Re: [LUG] OS X v Wheezy was Re: Windows 8 vs Ubuntu 13.04

[Philip Hudson <phil.hudson@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 6 May, 2013, at 1:53 pm, Simon Waters wrote:

> That said for fiddling with server software it has always looked a bit
> painful on OS X, in terms of pre-packaged free software. The dev tools
> look nice, but it always seems to have something that makes it harder
> than using a Debian derived GNU/Linux distro. However I'm assuming  
> these
> days I just create a virtual copy of Debian/Redhat/Centos/???BSD for  
> all
> that, and can leave the Desktop unabused.

Bear in mind that OS X's unix layer, Darwin, *is* BSD to all intents  
and purposes.

Install the MacPorts repo package manager, based on BSD's port command  
and very similar to apt-get. (Other repo package managers for Darwin  
are available). Use it to install the familiar GNU toolchain, set up  
symlinks to the GNU versions of the things BSD does differently --  
almost every POSIX command is *slightly* different in BSD-world -- but  
only in directories outside the default $PATH or you'll break system  
scripts (IOW, add those directories to your PATH for interactive  
shells only) -- and you should be fine. Do keep BSD mail and netcat  
though, as most linuxes do. MacPorts also gives you more recent  
versions of lots of things Darwin bundles: openssh, apache, emacs,  
etc. All MacPorts stuff is installed in a separate directory tree, so  
it doesn't overwrite the bundled stuff and can be cleanly removed at  
any time.

> Also find OS X user interface to be surprisingly inconsistent -
> certainly not obviously more consistent than say GNOME or Windows,  
> which
> I was always thought was supposed to be a selling point.

You and every other developer and UX-aware user. There's an acronym  
for it in Mac dev land: FTF -- Fix The Finder. OS X was a big UX step  
backward from the non-unix OS 9, and hasn't regained the lost ground  
since. Ludicrous, pitiful, stupid, needless, pointless waste of their  
huge lead over the rest of the market. But I'm over it. Really.

--
Phil Hudson                  http://hudson-it.no-ip.biz
@UWascalWabbit                 PGP/GnuPG ID: 0x887DCA63


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