Finding The Right OS

[worker201]

Seriously though you sound like the kind of person who'd prefer a Mac, I haven't used one for any great length of time but I'm told it's the best option if you want something easy to use, stable and secure.

Agreed.  OSX is one of the finest operating systems ever made, in my opinion.  And Apple hardware is good too.  It is super-easy to use - in fact, I had problems when I started with it, because I assumed that some tasks would be much harder to accomplish than they actually were.  But then you pop open X11 or a terminal, and you're basically using a Linux machine.  If you want to - if not, the you don't ever have to see it.  Worth every penny.

BTW, there are plenty of nice IM clients that don't screw you with extras - Trillian is the one I use in Windows, and it supports Yahoo! and AOL.  Gaim for Linux, Adium for OSX.  No need to install crappy programs like AOL or Ymessenger.

BTW2 - Jenda, I have heard a lot of veteran Linux users complain about Ubuntu.  I've never used it myself, so I don't know shit about it.  I've heard good things from newbs, and bad things from vets.  That's all I was saying there.

[RaZoR1394]

OSX sounds like exactly what you are looking for - too bad it isn't available for PCs.  Yet.

Ubuntu seems to be great for beginners.  New users love it, seasoned users hate it.  Sounds like a good place to start to me.

OSX is available for x86_(64?). It's not available in retail but you can download it and tweak it for it to run nice on your custom built desktop. It even works with SSE2 only processors. However I would still as you recommend Ubuntu as a GNU/Linux distro. But, I wouldn't recommend it if you game a lot. A good idea is to check Wine's and Cedega's database against supported games before you get into business. And remember that Cedega is payware (free cvs sucks). On the other hand you could get an Xbox360 or a standard Xbox to play on which I think is much better.

[hm_murdock]

Mac OS X is NOT "available for IA32/IA64. It's designed to run on Apple-branded development machines, and the "final version" will be dependent on Apple hardware as well.

Apple has no intention of becoming an OS vendor. They're simply switching their processors from PPC to IA32.

Do NOT consider running a cracked version of Mac OS X on a generic PC. There's a LOT of work involved that requires prior knowledge of UNIX.

[Aloone_Jonez]

This change might be a good thing, will it improve the speed of of the Windows software emulation?

[piratePenguin]

This change might be a good thing, will it improve the speed of of the Windows software emulation?

I'd guess that you could run Windows on the intel macs (you can on the development ones, and I haven't heard that Apple will change this on the final macs), and that wine should work even better for it after a bit ('cause it's like running wine in an x86 GNU/Linux computer, I think).

[cymon]

OSX is available for x86_(64?). It's not available in retail but you can download it and tweak it for it to run nice on your custom built desktop. It even works with SSE2 only processors. However I would still as you recommend Ubuntu as a GNU/Linux distro. But, I wouldn't recommend it if you game a lot. A good idea is to check Wine's and Cedega's database against supported games before you get into business. And remember that Cedega is payware (free cvs sucks). On the other hand you could get an Xbox360 or a standard Xbox to play on which I think is much better.

The pitiful OSX on Intel machines is just some cracked version of the developer preview. The majority of all mac apps aren't compiled for it, so you're stuck with the bundled software.

But you can always get Darwin, or BSD.


  :macos: on IA32 =  

[hm_murdock]

The cracked version of the development system requires you to install Darwin first. It's a pain.

[ReggieMicheals]

Reggie,
This post illustrates how little you know about the various distributions of Linux Fedora and Ununtu are both fairly easy to use an example of a more hardcore distro might be Slackware.
 
How many distros have you actually tried?
Not many going by this post, so don't you think you've been a bit quick to judge Linux?

I myself have tried Fedora, Debian, and Ubuntu before. Debian was slow. Fedora was okay, but still slower than Windows 2000 on my old PC(I've been focusing on Macs for a while). Ubuntu still gave me near same performance with Fedora, though it was slightly faster. I then gave FreeBSD a shot and it gave me acceptable performance, and I will soon be replacing Windows with OS/2(My newer PC[custom made] will handle the games). With these OSes, I can have a wider range of availble software working at the speeds they were meant to have...

[Refalm]

I myself have tried Fedora, Debian, and Ubuntu before. Debian was slow. Fedora was okay, but still slower than Windows 2000 on my old PC(I've been focusing on Macs for a while). Ubuntu still gave me near same performance with Fedora, though it was slightly faster. I then gave FreeBSD a shot and it gave me acceptable performance, and I will soon be replacing Windows with OS/2(My newer PC[custom made] will handle the games). With these OSes, I can have a wider range of availble software working at the speeds they were meant to have...

You must have done something wrong. Debian is fast.

And who the hell wants to actually use something as obsolete as OS/2?
It was obsolete when it came out, and it sure as hell is now.

[Siplus]

I would go back to Mac, but it has been so dam long since I have used one, and the prices are outrageous compared to PCs. Though in many ways a Mac will smoke a PC any day.

I would suggest considering it. They really aren't much more expensive then other oem computers

I never imagined myself advertising for Apple, but ever since I bought my 12" Powerbook, I've liked em.

You get the power of Unix hidden behind apple's infamous interface, without losing any real unix features (except a crippled X11, but that's another story)

[cymon]

XFree86 has a OSX port as well. You don't have to use Apple's X11.

[Siplus]

any chance of X.org?

[hm_murdock]

I would suggest considering it. They really aren't much more expensive then other oem computers

I never imagined myself advertising for Apple, but ever since I bought my 12" Powerbook, I've liked em.

You get the power of Unix hidden behind apple's infamous interface, without losing any real unix features (except a crippled X11, but that's another story)

Infamous?

As for X11... who gives a fuck? And how is it crippled? It can do exactly what you need it to do when running X on X.

Nothing.

X11 isn't needed for a damn thing. Hell, I don't even like the way X11 is implemented by anybody. I'd rather the OS simply treat each X11 app like any other app, each with its own Dock icon.

Even then, I'd still avoid X11 apps like the plague. Ugly, non-standard, and usually buggy. Nearly all are shoddy ports, and the ones that aren't are lackluster to begin wih. CHEAP.

[Refalm]

Infamous?

As for X11... who gives a fuck? And how is it crippled? It can do exactly what you need it to do when running X on X.

Nothing.

X11 isn't needed for a damn thing. Hell, I don't even like the way X11 is implemented by anybody. I'd rather the OS simply treat each X11 app like any other app, each with its own Dock icon.

Even then, I'd still avoid X11 apps like the plague. Ugly, non-standard, and usually buggy. Nearly all are shoddy ports, and the ones that aren't are lackluster to begin wih. CHEAP.

Apple should create some kind of SDK for converting X apps to cacoa or whatever it is called.

[Aloone_Jonez]

I don't think that's possible because X apps draw their own widgets or use a separate library like GTK+.