Re: Experience of Debian in a Macbook pro
Dan <ganchya@gmail.com> writes:
> Lee: Why did yo say that their MacOS feels like having traveled back
> in time about 20 years?
Because it feels like that ... About 20 years ago, I had an Atari ST.
The GUI MacOS presents you with looks and feels very similar to that.
What you can do is also very limited, which reminds me of how limited
the Atari was back then, compared to nowadays computers. Just look at
what you have available when you install KDE or gnome and compare that
to the crap you got when you've installed MacOS. Even the keyboard the
Mac comes with is missing some keys, and some characters like the pipe
sign are missing. Try to press Ctrl on that keyboard, that key is
missing altogether. Try to press the right or middle mouse button on
the mouse the Mac comes with: It has only one button. Try to change the
size of the fonts used in menus: It's not possible. Try to get virtual
desktops: It's possible but useless because you can't make it so that
you can just move the mouse pointer over the edge of the screen to get
to the adjacent desktop, which is *must have* feature for any window
manager I'm using. Try to quit a program: The window seems to be
closed, yet the program is apparently still running, and you end up
never to actually quit a program until you turn off the computer, which
I usually don't do. Try to minimize a window and then to get it back: I
couldn't figure out how to do that. I could go on like this for a
while. To me, it sucks, and it's just 20 years back.
> I still have to think about it. I love their design and build quality.
> But I do not like that their hardware is so closed.
Isn't that an issue with any laptop? Try to install a TV card or a
couple of harddisks --- it's out of the question to save data to only
one single disk, and they use 2.5" disks which weren't available in
sizes of at least 2TB each last time I checked. Try to install a fast
graphics card, a good sound card, or try to install more memory ...
After a while, you need to buy a new, expensive battery and may find
that they aren't available anymore after two or three years. They don't
have good keyboards, many don't even have a number pad.
So what's the point in getting a laptop? I can see that it's useful
when you actually do carry it around. When you do that, they don't last
long because they aren't built to be mobile devices. They aren't even
up to the temperature requirements, and from what people have been
telling me, they are way too easy to break. Add to that the problem
that they can be easily stolen, which requires you to take precautions
against a thief accessing your data. Consider that they are usually
slower than non-laptops because the batteries are supposed to last a
while.
Then look at the prices, if they matter to you :) Unless you really do
need a laptop, don't buy one. If I would need one, I'd get a cheap one
sufficient to use as a remote terminal to my computer at home.
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