On Why Open Source Developers Run Mac OS X

[Sporkman]

On Why Open Source Developers Run Mac OS X

A common trend among many of the best developers is to see them posting screenshots running OS X. Many of the best developers, some my personal ‘developer heroes’, have made the switch to OS X...

http://www.sharms.org/blog/2010/12/on-why-open-source-developers-run-mac-os-x/

[JDShu]

This is a very... odd... argument.

[Sporkman]

This is a very... odd... argument.

I was kind of wondering if it was satirical... His argument is that OSX gives you so little control over the details of the OS operation, that it leaves curious OSS developers free of distractions and therefore more productive...

[tgalati4]

That article is complete crap. But all of those programmers have the coin ($$) to buy macs and you can run a decent X11 environment and remotely log into linux boxen for development. Macs are decent hardware and polished. I have both a powerbook and a thinkpad. I run Ubuntu on the thinkpad and OS X Tiger on the powerbook. I run XDarwin on my powerbook in a window (using Desktop Manager) and I can remotely log into my thinkpad or my poweredge servers and do development work. It's the best of both worlds.

Of course you can set up dual boot or parallels or bootcamp, but you can't beat the uptime of Tiger (160 days on this powerbook, for instance) and the ability to have multiple/complete linux desktops from my various linux boxen instantly available in separate workspaces.

I tried running Ubuntu on my powerbook (G4, 1 GHz) but it was painful and didn't work as well as Tiger. So, I stick with what works and find ways to develop and test code on linux, but physically using the mac powerbook screen and keyboard. Don't get me wrong, the thinkpad (T43p) is a great machine to run linux, but it just doesn't have the smoothness of operation or the polish of Tiger on the powerbook. I've used my powerbook daily since 2005 ($1500 new) and my thinkpad since 2009 ($250 used--2006 vintage).

So, I agree with his observation, but I disagree with his reasoning. Would you rather drive a Bentley or a Cadillac?

[handy]

Interesting read, some of the comments are good too.

As usual there is the "us vs them" crowd who always fail to see that the corporations that manufacture the electronic components (that make all of their computers & peripherals actually work) are environmental vandals, who also exploit people in their manufacturing facilities to bring their parts to the market at the lowest cost to the OEM, or consumer for that matter.

Lets pick a name out of the hat & bittch about them?

Such behaviour would be funny at a superficial level, if it weren't for all of the horrors that such bigoted mentalities cause in the many extant worst case scenarios.

Rock & a hard place really. Greedy corporations/shareholders & ignorant consumers.

[MisterGaribaldi]

I actually "get" the whole avoid-distractions theory.


Rock & a hard place really. Greedy corporations/shareholders & ignorant consumers.

Good, fast, cheap; pick any two.

[GabrielYYZ]

i love the "Apple Mindset", that they pay more for compatibility and they save time not having to deal with problematic hardware.

well, i run kubuntu on a PC i put together myself and it cost me less than what a Mac costs. i'm not even a programmer and i knew how to pick hardware that worked with the operating system i chose to use, so i'm sure a more computer-savvy person wouldn't even have to research as much as i did before purchasing the components.

i'll always think that "iUsers" pay for an idea rather than a product. and that idea, IMHO, is too expensive to desrve it.

Disclaimer: again, i have to state that this is my opinion. i'm not presenting it as fact and i'm not saying apple products don't have merit, it's how i perceive the majority of apple users i've come accross.

an example:

...That’s what gets me about the whole “Macs cost more” argument. $400 additionally is a total drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of time spent on a computer (and the variance of productivity directly relating to how much time you spend fighting your machine). If a good developer spends even 30 less minutes a month fighting with the machine, that extra $400 is almost certainly worth it. People have a tendency to focus on immediate cash outlays and ignore long term costs or opportunity cost of time.

[JDShu]

I was kind of wondering if it was satirical... His argument is that OSX gives you so little control over the details of the OS operation, that it leaves curious OSS developers free of distractions and therefore more productive...

