FAO: Linux users and FAO: Mac lovers

[Barry Scott]

OK, 2 questions, with a few more little sub-questions!

1/

Right, my sister has an old lapper and she's not computer illiterate, she just throws more shit at a pc than anyone i've ever known. She'll download and install anything.

I want to stick her on Linux because when i've seen it, it works, it's quick and i know it to be secure. She also can't execute any spyware apps and can still use her beloved Limewire.

So which linux distro? I've used Ubuntu (to a beginner degree) and have been told Mandriva's good. Should i go with one of these or is there another i should consider?

Spec of Laptop: 2ghz Celeron 256 DDR ram.


2/

I'm fucked off with Windows and am nearing the point of upgrade and have decided i will either move to Linux or onto a Mac, probably a Mac.

What i want to know is how smooth a transition is the conversion to Apple from PC? Will i be able to optimise the system myself and fiddle and what not (does it even need it?!) with relative ease after a period?

Peace and loving. Oh, and thanks.

[flammableBen]

1) I think ubuntu is generally the easy to install, easy to use, old windows user standard now. That's what everybody I know who does such things go with, and what I've played with.

2) Fuck knows. Don't do it. Go oldskool with GEM or something.

[Sippo]

Get a mac, then install XP and have dual OS.

[Barry Scott]

1) I think ubuntu is generally the easy to install, easy to use, old windows user standard now. That's what everybody I know who does such things go with, and what I've played with.

2) Fuck knows. Don't do it. Go oldskool with GEM or something.

I know someone who used to go on about Risc all the time, i know what he'd say. That'd be to your taste no doubt.

Get a mac, then install XP and have dual OS.

That's the plan as i have a few .Net apps that i need. I didn't know you could even do that until a friend bought a Mac and showed off Windows on it. Which, surprisingly, seemed ridiculously fast.

[Barry Scott]

I'd never heard of GEM before, i just read up about it. It's quite cool how the company's founder was out of the office on the day IBM wanted to use their OS. They next approached M$...

http://www.pcmech.com/article/gem-os-the-other-windows/

[Sippo]

Its ok, slow to start then picks up.

Some interesting stuff at http://www.hackint0sh.org/ even installing MAC OS on a 4 gb RAM dual core PC which was built for windows.

[strooood]

macs are quality.

I got one in September and could honestly say i will never go back.

[Barry Scott]

Hello friendly tefers, i'm buying a Mac this week and am in a state of disillusionment about a few things.

I'm of the understanding the best way to run Windose on a Mac, for those times of need, is to use VMware Fusion. Is this correct? Will it act as normal, in that i can load in a decent av and run .Net apps?

I'm worried about pirated software and even OS's, a i'm likely to buy second hand, is this worth worrying about?

I already have a copy of Adobe Creative Suite for the Mac, and a crack. Is running cracked software of a Mac anymore risky than on a PC?

Do i need to worry about buying Anti Virus, Anti Malware, Firewalls, Cleaning Apps, Zip apps and other crap that is pretty much compulsory for windose?

Thanks.

[sonicyouth]

my mac came with boot camp which allows you to install windows on a mac without any problems

i dual boot between os x and xp quite often, it's useful and quick as fuck too

[jonny72]

I'm of the understanding the best way to run Windose on a Mac, for those times of need, is to use VMware Fusion. Is this correct? Will it act as normal, in that i can load in a decent av and run .Net apps?

I already have a copy of Adobe Creative Suite for the Mac, and a crack. Is running cracked software of a Mac anymore risky than on a PC?

Do i need to worry about buying Anti Virus, Anti Malware, Firewalls, Cleaning Apps, Zip apps and other crap that is pretty much compulsory for windose?

I'd start by using Boot Camp (part of Mac OS) to add a Windows partition which you can then boot in to. When you boot in to it Windows is running natively, so its just like a Windows laptop (Apple supply all the drivers to ensure everything works properly). If you want to run Windows and Mac apps side by side then you'll need to use VMWare or Parallels. I've got the latter and that picks up on and uses the Boot Camp partition (not sure if VMWare can do this). This gives you the best of both worlds.

No problems with running cracked apps. Not always necessary though, Apple don't protect many of their apps anymore - even the ££££ Logic Studio has no protection on it to speak of. Only problem is its harder to find cracked apps for the Mac.

I have zero security apps running on my Mac and have had zero problems. It scares the shit out of you (going bare back) to begin with but it works. They are always talking about Mac's being attacked but it ain't happened yet.

