Tri-Platform Household

The old iBook has gone through a whirlwind of experimentation over the last two months.

It started after we installed Ubuntu Edgy followed by a fairly quick upgrade to Feisty. The platform worked well but we could not get DAAP to recognize the iTunes music share from our mini. So when the newest version of Ubuntu was released I upgraded again.

The iBook did not like Gutsy. With the Gutsy release Ubuntu stopped supporting the PPC architecture. Not that it wasn't supposed to be able to work, they just stopped supporting it. With Apple's move to the Intel chips I can understand why. So I reinstalled from the Edgy install CD and upgraded once again to Feisty. This time feisty went crazy ape bonkers on me.

Experimentation kicked into high gear. I decided to give Kubuntu Feisty a try. Ubuntu uses the Gnome environment while Kubuntu uses the KDE environment. After some playing around I decided that KDE wasn't for me.

I grabbed my OSX install disks with the intent of reinstalling the Mac OS. The installer wouldn't recognize my hard drive! Well, screw you too, Apple.

So I tried out another Gnome based package, openSuSE. It also comes in a KDE package for those who prefer it. For a while it looked as though this package was going to work out well. The only problem I couldn't seem to resolve was getting it to recognize my sound card. During the initial install it was using it without a hitch, but it just wouldn't play with it after that. I looked all over for help on this issue but came up with nothing. It didn't like to automatically find the mini's file share but I could input that manually and bookmark it. Not a problem. Then the package manager started to act funny. It was locking me out, saying it was busy, didn't have time for me, generally giving me the cold shoulder.

I dumped openSuSE and reinstalled Ubuntu Edgy once more and upgraded to Feisty yet again. No problems this time. I do have some minor gripes. Foremost, Apple should loosen up a bit on iTunes and DAAP. If you want to maintain your image of being the nice platform that plays well with others then that includes playing well with linux. Either stop being so secretive about your DAAP so that developers can implement it in their linux distros or release a linux version of iTunes just like your Windows version.

Some common web plug-ins for Firefox are not available for the linux version. The standard work around is to use Wine to run the Windows version of Firefox with those plug-ins. That's great if you aren't running on the PPC architecture. Doesn't work for me. So I can't use YouTube or Google Video as well as several other sites. Not a biggy since I can just hop over to the mini for that stuff. I don't demand instant gratification.

Some things have worked out quite well. Our keyboard has had a dead key for quite some time. It's a rather important one, the / and ? key. I'm typing this on the iBook so you can see I've discovered a work around. I won't go into detail, but it's something I couldn't do with OSX. And the MMC card reader for our combination video and still camera worked with Ubuntu by just plugging it in. It stopped working with our Macs when we upgraded from 9 to X a long time ago. On the PC we had to hunt down the correct driver (plug and play my ass). So that kicks major booty.

Now, having used multiple operating systems and living in a house where three very different operating systems get used on a somewhat daily basis, here is how they stack up.

Mac OS X - In my humble opinion it is still the best operating system money can buy. It works elegantly and is extremely stable. It is also well supported both by Apple and plenty of software companies. But it will cost you. You can only run OSX on a Mac and Apple continues to do their best to keep it that way. It's a package deal. Think of it like a Ferrari. You spend a lot of money up front and get a premium machine from the start. Not many people sit around the garage rebuilding their Ferraris.

Windows - I've tried XP, seen Vista, and currently choose to run 2000. Every Windows OS I've messed around with sucks. I seriously can't figure out why this company is still in business. But they've got developers wrapped around their crooked little finger. That's really the only good thing to say about them. If you want the best hardware and the best software and you want it for a fraction of the price of a Mac, you build a Windows box. Especially if you like to game. It's like building a custom Harley. Yes, you can build a super cool, super powerful, kick ass custom machine, but the original platform still sucks.

Ubuntu - Dump Windows Now! What are you doing on your home computer? You're surfing the internet, sending some e-mails, listening to music, sharing photos and maybe you need a word processor and spreadsheet ap. You want it to work well with little effort on your part. For most people I know Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and openSuSE would all work great. If I were to get another computer right now I would build it from scratch using all the best components just like the hot shot Windows boys do, but I would run Ubuntu on it. It's not quite as elegant as a Mac, but I would save THOUSANDS on hardware and software (unless you are into piracy). The interface is intuitive and transparent. It's customizability is only limited by your skill level. Even the simple among us can get a setup that works well for them. This is like a Honda that might be a simple utilitarian vehicle or might be a well disguised sleeper.

While I like to think that installing Ubuntu or openSuSE is so simple that anyone could do it, I have often been reminded of my over-estimation of average human intelligence. So if you run into trouble, get one of your smart friends to help you.

None of you give a shit, do you? You've read this far and feel like I have wasted your time. Well fuck you! I didn't make you read it.