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Who here likes Mac AND Linux?

I am just scratching the surface of Linux on the server side. Long time mac user though (Still have my Mac Plus and it still runs.) Trying to teach myself some server admin skills and really enjoy what you can do with linux server distributions. So far it has been a good for gaining knowledge and learning.

There are some really neat things that can be done with Linux / Unix projects. FreeNas runs on BSD and has been working really well as a file server / backup repository.
 
I run Linux along side the Macs. Even run Debian in Parallels on my MacBook. I work for an NGO and so we love the freedom of Linux and run it on all servers minus one. I run Linux for digital ham radio stuff but also have the same software running on the Macs. CentOS 5.2 for servers, xUbuntu 8.10 on my linux notebook, and Debian in Parallels.
 
I run both linux and OSX, but not windows.

OSX, don't really need to talk about here. But Linux is an excellent alternative to Windows. No need to deal with nasty viruses, and there's the amazing system that is 'apt-get.' However, I'd never use linux for anything hardcore, and prefer to stick to either gnome or KDE.
 
Several of you (including the OP, if I read correctly) mentioned that you like the package managers that the various Linux distributions rely on. You all know about MacPorts, right?

And yeah, I like both Mac and Linux. I mainly use Linux as a server OS these days, and stick with OS X on the desktop/notebook, but "back in the day" I worked exclusively with Linux and really enjoyed it. I know that with the more modern distributions (e.g. Ubuntu) the user experience is a lot nicer than it was back when I was using Linux regularly.
 
Lyle said:
Several of you (including the OP, if I read correctly) mentioned that you like the package managers that the various Linux distributions rely on. You all know about MacPorts, right?

And yeah, I like both Mac and Linux. I mainly use Linux as a server OS these days, and stick with OS X on the desktop/notebook, but "back in the day" I worked exclusively with Linux and really enjoyed it. I know that with the more modern distributions (e.g. Ubuntu) the user experience is a lot nicer than it was back when I was using Linux regularly.
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MacPorts is great! I immediately fell in love with the concept, and wished my GNU/Linux system could do it....then I discovered Gentoo! :D
 
Lyle said:
Several of you (including the OP, if I read correctly) mentioned that you like the package managers that the various Linux distributions rely on. You all know about MacPorts, right?

And yeah, I like both Mac and Linux. I mainly use Linux as a server OS these days, and stick with OS X on the desktop/notebook, but "back in the day" I worked exclusively with Linux and really enjoyed it. I know that with the more modern distributions (e.g. Ubuntu) the user experience is a lot nicer than it was back when I was using Linux regularly.
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I know about MacPorts, but I don't use it - I'm one of the few that would rather acquire and compile stuff myself than put up with MacPorts' bizarre insistence on installing everything into /opt.
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
I know about MacPorts, but I don't use it - I'm one of the few that would rather acquire and compile stuff myself than put up with MacPorts' bizarre insistence on installing everything into /opt.
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You don't have to put everything into /opt. You can compile macports from source and configure it (using the prefix option) to put everything into your location of choice (I use /usr/local), and it works just fine. But if you do this, you have to compile install macports from source, you can't download and install the DMG package as that is preconfigured to install in /opt.
 
I've recently started using GNU/Linux on my Macs again after having used it with a Dell laptop back in the late 90's. Specifically I'm using the Ubuntu distro on both my MBP and iMac G3, and my first observation using Ubuntu is how far usability has come since I used Caldera OpenLinux. The package management system is unbelievably better, and even basic installation and configuration has become much easier (at least on a well-supported machine such as the Core Duo MBP). Getting the X server to run on the iMac G3 was a bit of challenge since a working xorg.conf file is not included, but I found a working one online and managed to tweak it to make it better. GNU/Linux has been especially helpful to my iMac G3, as it is light, configurable, and up-to-date. Ubuntu with XFCE runs better than any version of OS X ever did on the iMac G3, and it works even better if you're willing to cut out some of the niceties and run a basic window manager such as fluxbox instead of a full-fledged desktop environment. Browsing the web in the command line only using elinks, and it flies. :)

So yes, I like both OS X and GNU/Linux and they both have their place on my machines.
 
