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Mac OS X 10.3 vs. Linux
M.Broil writes "This is a nice and fairly complete 'first look' at Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), but author Chris Gulker, who I happen to know was an Apple PR guy years ago, spends a lot of time comparing the Mac 'Panther' release to Linux, which he seems to use most of the time these days. He obviously likes a lot about Panther, but he doesn't think many Linux users will switch to it, and that a lot of 'Classic' Mac OS users may not want to move to it, either."
I know lots of nasty linux bugs, few mac bugs
For example a relatively modern virgin install of full redhat linux with gnome could be make to soft-hang byt copyung a directory into its decendent further down the hierarchy... infinte recursion.
HAH! no version of any mac os allowed that idiotic bug and used checks to prevent it.
There are plenty more lazy shortcuts riddled through linux. The most glaring are the counltess places where no error detection allows bugs to become more dramatic. Fro example in some linux kernels there was assumption that certain writes to the boot device never fail to write, but had no feedback.
I do not care.
I use classic mac, and windows and sometimes osx, and think trying to comapre linux vs freebsd based mac is pointless. The mac will always have 8 times the market share and countless shrinkwrapped commercial apps.
Libux was predicted to overtake mac 55 years ago and it never happened then and will also not ever happen in another 5 years, if ever.
FreeBSD mac OSX won the race. and most of the source code is open.
apple just released the source to darwin 7.0 (full source to most of the parts of mac os that count) and did it coinciding with the release of the mac.
As someone who runs Debian Gnu/Linux on thier G5, i can give my view. I can't RTFA because its slashdotted. Keep in mind that "Linux" to the end user often means KDE/GNOME.
.net and Plastik. The gnome styles are also quite simple, with Cleanice and Smokey being the simplest. Not to mention that KDE 3.2 and Gnome 2.4 have cleaned up their act, you will never have to touch a text file again. Also the hardware dectection has become top notch excellent. Forget having to edit textfiles, forget about cdroms that don't eject, forget about modprobing, its all automagic now!
First of all, The Aqua GUI can get in the way after a while, and there isn't really a good option to turn it off. KDE lets you terraform the GUI quite a bit. You can emulate the Aqua look with the "Liquid" style, but most KDE distributions use "Keramik" by default. Kermamik uses rounded, gradiented buttons, along with the "Crystal" icon set by deafult, but it can be turned off and switch to more flatter and simpler styles like
Also there are THOUSANDS more apps for linux, in Debian there are 13000(!) different packages, offering a ploethera of software, The new GIMP with a easy GUI and CMYK support, the Fast OpenOffice 1.1, the sleek totem movie player, plus much much more. Not to mention you can run more with Wine, or MacOnLinux if you use a Gx processor.
Mac OS X on the other hand has broken binary compatibillity, fries Firewird disks, Costs $129 per point release, where linux is just a simple click of the "dist upgrade" button.
I am a apple zealot, but I don't like their OS, their OS has gone down hill ever since Mac OS 8. I have ran Linux on them ever since, and after trying MacOS Jaguar and Panther, I'm glad to use Linux.
Screenshot of My G5 desktop!
Next thing, Apple will finally drop entirely the Mac interface and adopt KDE or Gnome.
Hope they bring their UI expertise to Gnome, that would make it a killer desktop!!!!
I tend to feel sympathy for Apple just because it's not "the enemy" and in fact is competition for this "enemy" we know and can recognize very well. In fact I feel very tempted right now to go and buy one of the cheapest iBooks.
However Apple isn't playing fair enough with the Open Source community. It's based on BSD. That's ok - they every right to do so and in fact BSD gets some "brand recognition" out of it.
They release a Quicktime player for Windows and not for Linux/FreeBSD/etc . Not even a closed source one. My guess is it shouldn't be complicated to port it anyway. But they don't even try - they do release Darwin Darwin for x86. And as you said, you can use mplayer for Mac as well. That's the way this "yours is mine, mine is mine" strategy.
The same extends to iChat and iPhoto too. Don't release them even closed source for other systems unless they benefit out of it (usually windows software) - this is a purely practical and completely uncollaborative standpoint. And they can get Open Source alternatives as well (Gimp for instance, but just check how many O.S. packages have been ported) and they benefit of that greatly. Apple doesn't have competitive alternatives for several of those packages and the budget Mac user can afford now to own a Mac without breaking the bank to pay it's rather expensive software (warez is the shamelessly accepted option for windows).
The moral of the story is: Apple practices are the closest in the market. Cut the "Apple openness" bull. If Apple was in M$'s position it would probably be even worse, with their closed hardware policy. Apple has taken much, much more from the O.S. community than it has given. Your post shows that good old parasitism still works.
I think I'll still have the iBook, but cut the crap.
Love, muyuu
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Yes, and I have nothing against Apple, actually, the struggling company. The hardware design has been cutting edge for years, beautiful to look at. And the dual G5 is an awesome thing. I hope iTunes wins.
What I am sick of, is Mac users who think they're technologists. I've met plenty of them here and in real life, where they're writers, graphic designers, etc., but think they're technology people.
What I am sick of, is people who think Apple is this fantastic company when in reality over the past 12 years they've made tremendous errors in business. It's a wonder they're still alive.
What I'm sick of, is people running around saying how Macs "blow away" intel PCs in speed and performance. I can only remember three times when this has been the case, and the situation was erased when the next round of PC architecture came around 2 months later (as opposed to Apple's next round, 4 years later). Face it people: Apple makes consumer-grade equipment, nothing more. For the first time, in the G5, have we seen an Apple product that might be used for a serious computational task.
What I am sick of, is Mac aficionados and users who think they're enlightened, when in reality only a few people in the Apple camp are enlightened.
What I am sick of, is Mac people who've turned end user computing into a battle of camps -- it wasn't until you got so high and mighty about your relatively mediocre Macintosh computer. As to being called a Linux Zealot, that's not exactly true. I'm a FreeBSD, Linux, Standards, correctness, and truth zealot. This is the stuff I'm crazy about -- zealotry -- I take it as a compliment.
What I am sick of, is hearing the continuing narrow view of you Mac lovers. Only a small percentage of you have the testicles to pick up Mac OSx, and learn something over and above "control panels".
Let's talk about the hardware for a second. Sure it's pretty cool to look at. But it's strictly one-off end-user stuff. Have you ever tried to do system administration of Macs? The hardware is an incredible pain in the ass to deal with. You can't stack it, it doesn't stack. It takes up twice the room that it should. Ever try to put a keyboard on top of a G4? I've never seen cables pick up as much dirt and much as those mouse and keyboard cables. Ever tried to open a G4 in tight desk space? Boy I wish the cover just slid off but NO, it has to fucking swing open. Is it my imagination or were G4s only just a little faster than G3s.
Mod something a "troll" if it was obviously meant to illicit negative commentary, and to detract from fruitful discussion of the topic -- but not if you happen to disagree with the view. Modders: read the instructions - it's not about whether or not you agree with the poster's POV.
I actually hope that with the G5 architecture Apple begins a new era of prosperity. But given their past track record, it could be just another brilliant peak in a long string of struggles.