Haha I guess if it was satire it would explain it. I am not nearly as illustrious as the developers mentioned but I think if I started hacking on random projects instead of something I planned to do, it would just be lack of self control.

[asifnaz]

What the PC industry doesn't understand is that consumers prefer convenience. That's why Macs are selling so well, despite their high price. Face it, everything about the "Mac-world" is more convenient: the Apple Stores, the OS, customer service, warranty, battery-life, no viruses, and more (not to mention the Mac App Store... see a trend here?).

Consumers are willing to purchase a higher priced computer (a Mac), because it is more convenient for them to do so and they feel it has more value. For some reason the PC industry can't get over the fact that there is more than just SPECS.

I could give example after example about how convenience always wins, file-sharing, Steam, Amazon, Netflix... you name it.

A product is as valuable as the price someone is willing to pay for it.

[handy]

...
Good, fast, cheap; pick any two.

I think that your word "Good" is certainly a variable with a wide range of values.

[handy]

What the PC industry doesn't understand is that consumers prefer convenience. That's why Macs are selling so well, despite their high price. Face it, everything about the "Mac-world" is more convenient: the Apple Stores, the OS, customer service, warranty, battery-life, no viruses, and more (not to mention the Mac App Store... see a trend here?).

Consumers are willing to purchase a higher priced computer (a Mac), because it is more convenient for them to do so and they feel it has more value. For some reason the PC industry can't get over the fact that there is more than just SPECS.

I could give example after example about how convenience always wins, file-sharing, Steam, Amazon, Netflix... you name it.

A product is as valuable as the price someone is willing to pay for it.

Who cares if someone uses a Mac? Freedom of choice & all that... Nice concept really.

What difference or effect does it make to those that don't use a Mac?

Stoinked if I know where the chips on the shoulders of those that have them initially came from?

If its (a shot in the dark here) because some immature, insecure nerd was trying to make himself somewhat more valuable in the eyes of others because he had a Mac.

Then it is pretty obvious who has the problem there. Its not the hopefully innocent bystander/audience; nor the Apple marketing people, as all they want to do, is what all of the other marketing people want to do in an extremely competitive market.

[DoubleClicker]

I can tell you from my own experience that the article is right on the money. I spend anywhere from 20-80 hours a week tinkering with linux, but when i need to get work done, I do it in mac OSX. Why? because everything in my Mac setup is optimized for productivity, so I sit down and get work done with my system instead of working on my system.


Of course most of my tinkering with linux is experimenting with different ways to make it more productive, and elegant than Mac OSX, so maybe some day people with turn to linux when the want to get work done with something that just works the way they want it.

[keithpeter]

Of course most of my tinkering with linux is experimenting with different ways to make it more productive, and elegant than Mac OSX, so maybe some day people with turn to linux when the want to get work done with something that just works the way they want it.

Hello DoubleClicker and all

Fascinating.

I just switch this old laptop on and start typing. It runs Ubuntu. I used to use Windows on desktops, then Mac OS on an iBook. I'm a teacher not a programmer, and my work is mainly distributed on paper and on the class blog (i.e. OpenOffice -> PDF -> Printer at college and a Web browser).

One thing that hasn't been mentioned: applications. The two programs I miss from 4 years with an iBook are Tinderbox (Eastgate systems) and Preview (PDF reader with image editing functionality). That's it.

[PC_load_letter]

...and Preview (PDF reader with image editing functionality). That's it.

I don't have any experience w/ Preview but I'm guessing that you may just be satisfied w/ Whyteboard (https://launchpad.net/whyteboard) and Xournal (http://xournal.sourceforge.net/).

[JDShu]

I feel like the majority people on this thread have misunderstood the article. Its not that OS X "just works" or that it needs no tinkering. The argument is that on Linux, you get distracted by trying to get random things to work, because you can and presumably, because its fun. In other words, you procrastinate, in a geeky way.

