Linux is my home now, goodbye MacOS.

I permanently left MacOS about a month ago after my laptop died and I didn’t want to spend another grand on a new Macbook. I built my own cyberdeck using the Radxa Dragon Q6A as a base. Worked out pretty good and the board comes with native Arch support, so that’s what I installed. I played around with Asahi in the past and it worked out pretty good, just not good enough. I’ve managed to use Arch for all the things I need it to with very little cons.

Some boomer flashbacks…

My very first Linux experience was with Ubuntu in about 2018. I built my own PC on the cheap, slapped Ubuntu in that sucker, and the rest was history. I stopped using Windows at about 2014, no real reason, I just wanted more control over my PC. I wanted to Rice my system, I wanted it to look and act in a way that I wanted, not in a way that some corporation said it has to be. It was a good switch, considering how bloated Windows has become with junk AI, Apps, and programs that very few end users actually use.

I switched to MacOS in about 2020 out of curiosity. I still liked Linux, but I wanted to know what all the hype around Mac and Apple was. It was good, until the ecosystem felt like a prison. Everything worked too good, everything felt too staged and too controlled. I would go back to linux, with Asahi, in about 2024.

Okay, now on to the good stuff…promise…

Arch on a cyberdeck

I decided to build a cyberdeck, just to be different, once the limitations of my Macbook Pro were becoming too much, and I didn’t want to spend over 1K USD on a new system. I spent about 500 USD to build a cyberdeck meant to play retro emulators, do a bit of game dev, coding practice, content consumption (mostly anime and manga that I acquire), etc, etc. Worked out good, screen is a bit small at 10 inches, but that’s okay. The Radxa comes with native Arch Linux support, so that was my choice. I’m not gonna go into all the technical details, but it’s different from a typical Arch Linux setup, different repos, etc. Not by much, again, I got everything that I wanted.

I have a video player, torrent client, browser, manga and e-reader, retro emulators, etc. Some obscure things weren’t in the repos, but that’s why we build from source, which I can barely do. Still fun, still worth it. A couple hours into ricing, setting up CLI tools and the like, and I’m happy, more than happy, elated. I finally got a system that is truly mine.

What I like

Well, a lot.

Like I said, I got everything that I wanted. I got my retro games, manga and e-readers, video playback app, etc. The rolling release is what it is, and if you’re getting into Linux, then you need to educate yourself on rolling releases and the like. Not big brain stuff, you just have to update when you wish, pray that your setup doesn’t break, and move on. In all my years of using Linux, I’ve never had an update brick my setup, ever.

Luck? I don’t know. My setups aren’t complicated.

The cons

Do you like Steam? Third party video game installers? Main stream gaming? Are you a casual? Then Linux will break you. Yes, you can get by with things like Wine, but it’s a pain with a lot of titles. Steam, GOG, and Epic games offer native Linux clients, but their idea of “Linux compatible“ is criminal. Some games don’t even run, just crash to desktop or the Wine wrapper is just broken (looking at you Two Worlds Epic Edition…). This is going to be an issue if you’re not technically inclined and can’t build from source… even then, good luck.

I still go through hell trying to get Honkai: Star Rail to work without too much trouble…

Final thoughts, let the linux flow through you…

Using Linux as your main OS is viable, enjoyable, and should be a standard for every competent PC user. Windows was NEVER meant for the casual end user and MacOS is like a damn cult. An expensive one. Linux gives you the power to make your life easier or much more difficult. It’s also a good filter for getting away from the main stream, brain rotted, masses. You have to actually think when you use linux, not much, but more than just turning the power on or pressing “install“.

Right now, I’m learning GDScript to code my own 2D game on GODOT. Nothing major, just something fun that I want to build for myself. Going to be a long year ahead of me…