OS X vs. desktop Linux

[Ben Eisenbraun]

On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 02:06:46AM -0400, Tom Metro wrote:
> Richard Pieri wrote:
> > Tom Metro wrote:
> >> What type of admin work do you do on your Linux desktop machines  
> >> that you find is not necessary on an OS X machine?
> > 
> > APM is one.
<snip>
>
> OK, valid, but these are all issues relating to hardware support, which 
> is a well known and understood problem.

Right, one which some of us who have to deal with these problems during the
work day don't want to have to deal with during the evenings/weekends.

Sure I can research every component in the laptop before making a purchase 
decision and read the kernel changelog before every system update and spend 
time reading man pages, mailing lists and web forums trying to get the
various bits of hardware working properly, but with a Mac, I don't have to.

> The current remedy is to either buy a machine with the OS pre-installed, 
> or research and select hardware with a known track record of being 
> compatible.

And even that is no guarantee.  I've been tracking Fedora on my workstation 
at work since the FC4/5 era.  Sound worked flawlessly up until Fedora 8, at
which point PulseAudio was introduced.  Every upgrade since then I've had
audio problems where it clicks and pops during playback.  After each
upgrade, I hit google, find some mailing list post that suggests changing
some config file setting and then running a couple commands, and things
start working, mostly.  I still manage to lock up the audio on the machine
about once a month just playing mp3s, which then requires a reboot to reset
the hardware.

> I almost mentioned that a starting assumption should be a pre-installed 
> OS that fully supports the supplied hardware, as problems in this area 
> are largely initial setup problems, and I'm more interested in 
> differences in ongoing capabilities.

Is there a major manufacturer that provides such a thing for linux laptops?
Netbooks are making inroads here, but Dell, e.g., has 3 models that they
prequalify for Ubuntu, and they're all running either 8.04 or 8.10.

> >> Does OS X permit you to do things you can't do with Linux?

Absolutely.  I can run the software update process without worrying that 
sound will stop working.  Or 3d.  Or Flash.
 
> So if you've achieved adequate hardware support with Linux

...except we haven't.  Which major manufacturer tests and approves 
a linux distribution and the updates for their laptops?

> , and you don't need any proprietary applications that only run on OS X,
> and don't have a personal preference for the look or UI behavior, then
> I'm not hearing any clear compelling reasons that would suggest OS X
> would lead to a more efficient and productive working environment.

I think you missed Richard's point.  In order to have a reasonably good
linux desktop experience, you need to be willing to work at installing,
configuring and maintaining the machine.  With a Mac, someone else does
that work for you.

(As a side note, it's interesting how much discussion this topic has
spawned.)

-ben

--
it is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow
it.                                                   <benjamin franklin>