Mac OS X – Linux for Dummies?
Posted on December 2, 2007
Filed Under mac osx | Leave a Comment
Outside of work, I’m responsible for two sites really, clevegibbon.com and helent.co.uk. Both are very simple html sites that have been designed in DreamWeaver. I have decided to move away from DreamWeaver and implement clevegibbon.com in Ruby and helent.co.uk in php.
Now, I have recently dropped the Windows desktop and migrated over to Mac OS (Tiger), steering clear of Leopard for now, too many small issues cropping up. That’s was when I first heard the term Mac OS X == Linux for Dummies. At first I thought it was a joke, but oh no, we have Linux Priesthood, who look down on lowly Mac Users. How I laughed!
I started using Unix nearly twenty years ago. I still remember my very first shell prompt. I logged into Unix and there it was, winking at me, daring me, I could hear it challenging me: “go on then Cleve, here’s a prompt, show me what you can do?”. That’s Unix! So, being the young fool that I was (hmm, am?) I decided to do some damage. That’s when I learnt all about permissions in Unix. I was boxed in and the only damage I could do was to myself and my own files. Unix 1, Cleve 0! Ever since, Unix (and it variants Linux, HP-UX, AIX, BSD and so on) and I have had a mutual respect for one another. Things have been fine. Now, after 10 years in the Microsoft wilderness, I have returned to Unix on my desktop.
So Mac OS X brings Unix to the masses. Great! It standardises and adheres to convention. Nice! It keeps things simple. Sweet! So is Mac OS, Linux for Dummies. No its Mac OS for Mac users. If a dummy can’t use Linux, then who really is the dummy? And yes, I love Linux and for sure, there are some great Linux desktops out there, but Mac OS is just fine for me.
Anyway, I’ve got other issues to contend with. First things first, I need a ruby development environment set up. I’m hearing Xcode, Locomotive, Mongrel, which are new words for me. Time to read…
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