Low End Mac’s Simon Royal notes that some 18 months ago he explored Linux as an OS X alternative, eventually returning to the Mac world after a brief interlude using Windows and Linux.
However, Simon says experience has changed him, and he still has an old ThinkPad 600 (circa 1998) running Ubuntu 10.04, which, despite its age and low speed, he finds himself using more than his G3 iBook.
On the other hand, Simon warns that as user-friendly as they try to make Ubuntu, it still presents a steep learning curve and a heavily nerdy OS – and not always ideal for the average user, even though Ubuntu has much in common with OS X, both in terms of its Unix underpinnings and cosmetics, than with Windows, so the move is easier for a Mac user.
Another caveat if you use older Mac hardware; Simin says you shouldn’t fool yourself into thinking you can install Linux on your old PowerPC Mac and things will be great because while Ubuntu might be a great OS, it isn’t a great one on the PowerPC. The same goes for other PowerPC Linux distros. That was certainly my impression back in the early oughts when I installed SuSE Linux and then later Yellow Dog Linux on my WallStreet PowerBook, which was the same vintage as Simon’s ThinkPad 600.
Nevertheless, Simon says “My time in the Mac world is numbered. My love of Ubuntu has grown.”
Ubuntu does seem to be making an impression on some in the Mac community. A friend of mine recently phoned to ask if I thought he should install Ubuntu Linux on his Macs – a 1.33 GHz G4 iBook currently running the OS 10.4 Tiger, and a 1.25 GHz Power Mac tower with OS 10.3 Panther installed. He’s not a geek, but had read a feature in the local newspaper extolling the virtues of Ubuntu Linux, and thought it sounded interesting.
So does Ubuntu Linux make any sense for Apple computer users? In my friend’s case, I suggested it wouldn’t. He is an experienced but not especially tech-savvy non power-user, and the geekier aspects of Linux would be of no interest or service to him. The machines he has are powerful and up-to-date enough to run OS X very comfortably and he has a suite of Mac software; so I can perceive no advantage and many potential pitfalls in his switching to Linux.
On the other hand, for users of Intel Mac hardware who aren’t put of by dipping into the command line waters, Linux has the advantage of being free with both community and professional support being developed by a large community.
Consequently, if I had a non-Apple PC, Ubuntu Linux would probably be my first choice of operating systems, but with a Mac, you already have the best operating system in world.
Longtime Mac programmers Tim Bray and Mark Pilgrim stirred the waters of the Mac community a while back by announcing that they were switching from Mac OS X to Ubuntu. However, Bray subsequently expressed some sober second thought in a blog posting in which he observes:
“On balance, the Mac experience is better. But Ubuntu is not that far behind, and it’s catching up. I’m thinking about the endgame.”
He goes on to list a variety of areas where the mac OS is superior.
You can read his full commentary here:
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2006/08/16/Back-to-the-Mac
The current Ubuntu release supports PC (Intel x86), 64-bit PC (AMD64), UltraSPARC T1 (Sun Fire T1000 and T2000) and PowerPC (Apple iBook and Powerbook, G4 and G5 but see Simon Royal’s comments above) architectures.
Ubuntu includes more than 16,000 pieces of software, but the core desktop installation fits on a single CD. Ubuntu covers every standard desktop application from word processing and spreadsheet applications to web server software and programming tools.
A standard Ubuntu install contains a selection of applications, including OpenOffice 2.0 for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, the GIMP for image editing and the Firefox web browser more. You can Play, rip and mix your CDs with the Rhythmbox Media Player or play your videos in Totem.
You can download the Ubuntu DesktopCD and test Ubuntu without changing anything on your computer. If you want to keep Ubuntu permanently, there is an easy installer right on the DesktopCD.
You may request CDs at:
For more information, visit:
Maybe you’ll like it; maybe not. It has a nice user interface, IMHO fresher and more attractive visually than Snow Leopard.
You can find Simon Royal’s thoughts on Linux as an OS X alternative here:
http://lowendmac.com/ed/royal/10sr/ubuntu-vs-mac-os-x.html
[...] Ubuntu a Realistic Alternative to Mac OS X? Updated and Expanded « PowerBook Central Is Ubuntu a Realistic Alternative to Mac OS X? Updated and Expanded « PowerBook Central. I tried Yellow Dog Linux and it worked but kind of slow. It was almost 11 years ago, so I am [...]
I’ve played with Ubuntu, finally saying “forget it” when I couldn’t get the rxtx java library to compile. Also, does anybody know of a decent IDE (I’m not expecting XCode here) for doing development on linux for linux? I’m no fan of Eclipse, but I haven’t seen anything out there?