Linux / Mac observation

B

blarg

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
140
I've noticed something for a long time when I go to tech conferences and large meetings. Why are there so many Linux and open source users who use Mac? Is thise just a fluke or has anyone else noticed it as well?

It seems like every time I go to a conference or training for open source software there are a lot more Macbooks than there are Linux boxes.
 
I heard this discussed on the Linux Action Show podcast. They were roasting them for using Macs as well. At least for using them from OSX and not booted into a <insert linux flavor> desktop.

I don't get it. Nothing about macbooks or OSX impresses me enough to pay big money for them. And Linux is a more capable OS in many ways.
 
Macs are fancy & the OS is a good enough Unix to pass. It doesn't hurt that the OS + hardware work together really well - laptops in Linux can still be a little touchy.

I guess it really helps separate the OSS/Linux users from the Not Microsoft users.
 
MacBooks are nice pieces of hardware I have to admit. But they are kind of ho hum these days. I actually get more hip cred with my tx2 and touch screen interface.
 
I just find it funny that people with this mentality will often bash Microsoft right and left. Then they check their email on a laptop that's made by a company known for being more expensive and even more locked down than Microsoft.

This and the college kids that don't believe that photoshop will run on a non apple product top my WTF computer users list.
 
I use Linux only but would not have any problems using OSX. It seems to work great with the hardware. I do notice that a lot of Linux meetings / training seminars, most people are on a MAC.
 
I've recently come to the conclusion that paying a little extra for a machine sometimes pays off (previous owner a Dell Inspiron & Vostro). I was sick of the cheap feel and poor performance of Dell laptops so I decided to get a Macbook Pro. I've never been a huge fan of Apple however I have to give them props on this one, the OS and hardware mesh together extremely well. I would assume the reason why a lot of Linux users like Apple and their hardware solution is that it is well polished (Something that is still hard to achieve on the Linux side). While a lot of OSX is proprietary, it is very well documented and picking apart the internals of the system is extremely easy compared to doing the same on Windows. I have not used OSX for more than a week (will still probably dual boot Fedora 12 as I compile kernels for my machines) and I can guarantee that the OSX partition is going nowhere :)
 
my best friend has used linux for 4+ years. He would throw it on everything he had. For the longest time he carried around a Dell with a 1.6ghz celeron, 1gb ram, 120gb hdd. He then suddenly went Apple and got a macbookpro. I asked him why and he said that he wanted something more finished and 'heavy duty' for school (college).
 
I have to fix my bosses fiancees' macbook CONSTANTLY. The wireless settings for their house eventually get lost among all the profiles that build up over time.

It just runs so slow. The OS has so many UI features, running on (compared to pc) far substandard hardware. Everything I do on it, everyhting I click, takes forever. The thing cost like 3 grand less than a year ago.

I just picked out an i7/nvidia GT2XX laptop for 999 for xmas, it cost 1/3 the cost of the mac, and it is seriously light years faster. Even modern c2d 500 dollar laptops run circles around the macbook, I just do not understand the appeal of paying a fortune for a great looking os running on hardware too slow to properly run it!
 
I have a i7 machine and also a Macbook Pro for work. I will say there is no performance difference between the two from a basic user perspective. As for the example above. He is taking one example of a faulty machine and applying this to every Mac out there. There is a huge advantage to developing your OS on specific hardware...that is what you pay for when you purchase a Apple product.
 
Malakai said:
It just runs so slow. The OS has so many UI features, running on (compared to pc) far substandard hardware. Everything I do on it, everyhting I click, takes forever. The thing cost like 3 grand less than a year ago.
Click to expand...

Riiight... One year old, $3000 MacBook Pro - and you want us to believe that it runs slow? My guess is user error, not the hardware or the software. And probably your error, not the owner's, too.
 
Malakai said:
I have to fix my bosses fiancees' macbook CONSTANTLY. The wireless settings for their house eventually get lost among all the profiles that build up over time.

It just runs so slow. The OS has so many UI features, running on (compared to pc) far substandard hardware. Everything I do on it, everyhting I click, takes forever. The thing cost like 3 grand less than a year ago.

I just picked out an i7/nvidia GT2XX laptop for 999 for xmas, it cost 1/3 the cost of the mac, and it is seriously light years faster. Even modern c2d 500 dollar laptops run circles around the macbook, I just do not understand the appeal of paying a fortune for a great looking os running on hardware too slow to properly run it!
Click to expand...

sigh.

show me a laptop that is as thin as a 13" macbook pro with more horsepower for less money. Please, show me.
 
