[ale] New laptop

[George Allen]

This is exactly why I posed the question to the group. I've used linux
exclusively at home since '96 and am quite comfortable with it. So I
may end up fighting a mac when the IBM would give me the pure linux
box that I know and love.

I guess the question is, do I want to pay an extra 500 bucks to get to
play with OS X and buy commercial software?

How about windows on mac? I have an application I use at work that
sends data to a radio over a proprietary protocol via serial port.
Works with usb-serial adapter... But not with linux or vista. XP only.
Haven't tried it from within virtualbox yet. Can you run xp on a bare
partition instead of virtualized on a x86 mac?

On 9/30/09, Richard Bronosky <Richard at bronosky.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 8:49 PM, Brian MacLeod <nym.bnm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:27 PM, George Allen <glallen01 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> My home laptop broke, physically, after 5 years of abuse (IBM's stand
>>> up well), so I am looking to buy a new one. Considerations are:
>>>
>>> -Thinkpad T or X series. - I've had a T41 (still running headless w/
>>> dead LCD after 7years) and X32 (latest, cpu fan died) I like IBM, like
>>> the keyboard, prefer the trackpoint to a touchpad, and am satisfied
>>> with the durability. Also- IBM hardware generally supports linux.
>>>
>>> -Apple- always wanted one, couldn't afford one before now, am tempted
>>> but realized I could even get the IBM X200-Tablet for the price of a
>>> 15in macbook pro. Also questionable linux support, because I would
>>> install linux on this. They seem durable, but I don't know that I
>>> quite like the keyboard/trackpad much.
>>>
>>> So, what are anyone's thoughts on running linux on a 15in macbook pro?
>>> Any other suggestions aimed at good linux support, and general
>>> durability? Fast is good, but not looking for more business than a
>>> gaming machine, although gl support would be nice. Target range 1500
>>> +/-500 depending on specs.
>>
>>
>> So, I'm going to go out on a limb here for just a bit, and make a slightly
>> different suggestion, but this is highly dependent on your needs for your
>> linux machine:
>>
>> Get the Apple, leave it running Mac OS X, but run your linux machine as a
>> VM
>> using (suggestions have been strong, and it is the one I use at home)
>> VirtualBox from Sun to host it.  Then, depending on what you need, you can
>> export your X apps to the Apple, or run a full desktop environment as a
>> window on the Mac.
>>
>> My reasoning: when I need to get something done quickly (common office
>> stuff, browsing, email), the Mac certainly fits the task.  When I need
>> something more intricate, I can do what I need and easily acquire the
>> software for linux.  I get the best of both worlds as far as productivity,
>> and, if I do things right, can even revert changes I made to the VM or
>> even
>> spawn off a couple of clones. I also have Dropbox running on the physical
>> and VMs as well as a Windows box elsewhere so I have access to my data.
>>
>> Now, if you're doing process/graphics intense stuff in linux, and the apps
>> available on Mac won't fit/cost way too much, then obviously this
>> suggestion
>> may not work so well for you.
>>
>> And the touchpad on the Macs: once you learn the tricks, I feel I can do
>> more (reliably) with the Mac touchpad than on any of my other machines.
>> Add
>> Quicksilver to the Mac, and suddenly you can drive the machine by the
>> keyboard pretty well too.
>
> I agree on all points. I love my Mac. When I need a commercial
> software that will only run on a commercial OS, I love my Mac. But
> then again I often hate my Mac because of its lack of freedom. (Also,
> without Quicksilver I'd hate it a lot more often. Oh, and AlphaBaby
> helps too.)
>
> It is a good Unix machine. The availability of Ports (ala BSD) from
> MacPorts is a great boon. However, a good Linux machine it is not. If
> you want to run Linux, don't get a Mac. That is not its strength. If
> you are fighting the machine to get it to work, you are not getting
> the Mac experience and are therefore wasting your money.
>
> If you can live a Linux only life you should avoid the Mac. Seriously.
> Think is not a snark. It's going to sound like a sarcasm, or
> fanboyism, or something else non-sincere. But seriously. I'm being
> sincere. The Mac will ruin you. Once you've owned one, you will love
> the hardware even if you can't stand the software. You will then find
> yourself constantly frustrated that Apple chooses to be 80% awesome
> and omit the 20%. You'll decide that no other track pad will do, but
> you'll want to hurt someone for putting a SATA drive in the thing but
> not giving you an ESATA port. You will regularly find yourself wishing
> you had taken the blue pill. Seriously.
>
> .!# RichardBronosky #!.
>
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