Re: Mac eye for the Linux guy?

In article <1124384019.084609.51700@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Matadon" <google@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I'm a Unix sysadmin (Linux, Solaris, *BSD) who has been running Linux
> at home since about 1998. While I'm actually quite happy with Linux on
> my desktop, I'm irritated at the lack of support for mobile hardware,
> and more importantly, I now have several applications which I'd like to
> use, and which are totally unavailable for Linux.
>
> I mean, it's a great OS, but I'm a photo nut, recently converted to
> digital, and I have no color management options. There's also no video
> teleconfrencing support, the international input support under Linux
> isn't so hot, and...well, you get the picture. I also travel a lot,
> and frankly, I like the idea of having a laptop with a metal case, and
> the AppleCare plan gives me support even when I'm in Tokyo, so if my
> screen dies when I'm overseas, I've got options. Dell doesn't do that.
>
> Of course, Windows is not an option -- the Windows trolls need not
> apply. I was a Microsoft boy from the days of DOS 2.0, used Windows on
> my home machines up to Windows95, and although XP Pro and 2003 aren't
> *horrible* operating systems, expecially when compared to their
> predecessors, they're still crap next to Unix. Oh, and I need to run a
> pile of Unix software as well, so Windows is right out.
>
> Enter OS X. My questions are many, hopefully answers are as well:
>
> What factors should I be aware of in making the switch? I usually use
> WindowMaker as my windowmanager, on account of being able to do just
> about everything with the keyboard -- can I still do this in OSX?

OS X doesn't use X11 as its native graphics engine. You can install X11,
and whatever window manager you want, to run X11 apps, of course, but
there's really no way to replace the native window manager.

OS X does now have full keyboard control (it's a fairly recent addition,
and I believe it was put there mostly so the system would meet
government disability guidelines), but it's not really all that great,
honestly. You're not going to be able to efficiently use OS X without
touching a mouse. On the plus side, the keyboard shortcuts that do exist
are mostly chosen carefully and easy to hit -- I think Apple has managed
a very efficient balance in practice.

There are a bunch of non-obvious keyboard shortcuts you might find very
useful, for text editing and many other things. These sorts of things
tend to be far more consistent from app to app than in Windows or Linux.
Typing 'keyboard shortcuts' in Mac Help should turn up a list.

> What about being able to modify the system configuration from the
> command line; moreover

OS X preferences (for software that's not borrowed from *nix or
incompletely ported from OS 9) are all stored in a standard file format
which has both binary and XML representations. Tiger users binary
representations by default. There's a command-line tool called
'defaults' that can be used to read and manipulate these files.

For instance, if I want my Dock pinned to the left edge of the screen,
rather than centered (an option which is hidden in the GUI), I can open
a shell and type 'defaults write com.apple.Dock pinning end'.

There's also a GUI tool for editing these that you get if you install
the (free) developer tools.

You're not likely to end up using this sort of thing much, though.
There's just not much call for it.

> how usable is OSX from the shell?

>From the shell OS X behaves pretty much like other BSD systems. If you
install the developer tools you get gcc, make, and all the usual stuff
as well. As with any Unix system, it will, of course, do a few things a
bit differently from every other *nix you've ever used, probably when
you least expect it.

Apple includes some command-line extras to take advantage of OS X
features:

- 'pbcopy' takes stdin and sticks it on the clipboard, for pasting into
GIU apps (there's also a 'pbpaste').

- 'open' tells the Finder (the OS X file manager) to open the selected
file or directory as if it had been double-clicked on.

- 'osascript' allows you to run AppleScripts from the command line.
There's and 'mdfind' command

- 'mdfind' searches metadata indexed by Spotlight.

- 'mdls' lists metadata attributes for specific files.

- 'softwareupdate' provides a text-based interface for installing OS
updates.

- 'diskutil' provides a lot of OS X specific functionality for managing
volumes.

- 'hdiutil' provides functionality for managing disk images, including
Mac-specific formats.

This is not an exhaustive list, just some of the stuff I use.

You might also want to take a look at http://www.afp548.com/ which
provides a lot of details about behind-the-scenes stuff in OS X, like
how the system starts and stops services.

> Are there any decent programs supporting multiple virtual desktops
> (e.g., I've got five desktops in my present X session, each with
> different apps running)?

Yes, however, you might not need something like that.

Here's my boiler-plate response to questions about multiple desktops in
OS X:

Take a look i n the application menu (that is, the one named for the
app you're in.) You'll find two interesting commands: 'Hide Others' and
'Hide <current app>'. Once these commands and their associated keyboard
shortcuts[1] become second nature to you (which they will, after
sufficient use), you might start to think multiple desktops are awkward
and inflexible. Basically, instead of deciding what tasks you want to
perform on what desktops, remembering what's where when you need to
switch ("Where did I leave that web browser?"), and moving things from
one desktop to another when you want to work with multiple apps in
different sets ("Now I need my news reader and my web browser on the
same screen, rather than my text editor and my web browser."), you have
dynamic control over the visibility of apps as you switch between them,
for essentially no additional cognitive cost. In other words, you learn
to unconsciously manage apps such that the stuff you want visible is
visible and the stuff you want hidden is hidden.

[1] Holding option while switching apps hides the app you're switching
    away from. Holding command-option while clicking a Dock icon hides
    all apps except the one you're switching to.

> The system I'm considering is a PowerBook 12" SuperDrive, with an
> extra gig of RAM ordered from Crucial (at half the price Apple
> wants). I've heard of problems with the burn speed of the SuperDrive
> -- how true are these?

They don't appear to be universal.

> Can I install a third-party hard drive (e.g., 7200RPM vs. the stock
> 5400) and get OSX to work with it?

OS X will work fine with a third-party drive, but Apple doesn't really
consider that a user-replaceable part in PowerBooks, so it's not quite
as easy as most hardware installations on the Mac.

There are detailed walkthroughs, though, such as:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/powerbookG4_12in_HD_upgrade/PowebookG4
_12in_HD_upgrade.htm

> Finally, this is a desktop replacement, and I hate 'extended
> desktops' -- can I get the little PowerBook to run an external CRT at
> a high resolution (1280x1024) in 'mirroring' mode?

The 12" PowerBook will drive external displays up to 2048 x 1536 with
screen spanning, in mirroring mode, or with the lid closed. You might
want to give spanning a chance in OS X, especially if you're doing
graphics work. Depending on what you dislike about it usually, you might
find it works better. The laptop's screen is a great place to park
Photoshop palettes.

--
"It's in our country's interests to find those who would do harm to us and get
them out of harm's way."
-- George W. Bush in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005
.

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