[samh785]

So basically this article is saying that using linux is distracting because open source developers want to play around with the OS instead of their own software. By the same logic the best open source developers wouldn't have web browsers because the internet is also very distracting.

[blueturtl]

I am no developer (yet, anyway), but I see the point immediately.

Here's what happens: I sit in front of my PC to do thing X. Thing X does not work because thing Y is out of order. Thing Y being out of order is caused by thing Z which is caused by something else etc. So instead of doing the thing I wanted to, or even fixing the immediate problem that prevents me from doing what I want, I might be filling a bug report for a practically unrelated software package. It is an extreme example, but it does happen on occasionally.

...and then the wife comes in and asks what I'm doing. :)

[rg4w]

So there were like, what, five names in that article?

What percentage of FOSS developers do you think use OS X?

I'd be surprised if it was much higher than OS X's 5.7% global market share.

[DoubleClicker]

I feel like the majority people on this thread have misunderstood the article. Its not that OS X "just works" or that it needs no tinkering. The argument is that on Linux, you get distracted by trying to get random things to work, because you can and presumably, because its fun. In other words, you procrastinate, in a geeky way.
Well yes and no. On MacOSX I have less temptation to tinker, there isn't a bunch of things I want to tweak, but not having the soure code to everything (well I have more than most people :P) also limits the distraction for me. I've never sat in from of linux and not ended up tweaking something


So basically this article is saying that using linux is distracting because open source developers want to play around with the OS instead of their own software. By the same logic the best open source developers wouldn't have web browsers because the internet is also very distracting.

Exactly, but programmers aren't unique in getting distracted by the web. just about everyone I know wastes countless hours surfing the web.


So there were like, what, five names in that article?

What percentage of FOSS developers do you think use OS X?

I'd be surprised if it was much higher than OS X's 5.7% global market share.
I would guess about 5.7% :lolflag:

[handy]

I think that the guy who's blog OP's link came off wanted to attract more hits to his site.

As when you think about it, the whole idea really is a bit thin in its foundations. Which has nothing to do with which system is better for this or that. It is just a really insubstantial little story.

[keithpeter]

I don't have any experience w/ Preview but I'm guessing that you may just be satisfied w/ Whyteboard (https://launchpad.net/whyteboard) and Xournal (http://xournal.sourceforge.net/).

Thanks PC_load_letter

Preview on Mac OS is much simpler than those interesting applications that look as if they are intended for tablet use.

Preview does (or did) things like allow you to select an area of a pdf file and copy it in pdf format and then save the clip as a small pdf file or as any of a large list of bitmaps. These small clips could then be imported into Pages or TextEdit and would scale smoothly as vector graphics.

[alaukikyo]

I can tell you from my own experience that the article is right on the money. I spend anywhere from 20-80 hours a week tinkering with linux, but when i need to get work done, I do it in mac OSX. Why? because everything in my Mac setup is optimized for productivity, so I sit down and get work done with my system instead of working on my system.



Can you give any specific example of work that you need to do??

because most of yours and other people's posts look like

"The half-bitten apple logo simulates our hormones and unlocks the hidden power of our brain and sets the coordination between the brain and the fingers just right and then that combined with the 'unique' shiny reflection of a mac which dilates your pupils and increases your ability to see and comprehend and concentration up-to 100% gives a mac the ability to do work efficiently and with maximum productivity "

for example you need to progam in java in netbeans.

in mac you go to safari search for netbeans goto the download page download the .dmg then open netbeans from the applications stack and start working.

in ubuntu you open software center search for netbeans install it open netbeans from applications ->programming and start working.

after these instructions the 'work' to write the program will be exactly same no more no less.

