Which is better, Mac or Linux Mint 19?

**tomcruises** · September 28th, 2020

Hi, I'm looking for healthy conversation.
Which is better, Mac or Linux Mint 19?
I heard Linux is faster than mac. In many cases Linux takes a minimalist approach to things. Distributions like Arch Linux exist only for this reason. Is it?

**guiverc** · September 28th, 2020

If you're after a fast Linux, as Mint uses run-time adjustments so they can use foreign (Ubuntu) packages, you're not talking about the fastest GNU/Linux anyway.

Any OS has strengths when compared to another OS, but also weaknesses too.

There are differences in Arch and your example of Linux Mint (which isn't Ubuntu, Ubuntu doesn't use run-time adjustments are if changes are required, changes are made to the code, it's recompiled and new packages are propagated to Ubuntu systems, Mint uses the run-time adjustments so they can use packages built by upstream Ubuntu).

The best will depend on how it's used, what it's used on, and a lot of other very specific circumstances, and not general statements make little real sense. But your example of Mint is not a minimalist approach anyway; having not chosen a fully-independent distribution of GNU/Linux (but one which uses a hack to achieve it's end goal).

**exploder** · September 28th, 2020

There are use cases for both. It really depends on your needs.

**rabiultanmoy** · November 10th, 2020

Both are good. I prefer linux mint instead of mac. Mac has some technical bugs which causes the pc slow sometimes, but if you have upgrade version of linux then you will get better service.

**DuckHook** · November 10th, 2020

To be frank, the OP's question is like asking: "Which is better: a hammer or a screwdriver?"

The two are so different, and address such divergent needs, that plastering a moralistic term like "better" onto the comparison constitutes a category fallacy and risks degenerating into pointless argumentation.

If you want to drive a nail into a piece of wood, use a hammer. If you want to turn a screw into that same piece of wood, use a screwdriver.

Likewise, what is it that you want to do with your OS?

MAC provides a pretty silo with high impenetrable walls within which apps trade freedom and power for ease of use. Linux provides freedom and power at the cost of far greater complexity and geekiness.

Within Linux itself, the same dynamic exists. Ubuntu provides a more structured approach to freedom with a preset look and feel. Arch foregoes structure but offers almost infinite customization.

It is pointless to ask which of these OSes are "better" than the other. They have different strengths because they have different goals. If you want freedom, MAC is the wrong OS. If you want hand-holding and familiarity, any of the Linuxes are the wrong OS.

Figure out what your goals are first. Then the OS that best attains those goals is the "best" one.

**grahammechanical** · November 11th, 2020

When did people ever make purchasing decisions for computers and computer related devices based upon their preferred operating system? I can remember PCs being sold without an OS pre-installed. Microsoft put an end to that. Did Apple ever sell the Macintosh without an OS pre-installed? I do not think so.

So, here we are today. What is it that drives the purchasing decision of most people? The OS? Or, herd behaviour? How many posts have we seen on this forum where people follow the pattern of buy hardware then choose Linux = install failure & my device is broken.

Someone who is informed to the point of choosing Linux knows that it is best to choose hardware that matches Linux. And better still if there is no other OS on the machine. Even the true believers have stopped saying: "This year is the year of Linux on the desktop."

Regards.

**mastablasta** · November 13th, 2020

Originally Posted by grahammechanical

So, here we are today. What is it that drives the purchasing decision of most people? The OS? Or, herd behaviour? How many posts have we seen on this forum where people follow the pattern of buy hardware then choose Linux = install failure & my device is broken.

cool look and price seem to be the main factors.

this want't the first time it happened to me, but this year many came to me for advice on a descent laptops for school over internet. they needed MS office to run and should be within a budget of less than 600 EUR. possibly a bit better made so they last a bit longer and get the kids through high school or university. so windows laptops are the choice.

my first advice was to wait for July or even August, when prices usually drop a bit as the older stock sales start. my next advice was to get min. i3 or Ryzen 3 with 8GB ram and if possible to invest in an i5 or Ryzen 5. sure enough prices dropped, then i found them a few good options (based on reviews and i also checked the builds myself in the shop) for about 500 EUR with Ryzen 5 and a bit more expensive option (650 EUR) with i5. both kind of within budget, intel was a bit more expensive, so i suggested them Ryzen and save money or invest into printer /scanner which they also needed.

what they decided on? one decided on Ryzen 3 for 520 EUR. another one bough their kid Intel i3 for little less than 500 eur. and the builds are not as good on those and screen is worse than what i found them and one of them had soldered 1 stick of ram on it. both had smaller drive on them. so when i asked why they eventually chose a weaker and more expensive machine? why not get the more robust one, and easier to fix i showed them? because the kids liked the other one more. they looked better. i then told them if they wanted this weaker one they could get the same model for 420 EUR "on sale" in another store .