Mac OS doesn't install like a traditional OS. It downloads an iso from the cloud, stores it locally and then installs itself. It lets you open a terminal and I put in some commands to clear and restore the bios before installing the OS.

Normally any formatting tool should work on the USB but Fedora does something to the USB that prevents that. It definitely ruined a usb 3 drive I had and no amount of formatting would get it to work properly until I used their Fedora usb tool.

They are doing something weird.

It does some weird formatting to the usb stick. You literally have to use their tool to unformat it again otherwise it's screwed. That's been my experience.

I had an issue on my MacBook bios safety installing Fedora. Wouldn't boot and even if I tried installing Ubuntu over it, still would not boot.

Had to reinstall Mac OS and have it repair the bios. Only after that could I get Linux installed and booting again.

I don't know how they screwed it up but they did.

It's easy to install, it's Ubuntu based which means stable and a wide variety of software and support. Cinnamon looks beautiful in Mint and works perfectly. Installing a deb is a breeze and using the App Store is way easier than using YAST. The cli commands are now easy to understand or remember compared to apt.

Fedora usb creation is a nightmare and can potentially f up your bios if something goes wrong. DNF is also but easy to understand or remember compared to apt.

Gnome is too barebones for a first time user whereas Cinnamon is feature rich and is themed very well. Plus great wallpapers are included. The lock screen wallpapers are easily changed and look great too.

As long as there is no shit Nvidia card the driver installation tends to work perfectly. Don't use Nvidia people. They are a shit, unethical, don't give a crap about Linux company. Use AMD.

And for Linux users who've been around longer, there's Linux Mint Debian Edition which for us is even better because it's not Ubuntu based but Debian based and stable.

I get the latest Firefox directly from Mozilla and any app I can't find in Synaptics I can normally get in Flatpak. Works perfectly well for me. I highly recommend it.

I don't like this Altman guy I've bit. He's a punk. I think it was a mistake on Apple's part to partner with him.

Let's hope they can offer alternatives in the near future.

So are we all ok with Microsoft now being in charge of systemd? The same company made famous by Blue Screens of Death?

When I consider this, it makes me think Linux has lost. Do you think Microsoft would let the Linux community be on charge of The Registry? Or any other part of the OS?

Mac may be the only decent option left....?

You're right. LocalSend does require WiFi connectivity. In terms of convenience it's just like Airdrop, if you have that network.

Maybe one day they could add Bluetooth. Would be cool

Use LocalSend. It's exactly like Apple Airdrop but works on ALL operating systems so no matter what device you have you can easily transfer files.

It's local, secure and open source.

https://localsend.org/

Cyprus. Also in the EU but no official sales or support. I'm sure it's the same in most countries in South America, Africa, Asia and the Far East.

I have a great pocket camera but it's not practical to carry it wherever I go. Most photos are taken spontaneously and for that reason you want a great camera on your smartphone.

Also, most Android phones cannot capture RAW.

😂. Good one! Touché

Tell me about it. An over 3 year old chip and still flogging it as if it's new. Which means all the phones in that segment will still be only as powerful as 3 year old budget phones.

That is disgusting. Shame on them.

I understand. You have to do what you have to do to survive. In that case make the best of the Windows pc and do your work to their satisfaction. Making a living is more important than what OS you use.

Sounds like they are giving you crap hardware. Also, the IT guy should set up the VM and make sure it works.

Also, as a dev you should INSIST that you MUST HAVE Linux available as well. You are the dev, you know what tools you need, it's not up to the IT guy to decide what software you need

I say this as an IT Tech/Admin who was responsible for running all the IT at my company offices. I had about 350 users/PCs to administer plus servers, printers, telephone system, door entry system, switches, WiFi system etc...

If a new guy started they told me what software he would run and what spec was needed and I'd get the right pc for the job and deploy the software needed. Not tell them what to use.

I'm not saying that because I like iPhones.

You are in the US so pixels are widely available and cheap. As is the FE series.

Where I live, outside the US, the Pixel is not sold nor will Google let you buy it. So pixel is a no go.

The Fan Edition Samsung costs virtually the same as the regular edition where I live, if you can find an FE. It costs €700+...

99% of our population can only afford €250-300 phones. €700 is out of reach unless you're single, hehe a great job and still live with mum and dad. Or you are the 1%.

So at that price ALL the android cameras are shit, shit, shit.

So, if I import from the UK a used iPhone 12 it will cost about €350. At that price NOTHING can touch it below €700.

Everything below €700 is Chinese cheapie and Samsung cheapie, also known as crap phones.

100% correct.

At the moment there are tons of Ai companies all trying to be The One that everybody will use.

But Google has Gemini and it has Android. Android has 70% market share worldwide and is offering Gemini for free to every user. That's MASSIVE exposure.

For openai to get on Android the user has to install it as an app. It's VERY difficult to get your average user to know what openai is and why they should use it, never mind getting them to install the app.

So to be the default Ai on iPhone is a HUGE deal for openAi and gives them massive exposure over the competition.

Google pays Apple billions to Apple to be the default search engine so openAi not having to pay anything is actually very surprising to me.

I think the only reason Apple isn't making them pay is because Apple plans to offer other Ai services in future.

Linux Mint

If work let's you run VM's you could run Linux in a VM on your pc

1. Pixel is good but outside the US is barely available
2. The only good Samsung cameras are on the Galaxy S line aka premium models. The rest of the phones, the ones most people buy, are crap.

For the price of a used iPhone there is NO phone that can take as good photos and videos

You should try a Mac. You'll be surprised at how good it is.

This is a great point. I've switched between Android and iOS over the years. The past 4 years I've been on Android but later this year I plan to switch back to iPhone because they've leapt ahead again. Google has let Android languish. They don't add user delight features anymore and what they do have is poorly implemented.

Apple is constantly adding features that people USE in real life, like Accident detection, fall detection, satellite calling, memoji, Facetime, iMessage, Find my devices, UWB shows you with an arrow on the screen exactly where your loved on is in a crowd or your airpods behind the couch etc

Apple fitness is the best out there and Watch is hands down the best fitness device. And it works great with iPhone.

There are too many things to list but the general rule of thumb is that apple adds delight and useful stuff but Google only adds things that benefit IT like circle to search. That's just a way to get you using Google search instead of a different search engine.

When an OEM like Samsung's One UI is better than stock android, you know you have a problem. Plus the fragmentation: something that is on my android device may not be on my wife's or my friends, or in a different place or whatever.

Average Android users don't know quick share exists at all. So it's always off on their phone so if you want to quick share something it's quicker to send it on WhatsApp than to teach them what quick share is and how to enable it.... Whereas every iPhone user knows airdrop and that's nothing to turn on.

Even the recent customisation additions Apple has made are better implemented than on Android where it's a clunky process to add a widget, they look terrible and Devs have limited access. Even the bedtime feature where iPhone displays a clock on the screen when docked and charging is excellent for the average user. Why hasn't Android had this year's ago??? And still doesn't!

Plus magsafe is genius. The incredible accessories and ease of use is fantastic.

I can't wait to switch back to iPhone later this year!