I use both Linux and MacOS. Linux is my primary operating system, while I use MacOS for video editing and when I’m on my MacBook Pro (since I haven’t found a superior Linux laptop). Whenever I’m on MacOS, I wish it had certain capabilities and features found on Linux. After all, MacOS already has some basic features (such as similar command-line tools) borrowed from Linux.
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But there’s always more, and I firmly believe that if MacOS adopted even some of these features, it would become a bigger force than it already is.
Read on… if you dare (because you might see just how good Linux is).
1. Different Desktop Environments
For me, this is a big problem. I also understand how difficult this would be to implement. On the one hand, Apple wants its users to work with MacOS in a very special way. But the MacOS desktop isn’t as efficient as some found on Linux. For years I wished I could install different desktop environments on MacOS, similar to GNOME, KDE Plasma, Enlightenment, etc.
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But no, Apple has practically locked down the desktop and only offers a few configuration options to users. Imagine what MacOS would look like if you could highly customize the desktop to make it look and behave exactly the way you want. Linux can do this.
2. Better command-line package management
Linux offers several ways to manage software. There are GUI package managers (such as Software and Discover) but there is also the command line (with apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, etc.). MacOS has Homebrew but you have to install it manually and it can be a bit confusing when you need to add keg into the mix. If MacOS had something similar to apt, it would make installing, removing, updating, and purging applications much easier (at least for those who prefer the command line).
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3. More flexibility
Similar to number 1, it would be nice if MacOS could be a little more flexible. Linux’s flexibility is one of its biggest selling points (along with security and reliability). With Linux you can modify just about anything you want (down to the kernel). MacOS does not benefit from this level of flexibility. Imagine what MacOS would look like if you could change anything you wanted.
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Yes, this kind of flexibility could also make it less stable, so Apple would want to add these options behind something like Android’s “developer options” feature, so users knew what they were getting into. One of the main reasons I use Linux is that I can turn any distro into exactly what I want.
4. Office Cube
I remember the days when I used Compiz and ran the Desktop Cube. This has always been one of my favorite methods for switching desktops and applications. Besides that, it looked so cool. Some desktop environments (such as KDE Plasma) have brought back Desktop Cube and I couldn’t be happier. Yes, it’s just eye candy, but I cut my teeth on Linux in the late 90s and early 2000s, when the Linux desktop offered so much eye candy that one was at risk of suffering from digital diabetes. Plus the wobbly windows were a lot of fun.
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5. Click Paste in Middle
Until you’ve experienced center-click pasting, you have no idea what you’re missing. Here’s how it works:
- Highlight text with your cursor.
- Place your cursor where you want to paste the text.
- Click the middle mouse button (or left/right buttons simultaneously).
- Enjoy pasted text.
No other operating system boasts such an efficient way to copy and paste text. Better yet, you can do standard highlighting of a piece of text, press Ctrl-c, highlight another piece of text, then press Ctrl-V to paste the first string and middle-click of the mouse to paste the second one.
6. Snap or Flatpak
Linux benefits from several universal package managers, but Snap and Flatpak are the leaders in this pack. With these package managers, everything needed to run the application is contained, so no matter what distribution you use, it will work. If MacOS could adopt a universal package manager, it would not only make installing applications even easier, but also (perhaps) allow the installation of Linux snaps or flatpak packages, it would absolutely be a game changer. This could also go both ways, with universal MacOS packages being installable on Linux. Imagine what that would look like.
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Yes, I realize that some of the above are not possible or would take way too much work to create. But why not dream? If Apple could see how beneficial the above features could be (and make them a reality), MacOS could become an unstoppable force.