Ask HN: How Do I Stick with GNU/Linux If Important Apps Crash Frequently?
I&#x27;ve never owned a Mac. I haven&#x27;t used Windows except transiently for about 4 years.<p>I&#x27;m currently on a Dell XPS 13 9360 (Late 2016) Developer Edition with the stock Ubuntu 16.04--in other words, about as orthodox a GNU&#x2F;Linux setup as one can have.<p>For work and studying, I use some non-free apps like Slack, TeamViewer, and Zoom. All of them have crashed or behaved weirdly at critical times when I needed smooth, stable operation.<p>So I&#x27;ve been thinking about getting a Mac. I would rather stick with a (mostly) free OS, even if I have to use some non-free programs at the application layer.<p>The problems I experience do not tend to surface with software like Chromium, VSCode, etc. so maybe I shouldn&#x27;t be blaming GNU&#x2F;Linux. But I also have things to do and a family to feed, and don&#x27;t want to dig in my heels and waste time and energy diagnosing problems--I&#x27;m a developer, not a sysadmin!<p>Is my experience with proprietary apps on Ubuntu typical? Is the situation on Macs truly better? What can I do to improve my GNU&#x2F;Linux experience (again, without becoming a full-time sysadmin)?