Originally posted by: soonerproud
No, you don't have to throw out everything you know about OSX. I never said or implied such a thing. I am just saying you are going to have to be willing to adjust to the differences between OSX and Linux.
Yes, actually, you did. You said;
Now you have to ask yourself if you are ready to throw out everything you know about Windows and OSX and start over from scratch.
Linux is not Unix. It may be Unix like in a lot of ways, but Linux is not Unix. There are differences between the two systems because of this, so having Unix knowledge does not make one an automatic expert on Linux.
And I never implied or said that having Unix knowledge would make me an instant expert on Linux, I merely was reminding you of the fact that OS X is Unix.
I don't proselytize any operating system over another. Use what you want to use, just don't accuse some one of proselytizing when you were the one that asked the question if it was ready. I reworded your question to show you may not be ready to make the jump. Linux is certainly ready for some peoples desktops. The question is are you ready to make that jump?
Well, the phrasing of my question is certainly ambiguous, but it is the same way I have seen it phrased in the past, as well as seeing other things like "The Year of the Linux Desktop" and whatnot. I was just phrasing it that way based on what I have seen.
Understandable. However you don't have to install Linux to have free legitimate apps. A large number of apps available for Linux are also available for OSX and Windows. Gimp, Pidgin, Open Office, FireFox and a ton more GPL and Open Source software is available for free.
All of which I know about. The GIMP on OS X is an absolute pain to use due to its use of X11, but most all other X11 apps are annoying as well. Such as Matlab, that was a treat to try and install. Pidgin isn't available for OS X, instead it is Adium, which to my understanding, forked off of Gaim, and then remerge with it to make Pidgin. So, Pidgin's ancestor, Adium, is available on OS X, and I use it, mostly because it has tabbed conversations.
Honestly, if you are avoiding Vista because of some minor hiccups you may encounter then you will be disappointed with Linux. I guarantee that you, as a first time user are going to have major issues that need resolving during the switch. Even the so called easy distros are going to have some major speed bumps along the way until you have gained enough knowledge to overcome them on your own. Be ready to spend hours reading how-to's, googling, searching forums and wikis.
Please do yourself a favor and try your copy of Vista Business first. Spend a few weeks with it and some free software alternatives to proprietary software. I guarantee you will find Vista is not the monster it is made out to be in the press and on the blogosphere.
I had that copy of Vista installed on my MacBook for about 2-3 months before I uninstalled it because I wasn't using it that often, I was not very fond of the changes they made to the OS just because they could, and I needed the 30GB of space I had given it.
I don't mind Vista, the reason I don't want to install it on my desktop is because I already have XP on there, setup the way I need it (mainly meaning I have all the drivers installed, AV, all the updates, and sharing enabled) and my desktop is not the fastest system around. I already have trouble gaming on it as it is, mostly I believe due to the motherboard in the system, rather than anything else. So, any additional overhead that Vista would bring to the table is unwanted.
If I had a new desktop, I would install Vista, it is the future, it is improved (especially in terms of security) and with the exception of those weird changes, and the decreased transfer rates that I have read about, it is all around better.
Don't assume that I don't like Vista because of hype, much like I don't assume that you like Linux because you enjoy naughty giraffe pictures.