Hewlet Packard ZE4145 laptop

[Gary Nichols]

> Ted Gould wrote:
> Well, if you consider that fine - then why not fire up Mac-on-Linux and
> you can run all your Mac OS apps on Linux?  It's the same thing, the X11
> apps aren't entirely integrated into everything the way Mac OS apps
> are.  I think by saying "from within the X11 app" you've acknowledged
> that they aren't first class citizens in the Mac OS world.

As another poster pointed out, I don't believe mac-on-linux runs OSX apps.
I could argue that X apps aren't first class citizens in the linux world 
either.  Look at the layers:

OSX -> X11 -> X11 app
Linux -> X11 -> X11 app

X11 is just a windowing system.  Right?
You can have the X11 environment (me calling it an app earlier was a 
misnomer I guess) start on boot in OSX if you wish.  It's transparent.

> 'just working' is important, but I think that for the most part Linux is
> pretty much there now.  I think with GNOME 2.x on the desktop a lot of
> those issues have been fixed.  Not all of them, but many off them.  I
> would say that printers and drivers are noticeable exceptions (except on
> Mac hardware where there aren't that many drivers).

Yes linux has come a long way - it's very exciting.  I like OSX more 
because it's a clean implementation.  The window managers on linux will 
get there... they are very close.

> As far as the Apps you mentioned, I like the Linux versions better. 
> iTunes is nice, but Rhythmbox plays OGGs too.  iChat is nice, but GAIM
> supports several different IM protocols and encryption over all of
> them.  mail.app is nice, but I can never have a mail client without
> virtual folders again, I'm addicted to Evolution.

Those are all very good applications - and the same ones that I used under 
Linux (and I run a few of them under OSX now).

> Basically it all comes down to the Apps.  I like my Linux apps, and some
> of them have warts, but many have key features that I use on a daily
> basis.  If I'm going to use all Linux apps on Mac OS X all I get is
> shadows behind the windows (which is really cool).

That's a way to look at it.  Here's how I look at it.  I get to stare at 
my commericial mac software (photoshop, etc), my free mac apps, my free 
linux apps, and of course the cocoa apps that I write myself.  Sweet.  I 
get -everything- at once.  Yummy.  My needs are very different from the 
typical user though, so of course YMMV.  I really love to walk into 
CompUSA or the Apple Store and buy a piece of quality software (or even a 
game - Ghost Recon anyone?) and install it on my Mac.  I missed that when 
running 100% linux.  There's a lot of good commercial software for linux, 
but not in specific areas that I require.   

> Don't tell the Debian guys that ;)

Now even the debian guys have to admit that yellow dog is cool. 
:)
*ducks*