Darakian said:
Bash, the mac OS has it
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And, optionally, tcsh. ;)

This is essentially it, though - it's a reasonably POSIX-y OS with most of the neat OSS stuff available, combined with a nice modern desktop that requires minimal work to keep running.

Compare this to a windows 7 laptop, which is a nice modern OS that requires little work to keep running - but is deeply annoying to work with if you're doing anything like what I do at work. (I could use a Linux / FreeBSD VM as a workaround ... but if I spend a lot of time in that, why not just get a more fitting OS in the first place?)


That said: I don't actually do anything work-related on my laptop, so in the not too likely case of me replacing my thinkpad with a macbook it would mainly be for the nice hardware. :)
 
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^^ I agree with HHunt.

This is why I use OS X, that and the fact that just about any piece of *nix software that is commandline based, or runs x11-xorg I can compile on OS X and run just as though it was on a Linux or BSD or Unix distro.

@ Malakai

Three things, first, if its a $3000 dollar MBP (17" I am assuming, likely the unibody) and it is running "slow" something is wrong with the machine.

Second, if it is less than a year old, you shouldn't be touching it to fix it. Bring it to an Apple store, they are the best in the industry for repair.

Third. your 999 i7 may be fast, but its likely a horrible build quality, and backed with crappy support.

Quit your whining about something you know little about.
 
jrdonnaruma said:
Third. your 999 i7 may be fast, but its likely a horrible build quality, and backed with crappy support.

Quit your whining about something you know little about.
Click to expand...


I trust my own ability to build and support a far better PC than apple ever could. For one, they have a habit of putting a retardedly large amount of CPU paste on the processor heatsink. And Macbooks also tend to overheat because they have the cooling fan set too conservatively. There is info all over on the net on techniques to improve cooling Macbooks. Considering the "premium," no one should have to deal with these issues in the first place.

That said, I have nothing against Apple. But I also don't think they shit puppies and rainbows either.
 
@ Ion Silverbolt

The too much thermal past was true.. on the first generation macbooks. I have a second generation macbook sitting in my lap that never gets above 60 degrees, and thats only when I'm encoding DVDs (right now its at 45.

I'm not going to comment on your ability to build a PC, I dont know you, or your experience, but from my own experience, when dealing with Apple products, I wont touch an Apple product that is within its warrantee, because it is better for my clients to go back to the apple store and get 95% of their issues fixed for free, and then come to me to fix issues that Apple wont fix.

And you dont have to improve the cooling on a mac. Mac's operate within thermal boundaries, and if they die because of thermal issues, Apple fixes the issue without a charge. Why would you do anything other than that with the best support of any computer company?
 
i used linux for about a week, i went back to windows. only cause I didnt feel like learning anything new. like changing the back ground. I was reading this, and thought, ISN'T the new mac os linux base? just a question.
 
Autopia said:
i used linux for about a week, i went back to windows. only cause I didnt feel like changing the back ground.
Click to expand...

Yes, I too can't be bothered re-assigning desktop wallpaper on a new platform / system. Highly inconvenient.
 
It is Unix based. The Mach Kernel developed by NEXT is based completely off of BSD, which, is itself, a unix OS.
 
Autopia said:
i used linux for about a week, i went back to windows. only cause I didnt feel like learning anything new. like changing the back ground. I was reading this, and thought, ISN'T the new mac os linux base? just a question.
Click to expand...

No. OS X is a Unix-based system - it's built on top of the Mach microkernel, FreeBSD and OpenStep. Linux is a Unix clone built from the ground up.
 
ameoba said:
No. OS X is a Unix-based system - it's built on top of the Mach microkernel, FreeBSD and OpenStep. Linux is a Unix clone built from the ground up.
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NeXTStep, not OPENSTEP. Though the two are similar, OS X is more like NeXTStep V5 (SL V6ish). OS X does not meet OPENSTEP standards
 
jrdonnaruma said:
NeXTStep, not OPENSTEP. Though the two are similar, OS X is more like NeXTStep V5 (SL V6ish). OS X does not meet OPENSTEP standards
Click to expand...

Oh... you learn something every day. I had thought that OPENSTEP was an evolution of the NeXTSTEP OS (I feel stupid using that many caps) - like when they ported it to non-NeXT hardware.
 
I know what you mean with the caps. OPENSTEP is an evolution, just not the one OS X uses. Its like a branch
 
The core of Mac OS X is the Darwin OS (developed by Apple). This is the core relation between Mac OS X and the iPhone OS.

Darwin is POSIX compatible which may add to the reasons why *NIX users have Macs.
 
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