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Mac OS X replacing Linux at Tokyo University
TekkaDon writes "At least 1,150 desktop and server PCs running Linux will be replaced with Mac OS X computers at the University of Tokyo next year, as reported by Asahi (Japanese), and echoed by MacRumors.com. 'Ease of maintenance and software installation were cited among the reasons for the switch.' I wonder if Keitaro and Naru will get iMacs at Hinata as well."
Lower support costs, minimal migration fees or difficulties, and the liberal arts department can use it without having a heart attack. What's so strange?
Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
All your Linux are belong to us!
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
The machines will most likely be set up in labs by administrators. Regular users will only be able to install things into their home directories. Thus it will be impossible for them to clutter up the system.
As long as the admins are competent and keep track of what has been installed there shouldn't be any problem.
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
Well this is the direction of my Switching. DOS/Windows to Linux, Linux to Sun, Sun to Mac. After time I started to realize the importance of having you hardware well integrated and optimized for the Computer. After Running Threw DLL Hell with Windows, Then going threw the Libary Dependencies with Linux, Then again with Sun, except Sun worked with the hardware better, Macs are just a piece of cake.
So this progression for Japan is not that Odd. They were probably using Windows first and the instability viruses etc got on their nerves so they switch to Linux. Linux probably ran pretty good but they ordinary users were afraid to use linux. So OS X is a good combination of both.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Well Actually I found the Mac OS apps far easier to install and maintain then the others. Drag Icon to application folder, For most application. But for Japan I don't think updating tons of New files is an issue they probably have their set of application that they need. Most likely on a separate server. The east of maintenance is the fact there is no or little DLL Hell, different version of shared libraries causing conflicts or Dependancy problems. Less hassle install new hardware, Plug and play that actually works, Compared to Linux plug, compile and play. You have the unix command line when you need it and an excellent GUI for when you don't. I don't see them getting bitten anytime soon. They will probably save more money in the long run then with Linux.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Used to be they laughed at Macs over yonder. I wonder if this is an indication of changing perspectives. I admit I don't keep up with Japan's current events, so maybe this isn't such a new perspective after all.
Hey don't you threaten me!
I had to SUFFER so much just because I was born in an anime series!
If I lived on reality, I could have had normal life, but living in the twisted, infernal reality of Love Hina really, really sucks. I only wanted to have fun with Naru, but the directors won't let me sleep with her. "You can't do that!" they say, "all the sexual tension will be gone from the series once you get to sleep with her, and the rating will drop". I tell them that J.D had sex with Elliot and it didn't lead to the cancelling of Scrubs, but that doesn't help. They keep bringing me all those strange girls (Mutsumi-san or that crazy step sister of mine) who pop up the minute I try kissing Naru.. grr........
I hate anime!!!
OS X certainly has plenty of shared libraries, but there might be a grain of truth to the "simply not used" idea. The library set included with the core OS is remarkably rich, so in many/most cases there really isn't a need to install more support for the program [heh, this is reminding me of Ken Olsen's comparison of Unix and VMS, but now OS X is the "it's all there" OS....]. When libraries do need to be installed, they tend to be things like codecs that in turn talk to an existing framework (QT in that case), so the damage is more or less localized and insulated.
Also, the Mac tends to have a "this kind of document is handled by this program" approach, and there does seem to be a bit more "call program X" than "hook into library Y" than you typically see on other platforms. Funny, that, since it's a mindset that Unix started with and kind of drifted away from.
This is all broad generalization, of course. I'm sure that if we all work diligently, OS X can have as messy a depencency hell as any other OS. But for now, most everyone seems to be content to keep breakage on Apple's OS release schedule.
How easy is to install Photoshop via RPM?
Office via Gentoo?
Final Cut or any iApp via curl?
Let me guess, Gimp would solve my first question... cough..cough...
not. Did anyone ever think that part of the reason why they switched is because of the lack of quality commerical software on linux?
theres a little thing called ROI that most people just don't take into consideration...
See the Virgina Tech G5 Super Cluster for a good example of that...
This isn't that uncommon anymore. At a recent O"Reilly conference, most of the laptops were PowerBooks. Even our fearless leader CmdrTaco owns one. Apple's share of the laptop market has soared from 5% to 7% - that doesn't seem like much, but in percentage terms that's a 40% jump.
