YDL in Mac OS X Hints today

[Clinton MacDonald]

Norberto:

Your challenge cannot go unmet! :-)

The following is a *RANT*. As such, it may be
considered off-topic or boring by some. Feel free to
pass this message by!

Norberto Quintanar <nquintanar AT yahoo DOT com>
wrote:
> I've often found that people just don't want to
> be bothered by learning curves.

That would be me. I *like* the inexhaustible,
plodding, dull consistency of the Macintosh operating
system (Mac OS 9 or OS X). I *like* that command-Q
ALWAYS means "Quit." (Conversely, I *hate* that, while
using Linux I have to think for one or two seconds to
remember in which application I am working so that I
know how to quit it. I'm old, and it really takes 1-2
seconds.) I still remember the "Aha" moment at which I
first understood the Macintosh operating system (1991,
when I first learned how to drag-copy a file to a
floppy drive, after years of DOS command line). From
that moment on, I pretty much knew how to operate
every single Macintosh application I have ever
encountered to this day. It was quite a revelation.

> Honestly, how could Linux not fit ANY of your needs?

Okay -- how about copy-and-paste in a word processor?
(That was a low blow, and I should be ashamed.)

Well, Linux meets *some*, but by no means *all* of my
needs. Mac OS X meets many more (though not all) of my
needs. One of the reasons I am experimenting with
Linux is that I imagine it will meet more of my needs
in the near-to-medium future.

Thomas Leonard <tleonard AT bridgew DOT edu> wrote:
> Perhaps it didn't fit his desktop needs?

I agree with the implication of Mr. Leonard's
rhetorical question: Linux does not meet my desktop
needs (it meets some of my other needs -- see below).
My desktop needs are uncomplicated, but nonnegotiable.
I write grants for a living (we do science, too, but
the grants pay the bills). For this I need to be able
to type long diatribes into poorly designed forms,
while including complex diagrams and using
institutionally specified fonts. OpenOffice.org
doesn't fit the bill (surprisingly, I find that poor
font support, rather than forms, to be the biggest
issue).

I need a laptop computer that unerringly goes to sleep
when I close the lid and wakes when I open it again.
It doesn't fly if pmud dies mysteriously every second
or third day, and must be restarted using arcane
commands.

I need to be able to copy files to removable media
with a flick of the wrist in the time it takes to say
"removable media," not after opening a console,
logging in as root, typing in a password, looking up a
command in a cheat sheet, typing in that command,
etc., etc.

I need a Web browser that can copy text from a text
editor, then paste it into a Web form field. I need to
be able to install new software in fewer than
two-and-one-half hours. I need a shareware application
that allows me to manage my e-mail POP accounts. I
need a shareware application that turns xmms on and
off at predetermined times. I need a Usenet News
reader that lists all the available newsgroups, rather
than having me guess their names. I need a file
browser that allows me to click on a file to select
it, but requires a double-click to launch it, and that
remembers from one time to the next which application
I want to launch files of that type.

I need an operating system that stores applications in
one (or at most two) locations, not in six directories
(and counting) -- many of which are not in my "PATH"
(whatever that is). I need to be able to perform daily
(if not hourly) chores while logged in as an
administrative user, not as root. I need GUI-based
applications with a common scripting API so that I can
control them in ways the authors did not envision
(and, no, access to the source code does not help me
at all).

I need a beer.

> Even YDL - on my 6500/250 128MB ram - which is
> behind other distros in rpms of popular programs
> <-- my opinion; is capable of doing a lot more than
> Win XP on a 2ghz computer.

This is what I like about Linux in general, and Yellow
Dog Linux in particular.

Mac OS X, while a miracle in many ways, falls down on
recent -- or even current -- hardware. Mac OS X has
the stability, security, consistency and eye appeal
that I want in an operating system. And, I wouldn't be
surprised if it runs well on the right hardware. I
think that when we see dual-processor G5 PowerBooks
running at 3 GHz, that will be the time to update to
Mac OS X. :-) Until then, we will have to accept what
we have.

Right now I am running Mac OS X on an 800 MHz
PowerBook G4, Mandrake Linux 9.2 on a 966 MHz Dell
Anony-box, and Yellow Dog Linux on a 266 MHz G3
PowerBook "Wallstreet" (actually, I killed the
Wallstreet two days ago, and am in the market for a
new processor daughtercard :-( ). While the Wallstreet
is (was) the slowest of the bunch, it wasn't too bad.
Mac OS X 10.2.8 on the Wallstreet was slow and
ponderous (though more memory might have helped).

Mandrake Linux on the Anony-box is an epiphany. So,
*THAT's* how Linux is supposed to work! YDL is about
two to three years behind the Linux curve. There
really exist GUI apps and wizards to manage your
Internet connection. There are many, many applications
that do many, many things. In some categories, there
are too many applications (text editor, anyone?).
There are alternatives to the plain-vanilla KDE and
GNOME file browsers. Some things just work out of the
box.

But plenty of things don't, and that's where the
future of Linux lies. If the advances I see between
Mandrake on a PC versus YDL on a PowerBook represent
three years of advancement, then I imagine that I will
be satisfied with Linux in about three more years. At
that point, Linux will move out of my "hobby" category
into my "desktop/laptop" category. I am looking
forward to that day.

Sorry for the rant!

Best wishes,
Clint

"People generally seem to want software to be free as
in speech and/or free as in beer. Unfortunately rather
too much of it is free as in jazz."
~~ Mary Pegg

=====
Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal DOT net>