Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - Hardware/Software - Apple Powerbook / OS X
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Jesper
Posts: 2258/2390 |
Originally posted by Kasumi-Astra
I must say the entry range powerbook is burning a serious hole in my pocket now. They're becoming quite affordable now, starting at
Kasumi-Astra
Posts: 1310/1867 |
Eh, after making careful decisions, I've decided to go with a Vaio instead. I thought that spending so much on something that I had no idea (initially) how to opperate was the deciding factor. Windows might be becoming tiresome for me, but at least I can count on it in the short-term. I don't mind a little maintainance anyway 
I did end up getting a good deal, though. It's slimline, light and has a 6200 GeForce Go graphics. I know that won't exactly set Half Life 2 alight, but it'll run all the games I'd need to |
Rydain
Posts: 518/738 |
We have a hardware router that acts as a firewall. Lucky us.
Aaaaaand...I'm typing this from my new computer. *insert ta-da flourish here* I've had it up for about an hour, and it is schwEEEEEET.  My biggest problem thus far is remembering to use the option key instead of Ctrl for keyboard shortcuts (except within the terminal, of course...arrggghhbllrggh Uuuunix *drool*) and trying (without much success) to connect to our private file server to get all my old stuff back. My computer can find it...it just won't authenticate me for whatever reason. Eh, I'll bug Rando when he gets home. |
Ailure
Posts: 8758/11162 |
Your talking about the blaster worm? It dosen't get through if you have a firewall from what I know, at least it didn't for me and there is fixes for that exploit.
It's easy to get no spyware, be careful what you install. Read the EULA, and don't touch the blue e. Use alternative browsers...
And hell, you should use Firewall, not matter which OS. Certain Linux distros is known for being easily hackable. :/ |
HyperLamer
Posts: 3839/8210 |
Originally posted by Ailure
Yeah, I don't understand that either. I use Firefox and basically disabled scripts (basically, it won't do anything that isn't basic HTML... for the momemnt) in IE. My Win2K computer have no need for a spyware finder and uhm.... I don't understand what people do to get spywares and adwares so easily. 
The problem is people that expect these kinds of setups to be secure. IE can still be exploited with all the most advanced and restrictive security options (and really, at that level it's not much use anyway). Programs love to slip it in when you're not looking despite how trustworthy they seem. And remember those worms a while back that kept shutting down the systems? They could get in just by pinging you; you didn't need to do anything except turn your computer on and connect to the Internet. There are always security holes like this, especially in Windows. |
Tarale
Posts: 1590/2720 |
Er... you guys did realise that with the tablet stuff I was talking about Linux, right? I was attempting to modify the kernel and X as well as install custom drivers in order to get the full pressure and tilt sensitivity on the tablet. Didn't work. Disappointing, as it was more or less a death blow for me + Linux long-term.
Works fine on my Mac though |
neotransotaku
Posts: 2743/4016 |
Apple had issues when they appeared (what those issues were, I don't remember). IBM did sue but lost because the defendants were able to demonstrate they reversed engineered the stuff. So, IBM was powerless to stop clones but in the end, it proved to be a good thing...
You have to give Apple credit though for surviving all this time... makes me wonder what would have happened to Apple had the iMac was a bust or Jobs didn't come back to the company again...
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Ailure
Posts: 8753/11162 |
Well, you should have seen how Apple treated Macintosh clones. They we're allowed but they have high license fee's, if there wasn't anything against Apple Macintosh would been more expensive. While IBM's X86 PC was pretty much free to clone, and so also got alot cheaper. Thought the orginal IBM PC wasn't really made for being around for that long time...
Besides.. well. It's still not stopping me from checking out Mac mini...
(althought I have a belief that competition is good, it would just be good if Mac OS X and Linux gained market shares so Microsoft just can't do whatever...) |
neotransotaku
Posts: 2736/4016 |
why would apple be a much worse monopoly than Microsoft? |
Ailure
Posts: 8750/11162 |
Yeah, I don't understand that either. I use Firefox and basically disabled scripts (basically, it won't do anything that isn't basic HTML... for the momemnt) in IE. My Win2K computer have no need for a spyware finder and uhm.... I don't understand what people do to get spywares and adwares so easily.
