ubuntu's Journal: Here's something I posted today

Here's the original post, Why I (A Mac User) Switched To Linux

I am a long-time Mac user switching from Mac OS X to Linux. I still boot into OS X every once in a while, mostly because I haven't figured out how to retrieve my settings and data out of some OS X apps I used to use.

This came after years of nagging little frustrations with Apple's hardware and software (like the fact that because iMovie and iDVD have no MPEG support, only MOV, in order to work with movie files from my digital camera I had to buy QuickTime Pro -- and then keep rebuying it as they break compatibility yearly with older versions). Or how when you have a directory on one drive, say "MP3s", and you want to copy it over to your main drive, if there's another MP3s directory there, it won't ADD the new MP3s to the pile, it will DELETE all the main directories' MP3s and replace them with the new ones! I've lost PILES of stuff doing this before I learned that file management SUCKS under OS X. Sadly, Windows Explorer kicks the Finder's ass.

I get OS X app crashes as frequently as my family does on their Dells, maybe more frequently even. And I'm running the 1.5 Ghz PowerBook with 1 Gig of RAM, the 128Meg video card, and a faster HardDrive option, so I shouldn't be maxing out my hardware. In fact, my PowerBook is *not as fast* as my brother's Dell which is at least a year older. But I blame this at least partly because of all the "eye candy" in OS X, as Ubuntu on the same hardware absolutely screams.

Apple continually shows themselves to be cut from the same cloth as Microsoft, and it is only the spin from Apple Corporate (and our own desire to deny the truth about Apple and keep them on a pedestal) that keeps us from judging them fairly for their actions like we do other corporations. When MS screws over a vendor, we Slashdotters froth at the mouth and attack rabidly. When Apple blatantly rips off third party vendors, bankrupting them in the process, we turn a blind eye. One word: Konfabulator. Despite the nonsensical arguments and support of the Mac Faithful, Apple DID steal their product. Amazingly, NOBODY CARES. We always give Apple a free ride. It is quite dishonest to do so, and letting Apple get away with stuff like this only encourages them to do it again. There is no balance of power between the customers and the company -- the company has near total control. What Steve says, we believe. We never question. Do we? I don't see any examples of us Mac Faithful taking Apple to task for any of their slimy business moves.

There are so many examples of why "Life As An Apple User" is not perfect that I can't even begin to describe them here. I don't hate Apple. Apple's not bad, but they're like another Microsoft. Their stuff is okay. I hate the insanity of the posters on here who take it as a religion or their life's mission to lie to people in order to promote Apple. It makes no sense, and a LOT of the propaganda I see on here is flat out LIES. but nobody calls the liars on it either, I suppose because the lies are all in favor of Apple. Suffice it to say that you should take ANYTHING you read on Slashdot about the legendary greatness of Apple with a grain of salt. There is a deep-rooted bias with many of the posters here (which is why if this story wasn't a day or two old I'd be modded down to -1 almost immediately, free speech and quality of this post be damned). The reality doesn't match up to the advertising hype. OS X is a very good system, but it has it's faults. But that's NOT the impression I get from reading this site. It has enough faults, in fact, that after years of Mac Zealotry myself, I've finally switched off the system, and I'm much happier here.

I don't know what most people are doing with their computer that they can't figure out how to use Gnome or KDE, and that they need the imaginary handholding of OS X to enable them to do their work, but I've been using Ubuntu as my main desktop for a while now, and I'm having LESS headaches or brick walls to run into than I did on either OS X or Windows.

Unpopular opinion here, but it's the truth. Sosumi.