Yes, I got a Mac for myself. It is a MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD, midnight color.

This post may benefit a very rare type of audience who never uses a Mac before and is transitioning from Linux to it. Here is what I try to install with it. A lot of it will be similar to what I used for Ubuntu (INSERT link).

Applications

So MacOS seems to have at least 2 ways to install softwares: from App Store, and by downloading a .dmg file. The first way is quite useless so far because the apps I want are not distributed via that channel. However, the UX there seem to be excellent as the one on iOS. The second way is the only way for me to go so far.

I have installed:

  • Google Chrome
  • Obsidian
  • Zalo (finally! Zalo didn’t have a desktop app for Ubuntu): to talk with my parents. It’s a popular chat app for Vietnamese.
  • VSCode
  • Zotero
  • Skype
  • Slack

Settings for software developments

  • Python3 (I don’t remember how I did it. Just type python3 in the terminal, got some error, and follow the instruction).
  • Brew (https://brew.sh/ has the script to install right in the middle of the homepage — excellent UX)
  • Setting up public key for SSH (following the Github tutorial)
  • gh: to deal with GitHub from the Terminal.
  • SSH stuffs

Feelings so far

As someone on Quora once said, a MacBook is a great invention, a masterpiece of arts and engineering, a no-brainer for anyone who can afford it. It is.

  • The screen is top-notch. I have never seen any laptop screen that is better than a Macbook’s.
  • The case, the appearance, the material for the case, is so modern.
  • The keyboard is thin but still comfy.
  • MacOS is a solid OS.
  • The integration with iPhone and Airpods is just top-notch.