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Free Software on a Cheap Computer
Shell writes "Is this the solution to free software on a cheap computer? NetBSD and Yellow Dog Linux have both begun to support the Mac Mini. This article from IBM looks at open source operating system options on this new contender in the embedded PowerPC platform space." From the article: "This article looks at the current state of Linux and NetBSD support on the Mini. If you need all the hardware and options fully supported, these open source options won't do it for you ... yet. But, if all you need is a stable kernel, a C compiler, and network support, the code is high-quality and the price is unbeatable." This is part two in the series. Part One was covered a while back.
Dude, just because Debian id my favorite OS and just because I know how to build a computer doesn't mean I can't afford paying someone else to do the dirty work. Stop stereotyping.
the point here isn't the fact that its rediculously cheap. its the package. it's true, you do buy OSX when you buy the mini, so the article itself is somewhat flawed/obsolete. but to all who bash the mac mini's price, your just plain wrong.
the price point of 500 dollars is an excellent alternative to any of Apple's more expensive computers.
They're all more expensive than windows-boxes, but thats the fucking point.
you can buy a 300 dollar p.o.s. that will run WINDOWS. nasty. consumers have never before had such a low-priced option to run an OS as stable as OSX.
youre missing the point. yes, 500 bucks is more than 300 bucks. but why pay 300 in the beginning if it's gonna come with windows.
not to mention the included software (garageband, iMovie, appleworks) that makes the mac mini worth the price, and the amount of time/money you must throw into that 300 dollar PC to keep it as secure as the unix-based OSX comes already.
Why should something be wrong with it? I just asked whether anything was wrong with it, given that the article we're discussing conspicuously ignored it in the Slashdot summary, and gave disproportionate coverage to NetBSD and YDL, given the much larger distros mentioned running on the Mini. Where do you get off calling me an Ubuntu "fanboy", you clueless jerk? This is a technical discussion, and you've turned it into a misguided flamewar.
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make install -not war
apple's X11 implementation is sluggish and flaky compared to native offerings, and its default Aqua toolkit is not exposed to developers except through apple's non-standard Cocoa and Carbon frameworks.
certainly, OS X has a nice kernel and they've got most of the BSD userspace tools working fine on it -- but for a serious Unix, OS X is just not quite there, yet.
Sure, the Mini is nice if you just like looking at your computer because it just looks so darn cool. But let's compare the cost of an Apple and a Dell and see whether the Mini is "affordable"--something which I did just a couple days ago because I needed a new comp to go with my DVI monitor. Latest Dell deal: (There are a TON, but here is just one configuration.) http://forums.slickdeals.net/t90922.html 3.0 GHz P4 with HT (800 FSB) 512 MB Dual Channel DDR2 RAM 80GB 7200RPM Hard Drive 128 MB Radeon x300 PCI-x video 17" e173fp LCD 16X DL DVD+/-RW Keyboard and mouse Ethernet/modem $584 Compare to: Apple Mac Mini 1.42 GHz (with a freaking 167 MHz FSB! Woohoo!) 256MB DDR RAM 80GB 4200RPM Hard Drive Radeon 9200 32MB Video No Monitor No Keyboard/Mouse DVD/CDRW drive Ethernet/modem $599 So what is the better deal? For $15 MORE you get a MUCH worse processor, much less memory, a much worse hard drive, a much worse video card, no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse, and a worse optical drive. And Mac people say the mini is affordable? Please. There's no doubt the mini is stylish. And I love using the Macs here at my uni. But as long as they cost this much, I'm not biting. We have budgets, you know.
1. Do you work for Dell? ./?
2. Would you personally actually buy and use those cheap Dells you are whoring on
Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Actually I'm rather tired of OSX treating me like an idiot all the time.
The "one button mouse" comes along with the apple apologist excuse that "two buttons would confuse beginners".
Ok. I'm not a beginner. Can I please have a non-beginner apple mouse?
The rest of the OS has serious usability issues (OSX is a step backwards in usability compared to MacOS 9 for example). OSX finder was recently awarded the worst OSX application ever on arstechnica mac forums.
Apple apologists will just put on the steve jobs blinders and parrot "its the apple way" which is basically the same as ford's "you can have any color you want as long as its black". That attitude really wins over lots of converts, you know? Might explain why my mac friends switched to Linux...