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The employment perks state I get my own MacBook Pro (to work with) and iPhone, but I really dislike Apple hardware (not going to discuss Apple vs Brand X) and I simply work way better and much more efficient on a Linux machine.
How can I politely turn down the Apple hardware and ask for an Android phone and (preferably a custom-build by myself) Linux PC instead (for "the same cost")?
You can always ask whether it would be ok for you to receive an android phone instead. However expect to have this request be denied. It's not impolite to ask. However some companies will try to give their employees the same hardware so that whenever there are complications with their phones, they only need to take a single brand/phone into account.
Nevertheless, not asking at all gives you a no, asking could turn this into a yes. I don't think they would care much about the costs of the phone if they took an apple phone as the default phone.
"I can not work effectively this way!" or "Apple sucks for this or that reason!" is no question but complaining/ranting.
– s1lv3r
Apr 20 '16 at 13:23
They may have very good reasons for selecting apple as their main affiliate for fringe benefits (often apple give good price breaks and their products are in demand).
If the job is more important than the fringe benefits it offers, I would not mention this in the interview. However you could ask about the benefit during the interview. You might end up understanding why they chose apple.
Instead, when you get the job, ask the IT department if it would be possible to get a PC/Android instead of a Mac. Something along the lines of:
"I really appreciate the offer of a MacBook and iPhone but I prefer to work on Linux and Android. Would it be possible to give me equivalent vouchers for a Linux PC and Android phone?"
However, based on your comments that the offer is not true "fringe benefit", you are likely to have your request turned down.
Just ask and be nice about it. (See my comment on these questions in the comments below.)
... (preferably a custom-build by myself) Linux PC instead (for "the same cost")?
The price of the hardware may be the same, but you can't make the assumption that the costs will be as well, because price and cost aren't the same thing. You're going to have to spend time building and administering your system, and if the rest of the company isn't using the same tools you are, there will be time spent dealing with compatibility issues.
Unless you're so good at what you do that the company thinks the value of your work eclipses the costs of having one oddball system in the office, they may simply say "no thanks" and move on to the next candidate. If you stand on it too much, I can almost guarantee that the phrase prima donna will be uttered at some point when everyone sits down to discuss whether or not to extend an offer.
If I can relate a personal story:
Last year, I received an offer from a shop where the standard desktop/laptop is a MacBook. My primary working environment has been some non-Mac form of Unix for close to 30 years (20+ of those with Linux). Like you, I've got everything customized in a way that I find productive and didn't figure it was going to be particularly pleasant having to give all of it up. The job was attractive enough that I decided to take the plunge, and one week before my start date, a MacBook arrived at my door which was fully configured with all of the company's applications, remote backup software, VPN credentials, etc. It was a bit awkward at first, but within a couple of weeks, I had my MacBook doing 95% of what I have Linux set up to do right down to the keystrokes. The other 5% has been chalked up to broadening my horizons.
What I learned from the experience is that pretty much every desktop feature you can find on one platform can be found on the others if you look around a bit. That includes tiling window managers.
You can ask for anything.
In this case, you probably shouldn't expect a "yes", unless you are the "rockstar employee" who has demonstrated performance that so far exceeds that of their peers and management's expectations that your work is critical to the success of the company.
What's more likely is that your plea for special equipment will be seen as whining or evidence that you can't do the job with the equipment provided unlike everyone else working there.
Use VMWare, VirtualBox, or equivalent to install Linux on top of OS X, then fullscreen it and work as usual. Performance will be fine (especially since you're using a tiling window manager, you won't even need good GPU support), and you'll have a Linux environment to work in.
If you need OS X software for a unforeseen job role, you'll be able to switch to a different workspace with a four-finger swipe and use OS X instantly.
When you leave the company, they'll want to reuse your laptop for a new employee. It'll be easier to reuse "yet another RMBP" than to reuse "some PC".