The Lord knows I've tried to like Linux. I'm a fan of the idea, and I've installed every single version of X/Ubuntu since 5.04, but every single time I get so frustrated I almost throw my computer out of the window. I don't know what it is, I'm not even a noob or anything, it's just that Linux is absolutely not ready for people who don't exactly know what they're doing.
 
John Jacob said:
You don't have to put everything into /opt. You can compile macports from source and configure it (using the prefix option) to put everything into your location of choice (I use /usr/local), and it works just fine. But if you do this, you have to compile install macports from source, you can't download and install the DMG package as that is preconfigured to install in /opt.
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I was not aware of this option. Thanks!
 
I'm a huge linux fan - I use it at work all the time in our server environments. I really don't think there's a better server OS out there. When it comes to desktop use, it still has a long way to come. It's always a couple steps behind mac / windows. however, I had a spare laptop around so I installed the most recent build of Ubuntu on it a couple days ago. This thing has really improved! I really think the out of box experience on ubuntu is better than that of windows vista. Mac OS X is clearly leaps and bounds ahead, but for someone who only wants to browse the internet and perform basic tasks, I think linux is great - heck, my mom's getting a netbook for mothers day and I'll be putting ubuntu netbook remix on it day one :D
 
Linux is a joke. I run 4 different linuxes on VirtualBox just to toy around and see does it ever get past the alpha-status.
 
I think you have to have a reason to get into Linux. I never really got into it until it was required as my work as a scientist at university. All my lab computers run Debian Etch which is what I use at work. I'll admit that running 'apt-get' in the command line to install new software at first caused me various problems and there were many times when I wanted to scream but it helped my understanding of computers a lot. I am going to try and install Ubuntu on my MBP when I get a chance. Ideally I want to triple boot Windows, OS X and Ubuntu. Mainly just to learn how to do it. :D
 
i try to keep an open mind. i'm not a great user of linux, but i do run it either on a machine around here or a virtual machine. i also use windows, as well as OS X. and i do run OS X Server as well
 
*Raises hand*

I think both are cool (and by the way, it is nice to have a GUI on a server).

I have OS X, Fedora KDE, Ubuntu and Red Hat installed side-by-side on my Mac. Fedora is my personal favorite. To me, Linux as a whole does feel sort of clunky or "beta-ish", but again I do prefer even that over Windows.
 
I just wiped my Kubuntu 9.04 partition in favor of giving Win7RC more space.

I've been using and hacking Linux for almost 15 years now. I've mowed my way through every major distro and at one point, rolled my own Linux from scratch.

I don't see the point of Linux on the desktop at home. When I'm honest with myself, I think the only reason I every screwed around (and continue to screw around) with Linux is for geek cred. That's it. From the moment I discovered Linux, the single overriding reason for learning any of this is for that "Haha, check THIS ***** out!" moment. "Yeah, yeah, you've got MythTV running on an AppleTV? Dude, I've got MythTV running on GENTOO on an AppleTV. Beat that!"

All the rest of you Linux guys, you can pretend that it's so you can revive old hardware or have a nice firewall/router (BSD is a better) or for the challenge of getting your PSP to run a Linux kernel, but face it. At the end of the day, you did it all for geek cred and bragging rights. Just admit it. :cool:

Work is obviously different. There's things I need to do that can only be done on Linux these days.
 
Count me in on this category. I generally use OS X more for getting work done, but I do use Linux on a regular basis. I have the mindset that Linux is best suited for servers (I run Debian on our home server), much like how I believe that gateways should run OpenBSD. I use the tool that gets the job done in the most efficient way. If that means I need to use Linux, then I fire up VMWare and plug away :)
 
maclover001 said:
I liked KDE until they ruined it with 4.0.
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I agree, KDE4 was a huge step in the wrong direction. Gnome 3.0 looks like it might be making good progress though.

I enjoy linux quite a bit, but i find that i often cant get the app i need while using it. Theres no really great multimedia editing programs and that really kills it for me.
I often find that i miss Conpiz-Fusion on OS X. Sure, most of compiz is just eye candy, but some of it is incredibly useful.

OpenSuse is my distro of choice, so much better than ubuntu, imo.
 
I have a Macbook, but I also have an older laptop running Ubuntu 8.10.

I like both, but I find OS X to be a lot more useful and reliable.
 
I love the tinkering aspect of Linux, I'm always finding little weekend projects I can do with it, there's always something that can be done to improve a server box
 
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