10 Reasons Why a Resurgent Mac is Great for Linux

Eyes on IT ^ | July 23, 2005 | conz in General

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

10) Freedom.

In the end, it's all about freedom. And while OS X's core is based on the open source and libre Darwin Mach/BSD derivative, very little else is - there is very little freedom within the Mac space.

It's either Apple's way or the bye-way.

4) Expanding the Comfort Zone.

I can't prove it, but gut-feel tells me that any user who migrates from Windows to the Mac will be far more comfortable in subsequently migrating from an OS X interface to a Linux interface (KDE/Gnome). It's fairly self-obvious really: if you've discovered that a Windows interface isn't the only interface, if you've had to re-tool your mind and muscle memory to shift to one alternative, any subsequent jump is far, far less threatening.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

I found this to be a very interesting(although yes, it's a blog) article that has a different view than I've seen on the topic.

Ping the mac users................

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Time to increase mac marketshare?

[Swordmaker]

Ten reasons why a resurgent Mac is great for Linux PING!!!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Terpfen]

Read this on OSNews, and I'm still laughing.

A resurgent Apple is bad news for Linux. It sucks up that OS' oxygen, not that it has much to talk about in the first place...

[Tribune7]

I don't really see anyone moving from Tiger to KDE but I generally that a growing Mac marketshare will be good for Linux.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Heh, that's where I got it. Glad to be talking to a fellow techie.

Honestly, I think MS is on it's path to swifly lose userbase.(marketshare is a different story) They keep treating security as a feature. It's not a feature, it's a process. As things keep building up.... Hp is starting to offer linux in the non-server space for example.(laptops) The biggest hurdle is getting at least one linux box into the mainstream.(your circuit city's, best buy's, and so on) Not only that, but users of older machines who want to end their problems with spywares are a natural fit for free software. Linux is lighter in weight than windows as a general rule of thumb.

It'll be a while before(if) Linux surpasses the mac on the desktop as the #2 OS in the USA, but worldwide the mac is #3. Between the sheer numbers of machines around and the free nature this was bound to happen.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Heh, that's where I got it. Glad to be talking to a fellow techie.

Honestly, I think MS is on it's path to swifly lose userbase.(marketshare is a different story) They keep treating security as a feature. It's not a feature, it's a process. As things keep building up.... Hp is starting to offer linux in the non-server space for example.(laptops) The biggest hurdle is getting at least one linux box into the mainstream.(your circuit city's, best buy's, and so on) Not only that, but users of older machines who want to end their problems with spywares are a natural fit for free software. Linux is lighter in weight than windows as a general rule of thumb.

It'll be a while before(if) Linux surpasses the mac on the desktop as the #2 OS in the USA, but worldwide the mac is #3. Between the sheer numbers of machines around and the free nature this was bound to happen.

[SunkenCiv]

Good for some laughs anyway.

"If, suddenly, Microsoft has a one-in-three chance of losing a desktop PC
sale to Apple, the market will understand that Microsoft no longer
commands complete control of the desktop market. That market is now open
and in flux. It becomes easier for any alternative to play in this
fluctuating market and compete against Microsoft. Linux is the prime
alternative to gain in a fluctuating market, when that market perceives
that Microsoft's momentum is impeded."

Linux is a fine way to get more use out of hardware abandoned by MicroSoft. That's one "market" where the Mac OS will not be a threat to Linux. :') What will happen is, for the few years before Steve Jobs bails on Intel and heads for AMD (or whatever else is around then), Linux use will expand because of the kajillions of machines which will enter the category of unsupported hardware, and there will be more Mac software around.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

I'm working on one right now. The biggest chink in apple's armor is how it treats it's customers. Massive software is also on the list.(look at your memory usage at bootup and you'll see what I mean)

The main thing I find very easy of a card to play is apple's support. As soon as the new version of their OS comes out, they don't do a whole lot with the previous version.(though to apple's credit their software is very good) It's up to you to shell out more money to get more support. MS isn't much better, but at least they still support their OS's for a few years.(see the recent rollup that just came out for w2k)

The creator of the article hit the nail on the head when he said it's apple's way or the bye-way. It's my contention that apple is more forceful than MS, they just don't have the marketshare to grab attention whenever they flex their muscles.(g4 machines that won't boot OS9)

Being a PPC powermac user, the problem exists without me even having to point it out. "When the intel-mac comes out, I'm not sure sure what I'm doing to do for support."

The easiest answer is linux. Apple doesn't have a whole lot of userbase to lose, but be aware they're losing it too.

Linus uses a linux-only-mac. Naturally he can't be the only one.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

^^^^^^^^^^^^Linux is a fine way to get more use out of hardware abandoned by MicroSoft.^^^^^^^^^

And hardware abandoned by Apple?

Don't misunderstand, the best thing that can happen is MS losing it's monopoly status. By all means, apple needs to be involved.

