We may never find the one “perfect” laptop/OS combination that works best for everyone, but sometimes I think I get close. Yes, I reluctantly dual boot Windows 10 and a Linux distro, but it’s because it’s sometimes practical to have both operating systems on one machine.
Trying out different Linux distros on underpowered laptops is very therapeutic in away. Yes, it takes a little time, and may often seem bewildering to the uninitiated, but it’s sort of a hobby of mine. Of course, there are many I haven’t tried, and some that I knew immediately was a waste of time. I’ve tried many of the “Standard Distros” and found the majority useful, but the perfect one still eludes me. Over the years I’ve learned to appreciate the work of the developers and most of the Linux community.
Admittedly, I still find that Windows 10 is quite handy to have available. I feel somewhat defeated when I find myself logging into Windows more than my other Operating System on my laptop. The only Distro that I really think could allo
w me to completely abandon my dual-boot philosophy would have to be Manjaro.
I like it a lot more than Debian, Ubuntu, or Red Hat based distributions. It just works, and it seems to be fast, although that’s possibly not a very scientific analysis on my part. I thought I would stick with Mint a while back, and then I started to use Ubuntu Mate, and I thought, “Yeah this is the one”. Then I tried “Arch based” Manjaro and really liked it at first, but then thought maybe I should start using Antergos since it actually has “Arch” in the system description.
You get into that Distro hopping groove and feel like you’re on a quest or something. All the while I’m still dragging my Windows Operating system around – because I might need it for something. Someone might want me to work on a project that requires “.Net”. Use Wine you say? I’m not a fan, if you need to work in Windows, then work in Windows.
The trick is to not have to work in Windows and do everything in Linux. Unfortunately, I’m not quite there yet. As a matter of fact, I think I may just go back to using a Mac. In the end, I will continue to use Windows 10, Linux in one form or another, and of course OSX. The quest will continue for the perfect Linux Distro. Not everyone will agree on what that is, but for now, I’ll stick with Manjaro for a while. I’ll keep checking other Distros out, stability is always important, and rolling releases can be problematic sometimes. LTS releases are more practical, and Ubuntu has just updated their current LTS, so there is that to consider. If Manjaro continues to work for me, then I guess that’s the deciding factor I’ll go with.