[plug] linux4imac?

[Craig Ringer]

> I will try get around to doing some of this but quite honestly who has 
> the time??? I probably should just buy a new computer!  As I say at some 
> stage Ill give this a go but doubt Im really up to it now that it has 
> been explained to me.

Its not a bad plan at all, especially if you want something that "just 
works". MacOS X (the new mac system ; you can't buy MacOS 9 machines any 
more) has a lot going for it, and is actually based on a system very 
like Linux.

I assumed you'd had a fairly decent explantion of what to expect from 
linux, but it looks like that "never assume" adage has come back to bite 
me. I'm going to blather for a bit, and hopefully some of it will be of 
use to you.

[warning to fellow PLUGers - the following is only my opinion and 
experience only, OK?!? ]

Well - Linux is not faster than MacOS, though you get much more control 
over what you run, allowing you to choose smaller and faster programs. 
On the other hand, the default setups are much bigger and slower than 
MacOS, though they do a lot more.

You'll want 128mb of memory to run a modern linux distro with the 
desktop and programs it comes with.

It's also very /different/ to MacOS - so if you don't want to spend a 
fair bit of time learning, you might want to consider a new mac instead. 
On the other hand, new Macs are pretty different to MacOS 8 machines, 
too. Linux does have the nice habit of staying working once you get it 
doing what you want - it's very unusual to have it "just break" like 
MacOS machines do on a regular basis.

In my experience, there's a lot more messing about involved in getting 
Linux working as you want it to, at least when you're not experienced 
with it. Much of this time is learning time, and stumbling around saying 
"arrggh! how do I do this!". Finding the programs you want to do 
something can be challenging. They're usually already on your computer, 
but you don't know what the heck they are or what they're called. It's 
getting better with time, but still a factor.

I doubt you'll be able to comfortably fit both Linux and MacOS on a very 
old-model iMac, at least if it's like the one Otto was talking about. 
You could fit them both, but wouldn't have as much room for your 
programs and files.

Finially, you can't actually run your Mac programs easily on linux, 
especially Linux on the Mac. I believe it's possible to use "Mac on 
Linux" (MoL), but that doesn't solve your original problem - that your 
mac doesn't do what you want. There are lots of good programs out there 
for linux, but it depends a lot on what you need to do whether there's 
everything you'll need. Sometimes they don't open and save the files 
created by other programs of the same type, or don't do so quite right, 
as well.

You will need to make backup copies of all your files before installing 
linux (if you decide to try that). If you have a CD burner, writing them 
to CD is a good solution.

So, you ask - why does anybody use this thing then?

For me, it's because I have a lot more control over the system. It 
doen't say "no, you can't do that" to me, or say "are you really, really 
sure?". I can install programs with much less worrying about viruses and 
nasty addins that secretly track what you do (called spyware). It 
doesn't cost me a cent, which is awfully handy. I can use all the 
programs I need to on linux, including several I can't use on Windows or 
a Mac. It "just works" once it's set up how I like, without the habit of 
breaking randomly. I can modify it to how I like it. And frankly, I'm so 
used to it that it's much easier for me to use than Windows or a Mac, 
which both leave me wanting to gnaw off my own hands in frustration.

Different systems fit different people's needs. Maybe linux will fit 
yours, maybe not. Maybe a later release will, but it doesn't yet. 
Whatever, it's not my position to make that decision, I can only tell 
you what I like and what I think.

Personally, I've been using linux as my main system for 3 + years, and 
like it more all the time. I have Windows, which I use (increasingly 
rarely due to improving native linux game ports) for a bit of gaming, 
but that's about it. Then again, I'm a tech geek who thinks that 
computers are fun in and of themselves, not just a tool to get something 
else done (not all the time, that is).

Not trying to start a flamewar, but:
<rant>
I get really pissed when people say "use linux" as an answer to every 
question about computers. I tend to agree some of the time, but there 
are lots more factors than pure technical or philosophical merit 
involved. Some people want something they can put on and not worry about 
any more, that runs every program they'll encounter. Some want 
specialised features or programs not available under linux yet (Quark, 
Adobe Acrobat/Illustrator/Photoshop/InDesign, AutoCAD, many games, etc). 
Some have to use 'doze or MacOS due to other needs, like targets for 
software development. That doesn't make linux bad, IT'S JUST NOT PERFECT 
FOR EVERY SINGLE THING.

I mention this because it looks increasingly like you might've run into 
someone with exactly that attitude.
</rant>

That said, there's a reason my User-Agent header always says:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.3) Gecko/20030312

Craig Ringer