Light at the end of the tunnel

[zachj]

A) I'm sorry to say, but I've DONE it. You can run another window manager. I've forgotten how, but if it's that important, I can do it again.

B) Outside of the competition of another OS reducing prices, I don't see it working out. Clearly, Linux and Unix are/were an attempt at just what you're suggesting. A VERY good attempt. Heck, it's even free. But only government and industry/businesses have taken it up. Mostly, it's because people hate computers, using them out of necessity, not because they want to. They don't want to learn another OS, even if it's not complicated. Most people just shut down when you mention computers. They're all capable of understanding, they simply don't care to. Then you've got the fact that, outside of a different GUI, I don't think a new OS is going to offer a good incentive for people to switch. I mean, what features do you think merit a new OS? Cross compatibility is not on most people's lists, and it DOES exist. It's called FAT32 File formats are pretty cross-platform these days. And an application exists to copy the function of its more mainstream counterpart.

So, to sum up, I just don't think there's a need for, nor a good cause to create, a new OS.

Z

 

[MadSkillzMan]

i got into a huge discussion over on one of the other forums about osx on x86. it is doable with pearPC, but its pretty worthless due to speed being 1/40th of your current CPU speed. And osx would be worthless on x86, all of the applications are compiled to work on mac architecture, so nothing would run.

There is a mac osx for x86, called DarwinOS. In my opinion, its no different than osx (altho u cant use .dmg images) because, u cant run ANY mac programs on it ...1. because it wont let u (if u had it on a mac CPU) and 2. simply cause the software wont run on x86.

I look at it as a pretty looking linux....well FreeBSD. You need to compile everything to run on it and such...i dnk its pretty cool to mess with.

 

[kaltag]

Like I said, you cannot run another window manager, even in the X11 application. I used to run OS X 10.2 Server on one of my machines, and eventually decided to switch to Linux because it's more standard, and a lot of the functions make more sense. I'd much rather deal with text config files that are read directly than go through whatever NetInfo requires.

But I do agree that the differences in underpinnings are the same as differences between Linux distros, and I've known people who run different distros on the same computer for different purposes. But then you're really debating the differences between Darwin and Linux...

Actually I can. As I'm typing this I'm using firefox running natively on the mac on top of kde 3.1. Gnome is also available. Let me see if I can dig up the screenshot I took...ah there it is.

 

[Cadmium77]

I remember when I was little, my dad used a pc emulator on his mac. It wasn't fast enough to run games, but it could run all other windows programs, kind of like wine is for linux. That mac could play the same games just the same as the pc did, but it had to be the mac version of the game. There was a big slowdown running the program. Mechwarrior 2 looked like it ran at about 5 frames per second, so my dad bought the mac version and it ran fine. Warcraft 2 was also unplayable, but the mac version ran fine.

:lol: Macs....

 

[MadSkillzMan]

people laugh at macs, and diss them...i used to be one of them...but i do video editing, and photoshop...mac rules all....the only thing better would be an SGI machine

 

[Audioaficionado]

I wouldn't mind owning a G5 duallie with that 23" cinimatic LCD monitor. I just don't want to pay that much. Maybe I'll hunt down a good deal on a G4 duallie eventually.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

i read IBM is trying to crank out their equivilent to the G5. allowing us to build macs...YAY

 

[kaltag]

Umm the G5s ARE built by IBM. Apple is no longer using motorola except for the remaining G4 products which will eventually be replaced by the G5s

 

[zachj]

The above is true, but worse yet for all you hopeful Mac builders out there, the logic board is proprietary Apple. That means you're not building a Mac unless somebody rips off the design, something that will never happen, or unless you can find a used one on eBay, which also isn't very likely (or at least wouldn't be cheap. Even G4 logic boards go for more than an entire G4 PowerMac, sometimes).

As for a cheap duallie G4. Your best bet is to find a single processor AGP Graphics model PowerMac on eBay, one that is COMPATIBLE with dual processors (they added this feature in a newer revision . . . my guess is that no 350MHz G4 tower will be the right revision, but a 400 or 450 probably will be . . . always ask the seller to check), and buy a dual upgrade card from a vendor. That will get you about DP1.33 to DP1.42GHz for the price of what a DP733 would probably sell for, though I haven't checked eBay prices recently . . . G4s might have lost some value. The upgrade cards do get expensive as you get faster, so a dual 1GHz might be much more economical if you can find one (eBay?). A DP1.33 is like $630 at the moment. If you do go the AGP Graphics route, make sure you get a better video card. The Rage 128 is garbage and Quartz Extreme gets offloaded to the processor and slows everything down a great deal. Even a 350MHz G4 (which I also have) would be much faster with a Radeon9000.

Regards

Z

(Sorry for the long post. It's almost 8AM and I've been up since 7AM, I didn't sleep well, and I've got marketing with Ben Stein in 7 minutes . . . Bueller . . . Bueller . . . Bueller . . .)