One Year on Linux
hamzberg | 28 October 2023 | 3 minute read
I actually forgot that it's been a year since my transition to Linux.
The Switch
It wasn't a complete transition. I still have to use Windows and MacOS for various reasons, but for all things personal and most other things academic, I use Linux.
And I have to be honest, it's pretty good.
The Distro
I picked Manjaro Linux. Half of it was just someone on the internet saying it was good, and the other half of was that it had what I was looking for.
I did look at other options, notably Kubuntu and Fedora. Both looked pretty good. I've had experience with the Ubuntu family, but it never stuck. Fedora was a compelling choice, and I did try it for a while, but the interface was just a little too different for me to hit the ground running.
The Experience
Manjaro runs smooth. Even though it's a rolling release distribution, it's stable. The most important part is just that it's beginner-friendly.
The interface is similar to Windows 10. A plus for me since I actually like the composition. It's built with KDE as the window manager. I've read online that some people think it's bloated, but as a beginner, it's perfect. I don't have time to do "Unix Ricing." I've seen the custom desktops that people make, and they are cool, but I need to get work done.
Manjaro comes with plenty of preinstalled applications that are incredibly useful. Besides having most of the KDE ecosystem, there's also LibreOffice and Kate. I use both regularly and they're incredibly useful. Although, I have just recently started using VSCodium in tandem to Kate. One of my favorite applications as of late is Obsidian. I love it. It's completely changed my workflow and organization of ideas.
The Problem
While working on Manjaro is smooth, my field of study requires MacOS. In the future, I'll have to buy a MacOS laptop. That's unfortunate, but not surprising. Switching to a Linux laptop has been cheaper, time efficient, and creatively stimulating. Regardless, when companies like Adobe don't put their software on Linux, it's admittedly hard to stay exclusively Linux. Not that I want spyware on my main machine anyway.
The End
I'll probably do another post on my experiences with Linux in a year. If you're interested in changing your approach to technology, I recommended trying it out. If you're not interested, don't bother.
Doodles
