Re: long time Linux user considering switching to OS-X
- From: Gregory Weston <uce@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 21:13:22 -0500
In article <43a8a2ab$0$95944$742ec2ed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
jeff <jeff@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> nmdc69@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > My Dell Latitude D505 was just stolen (may they rot in hell) and I need
> > to buy a new laptop very quickly. It was configured as a dual boot XP
> > - Linux box.
> > I've been using Linux for 10 years as my main OS, but I´m thinking
> > whether I should switch to OS-X and buy a Powerbook. I'd really
> > appreciate some feedback (I know, not exactly a new topic, but
> > still...). I'm a scientist and in summary my concern is: will the extra
> > money really save me from wasting time tinkering to get Linux to work,
> > and will I be just as productive on OS-X as I am on a *fully functiong*
> > linux box?
> >
> > Below are more details. I do all my work on the laptop. I'm willing to
> > spend up to 2300 USD.
> > Things I do 95% of the time are:
> >
> > - emacs and GNU applications like gnuplot
> > - Latex, Mathematica
> > - C and sometimes Fortran programming
> > - a lot of number crunching
> > - shell scripts and standard Unix utilities (awk, sed, etc)
> > - Powerpoint, Word, etc.
> >
> > Main reasons why I'm thinking to switch to OS X:
> > 1. I don´t have the time to tinker with Linux any more. Getting it
> > work on the Latitude was a chore and wireless still didn´t work. Plus
> > I hate going under the hood of Unix, I´m just a user. My knowledge of
> > Unix beyond user level is weak.
> > 2. It'd be nice to have wireless, Powerpoint, and everything I need on
> > a single OS without having to turn the machine off.
> >
> > My main concerns about switching:
> > 3. OS-X is slow. Or is it?
> > 4. I will still use various Linux machines. Is compatibility an issue?
> > will all my C programs and Unix scripts work
> > with NO hassle? will I have to relearn a different kind of Unix?
> > 5. will I have to tinker just as much as with Linux?
> > 6. I've actually gotten used to a few Windows things (but I can live
> > with the Mac equivalent I guess).
> >
> > well, and price, but the research grant pays so not the main problem.
> > thanks a lot.
> > Matt
> >
> Considering that you're posting this in a Mac group, you're likely to
> get a mostly one-sided story. My attempt to balance the scales at least
> a bit...
>
> Two mac laptop characteristics drive me nuts. First, Apple *still*
> clings to single-button trackpad. This is an anachronism that should
> have been rooted out years ago. Mac OS has supported multiple buttons
> for years. The trackpad should have (at least) two buttons.
Or it shouldn't. The problem - and this really is a problem for laptops
particularly - is that there's a lot of subjectivity in the "goodness"
of a pointing device. With a desktop you can get exactly the mouse you
want and completely ignore anything that any system vendor happened to
put in the box. On laptops, under conditions of actual "portable" use
where an external device may be inconvenient, that freedom doesn't exist.
It'd be interesting now that the mighty mouse is out for Apple to
include the same kind of thing in the PowerBook button - a single
surface that can be configured for one- or two-button use. Or three....
> Secondly, Mac laptops can suspend to RAM, but not to disk. Windows does
> both. Linux tries to do both (successfully, if you buy the right
> hardware). Mac's lack of suspend-to-disk means that you need to shut
> down the laptop if you're not planning on using it for a while - forcing
> you to go through a tortuously-long bootup on next use.
Macs' lack of suspend-to-disk is no longer a lack as of the 10/2005
PowerBooks and has been confirmed as retrofittable on a few earlier
models. Presumably this feature will officially spread through the
product line as they receive updates. The "tortuously-long" boot has
been getting shorter with pretty much every release of OS X, for when
one does need to use it. It really doesn't take that long now.
> Those things, and Mac's cloyingly cartoonish interface, make me lean
> toward Linux.
Again, very subjective. I don't consider the Mac UI cartoonish in the
slightest. Even without bringing XP in to compare.
To answer the questions posed:
3. Mac OS X isn't particularly slow. Theoretically it could be faster if
architected differently, but whether the difference would be noticeable
is debatable.
4. Your source code should largely compile with almost no changes.
5. Have to? No. You can if you do find the time and inclination, though.
6. Given time, you may actually come to prefer the Mac equivalent to
some of the Windowsisms to which you've acclimated. Or you may not. But
it's important to keep an open mind during the transition period. There
are a lot of differences, and the subtle ones can be the most
frustrating. Try to resist the urge to think of the differences as
"wrong" and use the tool the way it was intended to be used instead of
the way you got used to using a different tool. Then once you're
comfortable with it, you can call it wrong all you like.
G
--
Goal 2005: Convincing James Hetfield to cover the Strawberry Shortcake
"Are You Berry Berry Happy?" song.
.
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