how far have mac's made it into large installations?

Sun Apr 24 13:57:56 PDT 2011

On Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 12:44 PM, Steve Acheson <satch at cisco.com> wrote:

>
> Linux just takes too much time to administer over the long run (for the
> desktop UI only) for me.  I still fondly remember tweaking out my fvwm
> and fvwm2 setups for hours into the night to get it just right...  But
> these days, I just don't have the time or patience to do that for my
> main desktop.

A decade ago I would agree with this sort of conclusion, but nowadays I just
use Gnome or whatever is the default GUI, and now I find a Linux workstation
takes less effort:

- Need to install new software?  Do it right there in the GUI or with
one-two commands in the terminal.  No need to surf to some unfamiliar web
site and figure out their installer.

- Installation of third-party stuff not in the central repository often
comes with the configs to keep that software updated.

- Updating software is a command line or two, or just clicking Yes in the
GUI and entering your password.

For my personal needs, Google Docs is an excellent "office" application that
covers the basic  needs of a word processor or spreadsheet, with effortless,
real-time collaboration, which can not be said for Microsoft Office.  Maybe
once a month or so when I need to run a native Windows App I just boot one
in VMWare Workstation -- just like a Mac user would run Parallels.

Occasionally, the Ubuntu way will irritate me, but it isn't the same level
of irritation I tended to feel at OS X.  When I am irritated at Ubuntu I'm
just getting what I paid for.  When OS X expects me to only do it their way
I get really irritated because hey, I'm paying a premium for this and the
customer is always right, so why is the customer denied their convenience?
 (Why _can't_ the user enable FocusFollowsMouse?  Seriously!)

I know I am the exception to the rule, but I gotta say, getting along with
Ubuntu hasn't been any more difficult--generally easier than--other OSes,
including Mac.  I suspect that if others are having this experience, Linux
desktop market share may be set to start gaining.

-danny

-- 
http://dannyman.toldme.com
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