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Should Linux users consider buying a Mac?

Posted by jimlynch on · 4 comments
ITworld; By Jim Lynch
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Today in Open Source: Linux users and Macs. Plus: VLC 2.1 released, and AMD and Nvidia step up Linux driver support

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Comments (4)

jimbauwens ·
I'm the owner of a 15" inch Macbook Pro with a Retina display for about half a year. As a Linux user I was a bit weary with buying a Mac, considering that Linux doesn't play too well on the newer devices. But I went for it anyway.

It was also not the first time that I used Mac OS X, but considering that I would now being using the device as my main machine I thought it would be a good test to see if the OS would be able to supply everything I need for my daily workflow. Well, after using it for some time now I still can say that I really miss linux. As a software developer Mac OS X just isn't flexible enough for me to work as efficient as before. Even after installing many GNU tools, using package managers such as Macports and homebrew, it's still lacking. After doing lots of tweaking, it's clear to me that it's not intended to be developer friendly. For some tasks I now launch a local virtualbox session running xubuntu and ssh into it.

On the other hand, I do love the hardware. At first I thought the Retina display would be overkill, but I absolutely love it. It definitely is much more easy on the eyes. From the hardware perspective I really can't complain, it's very solid and robust, speedy and all.

And of course, Mac OS X offers some great software too, but lately the gap between Mac and Linux software has been getting smaller. I'm still patiently waiting for Linux software to become retina friendly (GTK, etc). They are working on it and once it's stable it will definitely go on my device.
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the_doctor ·
Should Linux users consider buying a Mac?

No.

Should Jim Lynch consider getting a new schtick and stop coping and pasting from other websites?

Ain't gonna happen!
skelband ·
We used Macbooks here for a long time, and I ran Linux on mine for many of those years (Ubuntu from Jaunty Jackalope).

We're moving away from them now because, despite them being still more expensive than traditional PC-based ones, they are becoming rather unreliable.
gary_newell ·
"Should Jim Lynch consider getting a new schtick and stop coping and pasting from other websites?"

Jim writes good articles when it comes to distro reviews and he writes good how to guides.

The articles he writes on IT World are obviously part of a remit he has been given as part of his role there.

I quite like them. A bit of throwaway reading every lunchtime.



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