid machine, I think the framework 13 pro is a good laptop, that's fully repairable and with first class linux support, if a bit expensive.

There are plenty of other options for most budgets that will give you that mac feel, but with your choice of os. You're gonna be stuck on x86 tho, and so yeah, you're gonna lag behind compared to macbooks in terms of battery life, but you also have to keep in mind that battery anxiety is unjustified most of the time.

I bought a power delivery power bank precisely because of this anxiety, but I never found myself needing it to charge my laptop, so there's that. Most of the time you're gonna be close to a convenient power outlet to charge up so try to rationalize how much actual battery life you need.

Also, according to this video by Jeff Geerling newer intel cpus seem to be on par with macbooks in terms of power consumption, so you might want to consider that as well.

Just some final closing words: buying a laptop is insanely frustrating, particularly in this economy, so make sure to filter any advice, including mine, through your own perspective. Take your time, do your research, try out some demo laptops in stores and then make a reasoned decision based on what you actually need.

[alienmothership]

don't think that's possible 10.6 Snow Leopard is remembered as the most golden of golden OS's, however it only ran on Intel macs made after 2006, definitely not on a G3 (Any version of OSX on a G3 would have been a painful experience - that computer would have been Mac Classic OS8 or OS9 )

i checked, and it was actually OSX 10.3 that i had on the imac G3.

That aside to your more overall question! I'll repeat what I said in the shoutbox to someone today. The macOS workflow is unlike anything on Windows or Linux, its supposed to be creative chaos, it should feel like sitting at a desk during a messy craft project.

that might work well for me cuz ADHD, but im also really used to windows so i know there will be a learning curve.

[alienmothership]

You said yourself that mac os's ui is obtuse, and I 100% agree on that. I grew up on macs, starting with mac os 8 up to lion, then in '09 I learned about linux and never looked back. I knew all too well what I was leaving behind, even at a time when using linux was truly hard and cumbersome.

i hear you, and i want to like linux a desktop OS but im struggling to be able to commit to it on the desktop for long term. i dont have issues with linux in my homelab. but desktop software compatibility is a huge issue and i think most of the DEs lack enough polish for longterm use without configuration, but then i keep proving the axiom of "linux is free if you dont value your time" over and over to myself.

like today, i have linux mint on my dell inspiron and closed the laptop and put it into my backpack to go to class, i get to class, and the laptop and backpack are hot, and ive lost 10% of my battery cuz by default linux mint does nothing when you close your screen so the laptop didnt sleep and just ran and ate battery power in my backpack.


im wondering if macOS is a alternative to windows, and a more stable, polished linux alternative.

If you're looking for an all around solid machine, I think the framework 13 pro is a good laptop, that's fully repairable and with first class linux support, if a bit expensive.

yeah tbh one of the reasons i though i would never own a mac was the anti-right to repair designs and things like that. like i value repeatability, which has kept me away from apple.

framework would be something i was really interested in, if windows was less shit, and linux had more polish.

 

There are plenty of other options for most budgets that will give you that mac feel, but with your choice of os. You're gonna be stuck on x86 tho, and so yeah, you're gonna lag behind compared to macbooks in terms of battery life, but you also have to keep in mind that battery anxiety is unjustified most of the time.

I bought a power delivery power bank precisely because of this anxiety, but I never found myself needing it to charge my laptop, so there's that. Most of the time you're gonna be close to a convenient power outlet to charge up so try to rationalize how much actual battery life you need.

this is a fair point, but in my experience, on campus i repeatedly struggled to find spots to charge my laptop, which effects my ability to study and work on projects. you realize that you basically have to keep plugging your laptop in every few hrs so you develop a habit of not sitting down in spots without wall plugs cuz you know your battery life is limited.

its one of those things that is doable, ofc i can manage. but its theoretically one less thing i would have to worry about in a day.

[futurearcana]

but then i keep proving the axiom of "linux is free if you dont value your time" over and over to myself.

I keep hearing that from people that don't use linux or have not used it for a long time. There are distros and desktops that are definitely more of a time sink by design: gentoo, nix and vanilla arch for distros and standalone compositors/wms like hyprland or niri are designed in such a way that you as the user configure everything from the ground up. On the other hand, mainstream desktop environments like Plasma and GNOME (this last one a little less so) give you a very good out of the box user experience that's (in my opinion) easier and more functional than windows or mac os and doesn't require any tweaking. You have a lot of knobs you can turn, but it doesn't mean you have to turn them.

like today, i have linux mint on my dell inspiron and closed the laptop and put it into my backpack to go to class, i get to class, and the laptop and backpack are hot, and ive lost 10% of my battery cuz by default linux mint does nothing when you close your screen so the laptop didnt sleep and just ran and ate battery power in my backpack.

I don't think this is expected behaviour: there's either something wrong with the laptop firmware, or with how linux interacts with it. Add to that the shitshow that is s2idle, forced by microsoft down the throat of pc manifacturers, all the way down to us users (if you don't know: s2idle is the "new" standby method, as opposed to s3 sleep; it's often implemented poorly causing abnormal battery drain and heat buildup during standby and this is a problem with the firmware, so it happens on windows as well).

