Is the mac O.S. any good???

[CalicoDreams]

Hi everybody,

I am in the process of purchasing a laptop and i am wondering whether the Apple O.S. X tiger is good when compared to linux (gentoo) when installed on a Powerbook G4 15", especially since it has a lot of software bundled with the notebook.

Or would it be more beneifical to use gentoo and open source software on the Powerbook G4?

Thanks in advance,

CalicoDreams

 

[kaltag]

If you use OSX it already relies on alot of open source programs, ssh, samba, cups, etc. You can also use programs like Fink and Portage to compile open source apps for OSX. The OS itself comes with most anything you need anyway though. especially if you can get the student discount on the machine and office. If you get the latest ilife package it already has music/photo/video/DVD editing and some other odds and ends. In summation (sp?), OSX will work just fine.

 

[TimP]

Another option would be Mac on Linux if you really want to keep Linux. It runs Linux on the hardware and has PowerPC virtualization software which lets you run OS X (and any other PPC OS) virtual machines pretty fast, MUCH faster than emulation software like PearPC.

OS X is a great operating system, though. Aqua/Quartz is unmatched in the OSS world and many open source projects have Mac ports or you can compile the code yourself. One thing to watch out for is OS X is BSD based, not Linux based, so there are some subtle differences and some tweaking may be required.

 

[Suicide Al]

If you try and run linux on a newer mac laptop you WILL NOT have wireless on it. The last I heard source for the chipset had not been released and you could only get wireless by running osx.

 

[Gnufsh]

OSX is fairly good under the hood, and it comes with some nice programs. Personally, I really hate the UI.

 

[PhoenixMDM]

I'm getting a Powerbook 15" in about a week, myself. The way I look at it, the hardware is good, so no matter what I'll be happy. If I like OSX, yay, and I think I will since it's got full X-windows support and I can use the sourcecode from my favorite progams to make a ppc version if there isn't already one. If I don't like OSX, the laptop will wind up as either debian or gentoo, in which case I'll have a nice linux laptop. And if I remove OSX in favor of linux and then decide I like linux best, I can use the OSX discs they give me to bring it back.

Either way, as I see it, we're in a good position. Hopefully you like the laptop! ^_^

 

[jnev_89]

os x is a very nice os, very stable and secure. much better (obviously) than winxp. there are many linux distros that run on ppc hardware.

 

[Frost Byte]

OS X is really nice. I just sold my 15" G4 and got a 12". The interface is clean. Makes every other OS's interface look really old, not that it really maters. I'd use OS X. I really havn't found much I can't do with it.

I woudln't mess with Mac on Linux. I mean, hey I got KDE installed on my mac for those few programs that won't run under Aqua.

 

[Vertical_Zer0]

I have a 12" PowerBook. If you grab the X11 app from apple.com (it's an official prog, don't worry) you can run many linux programs, including Open Office. OO runs a little quirky at first but you can work with it until it runs like normal.

 

[Edward78]

I was hoping the rumor about Mac doing OS X for pc was true when I heard it, but I don't think it is.

 

[Gnufsh]

There is a version of darwin, the osx kernel, for x86, but it has limited hardware support. And,of course, it lacks the OSX gui and programs, which are the main attraction of the OS. If you want a kernel for a unix like OS on x86, BSD and linux are probably better alternatives.

 

[Edward78]

Really, I am just wanting a easier linux, I started a post on Yoper asking how it is earlier today, no replies yet. I have SuSE home 8.1 now.