Ironic that you should post this now. I’ve been working on a Linux advocacy presentation for a few days now--to be given to a crowd of college students.
I’d like to read it if you feel inclined to share. I have a much better chance of getting Linux installed at my school. Not sure why you say “ironic” though.
I’d like to read it if you feel inclined to share. I have a much better chance of getting Linux installed at my school.
I might be able to get a recording of it (I’ll certainly have a voice recording from my final practice session), but if not I’d be happy to post my slides and notes somewhere once I’m done. This isn’t geared towards IT folks, though.
Not sure why you say “ironic” though.
You make comments about OS X being a good OS for students, and I respond with Linux advocacy.
Well, you know I’d advocate for Linux too of I knew more about it from actual use. I’d like to have a mix of computers at our school. Right now our tech dept has a policy of not supporting anything other than Windows desktops. I don’t get it really since Novell is the network OS.
The guy, namely me, needs to expand on the post. It isn’t an argument though.
Sorry, I was reading/typing this in a hurry and I didn’t notice that you wrote it. If you want discussion, I’ll put out some basic thoughts:
I think there are only two types of people who the Mac OS would certainly not be best for: avid gamers, and people who have already given the Mac OS a fair chance and didn’t like it (this doesn’t include people who used an LC II once in middle school and called it gay). At this point in time, the Mac OS does appear to be more hassle-free, and the hardware that comes with it is very solid. I could throw out all sorts of opinions on user interface and design quality, but for people who could care less about those kinds of things, forgoing the whole process of installing antivirus and anti-spyware, and constantly checking for patches and updates, can be avoided. People say the virus/spyware argument is unfair because a properly maintained Windows installation won’t get them, but there is something involved in keeping a Windows installation “properly maintained.”
Unless you play high end games then there’s no reason for you to be limited to a PC. After all, if you buy a Mac you can then buy Windows as well and run both of them on one machine. As for which is better, well it’s purely down to personal preference. The general “Macs Suck!!!!” attitude is starting to fade, giving way to general curiosity. I saw a forum post the other day about a guy asking if you still had to manually assign memory on the Mac, so it’s obvious that some people’s views of the Mac are still based on classic. Hopefully the get a mac campaign will change this. The same goes for Linux. People still think that it’s very hard to use and just for geeks, but ubuntu is showing that you can have a very user friendly linux OS (a lot of stats are showing that much of the growth in linux is actually growth in ubuntu).
Yep. Though Ubuntu certainly has it’s shortcomings (Darn thing insists on a 75Hz refresh rate, for example). But any increased awareness is a good thing. Especially because people are likely to learn about other distros as well, and perhaps try a few.
As for Macs, well…
It’s the hardware for me. For example, I find having three USB ports on the iMac a tad substandard. It’s not critical, but disappointing. One port goes to the keyboard, one to the printer. The mouse can be attached to the keyboard. So, I have one or two free USB ports on the machine. My 4-year-old Dell has more, plus printer and keyboard/mouse don’t eat up on USB connectivity.
It’s small things like that which make me hesistate. Also, I like dabbling with Linux, and, as TheLetterK has said, only a masochist would buy an ATI card for a Linux box.
The 3 USB ports is even more limiting when you use a non Apple keyboard and lose the two USB ports on that (why they’re 1.1 though I don’t know). I have my keyboard and mouse both taking up a port each leaving one port free for my iPod, camera or scanner. Luckily I don’t use my camera or scanner that often. Still, an extra port or two wouldn’t go amiss (I mean, the Mac Mini has 4, which just sounds silly when the iMac only has 3)
Yep. Though Ubuntu certainly has it’s shortcomings (Darn thing insists on a 75Hz refresh rate, for example). But any increased awareness is a good thing. Especially because people are likely to learn about other distros as well, and perhaps try a few.
Sounds like you don’t have the correct monitor settings in xorg.conf. Find out the proper horizontal sync and vertical referesh for your monitor (look around in the manual that came with it, or poke around online), then change the corresponding settings in xorg.conf.
As for Macs, well…
It’s the hardware for me. For example, I find having three USB ports on the iMac a tad substandard. It’s not critical, but disappointing. One port goes to the keyboard, one to the printer. The mouse can be attached to the keyboard. So, I have one or two free USB ports on the machine. My 4-year-old Dell has more, plus printer and keyboard/mouse don’t eat up on USB connectivity.
I think Apple might be doing that to encourage sales of their wireless keyboard and mouse.