Until they are facing competition that's out in the mainstream, things on the spyware/virus front won't get as good as you and I know they should be.

[Terpfen]

Heh, that's where I got it. Glad to be talking to a fellow techie.

Well, don't be too glad, if you're an OSNews fan: IMO, that site's really gone downhill in the last year, and you just need to read the comments on the "Mozilla staffer blogs about Linux's problems" article from a few days back to see why. It's like Slashdot with a fraction of the userbase and a less painful design.

They keep treating security as a feature. It's not a feature, it's a process.

Pretty much. They've got no clue about security, and the fact that they designed Windows to perform in a trusted computing environment speaks volumes. Apple is on the ball as far as OS security goes, IMO: its temp-admin priveleges system and password generation are two aces in the hole.

The biggest hurdle is getting at least one linux box into the mainstream.(your circuit city's, best buy's, and so on)

IIRC, some retailers tried selling Linux machines, and they flopped. A big problem is Linux's half-baked status: KDE and Gnome are absolutely terrible, and beyond that, it's daunting to switch from Windows to anything else. OS X is at least relatively recognizable in terms of GUI design, and the biggest hurdle will be overcoming the sense that everything is backwards (taskbar on top, minimize/maximize/close buttons on the left side, default desktop icons on the right side, etc)

Between the sheer numbers of machines around and the free nature this was bound to happen.

That and OS X apparently isn't as good a server as Linux (which IMO isn't as good as FreeBSD for that purpose.) Apple has a great home/workstation OS on their hands, at least. It's the reverse of Linux's situation.

[SunkenCiv]

"And hardware abandoned by Apple?"

It remains in use for years, because the OS worked fine in the first place. :') Linux has been ported to the Mac platform, but of course, that'll be easier (well, as easy as Linux gets for us civilians) after Macs are Intel-based.

[Tribune7]

Being a PPC powermac user,

If your using a 604e, a Linux switch would make sense. Even a G3, maybe,

Or if you just want the processor but need Linux (ala Linus)

But Tiger (and Jaguar & Panther) are very good OSes & the average user won't switch.

[Bulwark]

KDE and Gnome are absolutely terrible, and beyond that, it's daunting to switch from Windows to anything else.

It's not that KDE is terrible (Gnome is, I'll give you that), it's just that it's not (yet) well laid out. I can do stuff with KDE that's so simple and intuitive that Windows can't even begin to match. For example: I pop in an Audio CD. I browse it. I see a Track Folder, an OGG folder, a WAV folder, and an MP3 folder. If I drag stuff out of the MP3 folder and put it on the local filesystem, it's converted on the fly. I can then just hook up my portable MP3 player and drag it over to that. On Windows I'd need all sorts of "MediaManager" programs which do who knows what.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

^^^^^^^^^^IMO, that site's really gone downhill in the last year^^^^^^^^

Nah, I swing by to pick up a news story but rarely do I post.

^^^^^^^^^KDE and Gnome are absolutely terrible, and beyond that, it's daunting to switch from Windows to anything else.^^^^^^^^^^

They tried that a while ago. You used some of the modern versions? OSS evolves faster than anything else.

And yes, switching is daunting. But so is reinstalling every few months.

^^^^^^^^^^^That and OS X apparently isn't as good a server as Linux^^^^^^^^^^^^

I was talking strictly desktop users. Like myself. I have no servers.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

^^^^^^^^^^^^If your using a 604e, a Linux switch would make sense. Even a G3, maybe^^^^^^^^^^^

Well, he was lucky enough to get a g4 tower right before apple laid down it's heavy hand and put a stop to OS9 booting. But it still pisses him off.

^^^^^^^^^^ But Tiger (and Jaguar & Panther) are very good OSes & the average user won't switch.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Has there been any updates to 10.3 since 10.4 came out?
How about 10.2 to 10.3?

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

My digital camera is the same way. On windows, I need this driver and that software program.

Here I just hook it up and grab the files like a hard drive. Doesn't get any easier than that.

[N3WBI3]

Where Apple on the desktop will help Linux is on the server! if a company is using macs its much easier to integrate everything into Linux backend servers..

[antiRepublicrat]

Under his "Applications" entry, it looks like he's a fan of shovelware.

[Redcloak]

[A] user who migrates from Windows to the Mac will be far more comfortable in subsequently migrating from an OS X interface to a Linux interface (KDE/Gnome).

Perhaps, but a user who's migrated from Windows to a Mac has just spent a wad of cash on new hardware. There won't be a subsequent migration to Linux or any other OS for a while. That would mean pitching the pricey Apple hardware and spending still more money on i386 hardware.

A more likely scenario is that a resurgent Mac will cause more Windows users to consider other alternatives. When (and if) they learn that they can get an OS and GUI that's like what they'd get with the Mac, but without the budget-busting hardware bills, then Linux will be much more attractive. So in this sense, a resurgent Mac may expand a Windows user's comfort zone.