I transitioned to Linux a few years ago, which has piqued my partner’s curiosity. She’s been genuinely interested and asks questions about it, but she is so deeply integrated I don’t know where to start. She uses iCloud, an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, a Mac desktop, plus whatever default proprietary software. She has a semi-technical background.

I want to help and be encouraging without overselling the ease of transition. There’s always some friction with transitioning technology, and of course Apple makes that intentionally difficult. I came from a Windows ecosystem, so I’m lacking any direct insight for potential challenges.

Any advice or personal experiences on moving from the Apple ecosystem to Linux would be hugely appreciated!

(I can host services on my local server, so transitioning to something like Immich vs iCloud for photos is one option we’ve discussed).

  • snek_boi@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    12 days ago

    A clear purpose and clear expectations help. It’s important to remember why using Linux is valuable. It’s what keeps us pushing through, even when it gets tough. It also helps to know that not everything will work right out of the box. And, to an extent, one can assume that that is the cost of using Linux.

    One thing that inspires me is Snowden’s quote that says something like “We won’t win with features, but with ethical convictions”.

    Now, as to what steps to take, focus on safe-to-fail experiments. Start by making relatively small changes, even within the Apple ecosystem:

    • Safari to Firefox
    • Pages / Word / Numbers / Excel to LibreOffice
    • Photos to Ente or whatever you want to use

    Once these changes are part of daily life, you can attempt a transition to Linux.

    The idea here is to make change sustainable.

    • LewdLemon@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      12 days ago

      Excellent advice!

      I’d like to add to the list:

      • Calendar, Contacts - Nextcloud (via cal/cardDAV)
      • Bookmark (and tab?) sync via Firefox Sync (or similar)
      • AirDrop to Syncthing
      • Check whatever other software and features she uses daily for work, communication, or leisure, and make sure it either exists on the Linux side or there’s a viable alternative, and get her used to that first

      I’d only make the switch once you’ve made sure that

      1. she knows why she’s doing this, and is determined to. Doing it because you made her is bound to lead to failure.
      2. you know all the features and software she’s used to and have tested and established a working alternative.