[zekopeko]

Can you give any specific example of work that you need to do??

because most of yours and other people's posts look like

"The half-bitten apple logo simulates our hormones and unlocks the hidden power of our brain and sets the coordination between the brain and the fingers just right and then that combined with the 'unique' shiny reflection of a mac which dilates your pupils and increases your ability to see and comprehend and concentration up-to 100% gives a mac the ability to do work efficiently and with maximum productivity "

for example you need to progam in java in netbeans.

in mac you go to safari search for netbeans goto the download page download the .dmg then open netbeans from the applications stack and start working.

in ubuntu you open software center search for netbeans install it open netbeans from applications ->programming and start working.

after these instructions the 'work' to write the program will be exactly same no more no less.

Nice job on bashing Apple and completely missing the point of the article.

[nothingspecial]

I can tell you from my own experience that the article is right on the money. I spend anywhere from 20-80 hours a week tinkering with linux, but when i need to get work done, I do it in mac OSX. Why? because everything in my Mac setup is optimized for productivity, so I sit down and get work done with my system instead of working on my system.


Of course most of my tinkering with linux is experimenting with different ways to make it more productive, and elegant than Mac OSX, so maybe some day people with turn to linux when the want to get work done with something that just works the way they want it.

My brother-in-law is a developer.

He is also the **** who gave me a computer with linux on it.

He fiddles about with linux and enjoys it.

He writes code (does his job that he gets paid for) on his mac.

I don`t post this because I have a specific opinion, just because this is how it is.

[alaukikyo]

Nice job on bashing Apple and completely missing the point of the article.

nice job of trying to put my post away but did you even read what i wrote?any proper reply HOW mac increases productivity in programming( java as an example) rather than just the usual "it's magically unique and you have to experience it and program on a mac to get this magical increase in productivity"??
none of the posts or articles give any mention of HOW mac is more productive in programming??

[zekopeko]

nice job of trying to put my post away but did you even read what i wrote?any proper reply HOW mac increases productivity in programming( java as an example) rather than just the usual "it's magically unique and you have to experience it and program on a mac to get this magical increase in productivity"??
none of the posts or articles give any mention of HOW mac is more productive in programming??

It really must tick you off that a developer is saying Mac's are more productive.

You also might want to read the article before asking questions since your non-question was "magically" answered there.

[ErikNJ]

The amount of available distractions (things to tinker with) and productivity can be inversely proportional.

[alaukikyo]

the argument put forward is the most ridiculous argument ever put.
you can install macports and fink in osx and do the exact /configure && make && make install ,
also SUSE Linux Enterprise SERVER was released in July 2006 and is not even a DESKTOP-ORIENTED distro.
and the ridicculus argument tells me that you should never goto a well-furnished office because then you be distracted and try to jump on the furniture and also try to break it.
so posting your obsolete experience in a server oriented distro just tells me it is FUD.

[Grenage]

I'm not a developer, but I can see where the author is coming from. Last week I sat down to make some minor changed to my XBMC DVD rip system; it should have been a 5 minute job.

4.5 HOURS later, I finished what I was doing and walked away - I didn't even realise that I hadn't done the one thing I set out to do; I got distracted, and ended up writing scripts and udev rules.

That happens to me all the time. If I was on a mac, I'd be so limited in what I could mess around with (I've had only fleeting use), it is far less likely to happen. That's one of the main reasons I use Linux.

[alaukikyo]

4.5 HOURS later, I finished what I was doing and walked away - I didn't even realise that I hadn't done the one thing I set out to do; I got distracted, and ended up writing scripts and udev rules.



this is like saying i went to kitchen to make pastries but i started making vegetables,pizzas.
4.5 hours later i realized i didn't even make a pastry

[Grenage]

this is like saying i went to kitchen to make pastries but i started making vegetables,pizzas.
4.5 hours later i realized i didn't even make a pastry

Yes, that's exactly the case. Assuming, of course, that the reason I started making vegetable pizzas was in some way a stepping stone to making a pastry.

Because one can mould their environment to suit their whims, one generally does.