Hell, there is no need for anti-spyware stuff if you just use Firefox...
Macintosh intrests me, mostly from a perfomance standpoint thought. Althought to be honest, it's had been concluded that Apple would be a much worse monopoly than Microsoft. But that dosen't stop me from getting a Mac mini.  |
Colin
Posts: 7485/11302 |
That sounds strange Taryn - at least now if you're careful in using certain programs, you don't have to run the spyware programs all the bloody time. 
The only thing that's slowed down in Windows for me is the clock, and even then that's only if I'm using a bunch of CPU-heavy programs. |
Tarale
Posts: 1589/2720 |
Originally posted by FreeDOS
It slowed X down?  That doesn't sound right. I've never even used a tablet, but that doesn't sound right ..
Yeah, it slowed it down. I remember I had to modify some X files to get it to work...
Only, it didn't work, and X didn't like my modifications. |
FreeDOS
Posts: 1265/1657 |
The Dock works a little like a toolbar and a taskbar combined. You can start applications from it, and the Trash is also on it. Iconified (Windows term: minimise) windows transform down into the dock. It's really fun to watch... (probably because I don't have a Mac myself  ) |
HyperLamer
Posts: 3810/8210 |
I've noticed that too; Windows seems to detiorate. Things stop working and bugs just pop up out of nowhere. The startup time isn't pleasant, either, but Mandrake's was no better. Explorer is what pisses me off the most. At some point I think I'm gonna have to write a little shell of my own. How's this dock work, anyway?
Originally posted by Rydain
there's really no elegant way for a taskbar to handle all the stuff I have open at once
Did you try putting it on the left or right? You get tons more space that way. There's no way it could ever handle all the stuff I tend to have open at the top or bottom, but this way I rarely run out. |
FreeDOS
Posts: 1263/1657 |
It slowed X down? That doesn't sound right. I've never even used a tablet, but that doesn't sound right ...
Here's my thing on Windows: I don't use it ... for the most part. The only program I have with GNU/Linux is that I can't find a single Doom port in which the music plays. Sure, the sound effects work, but not the music  . Thus the only reason I use Windows, for Doom. It's Windows 2000. I used to use Windows for everything, as I'm sure most PC users do. I got introduced to free software in 2002, and I liked it. Back then I didn't know much about the morals of the software, so I was attracted to the word "free" as in price. Later, I discovered more about why it exists, and I thought that I should support it as well. I began replacing much of the software I used which was proprietary (MS Office, AIM (which Gaim is 1000x better anyway), even Explorer itself, etc). After a while, I decided that I should use a free operating system full-time, mostly because I was having trouble with Windows... not many free software works well on Windows. I started out with SuSE, which sucked. Then I went on to Fedora Core for a while... and now I'm on Slackware currently.
heh... after I see speed benifits with Slackware, I notice Windows' flaws a lot more. Mainly it seems that Windows (all the versions I've ever used: 95, 2000, XP, Server 2003) likes to slow down over time for no reason. |
Tarale
Posts: 1588/2720 |
Actually, some of it is mentioned in the first part of that article you've linked to, Rydain.
Windows was just... gah. I was running Windows 2000, which was stable enough, but I have to run Ad Aware frequently, and AntiVirus frequently, and it takes forever on startup to load a million and one things that I don't WANT to load, but HAVE to load (I know I can disable things, but then stuff stops working), and it's... like the operating system is trying to get in my way, every little step of the way. 
Neither Linux nor OS X seem to do that.
