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So, you generally wanted a Mac in order to install large quantities of third party unix software... Most software developers that use OS X just want a decent G

• calloc 15y ago
  I am a software developer and I use Mac OS X. I develop Unix backend server systems. I use Mac OS X as my primary build platform, then actually run on top of FreeBSD. I use homebrew for almost all of the dependencies that I have, there are one or two that I compile by hand. I've not had any issues. Best of all, I don't need the g* stuff to do my builds. I am perfectly happy with clang and the BSD tools available. I don't understand why people purchase Mac OS X based computers then want to run GNU coreutils on top of it, or want to Linuxize their entire install. Off course something is going to break at that point, especially when build tools expect certain versions of certain tools to be available.
  • deleted 15y ago
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  • dagw 15y ago
    I don't understand why people purchase Mac OS X based computers then want to run GNU coreutils on top of it Because only Apple has figured out how to make and sell great laptops running Unix at a (relatively) reasonable price and where all the hardware and drivers just works out of the box. If I could have bought a computer as good as the macbook Air in every way, but with Linux instead of OS X and guarenteed zero driver or hardware comparability issues I would have. But I couldn't so I bought a Mac.
    • vacri 15y ago
      How does the Lenovo x-series compare for you, where does it not measure up? I was recently at a linux conference and probably about 60-70% of delegates had either an Apple or a Lenovo laptop.
      • dagw 15y ago
        I've used IBM and Lenovo x-series (x41 and x60) laptops before and while I'm generally a fan and would definitely go with them as my number two choice, I've never had one "Just Work" with Linux. It's always very close, but there is always something. The x-220 was also more expensive for equivalent specs when I bough my Air, especially if you took into account the cost of replacing whatever drive it came with with a 120GB SSD. Also it is slightly larger and slightly heavier than the air, and for me size and weight where a big factor. Then there are minor things like that there are no stores anywhere around here that sells them, meaning I'd have to buy one without playing with it first. Also it's basically impossible to buy one without a Swedish keyboard layout in Sweden, while Apple will happily let me choose any keyboard layout I want. None of these are deal-breakers in them selves but they're things that kind of add up.
    • fauigerzigerk 15y ago
      My wifi is still broken after the Lion upgrade. I tried everything and no one has been able to figure it out, including Apple's support. The only thing that works is replacing the Atheros driver with the Snow Leopard one. So much for drivers just working.
      • batista 15y ago
        I wish users could understand they are not the center of the universe, and "one machine I got didn't work for me" doesn't automatically translate to "those brand of machines are bad". Bugs, problems, bad runs, happen with everything. One personal case (or 10,000 or 50,000) out of some 30,000,000 computers, is NOT the determining factor in respect to whether a brand of hardware works reliably or not. "Just works" is relative. Given that Apple controls both the Wifi card and the driver for their machines, and that it offers a limited range of such cards, it sure is better poised to "just work" than some obscure wifi card used in a PC alongside with some third-party open source driver for it. This is, pretty much, common sense. So, as relativity goes, it's pretty much true, or Apple wouldn't hold the higher user satisfaction position of multiple years in a row, with over 20% distance from the second runner.
• batista 15y ago
  Yeah, I'm just running Logic, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro for various projects, I mean those use very little memory, so what would I know...