Back in the late 90s I was using a mixed network with SGI for web development, some Linux, and a Windows machine to run commercial software such as Photoshop.
Then I struck out on my own for a while, and for financial reasons I used Linux for my own stuff and Windows because clients demanded it. (I still really liked the SGI GUI design a lot more).
An interest in video production and editing got me my first Mac in 1998, a beige G3/266. I upgraded to a G4/450 dual processor in 2000. I found MacOS 9 very appealing, but since it didn't run emacs, it could not be my primary development machine.
When MacOS X came out, I started switching all my personal computing to MacOS X, because I loved the look and feel of it, and it still ran all my web software developed for Linux. At that point, I could do all the development I would ever need on one machine. I was sold on the Mac environment at that point.
When I switched jobs in 2000 to a company that let me develop web software for Linux, it looked like my situation was pretty stable. But in 2003, after one too many security breaches, I got the okay to switch our web system from Linux to MacOS X.
To bring us bang up to date, I took delivery of my personal G5/2ghz dual processor machine last Wednesday. Wonderful system.
Of all the operating systems and environments I've used, from Sun and SGI to every version of Windows imaginable (most of them, of course, better left unimagined), MacOS X is by far the best. It's lovely to look at without tweaking, it has a designer flair that's extremely appealing, and it runs all the software I could ever need (Unix + Macintosh).
I'm not saying it's flawless; nothing is. But it's the closest thing I've seen yet, and I don't see any major threats to it as the best designed and conceived operating environment around.
Hope that helps.
D
But on the Mac, it's built-in and working by default. On all Macs running OS X, not just ones running the special localized version of the OS, which used to trail U.S. releases by six months or more back in the System 7 days.
Any chance that's got something to do with the switch? Meanwhile, I'm looking long-term to replace my last Linux box with OS X. Right now the main obstacle is to get the equivalent of IP Masquerading working with a proper DHCP server that lets me configure fixed IP assignments, instead of the one built into "Internet Sharing".
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
I think you may need to be careful with your mud slinging.
"Another Mac User talking crap", like, CmdrTaco, Moshe Bar, James Gosling? All Mac users talking crap?
Sure, it's a bit of a blow for Linux adoption and a big plus for Mac OS X adoption but frankly I don't see a conflict here. If you would spend more time convincing people on Windows to go to Linux then wouldn't we all be in a better place.
GIMP is a great app - for the price. I've been using it for years but it is laughable to compare it to Photoshop. It's only comparable if you're not a designer. The tools in Photoshop are award-wnning as well as light-years ahead of GIMP. I use GIMP but, for a second here, can we be realistic. I personally don't use Photoshop for day to day image retouching (why use a 500 quid piece of software when a free one will do) but Photoshop is more than just an image retouching app.
As for quality of software. Some open source software is without par. We see them being used every day. Some of it is simply best of class. Some of it, on the other hand, bites.
Tokyo University switched because Macs are easier to maintain. The University of Virginia used G5s running Mac OS X because the Linux software "wasn't there yet". For these cases it doesn't mean you have to stop using Linux so stop being so defensive.
And if you had ANY conviction in your statement, you'd not be an Anonymous Coward.
There's been a lot of discussion about Linux being better.. OS X being better... what one can do on either platform.
The truth is, this shouldn't be an argument. First, it's unconstructive. Second, it's inherently wrong.
The truth is that Mac OS X wouldn't exist without Unix, and all of us Mac users should be damn grateful to the Unix and even the Linux community as well as the entire open source community.
Xserve's a wonder, OS X Server is getting better all the time. But Linux has its place -- as does Windows (for now.....)
We all have a common goal. The spread of creativity and community work via open-source, and the improvement of enterprise, office, and home productivity with the best computers and operating systems in the world.
Unix gives OS X enterprise viability and a rock-solid foundation. OS X gives Unix commercial viability and longevity.
That's why there's an Apple section on Slashdot. That's why Apple went (semi-)open-source. That's why OS X is Unix and based on BSD. And that's why we're on the same team.
The next comment I write will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!