[Tfug] Why Desktop Linux Holds Its Own Against OS X |bMighty.com

[Stott, Will]

I'll just add that I run Gimp on my OS X install just fine under X.
Also, I get the benefit of the FreeBSD ports system (darwinports) on top
of any Linux RPM available that I have ever needed. Add in the multitude
of windows apps that have been ported to OS X, and I don't understand
why any other OS is needed for the desktop.

Of course, the server-side of the world is different. I like OS X for
the server, but I can't convince anyone to put it into production. It's
Windows and Linux only (with the exception of the FreeBSD boxes I keep
adding) on the server side here.

Will
-----Original Message-----
From: tfug-bounces at tfug.org [mailto:tfug-bounces at tfug.org] On Behalf Of
Rich
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2009 08:06
To: angussf at geoapps.com; Tucson Free Unix Group
Subject: Re: [Tfug] Why Desktop Linux Holds Its Own Against OS X
|bMighty.com


On Jan 7, 2009, at 7:23 am, Angus Scott-Fleming wrote:

>
> ------- Included Stuff Follows -------
> Why Desktop Linux Holds Its Own Against OS X | bMighty.com: Blogs  
> For Small
> Business and Mid-Sized Business
>
>     ... Anything Linux can do, OS X can do better.
>
> --------- Included Stuff Ends ---------
> More here with links:
> http://www.bmighty.com/blog/main/archives/2009/01/why_desktop_lin.html
> http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=461

1. Flexibility? You can't run Gnome on OS X? Okay, if TechRepubic  
says so, I'd better stop.

2. Not open source, eh? Well the kernel is... but my drivers aren't  
all open. Same as my Linux box, really...

3. Okay, okay, I'll delete "Terminal.app", "xterm", and "gnome- 
terminal". Sheesh.

You get some nice commandline tools with OSX such as textutil,  
diskutil -- you can run numpty AppleScripts from the commandline too.  
Also the "open" command which opens a file as if you double-clicked  
it in Finder. (I keep typing "open <file>" on Linux by accident.)  
Compare to Windows, which has command-line and GUI tools to do  
*similar* but not quite the same things. Compare to Linux which has  
some good GUI tools for command-line stuff, but then some are  
completely useless. rdesktop comes to mind -- I can't specify color  
depth for RDC in the GUI and it assumes 8-bit.

4. Hardware requirements? I bought this Mac for its hardware, because  
there wasn't anything comparable from other manufacturers at the price.

5. Security -- fair enough. But of the commercial Unixes, it's the  
most secure.

6. Portability? While I've installed OS X twice, I haven't needed to.  
Upgrades aren't reinstalls. I cloned my iBook's and previous  
Powerbook's drives in turn; and each of the Powerbooks has had at  
least one drive. While OS X has just booted fine from a cloned drive  
with no anomalies, Linux has always died on drivers for me, and I've  
had to go in there and rescue them, same as Windows. Stick that in  
your "portability" pipe and smoke it, mister.

7. Cost of supported OS X: hundred and something dollars + the  
portion of "AppleCare" 3-year warranty that goes toward OS support,  
it being a given that most of it goes to support hardware. At most,  
$100/year for the OS. Cost of supported Linux: at least a couple of  
hundred, rising to a couple of thousand per year. Next?

8. "This may come as a surprise to you, but Linux has far more  
software available than OS X." Oh really? Then how come I can run ALL  
Linux software, plus Photoshop, MS Orifice, and iTunes? What's that  
you say? Gimp, OO.o and Songbird? OO.o comes very close, but the  
other two are barely adequate, which is fine. But "far more software"  
is just a blatant lie.

Unless he was talking about Linux drivers. I mean, they might  
outnumber all the OS X/non-Linux apps put together. Nope, it doesn't  
wash.

9. Not so dumbed down === not so easy. I bought my Mac because it's  
Unix laptop I can use when I'm drunk. Now I don't get drunk, because  
I have a toddler to deal with. Same difference. I can play at Macs  
while he plays at woodblock demolition.

10. Keyboard efficiency. Whine whine delete key. So install a patch.  
DoubleCommand should do.

11. Oh was that all he had to say? Shame I was enjoying it.

Note: I would truly love to be rid of OS X, but nothing comes even  
close for usability.

R.


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