Fedora
I deeply value the consistency, versatility, reliability and integration of Mac OS X and the excellent quality hardware it runs on. However the current state of the Mac has me considering whether it’s still the right platform for me.
I started looking at alternatives to Mac OS after OS X Yosemite was released. When Apple’s software began integrating features from iOS and iCloud I didn’t care to use, and Apple’s hardware began shedding performance and pounds for a price I didn’t care to pay.
I love Mac OS, but as developers moved on and Mac OS 10.10 became a common system requirement I choose to leave rather than upgrade.
After a brief search I found Fedora, and it is becasue of these three reasons I decided to stay.
- I love Gnome 3, and find its UI to be as polished as later versions of Mac OS. Red Hat funds the development of Gnome 3, and Red Hat funds the development of Fedora. That is why Fedora always has the most polisehd, most recent version of the user interface I love so much.
- Fedora is updated on a six month cycle, but the free software it is built upon is being updated all the time. Fedora gives me a stable foundation I can supplement with the bleeding-edge feature I value most. No one company or schedule decides how I use my computer, and with Fedora Spins there is an option for everyone.
- Fedora empowers hardware choice, allowing me to pick the right components without paying one company’s premium. I run Fedora on everything from my killer gaming machine, to my sub $200 netbook. I appreciate the freedom of taking the same operating system with me wherever I go.
Despite these advantage Fedora isn’t a perfect alternative to Mac OS. “The truth is, for most of us, there is no good alternative to Mac OS.” But for me, a guy who uses free software, who writes in VIM, and enjoys building his own computers, Fedora is good enough.