A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new laptop. And with it, I switched completely back to Linux (Fedora Workstation 21). Ok, I have windows installed in VMWare so I can run the two or three programs that absolutely need Windows. But I do all of my normal work in Linux now.

I knew from the start that this might cause some problems, compared to just using Windows or a Mac. And I was right: It took me more than a week to install the system like I want it. I wasted three or four days because of a stupid bug in the nouveau graphics driver that caused the laptop to crash every 10 minutes. But now everything is set up like I want it, and I really enjoy working with it.

I know I would have loved to use a Mac. But I didn’t buy one because the walls around Apple’s walled garden seem to be getting higher. And I don’t want to be inside. Also, the Lenovo was cheaper with better hardware. But that’s not a major point against a Mac - Their hardware/software combo works really well.

In retrospect, I am glad I didn’t stick with Windows, because of the whole “Superfish” problems and the Adware that comes pre-installed.

As I said, I really enjoy working with Linux again. I was especially surprised how well Gnome - And the Gnome shell - works now. 1Password also works reasonably fine - The program runs in Wine and the Chrome extension just works. And tarsnap is a great offsite backup tool.

The only minor annoyance is, for now, that some programs don’t work well on a high resolution display. This happens mostly with Java programs (but some others too) - For example, in IntelliJ Idea, the fonts are sometimes a little bit mis-aligned.

But overall, my experience is really positive so far!