[CS-FSLUG] Macs replace university's Linux desktops

Sat May 28 18:53:56 CDT 2005

Just to clarify, because I forgot to complete my line of thought.

Tm, you should return to GNU/Linux, because there has been MUCH progress 
in this time. KDE is no longer what it was in the 3.1 days; Slackware 
is rock-solid, it's fast and snappy on my 5 yr. old cheapo notebook, 
and recognizes pretty much anything I throw at it ---and this is 
supposedly a tinkerer's system. I'd think that while some things 
definitely cannot reach the breadth and quality of OS X, it has come a 
long way, it is a perfectly good system, and pretty usable. This, and 
the fact that I can use it in freedom, means a lot to me. To return to 
a proprietary solution is something sincerely not worth it today.

Blessings,

Eduardo

On Saturday 28 May 2005 22:47, Eduardo Sanchez wrote:
> Honestly, Tim, you should return to GNU/Linux... though I'd most
> definitely be with you when you say that you would run it on Apple
> hardware.
>
> Blessings,
>
>
> Eduardo
>
> On Saturday 28 May 2005 16:27, Timothy Butler wrote:
> > On May 28, 2005, at 12:28 AM, 國產 Wei-Yee Chan (Made in Chinar)
> >
> > wrote:
> > > No doubt that it's $199 for the family pack, but I suppose not
> > > many families own more than 1 computer.
> >
> >      More than you'd guess. I believe two system families have
> > become the norm in the U.S., if I recall recent statistics.
> >
> > > Think of all the expensive hardware
> > > that Apple sell and you'll see why they're willing to offer the
> > > family pack to U for "a steal".
> >
> >      Apple's hardware really isn't expensive. If you compare a Mac
> > mini to a low end PC, it is just a bit more. If you compare a
> > PowerBook to a Pro-sumer or Business line laptop from the leading
> > PC manufacturers, again, you find it is about the same, perhaps
> > even cheaper. This is no small feat, for you are talking about a
> > RISC architecture (which, as you know is more expensive) loaded
> > with features that usually do not come standard. When NASA did
> > benchmarking of the PowerPC G5 vs. Intel chips, they did not even
> > bother to compare functions that could use the PowerPC's AltiVec
> > ("Velocity Engine") extensions, because the 128-bit AltiVec
> > subprocessor just is so much faster it wasn't even worth trying to
> > make the x86 do the job.
> >
> >      Apple is not going to compete with white box manufacturers,
> > but they are fairly competitive with high quality OEMs. Lots of
> > people like running GNU/Linux on Macs because Apple makes having a
> > RISC workstation affordable. You also have to consider that
> > AppleCare is generally ranked best in service and support by
> > publications, so part of the cost is going toward that too; not to
> > mention that Apple does much of its own R&D.
> >
> > > The package might suit U, but not the masses.
> > > I believe that most Mac users purchase the single user license,
> > > which costs $129.  That's like almost double the price of an OEM
> > > Windows XP Home edition.  And as U have said, unlike Windows, U
> > > don't get an upgrade discount.
> >
> >      Well, the masses don't buy OEM copies beyond the one included
> > with their computer. So, $129 for Tiger (less at Amazon) is roughly
> > comparable with $99 for XP Home edition. And, when you consider
> > that Tiger has all of the extras included in XP Pro edition, you
> > are really saving $70 for the full OS X over the upgrade XP Pro.
> >
> > > I agree that the Mac OSX is a "different" operating system due to
> > > all the re-engineering work.  To each his own - I guess it all
> > > boils down to
> > > whether you'd wanna spend heaps of time  building your own OS or
> > > buy it
> > > off the shelf.  OS X is a great OS, but I prefer Linux over it 
> > > cos Linux is free.  Feel free to call me a cheapskate if U want
> > > to.
> > >
> > > :-)
> >
> >      I like the freeness of GNU/Linux too, although I especially
> > prefer the Freeness. My problem is I found I don't have "heaps of
> > time" as you put it. So, I switched to Macs, thereby permitting me
> > to continue to enjoy *nixy goodness without dedicating as much time
> > to the proposition. :-) Someday, I may return to GNU/Linux as my
> > primary system... although I may just run it on a PowerPC rather
> > than an x86 (presently, I continue to run Linux on x86's).
> >
> >      -Tim
> >
> > ---
> > Timothy R. Butler | "Turning and turning in the widening gyre
> > tbutler at ofb.biz   |  The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
> > timothybutler.us  |  Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
> > uninet.info       |  Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world..."
> >                                                  -- W. B. Yeats
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > ChristianSource FSLUG mailing list
> > Christiansource at ofb.biz
> > http://cs.uninetsolutions.com

-- 
Prof. Eduardo Sanchez
Asuncion, Paraguay, South America
--------------------------------------------------------------
 After a momentary silence spake
 Some Vessel of a more ungainly Make;
   "They sneer at me for leaning all awry:
 What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?"

	-- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

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