To folks using Asahi Linux:

I looked at some Asahi Linux videos and it always shows KDE and the interface is Windows like (or what I call Windows like). I never liked that and that is single biggest reason I never tried KDE. I know it's Linux and KDE and GNOME can pretty much made to look like each other (i.e their default look and feel). Is it trivial on Asahi Linux or needs a lot of tweaking?

Something like what ElementaryOS would look like - look/feel/UX wise ElementaryOS has been my gold standard sine it released and the last I checked it still felt that way. But since anything other than what Asahi Linux installs and support by default, i.e. Fedora Remix, is neither recommended nor fares well on Mac so I don't think I can use ElementaryOS (which is essentially Ubuntu LTS) really. Even Asahi Linux team recommends KDE.

Also - can one access certain Mac folders in Asahi (e.g. ~/Pictures)? And is it even recommended, if it's possible (Security wise)?

(I have been exploring/searching on Asahi and I am gearing up to use it on my M1 MacBook Pro - will be using/trying Linux desktop after more than a decade)

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pjerem 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

Well, once installed, Fedora Asahi is just standard Fedora ARM with some drivers and bootloader code. You can do anything you would do with a Fedora.

> (I have been exploring/searching on Asahi and I am gearing up to use it on my M1 MacBook Pro - will be using/trying Linux desktop after more than a decade)

If you are still hesitating, it's actually really easy to try : just run the command on the Asahi website and follow the instructions. The setup will resize your partition automatically and will not touch anything of your macOS install or your data. It's even easier than on PC where you have to boot the installation media and manage the partitionning yourself. IIRC, there isnt even the option to remove your macOS partition at any moment so you can't even lose your data by mistake.

The only prerequisite is having free space on your disk and everything else is automatic.

Also, uninstalling Asahi is as easy as going to macOS Disk Utility App, right click on the asahi partition, delete, and resize the macOS partition. After those three clicks, your Mac is now in the same state than before installing Asahi.

	▲	crossroadsguy 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Hey, thanks a lot to you and everyone else who has been kind enough to share their inputs. I did try Asahi after encouragement from you all. Installation was indeed smooth. I'd say as smooth as it gets (and I am including Mac auth screen and then SIP tweak in recovery CLI - I assume). However, the UI/UX wasn't what I expected. I think I was looking for something like ElementaryOS (what I had mentioned and I know it might sound like a broken record), but I was looking for an out-of-the-box pleasing and "just works" UI. It wasn't that, sadly. I first tried Fedora with GNOME, and it was really not good - even in functionality. Then I wiped it clean and again installed - this time with KDE Plasma. Functionality was much better. But UX/UI left a lot to be desired. For example, the display was scaled to 170%, and I just couldn't bring it to the right size. 185% was closest. Then I had to change trackpad settings, et cetera. I'd assumed Mac hardware-specific DE/OS might come with some initial tweaks done already. I struggled a lot with shortcuts, and the general UI/UX wasn't feeling like home at all. I also think I am a lot biased, not only coming from Mac but stuck on something like Elementary. Finally, I cleaned it up. Hopefully, there'd be more Asahi Remix distros. Again, thanks a lot to all of you!

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encom 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Define Windows-like. Windows 11 is complete insanity and nearly unusable. Windows 2000/XP is more logical and boring (the good kind). In my opinion, yes KDE is "Windows-like", but based in an era before MS devs started self medicating on mushrooms and LSD.

KDE generally functions how you expect. For example, a bunch of FOSS hippies somehow managed to create a control panel (system settings in KDE parlance) that's easy to use and navigate, and Microsoft still haven't accomplished that despite trying for over 10 years at this point.

Also, I can dock my task bar to the side, like God intended.

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dreamcompiler 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Also - can one access certain Mac folders in Asahi (e.g. ~/Pictures)? And is it even recommended, if it's possible (Security wise)?

You cannot access any of your Mac folders in Asahi. Your Mac partitions are invisible until you reboot into MacOS.

Some potential workarounds:

1. Use Syncthing to sync your Pictures folder on both operating systems to an external Mac. This of course duplicates the contents of the folder on your Mac/Asahi SSD, which is wasteful.

[Note: Dropbox does not work on Asahi Linux because it only barely works on x86 Linux and it has never worked on Arm Linux.]

2. Use an external USB or SD drive for files you want to share. Needs to be formatted in something both OSes can read/write (e.g. not APFS).

3. Use Paragon's $40 extFS which lets MacOS read and write to your Linux partition. Supposedly; I haven't tried it. This only solves half your problem: It gives MacOS access to your Linux files but not the reverse.

https://www.paragon-software.com/home/extfs-mac/

What's really needed is a way to mount APFS partitions from Linux, and I plan to DDG that as soon as I finish typing this...

UPDATE: APFS FUSE seems to be recommended, although it only provides read access to your APFS partition.

https://github.com/sgan81/apfs-fuse

4. Make a brand new partition on your drive for shared files, and format it exFAT. MacOS can read/write exFAT natively and Linux can usually be made to do so, although I haven't tried it yet on Asahi. This seems to me like the most promising option if you don't want to depend on an external drive.

	▲	anthk 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		UDF works for both OSes.

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heavyset_go 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have KDE configured with the same UI layout as macOS. Takes a few minutes to set up, but it's doable.

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mmphosis 4 days ago | parent [-]

Is there a single menu bar at the top of the screen for all programs? I can't stand having multiple menu bars at the top of every window.

	▲	neobrain 4 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Yes, that's known as global application menu (not enabled by default). It's not the most discoverable feature, but it's working great once set up. (For reference, just add the widget to your panel and then make sure to restart plasma for it to take effect).
	▲	heavyset_go 4 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Yes, this was mandatory for me. It's the reason I switched from GNOME to KDE originally, GNOME broke the global menu bar. You can recreate the layout almost perfectly. Don't try to theme it as macOS, just get the UI components in the right places using the widgets it comes with.
	▲	tmtvl 4 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		KDE has a global menu bar widget. Unfortunately not all applications work with it.

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oblio 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

ElementaryOS is a Mac clone. You want a Mac-like setup instead of a Windows-like setup.

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cosmic_cheese 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

Kinda. It’s more like an alternate universe GNOME that embraced OS X 10.9 Mavericks style UI design. It’s gorgeous and I wish more desktop environments would take cues from it but it’s only Mac-like superficially.

	▲	28304283409234 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Gorgeous, lightweight, easy on the eyes, gets out of the way. I cannot plug it enough.

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crossroadsguy 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Well, as they say, each one of us have our own perception but it never felt like a mac "clone" to it. It is imho an excellent mac inspired desktop that just tries to help the user of the computer and gets out of the way. Simple, elegant and really fast. This I am telling from almost a decade ago and based on quick tests over the years or screencasts.

I sometimes used to fantasise Apple ordering their UX folks to just adopt it pixel by pixel and stick to it.

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28304283409234 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It may have started out that way but it definetly is no longer. It has some very nice features that Mac lacks (picture-in-picture for whatever part of the screen you want for example).

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throwaway6774 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Customize KDE is easy: - panels could be moved in several clicks - add / remove widgets also could be done by mouse (and there are additional widgets that could be downloaded) - themes and animations and configured in settings