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Advice for a Mac user switching to Linux?
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2026
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Really depends on what is considered nice about MacOS. Just had a new on-boarding with someone who really liked their Mac keybindings and it seems getting those dialed in is nicer (easier? better?) on KDE. I'd also generally gravitate towards Gnome for Mac users though.
As a piece of advice for OP: Accept the use of keybindings over the touchpad. Mac has done a great job and I have not seen a Linux laptop/distro combination that nails it. Search for the pain-points after switching and ask about it (kindly) on a community like this.
You must be using some junk touchpads then. I have two that work just as they would on a Mac. No issues.
Nah, the precision Apple touchpads had 10 years ago still is unmatched today by Windows or Linux, but I'm afraid that's not a software issue
Please explain how "Windows" and "Linux" manufactured these touchpads?
Dying to know
Dude, dial down the hostility
Even the gestures? Mac’s gesturing system for the UI and all native and most non native apps is why I stay with it.
The MacOS specific ones like zooming out to show all active windows in a workspace, or flipping to the next app aren't there because, well...that's MacOS specific.
All the more universal ones like pinch to zoom, scrolling...etc are all there. I actually used an Apple TouchPad for years just because I had it around. Worked fine.
You can also run a simple plugin in Gnome to map custom gestures to whatever you want if needed.
For keybinds, there is the project Toshy which redirects keys to emulate Mac bindings. It has some issues but works pretty well in my experience