If you want to see what it’s like to use Linux just launch the terminal app on your Mac and start learning the command line. OSX’s BSD core was what brought me back to the Mac in 2003.
With the exception of Android devices I’m certain the majority of linux installations still don’t use a GUI. It’s used in servers, routers, switches, firewalls, etc. When I regularly used Linux/UNIX most troubleshooting and automating involved editing text files. Even Microsoft made the GUI optional in Windows Server several years ago.
I understand the attraction of learning a new OS. But what becomes obvious after you become familiar with two or three, is that they all do the same thing. Even the commands used by an admin are similar, if not identical. If you want to dive in I’d suggest setting up an old PC that still runs as a server and get familiar with core Linux.
The command/skills you learn will be very useful if you later choose to run a Linux desktop and will also come in handy, from time to time, when using your Mac.
I came from a SunOS/Solaris/Irix/Linux background, and Apple going with Unix made me so happy. Unix-like operating systems are the most expert friendly that I’ve ever used. That being said, I love MacOS as a desktop veneer over the Unix core and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I appreciate this encouragement
My first Linux install was Softlanding Linux System (kernel 0.99pl12) on 30 x 5.25" floppies, which I happily fed into my 386/16. Floppies meant I didn’t have to download the disk images from the BBS I’ve been using it off and on since.
Linux has never been my daily driver, and (despite my grousing) agree with @ACautionaryTale that macOS is the ultimate veneer over a robust operating system.
Linux was my daily driver from 2000ish to mid 2007, on (mostly Dell) laptops, no less. I was so, so tired of every single kernel update braking my nVidia drivers, VMWare Workstation kernel modules, and (work) VPN client. I remembe on more than one ocasion that the suggested fix from VMWare was to edit the C source files that they shipped. When I finally got a Mac, it was like a breath of fresh air with everything (more or less) Just Working.
Now, if I want to do something interactive, I love using a Mac desktop app, but if I want to automate something, there’s no better toolset than a Unix-like OS. Macs give me the best of both worlds!
There was a Dark Time when it seemed everything I did needed a different (if I recall) libc or glibc or something like that. Whatever I installed would gleefully work, but then the system might not boot the next time. Thankfully, with package managers and skillful software authors, those days are past
I used Linux and OpenBSD back in the early 2000’s till I got my first Mac in 2003 or so. This is exactly why I stick with the Mac. That and the fantastic third-party software. Although… every now and then I start to hear the siren call of building my own system from scratch again. But, normally a day or so of futzing about with Xorg configs and wifi issues and I get over it pretty quick.
Yeah, Linux didn’t get the widespread bad press over their version of “DLL hell” that Microsoft lived through. But the rise of package managers has brought its own problems after the honeymoon wore off and bad actors of all kinds, including simple bit rot and library abandonment, have appeared.
There is Ubuntu, too. We used it Ubuntu where I use to work on touch screens devices, prototyping on Macs first. It’s a little easier, I think, than standard Linus.
I’m using Manjaro on my 2015 macbook Pro, Ubuntu LTS on my 2011 macbook air, and MacOS on my iMac
This mix created a bit of a “walled garden” issue when I first moved one of my machines over, but I’ve now moved all of my workflow over to FOSS and Self Hosted solutions that perform the same service. (see here: MPU post)
I might have moved back in time a bit from a polish-sleekness perspective but I’ve gained immensely when looking at it from a cross platform, privacy, tech skills and pure fun perspective.
I now get a rolling release updted every week or so (Manjaro) and two stable releases. One every year (MacOS) and one every 2 years (Ubuntu)
So from my end I have a lot of fun with new releases
