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On Mon, Jan 29, 2007 at 06:12:44PM +0000, Ben Goodger wrote:
> On 29/01/07, Neil Williams <linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >Remember: OSX is proprietary - just because it has extensions that
> >allow free software to be installed, does not remove the stain of
> >proprietary code. Besides, Debian runs free software on a Mac faster
> >than OS X and takes up less than 50% of the disk space required for OS X
> >to run the same code.
> >
>
> As we all know, Debian is extremely pretty,
That's subjective; personally I think ion is much better to look at than
Ubuntu+Gnome or OSX. And anyway, why is "prettiness" an important goal
of any software?
> fast to load (thanks to its non-outdated boot system, good old
> sysvinit)
Boots fast enough here. Certainly it's always been miles faster than
Windows on any hardware I've tried both on.
> and easy to use.
Very true; it's extremely easy to use. I've had no trouble teaching
various non-technical users how to use one of its various GUI
interfaces.
> It also sports a ton of excellent desktop features that OS X lags
> behind in, such as the GNULife suite (Audacity, F-Spot, Banshee,
> mkisofs and Jahshakah) providing intuitive, powerful media handling;
> and don't forget the superb collection of beautiful templates included
> in the ever-pretty OpenOffice.org which "just work" enabling users to
> get the job done without pissing about.
Fair enough; that's something that Apple have been good at for years.
> Then we reach Gaim with its "just works" ahavi-based network chat and
> full integrated webcam/audio support;
Of course, I've never had any trouble with MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, ICQ or
AIM in Gaim. Webcam/audio is lacking, of course; personally I don't give
a damn, but other people might. Anyway, Gaim's support for Avahi/Bonjour
is still beta - if you have problems with it, that's your own fault.
> don't forget Inkscape and the GIMP, a pair
> of wonderful professional applications that satisfy the need of every
> business in a way that Adobe software can never hope to imitate.
Again, something that's been an Apple specialty for twenty years. I've
spoken to people who much prefer the Gimp to Photoshop and vice-versa,
and people who dislike both. I'm not particularly artistic, so I don't
have much of an opinion in the matter.
> Ah yes, and the "just works" multi-arch features that are so sorely
> lacking in OS X;
If I had an Intel-based Mac, I'd rather not be wasting download time and
disc space with binaries that support every Mac architecture ever
released. Of course, I've never needed to worry about the architecture
of the package in Debian, because APT handles it all just fine. I hear
there's some problems with proprietary software not releasing 64-bit
versions, but what do you expect from proprietary software?
> flawless audio mixing;
Um, there's a problem with audio mixing? If there is, Apple presumably
have the advantage that they only have to support a tiny amount of
hardware compared to Linux, which supports about five times as many
architectures, let alone anything else.
> and non-hackneyed desktop animations.
Again, not something I've ever cared about; I feel no need to make my
desktop spin around like a cube, I get motion-sickness. Is there any
real need for XGL/AIGLX/Compiz/Beryl/whatever else?
> Let's not forget cron/cp, a combination that Time Machine can never
> aim to match in terms of user-friendliness
Well, if you're using cp for your backups user-friendliness is the least
of your worries.
> and it couldn't be easier to convert your filesystem to one supporting
> encryption and then set various passcodes - much easier, in fact, than
> that nasty proprietary Vault thingummy.
Especially when a new version of OSX leaves all my encrypted filesystems
unreadable. I'd much rather rely on free software for critical data like
that.
> Finally, there's the all-encompassing range of GUI configuration tools
> and of course, the overall polish and consistency.
Hmm, does Vim count as a gui configuration tool? How about when compiled
with GTK?
Maybe not, but I personally would much rather rely on it than a tiny
applet that crashes every two minutes and depends on half of Gnome
(network-manager-gnome). Yes, I realise this is a dig at free software
and not OSX, but hey.
> Or have I got a bit confused here?
> Please, for once just enjoy the joke without shoehorning the FSF agenda
> anywhere it can fit. :)
Debian isn't perfect. OSX certainly isn't either. And I'd much rather
rely on Debian and free software, even if it doesn't live up to an
arbitrary standard of prettiness and tends to not make life so easy for
someone who has no intention of actually bothering to learn how to use
the software before complaining that it "sucks" (no, I don't mean you,
Ben - just my general view of complaints about "user-friendliness").
bma
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