Transition from mac to linux user

[zircon_34]

The problem I have with Unity is the dashboard, thats not so usable for me. So basically I just open it and type in the first 2 letters of the program I want to use and select it, that works fine. But else I never used it to find documents etc... in the past week I tried it out. I would prefer to click on a button and have an overview of my programs, but classified by type in a list view, I don't know if thats tweak able in Unity. probably not.

One feature I like is the HUD, its a good concept, you type in a command and it proposes to open the program and do what you want, its probably a thing somebody can also do in the terminal, but the HUD apparently should remember your preferences.

I checked the Cairo dock, looks good!

[buzzingrobot]

The problem I have with Unity is the dashboard, thats not so usable for me. So basically I just open it and type in the first 2 letters of the program I want to use and select it, that works fine. But else I never used it to find documents etc... in the past week I tried it out. I would prefer to click on a button and have an overview of my programs, but classified by type in a list view, I don't know if thats tweak able in Unity. probably not.

On the top right corner of the dash's dsplay is "Filter Results", which provides a semblance of categorization. Also, you can put the display in full-screen mode by clicking the maximize button on the top left corner. Seems many people don't notice that.

Elementary OS, based on 12.04 LTS, can display applications in a categorized format.

[corbin.loftis]

I am a former Mac user myself, and I'm running Ubuntu as my only OS on my MacBook Pro. I can only say you should start using open source software first on your Mac side of your hard drive if you dual-boot, and then see if you can go one week only using Ubuntu. If you find you need an app from your Mac side, try and find an alternative in Ubuntu instead of rebooting into OS X. I successfully made the switch, and I LOVE UBUNTU.

[1clue]

The OP already listed a couple apps which are critical to him that there is no happy analog for in Open Source.

FWIW I can't imagine why anyone would ever dual boot anything anymore. You can install in a VM and get full use of both operating systems simultaneously, copy-paste between them, share apps, use them as client/server -- or you can shut down the one you're in for the 5 minutes worth of work you wanted to do on the one and save it to a file before you reboot back into the other and hope the formats are actually compatible. Dual boot is a deliberate handicap to prevent two operating systems from interacting.

Again I ask the question: Why would you have to choose one over the other? I've been using Mac and Linux side by side for years. Won't have it any other way. My mac has Linux VMs on it AND a whole lot of Open Source software, my Linux box has Linux VMs on it, and the mac takes care of the things that Linux sucks at. And Linux takes care of the things Macs suck at.

This push to use only Linux is just peer pressure -- which is indistinguishable from bullying -- there's not even a market reason for it.

[Bucky Ball]

As in the other thread; if you have the RAM and suitable hardware.

There are some circumstances where dual-boot rather than VM is preferable, so it is not that hard to believe.

They're not for everybody and certainly not for every situation.

[1clue]

Personally I haven't found even one reason for dual boot in the last 15 years. If there really is such a situation anymore, it certainly doesn't apply to me.

Anyway, I'm not telling anyone what to do. I'm just pointing out what seems incredibly obvious to me and then letting the OP decide.

[morty71]

I suggest you the dual boot, use it time to time and learn and experience new things. Also enjoy the free softwares...

[zircon_34]

I know people have been telling me already >5 years ago, nobody dual boots anymore! to 1clue, I agree for most people its not necessary.

but I kind of like it especially on a system with less RAM, like my macbook air, the experience for using linux is probably better than a VM. For now I really like my experience with Ubuntu, but the only thing that brings me back to OSX are the software I have to use for work or to collaborate with windows user... But thats ok, I like to use both. Using Ubuntu led me to rediscover my mail client (thunderbird) that I used in the past. Since I had a mac I always used "mail" but honestly, I never really liked mail... should have changed this long time ago.

[zemega]

Note, not everyone can afford running VM.

[RadicaX]

I have not really had a chance to use Mac, but have had to do the same thing before with Windows and Linux as a Dual-boot just because there was a few programs I still needed on Windows. When my Windows partition finally died (and I was to cheap to buy an install cd), I just switched all the way to Linux. For the kinds of things I do, this is not a problem, but if you need a certain office program on windows, or mac, it is fine to keep it and use it for that. I often change the format of the files I get when they are sent to me, and work on them in Linux. ( normally file.docx) Changing the name to file.doc normally allows me to use it in Abiword. But that also shows you the extent I really have to use such files, so seldom that I can get away with it using Abiword.

On another note, you could install another DE in Ubuntu if you just want to try out another DE without much trouble, but it takes up space, and repeats a lot of packages like that, and it is a pain to clean up. I have both XFCE and LXDE on my computer, after trying it out a bit, found XFCE to be perfect for me, so I have stuck with it. When I upgrade from 12.04, my next desktop will be straight XFCE because I have enjoyed it so much.