Sell it to me, boys.

[Tahakki]

Right, chaps, I had a go with my friend's Macbook and loved it. You all use Ubuntu on one of these bad boys, and I love Ubuntu too - so I've a couple of questions:

1. Is a Macbook worth the money if I didn't use OSX?
2. Why is Ubuntu better than OSX?
3. What are the major software equivalents to all the stuff that comes with OSX?

Cheers.

[ShadowsOfSilver]

1. No, It's not.

2. OSX is better, also more support for OSX.

3. OSX uses different executable files than Linux, Windows, etc.


Here's what I say:


If you get one, Dual-boot ubuntu, to keep OSX

[Shpongle]

linux offers you a freedom that windows and osx cant . no os is without bugs however most bugs are fixed quicker in linux based distros than any other. i cant speak much on osx but i can tell you , free and open source software is great , i have software that can do loads and I find it has better functionality than its proprietary counterparts in most cases,

I will say dont base your decision on looks sure osx looks nice but
if thats the only reason your buying it id think again . Macs are generally over priced and you could get a far better machine for the same price. linux offers you countless choices and can be customized to your hearts content. there is a little learning curve , but such is the case with all new things in life. anyway i could go on for hours , im sure more people will add more

We have a good community here and Kookies :-p
Peace

[Tahakki]

I'm not hugely fussed on OSX itself, but the laptops are so well-designed, and I haven't seen anything else that even comes close.

[Tu1J4kXk8NUhMz]

Right, chaps, I had a go with my friend's Macbook and loved it. You all use Ubuntu on one of these bad boys, and I love Ubuntu too - so I've a couple of questions:

1. Is a Macbook worth the money if I didn't use OSX?
2. Why is Ubuntu better than OSX?
3. What are the major software equivalents to all the stuff that comes with OSX?

Cheers.

1. I'd agree with nope. OS X is designed to work best with Mac Hardware, and vice versa. Macs work so well for this very reason. I've heard of people using Macs solely for Ubuntu, but I wouldn't suggest it.

2. It's not. You'd be better off asking why a Gibson is better than a Fender. In other words, you'll find "fanboys/girls" (I hate that word, but I think it fits here) on either side but ultimately they both do they're job just as well. They're just built differently.

To be more specific (and less metaphoric), OS X is built to be efficient and consumer-friendly, while Ubuntu is designed to be customizable and flexible.

3. Hmmm...
Mail and Safari = Thunderbird and Firefox
Photoshop = GIMP
iTunes = Amarok
QuickTime = VLC

It should be noted that to narrow things down this much is probably a sin (sorry!). Because Ubuntu is open source, there are tons of equivalent software options for each OS X program. You just need to find which will suit you and your needs best.

BOTTOM LINE: The one thing that Ubuntu has that OS X has yet to implement is a community. For every question you have about Ubuntu, there are plenty of people on these forums and others willing and ready to help you out. Hell, I've seen situations where one person is looking for a piece of software to do something, and another person simply creates it for them (not common mind you)!

[jamesey]

1. I'd agree with nope. OS X is designed to work best with Mac Hardware, and vice versa. Macs work so well for this very reason. I've heard of people using Macs solely for Ubuntu, but I wouldn't suggest it.

I needed an all-in-one and the iMac met my needs perfectly. I knew I was going to run Ubuntu on it from day 1. That said, I wouldnt recommend anyone getting a mac just to run Ubuntu.

edit: I cant stand OSX.

[KdotJ]

2. OSX is better, also more support for OSX.

Not too sure I agree lol. I would say its down to opinion to be honest, it all depends what works for you. I personally am not a massive fan of OSX, but thats just me. And personally, i dont think you can match the support available for linux, the community is fantastic.

But like others have said, its not worth buying the mac book just for ubuntu

[c0nfusedami]

I use both OSX and Ubuntu not on the same machine but I feel that they each have there own advantages. I use my imac for recording and as my main computer. I use my Ubuntu computer for my networking and web hosting. I would say if you like both than dual boot but if your buying a computer just for Ubuntu I would go with a pc.

[Sloth]

I have mine setup dual boot, but the Mac partition is really only there for recovery purposes. In the last few months, I've maybe spent 20 minutes in OSX.

Obviously, OSX doesn't float my boat. I'm mostly writing software and yeah, I could do that in OSX, but I tried that for a while and for my purposes, most packages were either back level or poorly integrated and it just wasn't worth the pain.

And yeah, I like Linux better, actually.

I probably would buy a MacBook just to run Linux. I may buy an iMac just to do so. The hardware is very, very nice, if overpriced.

[joshua.rh]

1. Is a Macbook worth the money if I didn't use OSX?
I'd say that's opinion, you can get the same stuff for waay cheaper (especially if you're going with a desktop). That being said, if I could find the money and a good enough excuse, I'd get a macbook. The only other thing I'd recommend you look into is the warranty, that's the greatest feature of my dell. I've been through a couple of motherboards in my laptop, and they've swapped em out every time without a fuss.

2. Why is Ubuntu better than OSX?
Ubuntu is better than OSX because it does what you need it to do better than OSX does. If OSX does what you need it to do better, then OSX is better.

3. What are the major software equivalents to all the stuff that comes with OSX?
The cool thing about good software is the people that make it work hard to do so. Because of this, you can find many of the same things on OSX as you would ubuntu. On OSX I use Adium (which is like pidgin), VLC (which is available for ubuntu), firefox (which is available for ubuntu), Mail (which comes with OSX, similar to thunderbird), Colloquy (an IRC client for OSX).

The biggest drawback as far as software goes for OSX (to me) is the lack of repositories. I know there are things like macports, but they're not the same as having it built in.

On the other hand, it's nice to have big companies writing software for the OS you use, things like photoshop and flash are cool to use on OSX.

Finally, something I really like about the software on OSX: they don't make their own copy of everything. OSX is shipped with things like apache, php, and mysql (dunno about php). They seem to not feel the need to force their software down everyones throats when there already exists both solid and free software available.

Cheers,

Josh