Re: My Dilemma: Linux vs OSX

In article <slrnf53q37.jf.root@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
HaroldWho <root@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I've been running Linux since late 1995. I consider myself to be a power
user: compiling kernels, modifying source code for apps, writing utilities
in perl, etc.

I find myself growing weary of needing to check many (sometimes old and
conflicting) docs, databases, web pages, and How-To's just to add a piece of
hardware (like a wireless card), or try some new software or protocol. I'm
not a hobbyist any more; I just want stuff to work. My interests are the
usual: e-mail, web news, Usenet, and perl programming. In the future, maybe
Python or something else, who knows. No graphic arts, no photo editing, no
sophisticated sound editing.

Hence, my interest in the Mac and OSX, and my dilemma. I know that OSX
"looks like" Linux deep under the hood, but at a higher level, I feel lost
reading, say, the Mac newsgroups.

How many of you out there have made the switch from Linux to OSX, and how
painful was it? Does O'Reilly publish good stuff for OSX like they do for
Linux? What other worthwhile printed resources are out there to start out a
computer-literate but OSX newbie?

HaroldWho

I suggest reading <http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/> which is a
description of what Mac OS X is, and is not. There is much else good at
<http://www.kernelthread.com>.

Bear in mind that Mac OS X is Unix based, not Linux based, and differs
in important respects even from its closest Unix bretheren. This can be
as simple as different file system layout or different switches to
common commands, or as fundamental as IOKit vs /dev.

The Kernelthread article may help you decide if Mac OS X suits your
needs.
.

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