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I consider getting a second notebook for Win and Linux because sometimes you have to work with them. I love Thinkpads for having a Zen influence (just like Appl

by myspy 15y ago

I consider getting a second notebook for Win and Linux because sometimes you have to work with them. I love Thinkpads for having a Zen influence (just like Apples hardware) and it's sturdiness. Vaios look awesome but sometimes they get the details wrong. The WLAN button on the front broke of my Vaio broke, why did they put it on the front, where it has always contact with my belly when sitting in bed?) But I will always need OS X for my main machine. It's all the little details helping me to get work done. I adjusted my workflow to Exposé and Spaces and it's the most well designed OS, so I love it's consistency, scrolling in windows off focus, CMD not CTRL for shortcuts (so I can use my thumb and don't need to move my hand or use the little finger), taking advantage of more shortcuts in general (but they killed some in Lion) etc. And many of those little helpers are only possible because of the great trackpad. It's no problem for Win7, because it does not rely on gestures, but it would be great they would include something like that. (do some artful linux devs work on those things?)

tikhonj 15y ago
I don't know about gestures on Linux. I've heard there is a package but never bothered with it. I basically do two things on my computer: I browse the internet and I edit text (programming, writing, homework...). For both of these tasks--and most other things I do less commonly--I can just use the keyboard. All this means that I only use the mouse/trackpad if I really have to--it really slows me down. In my experience, Mac OS is not the most well-designed OS at all. Whenever I have to use it, it manages to annoy me fairly consistently. It isn't bad, of course, but all modern operating systems--especially Linux--have improved drastically in the last several years. CMD vs CTRL is not a function of Mac OS/Windows, it's a function of your keyboard layout and both proprietary solutions get it wrong: CTRL is actually the key labelled Caps Lock. Everything else you've mentioned is also present in Linux, at least with KDE--it's well designed, consistent and even lets you scroll windows off focus (I think the scrolling, as well as other window conventions date back to older Unix window managers that predate both KDE and Mac OS). KDE also lets you have some very useful key combinations. Particularly, I like being able to tile a window left or right with a single keystroke, which is trivial with KWin. That said, I'm going to take this idea to the next level and switch over to XMonad soon, which is a nice upgrade for OS X as well (a couple people I know have used it there successfully). Coincidentally, why would you need to get another notebook for Windows and Linux? As far as I know, you can dual/triple boot with a Mac, or you could just get a virtual machine. Ultimately though, the qualities of Mac OS are rather tangential here (and we're ignoring the philosophy behind it even more)--if you're not willing to use anything else, you're stuck with Apple. If, on the other hand, you're like me and see no reason to use it, the quality of hardware become important and finding the best lightweight notebook pertinent.
- myspy 15y ago
  Why another notebook? Well, I feel happier to divide the systems physically. You know what to do on the one system and you know what you do on the other. Those are toys, so main motivation is fun I would guess. :D When reading your post, I think you are the efficiency guy, and OS X is for ease of use and both things are sometimes conflicting. But I got around using OS X in an efficient way, so I feel happy with it. Thanks for your infos.

by myspy 15y ago

tikhonj 15y ago

I don't know about gestures on Linux. I've heard there is a package but never bothered with it. I basically do two things on my computer: I browse the internet and I edit text (programming, writing, homework...). For both of these tasks--and most other things I do less commonly--I can just use the keyboard. All this means that I only use the mouse/trackpad if I really have to--it really slows me down. In my experience, Mac OS is not the most well-designed OS at all. Whenever I have to use it, it manages to annoy me fairly consistently. It isn't bad, of course, but all modern operating systems--especially Linux--have improved drastically in the last several years. CMD vs CTRL is not a function of Mac OS/Windows, it's a function of your keyboard layout and both proprietary solutions get it wrong: CTRL is actually the key labelled Caps Lock. Everything else you've mentioned is also present in Linux, at least with KDE--it's well designed, consistent and even lets you scroll windows off focus (I think the scrolling, as well as other window conventions date back to older Unix window managers that predate both KDE and Mac OS). KDE also lets you have some very useful key combinations. Particularly, I like being able to tile a window left or right with a single keystroke, which is trivial with KWin. That said, I'm going to take this idea to the next level and switch over to XMonad soon, which is a nice upgrade for OS X as well (a couple people I know have used it there successfully). Coincidentally, why would you need to get another notebook for Windows and Linux? As far as I know, you can dual/triple boot with a Mac, or you could just get a virtual machine. Ultimately though, the qualities of Mac OS are rather tangential here (and we're ignoring the philosophy behind it even more)--if you're not willing to use anything else, you're stuck with Apple. If, on the other hand, you're like me and see no reason to use it, the quality of hardware become important and finding the best lightweight notebook pertinent.

myspy 15y ago
Why another notebook? Well, I feel happier to divide the systems physically. You know what to do on the one system and you know what you do on the other. Those are toys, so main motivation is fun I would guess. :D When reading your post, I think you are the efficiency guy, and OS X is for ease of use and both things are sometimes conflicting. But I got around using OS X in an efficient way, so I feel happy with it. Thanks for your infos.