As for the graphics tablet taking "a ton of painful effort" to get it working.... well, I went through a bunch of painful effort, including modifications to the kernel. And all I managed to actually achieve was to make the tablet "wobbly" and to slow X11 down. |
neotransotaku
Posts: 2724/4016 |
Originally posted by Rydain
A XP and OS X comparison site pointed out an interesting aspect of the different OS' dialogues that I'd never really noticed but can have an effect on your working speed. Since I read that, I noticed that GTK2 applications tend to use more OS X-ish confirmation dialogues as well.
It's because when programming for windows, it's easier to use the predefined buttons instead of making different buttons for different dialog boxes--which totally kills in usability.
As for that X vs. XP article, X totally wins out in terms of usability but Windows wins for functionality, at times but it's not enough times since both OS gives both of the same stuff in general. All in all, X is much much better than XP. If you aren't a gamer, then X is the way to go. Otherwise, you are better off sticking with XP since right now I see that as the only reason why to stick with windows overall...
After reading that article, I'm tempted to convert my laptop to OSX... |
Rydain
Posts: 516/738 |
My two favorite window managers, Enlightenment and XFce4, have an iconbox that works sort of like the dock in that you can "park" applications there. XFce4 also has a configurable panel that can launch applications for you. From what I've read, it seems that the dock serves both those functions at the same time and offers more options as well (like popup menus over each application that let you do certain tasks, like, say, pausing the music in a media player, without having to show the window first). I love how it uses icons instead of descriptive text because it's space-saving and pertier and more informative at first glance.
I also have a graphics tablet that's been taking up closet space since I switched to Linux. I was afraid to try to get it to work because I feared it would take a ton of painful effort. Now I'll actually have reason to not only use it but save up for a bigger one if I want to. Huzzah.
Out of curiosity, what was Windows doing that chafed your ass? Was the computer specifically misbehaving itself, or do you just not like to work in Windows for whatever reason? The Windows machines I've had over the past two years at work (my old 2K box and my new XP one) generally behave themselves well, but there's just something about the interface that slows me down. Getting dual monitors helped because I could stick my terminals in one window and keep an eye on them at all times or put up a web application that I'm working on in one window and the source code in the other, but still, there's really no elegant way for a taskbar to handle all the stuff I have open at once (before anyone asks, I'm aware of the XP superbutton, but it doesn't help you much if you have a ton of different applications open at once). I've gone with the "increase its height, losing screen real estate but keeping the buttons mostly legible" option. A XP and OS X comparison site pointed out an interesting aspect of the different OS' dialogues that I'd never really noticed but can have an effect on your working speed. Since I read that, I noticed that GTK2 applications tend to use more OS X-ish confirmation dialogues as well. |
Tarale
Posts: 1587/2720 |
Well, if either of you two need to ask me questions, you both should know where to find me on AIM/MSN/ICQ
Jesper's another good person to ask questions too.
And yes, the Dock rocks and Expos |
Rydain
Posts: 515/738 |
I'm making the switch as well. The ultra w00t 9000's motherboard has begun its downward spiral into utter craptacularity. I used to get 3+ months of uptime easily, but now it locks up at least once a day with disk timeout errors. Replacing the motherboard and processors would cost a hell of a lot (nearly $2000 - no, really - believe me, the original mobo + procs cost FAR less when we first got them, and at the time, they were high-end), and of course, there would be the added overhead of installing them, making sure the rest of my hardware works OK, and reinstalling Debian. I'd been drooling over OS X for a while because I am a Unix fangirl, I love the interface (it's perty, a dock would be MUCH more useful to me than a taskbar, and Expose is mexcellent), and it's reported to work beautifully and only improve as new versions are released. Thus, buying a new Power Mac was the natural choice. I may miss ZSNES, which can't be run even under X11 on a Mac due to its fuckpile of x86 assembly language, but eh, whatever. Much as I generally like Debian, some aspects require tinkering. For a while, I enjoyed learning about Linux by doing (or by watching Rando fix something that I didn't know how to fix), but at this point in my life, there are other hobbies I'd rather spend time on and I want a system that Just Works.
So...the new system is arriving on Tuesday...and I'm sure Tarale's links will come in handy for me as well. |
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