OT: When to Use OSX/YDL?

[Ed Sutherland]

On Friday 16 April 2004 22:57, peter wrote:
> for me there's a simple equation. if i'm using my powerbook, i run OSX.
> when i'm using any computer that won't run OSX and that i have control
> over, i run linux. :) i've even thought about taking a live CD of linux

So, for Windows or older Macs, the choice is simple. Linux is much more 
flexible and less error prone than Windows as well as extending the life of 
older Mac hardware unable to run the more demanding Mac OSX.

The grey area is when you have a middle-aged Mac (such as my 500Mhz G3) or G4 
or G5. The question becomes not extending the life, but a perceived 
improvement in use. This is where my quandry rests.

If I were an engineer or software tinkerer whose livelihood was devoted to the 
engine, not the body, of any operating system, then Linux would have an edge, 
since the graphical user interface -- while rough in Linux -- is not that 
important.

But if you are an artist or designer (I'm a writer) you appreciate the 
'finish' which only a large commercial organization -- such as Apple -- can 
provide. You appreciate the hand-holding which anticipates your desire to 
accomplish a task first and then later possibly learn how to turn water into 
wine -- rather  than the opposite, which tends to be Linux' M.O. In a more 
academic analogy, Linux uses the Socratic method, requiring you to discover, 
then answer questions which eventually lead you to an answer. Mac OS X is 
more like a cheat sheet which gives you enough information to pass the test 
allowing you to go back to the textbook later, if you want more details.

Another shade of gray when it comes to the OSX vs Linux debate is what those 
of us who are part artist, part geek want from an OS. If we simply wanted to 
accomplish Task A, then we would stick to Windows XP or Mac 9.2 and never 
look under the 'hood.' But if you are interested, Linux is also appealing.

Where once the Mac and open source communities were far apart, today most of 
the applications running on Linux are available natively (or through ports) 
on Mac OSX. So, I can use Thunderbird to read my mail, use Firefox for my Web 
browsing, OpenOffice for my writing/spreadsheets -- and have all of the hooks 
into the tight hardware/software integration of the Mac.

The 'open community' concept of Linux is appealing -- then I read about 
"Multiple Linux Flaws Reported" and see the 'limits' or 'lock-ins' of Apple 
and Mac OSX as assuring. 

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Ed