Intentionally Different

I have two laptops. A MacBook with an M1 chip, and a Lenovo ThinkPad X280 running Fedora Linux. The ThinkPad cost me about £200 used on eBay. Decent Intel Core i5, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM. More than enough for what it’s become: my weekend computer. The one where I read and write, don’t work and don’t consume.

I always thought my experience should be the same across both machines. Or at least very similar. But then I noticed how much I like the quieter side of my Linux laptop. And I stopped trying to make them match.

Like everyone who plays around with Linux, I jumped between a few distros before settling. Started with Ubuntu, tried Pop OS, ended up on Fedora with GNOME Desktop. I knew Fedora and GNOME from back in the day, and it simply ran smoothly on my machine.

I started with a blank sheet and used that as an opportunity to rethink some of my old app choices. The software I chose is simpler and does one thing well, instead of being bloated with feature overload.

Dino, an open XMPP client, replaced proprietary Slack. Sure, I could’ve continued to use Slack, but it’s mahoosive and a resource hog. And it keeps bugging me to subscribe and pay for AI features. If I ever get tired of Dino, I’ll just move to another XMPP client. That kind of freedom is hard to give up once you’ve tasted it.

One thing I really missed from macOS was the convenience of Raycast, my favourite keyboard-focused launcher. But I found vicinae as a replacement and it’s pretty and works fantastically well.

The rest happens in my browser. Not across 100 tabs, but 3-5, so I can focus on what’s important at any given time. That hasn’t changed from macOS. That’s how it’s always been.

My phone doesn’t forward any notifications to the OS. Less is indeed more.

There’s no distracting flood of notifications on Linux, and nobody is trying to constantly upsell me. That’s not because Linux is morally superior. It’s because most open source software isn’t backed by venture capital. There are no growth targets, no engagement metrics, no quarterly pressure to ship a new feature that justifies the last funding round.

Instead, you get software built by small groups of highly engaged maintainers. People who care about the thing working, not about converting you into a paying subscriber. The trade-off is obvious: less polish, fewer resources, rougher edges. But also less noise. Less interference. Nobody trying to steer you somewhere.

On the corporate side, the incentives run the other way. Apple, Microsoft, and the VC-funded software ecosystem have enormous teams - researchers, designers, developers, contractors - and still manage to get things wrong. Sometimes spectacularly.

Take Apple’s recent Liquid Glass redesign. For years, macOS felt intentional. Every detail considered. A flexible UNIX-like system with a beautiful UI that didn’t get in the way. Many users, myself included, thought they had the best of both worlds. Then Liquid Glass arrived, and the response from loyal fans was swift: frustration, disappointment, disillusion. It felt less considered. Less intentional than what they were used to. Not because Apple lacks talent or money, but because having both doesn’t guarantee care.

Open source projects don’t pretend to be perfect. When something’s rough, you can usually see why - a developer played designer, or someone decided “that’ll have to do for now.” It’s honest. More honest, I think, than a billion-dollar company rushing something out because of wrong incentives.

While I love my Retina screen and didn’t want to miss it, I don’t mind the lower resolution of my ThinkPad. It’s still easy on my eyes and, to be honest, helps me reduce screen time. A nicer screen just draws you in.

Last but not least, I can finally play Half-Life 2 on Steam again, since that’s not supported on Apple Silicon yet. Small pleasures.

Compared to macOS, Linux still has a long way to go to become a polished experience. But somewhere along the way, I stopped wanting it to be.

It’s all about adjustments and sometimes that means lowering your expectations about a coherent user experience. I don’t expect convenience and perfection on Linux. But then, macOS only promises it. It doesn’t always deliver either. The trade-off I’m happy to make is this: in return I get free software - not free as in free of charge, but free from corporate incentives. Free from upsells, engagement loops, and features nobody asked for. Software that just does its job and leaves you alone.

And every time I switch on my ThinkPad, I’m surprised how much I enjoy it. It genuinely brings me joy.