Assuming it's a problem with how linux interacts with standby on your particular laptop, this is one good reason to buy laptops that offer first party linux support.

im wondering if macOS is a alternative to windows, and a more stable, polished linux alternative.

Ultimately you are the only one that can answer this question. If you ask me, I find it slightly more tolerable than windows, but I wouldn't call it polished or a valid alternative to linux. Mind you, this is my opinion.

framework would be something i was really interested in, if windows was less shit, and linux had more polish.

I think you might need to expand your horizons beyond linux mint. It's alright, but it's stuck in the past in many ways, and I understand the feeling of it being unpolished. I would suggest you to try some immutable distros in the ublue family (Bazzite, Aurora or Bluefin), or CachyOS if immutability is a problem for you.

[alienmothership]

I keep hearing that from people that don't use linux or have not used it for a long time.

ive used linux (ubuntu, then debian, and most recently linux mint) as a desktop OS on and off for a few years now, and ive been using rasbian lite (no GUI) or ubuntu server as server OSes for my homelabs.

i keep proving to myself that linux on the desktop in general is a time sink. every time i try it, and after a few months/years, i always have enough and go back to windows, because in my experience, 99% of the times things just work on windows the first time, with no tinkering or fixing.

tbh i would love to love linux, i love the concept of FOSS and i dont like the tracking with the windows, especially with the GDID. but using linux on a daily basis as a desktop OS is death by 1000 cuts for me, and i have less and less time and patience for issues, i need my shit to work.

Add to that the shitshow that is s2idle,

this is a problem with the firmware, so it happens on windows as wel

yeah i did research on that last semester and it was one of the reasons i tried linux again. really disappointed they wont let me enable S3 sleep, even in the UEFI.

i think you are right about firmware as well, i wont be buying a dell again. i previously swore off Dell (plus they are pretty fashy nowadays) cuz i hated working on or trying to upgrade Dells, but this particular unit was on sale at bestbuy and it had double the RAM and SSD capacity over the Acer i was gonna buy for the same price.

i know that Acer is a budget brand but i have never had issues with Acer, like i have had with HP and Dell.

Ultimately you are the only one that can answer this question

part of the appeal is the solid aluminum construction, and the battery life. from my research, a lot of people like macOS as a more polished, stable alternative to linux. we will see i guess.

I think you might need to expand your horizons beyond linux mint.

my friend suggested that i try omarchy, which i did in a VM. and i liked it, but i had never heard of DHH and i have no intention of supporting a white nationalist creep so i wont be using it.

[futurearcana]

but using linux on a daily basis as a desktop OS is death by 1000 cuts for me, and i have less and less time and patience for issues, i need my shit to work.

I think this is heavily dependant on what you actually need from your computer. I too, as most people, need a machine that just works. All my machines, including my work laptop, run the same Arch Linux configuration that I've been using and refining for years now. The way I have it set up and documented, I can have a machine fully ready for work in about an hour or so, and that includes installing Arch the old school way (manually from the command line, without the installer).

Once that's set up there is no other operating system or tool or whatever else that's faster for me. I am a software engineer and I can do everything that I need to for my day job in a fraction of the time it takes my coworkers using windows (side note: it's so funny that my setup for dotnet development is orders of magnitude faster and more informative than on windows, considering dotnet is microsoft crap).

Admittedly, it takes practice to get to this point. You build an expertise using an operating system for a long time, whatever it might be, and moving to something different means re-learning most of this stuff. If you're willing to give it time, it's not gonna take long for you to develop confidence and completely get rid of the time sink factor.

i know that Acer is a budget brand but i have never had issues with Acer, like i have had with HP and Dell.

It's very much a lottery: in my experience it's not really a matter with the brand (although that does play a role) but with the particular model. You might end up with a blessed unit where most of everything just works, or with one that is riddled with little bugs and weirdnesses. Again, all of this is at the firmware level, so it doesn't really matter which os you use.

I find that laptops sold with linux out of the box, as well as custom built desktops, are the best in this regard. I think the reason might be that if a manufacturer is willing to go throught the effort of selling a laptop with linux they're also gonna put in the required effort to get the firmware right.

An outstanding example in this regard should be (no direct experience) brands like system76 and starlabs that ship some (most? all?) of their laptops with the coreboot firmware. That is an open source uefi/bios/firmware project, and the fact that it's open source means that the community can and will contribute to it, solving most if not all of the little papercuts that you would otherwise get from a regular firmware, like the lack of s3 sleep support (again no direct experience, some of this might be dictated by the particular cpu so don't take this as a given and do your research on the particular laptop that looks interesting)

part of the appeal is the solid aluminum construction, and the battery life.

Plenty of laptops with solid all metal construction and outstanding battery life. If you're willing to spend macbook level money, look at these linux first boutique hardware vendors like framework, system76, starlabs and more. They might have something that aligns with what you're looking for.

my friend suggested that i try omarchy, which i did in a VM. and i liked it, but i had never heard of DHH and i have no intention of supporting a white nationalist creep so i wont be using it.

Yeah stay away from that thing, dhh is a fash and omarchy is worthless. Also, considering you said you wanted something that just works, stick to Plasma or GNOME for your desktop. hyprland and similar window managers are cool but they are the definition of a time sink, and they require you to be very familiar with the basics to be properly effective.