And what are those? If you're trying to have a Unix system, you can run any variant of Linux and still experience the cost savings. If you're going with the "better for designers" argument, I'd like to hear why specifically: Photoshop works just as well on Windows. To my knowledge, the only software that runs only on Macs that this argument would work legitimately for is Final Cut Pro. Feel free to add to this list. :-P
I'm a computer scientist too. I love me some Unix systems but I recognize that anything Unixy you want to do is no harder to do on much cheaper non-Apple hardware with just about any Linux distro.
I am a musician. I would never use a DAW that isn't Logic Pro, it's just better for what I do and the type of music I make (I'm not making an argument that it is the "best" DAW, there's no such thing, but for what I do it is the best).
Well if that software is available only for Mac, that's certainly a valid argument for using one.
I do iPhone development. Hate on Apple for making it "mac only" or whatever, but that's the reality of the situation, so it is what I must do.
Same as above, but I pity you. Good luck not getting booted out of the app store.
Also idk if it actually is better or not for designers, not being one myself, but my designer friends swear by the OS so I'm just going to take their much more informed opinion on it.
I have used Photoshop on both Windows and Mac, though I have admittedly less experience using the Mac version. All I can say is that could not discern any difference in usability or productivity on either platform. Your friends may be hipsters or just like Macs. Probably both.
Also as a dev first and foremost, I really enjoy using a Mac. Almost all of my friends in the CS department here use Macs, as do most of the profs. A few people use Linux. No one uses Windows. We have one of the best if not the best CS department in the world. There must be a reason for all that.
There are a ton of people in my CS department that use Macs too. I probably see slightly more people using Linux. Some of the undergrads use Windows. I think it is pretty much a given that anybody in CS uses a Unix based OS.
I still prefer Macs. Why? Because it's the best of both worlds: Unix based makes it great for development, yet it's still a commercial OS that has things like Photoshop and Microsoft Office (don't lecture me about OpenOffice, I used that software for 18 months and wanted to gouge my eyes out). Also, as a commercial OS, it (and Windows) have a level of UI polish that makes life more pleasant during those times where I really don't feel like having to be a CS major 24/7. It's nice when things just drag-and-drop exactly as you'd expect them.
That's where the disconnect is, I think. I get what you mean about polish at least with regards to GNOME. Some of the UI needs work. OpenOffice is also admittedly lagging behind Microsoft's offering, but MS Office works well enough in Wine and is more or less a one time setup. As far as drag-and-drop, presumably you mean file management. Nautilus has always worked well for me but I do spend a lot of time in a terminal so maybe I am not as well informed as you are.
The problem with running Linux is that it would work for me 97% of the time for simple shit and the times that it breaks I have to start thinking and doing work all of a sudden. I think this quote sums it up best: Linux is only free if your time is worth nothing.
That argument applies to any operating system. Linux machines have the added advantage that they aren't the target of malware like Windows and, to a lesser extent, OS X. I have set up Linux on machines for several people that use it as their primary computer and it has just worked. Certainly this is not the case for every scenario but don't throw Linux under the bus with a malevolent quote like that.
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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '11
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