[corrytonapple]

I think a Mac is a fine choice. As for me working on my website supporting FOSS, I would only use Ubuntu. It is just easier to develop with.

[sydbat]

Not being a developer, I cannot comment on how "distracting" or not coding is on Linux.

I can, from a normal user perspective, tell you that I get distracted using Ubuntu (and other Linuxes...Linuxi?), not only for the fun of tinkering every-now-and-then, but from having a nice stable system that I do not have to mess with to make it work. I find that I visit here too much, facebook a bit, play games, listen to music, edit personal video, etc, instead of getting other, sometimes more important things, done (I work from home).

To me, the premise of the article is flawed because becoming distracted is a choice. It does not matter what OS you are using...if you choose to become distracted, no OS will magically be "better" for work.

[zekopeko]

Not being a developer, I cannot comment on how "distracting" or not coding is on Linux.

I can, from a normal user perspective, tell you that I get distracted using Ubuntu (and other Linuxes...Linuxi?), not only for the fun of tinkering every-now-and-then, but from having a nice stable system that I do not have to mess with to make it work. I find that I visit here too much, facebook a bit, play games, listen to music, edit personal video, etc, instead of getting other, sometimes more important things, done (I work from home).

To me, the premise of the article is flawed because becoming distracted is a choice. It does not matter what OS you are using...if you choose to become distracted, no OS will magically be "better" for work.

I think that his point is that Linux encourages tinkering since you have access to the code. He isn't talking about tweaking the look and feel but access to the underlaying code.

[sydbat]

I think that his point is that Linux encourages tinkering since you have access to the code. He isn't talking about tweaking the look and feel but access to the underlaying code.Which supports my point completely.

[zekopeko]

Which supports my point completely.

Not exactly.

The author of the article is saying that he gets distracted because he has access to the code and the system. You said it yourself, you aren't a developer and he is specifically referring to developers and access to the code. He's point is that he doesn't need/want/can't tweak OSX as much so he does more work and is more productive in turn.

[GabrielYYZ]

Using a Mac will not magically cure people of their ADD...

i guess everyone has his/her moments, but the ability to focus is something that you either have or don't have. on a Mac you could certainly go on the internet to search for information on that library you want to use, but end up in facebook playing farmville instad.

saying that linux is distracting 'cause you can tinker with the code is like saying you could've written that essay but there was beer in the fridge, so you went ahead and got drunk. responsible people learn about priorities early is what i'm trying to say, i guess.

[johntaylor1887]

i love the "Apple Mindset", that they pay more for compatibility and they save time not having to deal with problematic hardware.

well, i run kubuntu on a PC i put together myself and it cost me less than what a Mac costs. i'm not even a programmer and i knew how to pick hardware that worked with the operating system i chose to use, so i'm sure a more computer-savvy person wouldn't even have to research as much as i did before purchasing the components.

i'll always think that "iUsers" pay for an idea rather than a product. and that idea, IMHO, is too expensive to desrve it.

Disclaimer: again, i have to state that this is my opinion. i'm not presenting it as fact and i'm not saying apple products don't have merit, it's how i perceive the majority of apple users i've come accross.

an example:
I kind of agree. If developers are worried about compatibility, then why not just buy a computer with linux preinstalled?

[phrostbyte]

Well to counter.. I am a professional software developer who develops [quazi] open software for a living and I use Linux for development.

[phrostbyte]

nice job of trying to put my post away but did you even read what i wrote?any proper reply HOW mac increases productivity in programming( java as an example) rather than just the usual "it's magically unique and you have to experience it and program on a mac to get this magical increase in productivity"??
none of the posts or articles give any mention of HOW mac is more productive in programming??

It's really nonsense.. Java is basically the same on all the platforms. Java basically lives in it's own plane of existence far away from the host OS. All the major IDEs and tools for Java are all cross platform because of this.

