Guest LilBambi Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 BetaNews | Switching to Mac Easier Than You ThinkPERSPECTIVE With Longhorn still at least 18 months -- if not longer -- away from a final release, I decided now was as good a time as ever to try out the Mac OS X operating system.I have not had a lot of experience with Macs, other than in elementary and middle school with old Apple IIc and IIe's (like most people) and on an old G3 running Mac OS 9 at my job while I was in college. Even though Apple may have sharp looking desktops and a highly regarded operating system, I never had a reason to leave the world of Windows.Enter Mac OS X Tiger. The fourth revision of the operating system in as many years brings features that are still a long ways off for Windows users. It just works, really.Right off the bat the operating system impresses. The first time I used the computer, my wireless network was detected, connected without a problem, and I could see the shared folders on my Windows desktop.Anyone with experience trying to set up a Windows XP home network, especially pre-Service Pack 2, knows how fickle Windows networking is. I cannot tell you how many hours I wasted trying to keep my network working correctly -- and this was on computers all running Windows. Such trouble-free wireless on a Mac was nothing short of impressive.And this on the second page:However, Mac OS X does suffer from a lack of software applications. Gaming on the Macintosh platform is nowhere near that of Windows, and while most applications do have an Apple counterpart, in some cases -- such as America Online -- the software is an afterthought and leaves much to be desired.Despite the lack of choice, I quickly got accustomed to the applications on Tiger; most Mac software is just as -- if not more -- capable than its Windows equivalent. But what has really kept me from booting Windows have been the little things in Tiger such as Spotlight and Dashboard.Much more in the article! Goes into some of the software included as well on this two pager article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 (edited) I am not a current Mac user and will probably not be switching in the very near future.However, I now realize that I have to start learning about Mac's and OSX.One thing I have already found is that because OSX is based on BSD then a lot of Linux console tricks also work on the Mac. Now getting down to the metal is not the preferred Mac user experience, but, understanding the pedigree makes it a lot easier to understand how OSX fits together.I am trying to hold off as long as possible before purchasing my next system. $$ are limited and things are always eiither less expensive or more features for the buck next month. A Pentium M based Mac Mini or Powerbook will make me think twice about what that next system is.I am also concerned about the cost of application software for the Mac. I have not purchased any Windows software in almost two years. My main desktop is totally Linux and Free software. Legacy applications running in WXP on another system. Gradually replacing the few remaining legacy apps with new FOSS software. Switching to a Mac and OSX in my case will really depend on availability of FOSS applications for OSX, or, availability of equivalent bundled OSX native applications.Nothing I need to worry about today. But, something I want to learn more about over the next 6 - 12 months.This type of article will help a lot in the education. Edited June 25, 2005 by ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zox Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Fran, thanks for the article.Ian, considering that we have the same interest, at least regarding Linux, you'll like Mac.Dropping in terminal is the same as dropping in terminal/Konzole in Linux.Most of the commands are the same and good ol' man pages work the same.Actually there is an Fink project that is trying to bring Linux FOSS to Mac.I tested it and it works ok so you won't be dissapointed.As I said in another thread, the only reason I am not using Mac at home is fear that I would abandon Linux, which I don't want for political/freedom reasons, but for Windows user is no brainer really.Why wait, grass is greaner on the other side and most of the stuff that you do on Windows, you can do just as good if not better on Mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Ian, considering that we have the same interest, at least regarding Linux, you'll like Mac.Dropping in terminal is the same as dropping in terminal/Konzole in Linux.Most of the commands are the same and good ol' man pages work the same.LOL. I have already proved that. I do support for a Mac + Windows + Linux Python app.Several times now I have just tested a support procedure in a Linux console and then suggested the user do something in the console and report results. Has worked every time so far. Now, when it gets down to interface problems that seem to be Mac specific, then I call in a Mac developer to look at the problem.What I do not understand (and it is a matter of time and learning) is why some ot the problems occur in the first place.e.g. A user had his home directory read only so could not create a new folder in home. Caused definite problems, butcd ~ls -la .. Proved that that was the cause of the problem.Using Mac versus Linux. Yeah, it will give me cause to pause and think.Buying another Win$ system. Not in my worst nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 LOL! Yes, being based on BSD does have it's advantages in coding.But the GUI being so specific to Macs has certainly made things interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 I am also concerned about the cost of application software for the Mac. I have not purchased any Windows software in almost two years. My main desktop is totally Linux and Free software. Legacy applications running in WXP on another system. Gradually replacing the few remaining legacy apps with new FOSS software. Switching to a Mac and OSX in my case will really depend on availability of FOSS applications for OSX, or, availability of equivalent bundled OSX native applications.Any type or specific application that you are thinking about? Mac has pretty good replacements for a lot of things, some of it is even open source. For example, Macs come with Safari and Mail for browsing and email, but if you don't like them, or would rather use open source software, Firefox and Thunderbird work very well on the mac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Open Office is at the top of my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I am also concerned about the cost of application software for the Mac. I have not purchased any Windows software in almost two years. My main desktop is totally Linux and Free software. Legacy applications running in WXP on another system. Gradually replacing the few remaining legacy apps with new FOSS software. Switching to a Mac and OSX in my case will really depend on availability of FOSS applications for OSX, or, availability of equivalent bundled OSX native applications.I have to agree with SonicDragon. There are a number of Windows equivalent packages for the Mac. I swtiched about 3 years ago, and really haven't run into anything that I was doing on my Windows system that I can't do on my Mac. Having said that, I'm not a gamer at all. I use my Mac for the basics, e-mail with Mail, web browsing with Safari, music with iTunes, digital photography with iPhoto and Photoshop Elements 3, web page creation with Dreamweaver MX, chats with iChat and Yahoo Messenger, spreadsheets and word processing with MS Office. While I don't use them much, like SonicDragon also said, Thunderbird and Firebird work quite well. A good place to look for software is Version Tracker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inform Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Openoffice has a version for Mac. Check out www.openoffice.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) Openoffice has a version for Mac. Check out www.openoffice.org<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yep. But it is substantially behind the Linux version.AFAIK, Work has not even started on OOO 2 for the Mac. Edited June 29, 2005 by ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zox Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 How about Neo Office?I know it is not based on OO2 but at least it is carbonized to be more native to MacOSX than OO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 6/21/05: NeoOffice/J 1.1 Final is released! After years of development and testing, we've reached a fully stable final release. It is based off of OpenOffice.org 1.1.4 and has many user requested and community funded improvements. It's also available in over 40 different languages.Nice.Keep the recommendations coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hmmm. "carbonized". Isn't that the tool you are supposed to NOT use for easy port to Mac-Intel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 As long as you're not the developer, i wouldn't worry too much about it :DIt's not as easy to port as Cocoa programs, but, it still isn't supposed to be TOO hard. Though, i don't really know/understand anything more about it than that. I also wouldn't worry too much about OO.o development being a little behind. It isn't going to be the most recent stuff like linux is, but it's still looks to be usable, though i haven't spent all that much time in it. According to this page, it will support the OO.o 2 file type by "mid '05":http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ooo-osx_downloads.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Finally! A complete Web Authoring System for Linux Desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver.Nvu (pronounced N-view, for a "new view") makes managing a web site a snap. Now anyone can create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML. Click here for detailsPosting a followup to myself about this package. :devil:One more piece in a multi-platform FOSS tool kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicDragon Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 I gave it a try in OS X and it seems to run fine. No X11 needed either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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