My Dark Linux Confession
  photo credit: phauly |
When it has come to operating systems, I have always had a hard time making up my mind. Windows, for me, has been a good choice for my gaming consoles and a reasonable one for work as well. Mac has become my default office system, having used it now for nearly two years as my primary “getting things done” machine.
However, Linux has always been my secret love affair. It is a relationship that has stretched over half a decade. It began with some spare hard drive space and a desire to to see what Linux was all about. Now, it is a relationship on life support.
You see, I’ve come to notice something. After seven years of using Linux, seven different distros, countless versions and six computers, I’ve finally hit a point where I have to admit something. That every computer I’ve had both Linux and Windows XP on has worked far better with Windows than Linux.
There’s a lot of reasons for this, but none of them bode well for penguin. Read more
The Mac (Un)Mighty Mouse
Usually I can justify the “Mac Tax“. Sure, I pay a premium for Macintosh products, but nine times out of ten I find the difference to be justified. I get more work done on my Mac, so the fact it cost hundreds more doesn’t bother me. I type faster on my Apple keyboard, so the fact that it cost twice as much as a reasonable replacement is acceptable.
Though I seem to rag on them a pretty good deal, Apple actually has a strong history of releasing good products that justify at least some premium.
However, this makes me wonder what they were thinking when they released the Mighty Mouse. Though it was a Christmas gift from an absolutely wonderful pair of in-laws, it seems to come pre-packaged with a set of headaches and problems that have me wondering if this is really an Apple product I’m using.
It sure looks like one, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t act anything like one. Read more
Camino Beta 2: First Thoughts
About a year ago, I was prepared to write off Camino. With Firefox updating its interface to make it more Mac-friendly and improving its performance across all OSes every day, I was wondering aloud why there was a market for another Mac Firefox, specifically one without plugins or themes.
Sure, being built on Cocoa gives Camino a natural speed and memory advantage over its brother, but the difference, over all, has been barely noticeable and certainly not enough to propose switching to a browser with fewer features.
Personally, I was thinking that it was time to take the project behind the shed and put it out of its misery. It filled a nice niche when Firefox was being a jerk to Mac users but now that we’ve kissed and made up Camino seemed to be a third wheel in a very sordid love triangle.
So imagine my surprise when I found out not only that Camino had released a new version, but that it was a beta of 2.0. I was skeptical, to put it modestly, but decided to give it a try. I felt that I owed it to the old girl since she had comforted me when Firefox had me wanting to hang myself.
I have to say though that the surprise is indeed a pleasant one and this version of Camino just might become a real challenger for Firefox, at least until Chrome is release for the Mac in a meaningful way. Read more
5 Apps That Need a Mac Port Now
I love my Mac, don’t get me wrong. I gripe about it from time to time, but I gripe about all of the things I love. It’s part of my nature.
That being said, the most frustrating thing about using a Mac is not anything Apple does, but rather, the imaginative ways that developers screw you over. Not only is the library of freeware a lot less robust on Macs, but developers seem to treat their Mac versions like red-headed stepchildren, waiting unbearably long to release their apps on non-Windows platforms.
The problem is that Macs are insanely popular with the risk-taking geeks that like to try out new software, so releasing an app for the Mac is not long longer an option, it’s a requirement. Still, many developers, including some I respect, are dragging their feet in getting their applications into our hands.
So here is my top five list of applications that need a Mac port, but seem to be sitting on it as their Windows counterparts move forward. Read more
Blogo: Not Ready for Prime Time
*Article Updated* 
When I heard about Blogo, I could barely contain my excitement. A blog editor just for the Mac that had full screen editing, full WYSIWYG control, multiple blog management, image resizing, Twitter integration and simple previews.
I could barely contain myself. When I raced to download the application for my 21-day trial I practically had my credit card in my hand. I almost bought my copy outright but stopped myself to give the software a try. I’m very glad that I did.
Though Blogo certainly has a lot going for it, advanced bloggers are going to want to keep away. It’s feature set is just to limited for people that require advanced manipulation of text and even basic posts are more difficult to post in Blogo than they are in the WordPress or TypePad editing panel.
However, those are the problems that can be fixed, there are other problems that seem to be a bit deeper into the development culture of the product. Read more
Bad Mac Design
When I got my Mac Mini about a year ago, I was looking forward to getting a taste of Mac design. Sure, it was meant to be just a “dabbling in Mac” system but it quickly became main workstation and, despite my gripes, is the computer I am typing this on.
However, as anyone who has opened up a Mac Mini knows, the slick operating system belies a real mess under the hood.
No computer should ever have a putty knife listed as a required item for a ram upgrade, which the Mac Mini does, but the mess that comes with upgrading the Mini does not stop there.
As I found out this weekend, Apple took extra steps to ensure that their product would disintegrate upon opening, by making a bevy of internal layout choices that are at best hard to understand and, at worst, make no sense at all. Read more
10 Things I hate About Mac
To be perfectly clear, I am a Mac user and I love my choice of OS. I’ve used Windows, I’ve used Linux and I’ve used Mac. In fact, I own at least one computer with each OS. However, my main computer is a Mac and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
That being said, there is no reason to believe that Mac is perfect and I cringe at the fan boys that seem to think that it is. Being the best among these three systems is a bit like winning a three-legged race. Sure, you won, but you could have gotten across the line a lot faster without cousin Ralph tied to your right leg.
Even though I love my Mac there are still a lot things about it that irk me. So, in celebration of thinking different (I know, it’s an old slogan), I present to you my top ten pet peeves about Mac. Read more
