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I agree, Apple has gone a bit lazy and a bit boring. As they have become more and more popular it's as if they have stopped trying. I haven't bothered upgrading

I agree, Apple has gone a bit lazy and a bit boring. As they have become more and more popular it's as if they have stopped trying. I haven't bothered upgrading to the latest OS X I switched to Ubuntu. I am not going to switch my iPhone 4s for the iPhone 5, but I am tempted by some of the new Android phones.

FrojoS 14y ago
Just curious, which Apple Machine are you running Ubuntu on? I have a late-2010 MacBook Air and also have skipped the last two OS X upgrades since they seemed to degrade quality. I'm definitely tempted to run Ubuntu instead but I assume there will be issues, like lower batterie life.
- Ingolfr 14y ago
  Depends on the model, but yes, the battery life will suffer. Also, you may encounter problems with minor features (color profile, brightness&sound keys, remote, etc.), however you can research all that info beforehand. I am using Ubuntu 11.10 on a 5 yrs. old Macbook Pro and after some tweaking it runs just fine (I use it primarily as a desktop replacement, so battery life is not all that important to me)
- esolyt 14y ago
  On the latest Macbook Air, battery life is about the same. Perhaps slightly worse on Linux. Ubuntu seems to perform better than OSX though: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=macosx_108dp1_ubuntu&num=1 http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=macos...
rimantas 14y ago
Tell me, how more exciting will the new version of Ubuntu be compared to the next version of OS X? Mature products are just that—mature products.
- ekianjo 14y ago
  I cannot really speak for OSX because I do not use it, but Ubuntu just keeps getting better and better on the SAME hardware. On every update it seems to be getting more optimized, less buggy, and introduces new features (sometimes interesting) that make you want to give it a go. The only time when I felt that Ubuntu was going backward is when they introduced Unity for the first time (it was slow as hell) but after that step they just kept getting better in every iteration. That's exciting.
  - nitrogen 14y ago
    It really depends on the hardware, I guess. For me, Ubuntu peaked around 8.10 or 9.04. It ran great on my tablet (yeah, those existed before the iPad, though it was a lot heaver, and that was perfectly fine), sound worked, etc. Every version since then has broken something, and according to benchmarks, Unity is the slowest desktop environment available for Linux. But, if Ubuntu works for you, don't let the opinion of one random guy on HN change your mind. Just consider yourself fortunate to find something you like and can use.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      Well, I have different distros on my home computers, and I switch between Mint, OpenSuse and Ubuntu on a daily basis. But Ubuntu is really nicely put together, and while I realize Unity is definitely slower than the rest, on the hardware I run it it is still fast enough for most of what I do, so I do not mind it so much. Sorry to hear you have a hard time to get Ubuntu working well...
  - Tomek_ 14y ago
    > On every update it seems to be getting more optimized, less buggy, and introduces new features (sometimes interesting) that make you want to give it a go. Well, that doesn't counter rimantas' argument, it's just that Ubuntu still has some distance to pass before it will reach maturity.
  - agumonkey 14y ago
    OSX used to be that too. I was amazed that 10.4(IIRC) could run on first gen imac with only a ram upgrade.

FrojoS 14y ago

Just curious, which Apple Machine are you running Ubuntu on? I have a late-2010 MacBook Air and also have skipped the last two OS X upgrades since they seemed to degrade quality. I'm definitely tempted to run Ubuntu instead but I assume there will be issues, like lower batterie life.

Ingolfr 14y ago
Depends on the model, but yes, the battery life will suffer. Also, you may encounter problems with minor features (color profile, brightness&sound keys, remote, etc.), however you can research all that info beforehand. I am using Ubuntu 11.10 on a 5 yrs. old Macbook Pro and after some tweaking it runs just fine (I use it primarily as a desktop replacement, so battery life is not all that important to me)
esolyt 14y ago
On the latest Macbook Air, battery life is about the same. Perhaps slightly worse on Linux. Ubuntu seems to perform better than OSX though: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=macosx_108dp1_ubuntu&num=1 http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=macos...

rimantas 14y ago

Tell me, how more exciting will the new version of Ubuntu be compared to the next version of OS X? Mature products are just that—mature products.

ekianjo 14y ago
I cannot really speak for OSX because I do not use it, but Ubuntu just keeps getting better and better on the SAME hardware. On every update it seems to be getting more optimized, less buggy, and introduces new features (sometimes interesting) that make you want to give it a go. The only time when I felt that Ubuntu was going backward is when they introduced Unity for the first time (it was slow as hell) but after that step they just kept getting better in every iteration. That's exciting.
- nitrogen 14y ago
  It really depends on the hardware, I guess. For me, Ubuntu peaked around 8.10 or 9.04. It ran great on my tablet (yeah, those existed before the iPad, though it was a lot heaver, and that was perfectly fine), sound worked, etc. Every version since then has broken something, and according to benchmarks, Unity is the slowest desktop environment available for Linux. But, if Ubuntu works for you, don't let the opinion of one random guy on HN change your mind. Just consider yourself fortunate to find something you like and can use.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    Well, I have different distros on my home computers, and I switch between Mint, OpenSuse and Ubuntu on a daily basis. But Ubuntu is really nicely put together, and while I realize Unity is definitely slower than the rest, on the hardware I run it it is still fast enough for most of what I do, so I do not mind it so much. Sorry to hear you have a hard time to get Ubuntu working well...
- Tomek_ 14y ago
  > On every update it seems to be getting more optimized, less buggy, and introduces new features (sometimes interesting) that make you want to give it a go. Well, that doesn't counter rimantas' argument, it's just that Ubuntu still has some distance to pass before it will reach maturity.
- agumonkey 14y ago
  OSX used to be that too. I was amazed that 10.4(IIRC) could run on first gen imac with only a ram upgrade.