Posts in category osx

Why OSX is not for me

    1. The Bad
      1. No per-desktop tab-cycle
      2. Terminals are not "Single-use"
      3. Keyboard Shortcuts
      4. Shareware
      5. Hardware Quality
    2. The Good
      1. Hardware Design Touches
      2. True Transparency
      3. Dashboard
    3. The Nondescript
      1. Expose

So I was provided with a 15" MacBook Pro when I started my new job and have been using the machine for four weeks now.

Here is why I've decided to trade the MacBook in for a Thinkpad running Linux and Openbox, along with some of the things I actually did like (though not enough ;)). Given the amount of time invested I don't think I'm simply making an arbitrary decision.

The Bad

No per-desktop tab-cycle

I started off by installing and configuring Virtue Desktops, figuring it would be less jarring for me given my preceding environment. The problem for me is that all applications are still in the tab-cycle, no matter what desktop you're on.

Under Openbox, if you haven't guessed by now, each desktop has its own distinct tab-cycle, making each desktop much more its own environment. For example, I typically use desktop 3 for E-Mail. I open up a persistent terminal to run Mutt, and applications for viewing attachments (Acrobat, Open Office, etc.) are all contained in that desktop. I will also open up temporary terminals for dealing with mail related stuff, such as removing old saved attachments etc.

This means that Virtue desktops are really not that different from normal OSX tab-cycling as far as I'm concerned. Consequently, I ditched Virtue quite early and started just using iKey and normal alt-tab.

Terminals are not "Single-use"

My model of work, which I expect is not unique, is to have a set of terminal windows open for long-term tasks like development. For shorter tasks though, I'll open up a new terminal, do my thing, then close it. For example if I am reading a web page which mentions a feature of a utility which I've not used, I'll often open up a shell and try it out, then close it when I'm done.

OSX makes this kind of model prohibitively difficult by aggregating all terminal windows under one application. If you alt-tab to Terminal.app it will bring all the terminal windows to the fore, completely obscuring whatever you were observing.

The only way I found that came even close to working around this problem was by making a duplicate of the Terminal application and launching it. This will give you two completely distinct sets of terminal windows, though obviously this doesn't scale well.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The keyboard shortcuts under OSX are completely different. Ctrl-right does not go to the next word, page up seems to move the cursor but not the view, etc. Minor annoyances really, as you can just learn the new OSX bindings or rebind them if you're keen. But yet another hurdle to overcome.

Shareware

This is more of a cultural difference, but under Linux you can without fail find an open source application to do exactly what you want. As a developer, this is a godsend. If there are annoying bugs in the application, you can just fix it yourself. Conversely under OSX, Free Software is not all that common - vastly outnumbered by binary-only Shareware.

The range of software also appears to be a lot more limited. That being said, a lot of the software is of very high quality: Omnigraffle, Virtue Desktops, iKeys, Adium, etc.

Hardware Quality

First revision hardware is typically riddled with problems, so the issues people have had with the MacBook Pro hardware is really to be expected. I myself experienced the extremely dodgy lid button.

The Good

Hardware Design Touches

The MacBook Pro hardware, though not without its issues, has some very nice features: the iSight camera, magnetic cable, nice screen, keyboard backlight, slot-load DVD drive.

True Transparency

I like being able to see what is behind a transparent terminal. It is mostly just cool, but occasionally actually useful :)

Dashboard

Dashboard is cool. I particularly like the dictionary application, although it being US-specific is a bit frustrating.

The Nondescript

Expose

The only feature of Expose I actually use is the reveal desktop feature. The application switching feature, while pretty, is a lot slower than alt-tabbing or iKey application shortcuts.