It’s small things like that which make me hesistate. Also, I like dabbling with Linux, and, as TheLetterK has said, only a masochist would buy an ATI card for a Linux box.
And these days it really *is* just ATI. Nvidia, VIA, Matrox, Intel, etc. All of them have substantially better Linux drivers than ATI does.
Sounds like you don’t have the correct monitor settings in xorg.conf. Find out the proper horizontal sync and vertical referesh for your monitor (look around in the manual that came with it, or poke around online), then change the corresponding settings in xorg.conf.
And that there is why Linux still has a little way to go
Sounds like you don’t have the correct monitor settings in xorg.conf. Find out the proper horizontal sync and vertical referesh for your monitor (look around in the manual that came with it, or poke around online), then change the corresponding settings in xorg.conf.
And that there is why Linux still has a little way to go
This has been a long-running problem, and it has gotten much better lately. My setup, for example, works perfectly fine OOTB (this is a recent improvement). Neither do I understand why people consider editing a text file to be difficult or unrefined.
Of course, even for people who are afraid of editing text files, there are solutions. SuSE, for example, has a graphical frontend for just about everything.
Neither do I understand why people consider editing a text file to be difficult or unrefined.
Because people aren’t used to having to edit a text file to change something. They prefer buttons, checkboxes and drop down lists to editing text files, they’re just easier to use
The 3 USB ports is even more limiting when you use a non Apple keyboard and lose the two USB ports on that (why they’re 1.1 though I don’t know). I have my keyboard and mouse both taking up a port each leaving one port free for my iPod, camera or scanner. Luckily I don’t use my camera or scanner that often. Still, an extra port or two wouldn’t go amiss (I mean, the Mac Mini has 4, which just sounds silly when the iMac only has 3)
A USB hub works well for me. I actually prefer that because it’s on my desk and more accessible. A Dell CPU box is always on the floor when I use them, not on a desk. Same goes with the G5. The back of any computer is less convenient for me.
So I usually plug in permanent things like a keyboard in the back and leave it alone and then have a hub (for FireWire too) accessible to me for other things.
I use a hub for laptops too because all I have to do is plug in the one hub USB cable instead of several every time I come/go.
I certainly wouldn’t dismiss any Windows PC or Mac PC because of a lack of USB or FireWire ports, but different strokes for different folks.
This is why I avoid iMacs and Mac Minis. I got tired of only having two USB ports on my Power Mac G4, so I went to the store and bought a 4-port PCI card for under $30. Apple forgot how useful that ability is a long time ago. USB hubs are a cheap, if less elegant solution for those deprived of PCI slots by Steve Jobs’ artistic vision.
In all fairness, I’d rather have the form factor of the iMac over a PCI slot. I’ve been looking at maybe getting one of these things for Mac Mini’s which are like USB & Firewire hubs + hard disk.
Neither do I understand why people consider editing a text file to be difficult or unrefined.
Because people aren’t used to having to edit a text file to change something. They prefer buttons, checkboxes and drop down lists to editing text files, they’re just easier to use
I’ve seen some very well documented text config files--you can write out rather lengthy explanations, and provide examples with a text config file. It’s also a lot easier to show someone how to correct a text file than it is to instruct them in how to change a setting through a GUI. Among other things, you can simply post the exact text needed. Fixing problems becomes as easy as copying and pasting a few lines of text.
Telling someone to go to system preferences, displays and then choose a different refresh rate from a drop down menu is far easier than telling them to locate a file, find the line to change, change it to the correct value and then save it. One of the big problems linux users have is that they think “oh, editing this setting in a text file is trivial” when most linux users are experienced computer users. They are not going to get anywhere with migrating people from windows until they realise that people are used to nice, clear, well laid out UIs for changing settings. Too many experienced computer users make assumptions as to the level of understanding of most people being relatively high, I sometimes do it myself when explaining things to people.
Telling someone to go to system preferences, displays and then choose a different refresh rate from a drop down menu is far easier than telling them to locate a file, find the line to change, change it to the correct value and then save it.
You’re looking at this the wrong way--it’s a lot easier to simply post the correct xorg.conf file, and have the user copy it than it is to explain the process. Especially if we’re talking about something more complicated than changing refresh rates.
One of the big problems linux users have is that they think “oh, editing this setting in a text file is trivial” when most linux users are experienced computer users.
I consider it easier to work with than a GUI.
They are not going to get anywhere with migrating people from windows until they realise that people are used to nice, clear, well laid out UIs for changing settings.
Most Linux users don’t really care about getting people to switch. Especially if it means changing the good things about the platform to gain the users.