Actually, Mac OS X is probably the worst OS for Java development, because Apple is so slow in issuing updates for their JVM. Lately I hear they have frozen Java in OS X so Java 1.7 is likely not to come out for Mac OS X unless Oracle does something about it.

[johntaylor1887]

But hey, there's always the cool factor of using a Mac. ;)

[witeshark17]

It's really nonsense.. Java is basically the same on all the platforms. Java basically lives in it's own plane of existence far away from the host OS. All the major IDEs and tools for Java are all cross platform because of this.

Actually, Mac OS X is probably the worst OS for Java development, because Apple is so slow in issuing updates for their JVM. Lately I hear they have frozen Java in OS X so Java 1.7 is likely not to come out for Mac OS X unless Oracle does something about it. Interesting point... a bit of a minus to the closed nature of OS X... Ah the trade offs... :popcorn:

[kaldor]

I believe Apple is making OpenJDK the standard as well.

[MisterGaribaldi]

an example:

Well, where I work, the price differential between the cheapest Mac laptop (a MacBook) and the middle-of-the-range of what my company sells is roughly $400.

Let's assume the average person keeps their computer roughly 4 years. It is likely going to cost you about $40-$60 a year for an antivirus program and an annual subscription. So, that's between $160 and $240 of additional cost. This assumes just a basic anti-virus program and not a whole security suite (which doesn't necessarily cost *that* much more if you shop around and buy when a sale is on). Now, I can't really speak to Windows 7, but I know that previously with XP, people were taking their systems to service shops probably an average of twice during the course of owning the system, and likely as not they were dropping about $150-$200 a shot there. Mind you, we're not talking computer techs like much of the community here, but just average folks.

If I'm doing my math right, a Windows system costs about $600 + $160-$240 + $300-$400 for the average person to keep up and running, which means that "$600" Windows system is really more like $1060 - $1240.

Given that people's time is also worth something, all the downtime one has on a computer can also start to rack up, and particularly if you're fighting viruses and malware (which has been quite common on Windows boxes at least up through XP), this can significantly increase the total cost of ownership of a Windows PC.

Now, an arguable trade-off here is that in many cases (and right now I'm thinking of my work's present line-up of laptop offerings) you'll get a laptop with a higher-end CPU than Apple might use, a media reader, 1-2 extra USB ports, and maybe an e-SATA port. And, obviously, there are those who don't go on to require software-related service (and I've no idea how Windows 7 factors in here, btw), so their cost may be significantly less than that. But still, unless you're buying a really, really cheap laptop on sale for, I dunno, $299 or something, I'm not convinced that the financial argument is as absolute as some like to paint it.

Besides, there has to be some value associated with the bundled software Apple pre-loads (that is, iLife), and I've yet to see an equivalent bundle on a Windows box which works quite as smoothly and is quite as integrated.

I'm not trying to make the argument here that Linux users are full of it or anything like that since I am also aware many Linux users will have no use for such software, regardless if it comes from Apple or some other source, and likewise I'm aware this very same community will be quick to point out there are free sources of AV protection and/or a lack of need for that in Linux, which means the otherwise cheaper hardware actually works out to being cheaper.

What I would say is that that is completely valid, but only for those to whom it applies, and I really don't think you're going to see tons of people from the general public or those trying to do business and/or creative work satisfied with Linux or, to at least some degree, satisfied with Windows.

Getting back to the original topic of this thread (that is, why open-source developers run on Mac OS X) I get the point made by the author of the article, but I'm not sure how well that really applies here. Also, as I see it, developers are likely to be "distracted" if you will by porting their software to other platforms, and I see them likely to be "distracted" also by sudden urges to develop commercially for the iOS platform, which actually can be fairly lucrative for those who understand how to write for and leverage it. Does this describe every open-source programmer? Of course not, but then again, neither does the author's article.

