My return to Applezealots Anonymous

Ever since Apple announced Mac OS X I felt I really needed to try this Operating System. Mac OS X is basicly a unix kernel / OS with Apple eyecandy running on top.

When I decided I would switch from my Apple LC475 to a Pentium 200MMX way back in the last century, I promised myself I would switch back when Max OS implemented pre-emptive multitasking. When both OS 8 and OS 9 didn't deliver in this respect, I gave up and put my money on a Linux based OS with Gnome.

Most geeks know where that led us: A operating system as easy to use as Linux with Linux quality graphics and Windows like bloat.

There comes a point where you just had enough. People who know my geekie part know that I would try to switch to some Linux based desktop every 3-4 months, only to end up re-installing Windows two weeks later. At this point in time Linux just isn't up to it for my every day homecomputing needs. Sure, most applications are there, but will someone please come over to fix {insert one or two gadgets here} so they are usable on my Linux desktop?

And yes, I tried a lot of them, RedHat Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Suse, Mandrake and RedHat Enterprise 4

Buying a new Apple

This is my first brand new notebook. Other then playing with someone elses OS X based laptop for a couple of minutes, I really had no experience with Apple since System 7.5.

Now, two days later I'm more than pleased. The OS X desktop is really pleasant to use. The dock, Expose, installing software, it all just does what you expect it to do. Sure, there are a lot of little things you need to discover by tinkering or googling, but all in all I'm a happy switcher.

The thing that is most foreign to me is the single button mouse. But other than most people who report about their switch to OS X, I'm sticking to it. Reason one being I only have one bluetooth mouse and it's the single button Apple mouse. But more importantly, it makes using the mouse lefthanded as much a pleasure as using it with my right hand. No more switching buttons or reconfiguring when switching sides.

While Googling I stumbled on Fink and Fincommander. It actually includes apt-get to install software, one of the greatest software management tools I know. Thank you Apple and thank you Debian geeks switching to Mac OS X bringing apt with you :-)

The end of Linux for me?

Of course not :-). I've installed a lot of Debian GNU/Linux based systems as servers and they never seem to dissapoint me. I still run a Debian based system at home and one at my dad's home. No need to change that. And if the need arises I will just as happily run Sun Solaris, OpenBSD or RedHat Linux. Just not on my desktop, thank you ;)

More OS X in the future?

With Apple's announcement to begin shipping Intel based Apples next year, it might be possible to reinstall some PC's with OS X instead of replacing the hardware, so who knows ;-)