Really Cool Stuff!

[crokett]

I am in planning for switching the desktop at home over to Linux. I am typing this using an Ubuntu Linux live CD that I booted on my laptop. We use Red Hat and SLES at work. I didn't want SLES - Novell is having issues with SLES 10. I've tried a couple of the other distros but I think Ubuntu is it. It was the least fuss to get booted and it detected all of my hardware properly. My only issue with getting on my network was me typing the encryption key wrong.

[dlminehart]

I use Mac OS X. Has most of the Unix/Linux capabilities (certainly all that a non-geek could wish for), a superior GUI, plus tons of cool software developed specifically for the Mac. Of course, there are some that like hacking around with computer esoterica, just as there are some that like fixing and using old Stanley planes. Plenty of room for everyone!

[gsmittle]

I use Mac OS X. Has most of the Unix/Linux capabilities (certainly all that a non-geek could wish for), a superior GUI, plus tons of cool software developed specifically for the Mac. Of course, there are some that like hacking around with computer esoterica, just as there are some that like fixing and using old Stanley planes. Plenty of room for everyone!

Ditto, ditto, and ditto. Plus OS X just plain looks nice.

g.

[crokett]

I use Mac OS X. tons of cool software developed specifically for the Mac.

Key words ra'chere.

The day Mac OS X is supported on PCs and is free (and the apps are free) is the day I consider it an alternative to Windows. If any of those is available now I am not aware of it. I don't like proprietary much. Linux is about as agnostic as it gets now. There is even a version of Linux compiled for the older 68K Macs. Mac is proprietary HW and SW.

[25]

I use Cent OS 4 at work and Fedora Core 4 at home. I'm partial to them.

[Anna]

Key words ra'chere.

The day Mac OS X is supported on PCs and is free (and the apps are free) is the day I consider it an alternative to Windows. If any of those is available now I am not aware of it. I don't like proprietary much. Linux is about as agnostic as it gets now. There is even a version of Linux compiled for the older 68K Macs. Mac is proprietary HW and SW.

You get what you pay for. If you want free, then you'll have a problem with getting things to "just work." Of course if that's your cup of tea, then it's fine because it's fun. But for most people, klutzing around with Linux distros and not even getting their network printers to work is a big pain.

As for freeware OS X apps, there are a lot of them, and most of them are just great. One example is Osirix which is a medical imaging software that beats the crap out of the commercial ones that cost thousands of dollars. Just think of an application you want, go to versiontracker and search. Or go to a Mac forum and ask. For shareware, we pay for the ones we like because it's a way to support Mac developers (although I know of some ways to get licenses for free). It's also part of the community spirit to do so (instead of just stealing it).

Macs can run the Mac OS, Windows (including Vista) and pretty much any kind of UNIX and Linux variants. There's a new program available soon from Codeweaver that will allow Windows programs to run on Macs WITHOUT Windows itself (unlike BootCamp and Parallels right now). The hardware is generally reliable, the software written for Macs are generally of really good quality, and the price for comparable machines are about the same and sometimes cheaper on the Mac side.

I don't know what you mean by proprietary hardware anyway. Except for the motherboard (or logic boards), pretty much everything is the same. You can put in any hard drive you want, monitors from any company will work, even mouse (including the many-buttoned ones) will just plug and play. I even got a Garmin iQue 3600 to work with a Mac, even though it's officially unsupported by Garmin, thanks in large part to Mac enthusiasts who shared their knowledge with the rest of us.

The last time I upgraded our Macs (between my husband and myself, we have 6 personal Macs), the only trouble I had was with video cards. Mac-compatible video cards cost more than comparable PC versions. But that was pre-Intel. Not sure how that is right now.

The one downside, of course, is that you still can't build your own Mac, unlike PCs. But for some of us, we don't care. We just like our Macs.

[Wood_workur]

I tried ubuntu, and liked it, but I couldn't get my wireless card working at all after a month, and the one issue I have with linux is that gettingg a program on the computer is a little trickey. I geuss I must be a windows nerd for life.

[mikel]

>>We just like our Macs. <<


yes we do...

...m

[gsmittle]

>>We just like our Macs. <<


yes we do...

...m

Indeed!

g.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Ditto and ditto on the MAC. I have the OS X and LOML has a PC with WIN XP. Have had more trouble with the PC than I care to think about..gettting it to run consistently as well as being soo vulnerble to worms-virus's and what-ever! And u are right..it looks nice!

[Bruce Cohen]

I've been using a Mac since the mac II came out. It was the only platform for graphic designers that had "good" software.

As a cleaning woman I knew said "I don't do windows". And neither does the graphic community.

Its not that Windows sucks (which it does), its that it way too serious for those of us who down deep (c'mon, admit it now) really hate computers.

Bruce

[crokett]

Well all I gotta say is there are reasons you don't find Macs in most of corporate america. However since I didn't intend for this to be a Mac vs PC debate, this is my last post in this thread.

[newood2]

this is my last post in this thread.

Hey crocket, I just got a Dell inspiron 3500 with win98 from a friend that I'll use as a backup to my PC. I'm thinking of switching to Linux for several reasons.
1 Not enough memory for WinXP.
2 No support for Win98 anymore.
3 Win98 doesn't handle Zonealarm beyond issue 5 that I want to use for firewall.
4 Use mainly for email and internet access if my PC dies.
I would like to get some ideas from you on what Apps I can use with Linux. I heard OpenOffice works well.
Since this is your last response, maybe I can email you.

Howie