Zip support is built in. Whilst you don't have to worry much about maintenance I'd recommend Onyx (its free). No need to do any optimisation, defrags or any of that other shit you have to put do with Windows.

I'd give Time Machine a go for backups. Just plug a nice big external drive in and it does it all for you.

The biggest problem I had when I switched was getting used to everything working as you'd expect it to and simple tasks not requiring some complex solution.

[Barry Scott]

my mac came with boot camp which allows you to install windows on a mac without any problems

i dual boot between os x and xp quite often, it's useful and quick as fuck too

Oh cool, I think my mate just liked showing off by running it within Mac's OS if you know what i mean. I'm glad i won't HAVE to buy VMware, but am tempted buy it purely because i'm worried i'll default to Windows too often with a dual boot.

I'd start by using Boot Camp (part of Mac OS) to add a Windows partition which you can then boot in to. When you boot in to it Windows is running natively, so its just like a Windows laptop (Apple supply all the drivers to ensure everything works properly). If you want to run Windows and Mac apps side by side then you'll need to use VMWare or Parallels. I've got the latter and that picks up on and uses the Boot Camp partition (not sure if VMWare can do this). This gives you the best of both worlds.

No problems with running cracked apps. Not always necessary though, Apple don't protect many of their apps anymore - even the ££££ Logic Studio has no protection on it to speak of. Only problem is its harder to find cracked apps for the Mac.

I have zero security apps running on my Mac and have had zero problems. It scares the shit out of you (going bare back) to begin with but it works. They are always talking about Mac's being attacked but it ain't happened yet.

Zip support is built in. Whilst you don't have to worry much about maintenance I'd recommend Onyx (its free). No need to do any optimisation, defrags or any of that other shit you have to put do with Windows.

I'd give Time Machine a go for backups. Just plug a nice big external drive in and it does it all for you.

The biggest problem I had when I switched was getting used to everything working as you'd expect it to and simple tasks not requiring some complex solution.

Thanks, a lot of that's a relief. I've been looking at various softwares, just to get a feel for everything for when i take the plunge, and i can generally find software for the most important things like Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice.

I'm quite looking forward to the simplicity thing. Should be a blessed relief!

I'm kinda having second thoughts now though, as i've discovered i can upgrade my current beloved Laptop to maximum for about £130, which is cheaper than a Mac (obviously! ). Although i'd still need a new battery and power supply ideally. Thinking about taking the plunge and buying a new laptop is starting to become very hard.

[china red]

If you upgrade your existing laptop you will only regret it in a few months!  I took the plunge and bought a MacBook about a month ago.  It took about two weeks to get used to the workings and using the command key but it simply is so simple to use. 

[Sussex]

macs are quality.

I got one in September and could honestly say i will never go back.

This is all you need to know.

Listen to the darkie, beware the pc brigade.

[Melksham Red]

The laptop may have too little ram to cope with newer versions of any of the big well known distros. You may want to try something with a lighter desktop such as XFCE or LXDE. Therefore i'd suggest something like Puppylinux, Zenwalk or Dreamlinux. All have good hardware detection and are fairly easy to setup. Go to www.distrowatch.com and have a nose around for something that looks suitable.

[luckyluke699]

Hello,

1) For the laptop, I'd use Ubuntu, or else install XUbuntu (Ubuntu using XFCE) whichever works best. It might be a good idea to install "Ubuntu-restricted-extras" in the synaptic package manager though as this installs all the things your friend will be hassling to do (e.g. flash so youtube works fine etc)


2) Don't go MAC, use Linux Mint! 

It's based on Ubuntu (it basically IS Ubuntu and uses all the same repositories) but with some additional extras and 90% of things a newbie (like me) would like to see installed (e.g. to ensure youtube, and realplayer for STFC radio work) straight out the box without any extra work!

"Linux Mint 7 'Gloria' - KDE Community Edition" is my personal favourite! It's based on Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE interface) meaning it is visually very pretty like a MAC and 'just works'. Something which I personally appreciate

Give it a whirl, it won't cost you anything and won't change any data on your pc unless you install it. Download the ISO image from the below link, burn it to a DVD, and pop it in your pc to try a "live" trial without installing anything on your pc... then if you like it, install away!

DVD image, download and burn  --> http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=42

A screenshot (in case you're interested) of the basic user interface is here -->
http://gabuntu.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/linux-mint-7-kde-edition-arrives-2.jpg

Cheers
Luke