[PLUG] deep philosophical question

[Jason Martin]

On 5/20/07, Kurt Sussman <plug at merlot.com> wrote:
> I spent a few days at RailsConf, and learned a ton. But it was a little
> frustrating watching the Mac users... Macs just work. Sleep, hibernate,
> wifi, Textmate, Quicksilver, it all just works.
>
> I'm planning to buy a new laptop around the end of the year even though
> my 4 year old Dell runs Ubuntu just fine. Because sometimes the wifi just
> won't hook up, and sleep has never worked under any distro, and the
> display blows out every year like clockwork (warrantees are great!).
> But there's nothing like Textmate on any platform. Except the Mac.
>
> So there's the freedom issue; Linux is free and OSX isn't. I like
> freedom, and I'm willing to do my part to keep it, but at what point do
> I just use the best tool for the job and assuage my guilt by working on
> free server apps?
>
> Yes, Macs cost more than the basic Linux-capable PC. But if it saves me
> 30 minutes per day (which is pretty conservative, I think), it will take
> me 20 days of paid work to make up the difference. So is it really more
> expensive?
>
> I'm used to Linux, my servers run Linux, it will save space in my brain
> to use only one OS, I don't like the 'one menubar to rule them all'
> thing, etc. Or are those excuses to keep doing the same sub-optimal
> thing?
>
> Your thoughts, please?

The Intel-based Macs do have hardware virtualization support, and
therefore you can run whatever else you want on them concurrently.
So, for example I currently have Ubuntu and Fedora on mine, running
under the beta VMware Fusion.  You could also install a Microsoft OS
on it if you wanted, or Solaris.

The Macs are expensive, no doubt about it, but at the moment they are
the only option that you can run all those OS environments on
simultaneously.  Doing some comparisons I guesstimated the difference
between a Mac and a comparable laptop from someone else to be about
$200.  The hardware you get with a Mac tends to be top of the line.
Just something to think about when you're talking about productivity.
Bootcamp also provides the option of dual-booting.

I do agree with some of the other folks that the OSX environment is
somewhat like a mutilated BSD.  Running open-source apps under the X11
server you lose some of the so-called elegance of the OSX environment
(the menubar comes to mind).  And I miss having more than one button
on the trackpad.  On the other hand, I love the dashboard.  What would
I do each day without my Chuck Norris Facts widget?

"When Chuck Norris does division, there are no remainders."

Jason