[DoubleClicker]

Can you give any specific example of work that you need to do??

because most of yours and other people's posts look like

"The half-bitten apple logo simulates our hormones and unlocks the hidden power of our brain and sets the coordination between the brain and the fingers just right and then that combined with the 'unique' shiny reflection of a mac which dilates your pupils and increases your ability to see and comprehend and concentration up-to 100% gives a mac the ability to do work efficiently and with maximum productivity "

for example you need to progam in java in netbeans.

in mac you go to safari search for netbeans goto the download page download the .dmg then open netbeans from the applications stack and start working.

in ubuntu you open software center search for netbeans install it open netbeans from applications ->programming and start working.

after these instructions the 'work' to write the program will be exactly same no more no less.

You miss my point, I't has nothing to do with a mac being better for programming, and no my mac does nothing to increase my abilities.

On a Mac there is really only 1 development environment thats worth using for me, and that is XCode. When I use XCode there isn't that much I can do to make XCode better, more efficient or more how I want to make it. Basically it's use it as it is, or don't use it at all. Fortunately for me XCode works pretty much the way I want, and I don't think much about how to make it better. Mac OS X has only one theme, which I happen to find rather pleasant, and can easily live with, so I don't spend hours playing around with different themes, trying to come up with the "perfect theme". On Mac OSX almost every program follows the same user interface guidelines, so I don't spend much time, trying to get things to work more consistently.



Using a Mac will not magically cure people of their ADD...

i guess everyone has his/her moments, but the ability to focus is something that you either have or don't have. on a Mac you could certainly go on the internet to search for information on that library you want to use, but end up in facebook playing farmville instad.

saying that linux is distracting 'cause you can tinker with the code is like saying you could've written that essay but there was beer in the fridge, so you went ahead and got drunk. responsible people learn about priorities early is what i'm trying to say, i guess.

No it's more like saying I could have just written my essay with the old ballpoint pen I found, but there were all of these really cool inks, and pen parts, that I could use to make a make a really excellent multicolor turbo rollerball pen. I got so into making that perfect pen, that I used up all my time making the pen, and didn't get my essay done. If I went to the library, they only have simple single color rollerball pens, but I would have actually gotten my essay done instead of trying to get the perfect pen to write it with.

[GabrielYYZ]

No it's more like saying I could have just written my essay with the old ballpoint pen I found, but there were all of these really cool inks, and pen parts, that I could use to make a make a really excellent multicolor turbo rollerball pen. I got so into making that perfect pen, that I used up all my time making the pen, and didn't get my essay done. If I went to the library, they only have simple single color rollerball pens, but I would have actually gotten my essay done instead of trying to get the perfect pen to write it with.

like i said, priorities and distractions and a Mac is not going to cure ADD. a person that can get their priorities in order doesn't need to give away the really cool inks and pen parts just so that they can do what they have to do.

it just seems like "if i don't get an OS that forces me to do just one thing, i'm not going to focus on what's important" i'm sorry, i just think it's an awful argument

[aysiu]

If developers are worried about compatibility, then why not just buy a computer with linux preinstalled? The last two computers I bought were Linux preinstalled, and the compatibility is iffy at best. I have no idea what regressions will happen with each new Ubuntu release. In fact, my latests Ubuntu-preinstalled netbook has had a wireless bug with Ubuntu for the past five releases that still hasn't been fixed.

If you want guaranteed hardware compatibility, Mac OS X on a Mac is the way to go.

[DoubleClicker]

like i said, priorities and distractions and a Mac is not going to cure ADD. a person that can get their priorities in order doesn't need to give away the really cool inks and pen parts just so that they can do what they have to do.

it just seems like "if i don't get an OS that forces me to do just one thing, i'm not going to focus on what's important" i'm sorry, i just think it's an awful argument

It's not an argument at all, it's just a statement of fact. I'm not saying anyone SHOULD by a mac, or that it will make YOU more productive, I'm saying it makes ME more productive. Why does that bother you so much?