a week with os x
So I have been using OS X on my netbook for something like a week now. I have used it primarily for watching video and browsing the web (which is pretty much as I had planned). The one major conclusion I cam to is that I don’t see whats so special about it… It isn’t anything better or worse than the other two OSes I use constantly (Windows 7 and Ubuntu). It looks pretty, but so do the other two. I find some of the restrictions annoying, in terms of control and there really aren’t any killer applications that change the way I use a computer. I use VLC for video, like I do in Linux and Windows, and I use Firefox for browsing, like I do in Linux and Windows. There isn’t anything that makes it stand alone, if anything it is lacking programs for things I use primarily. I use mIRC and X-Chat for IRC on Windows and Linux, with OS X, theres Colloquy (which is crap) and X-Chat Aqua, a weaker version of its older brother. Adium is a decent chat program, but nothing better than Trillian on Windows (I don’t like Pidgin, so it wins over Linux) and Skype is the same. It lacks Outlook, so I am stuck with either Thunderbird or just using the web client (which is almost better). I don’t like iTunes but there isn’t anything else for OS X since everyone is so enamered with iTunes…
Alright, enough with me ranting… I feel that OS X is a decent OS. It lacks a lot of the extensive options available for both Linux and Windows and feels very hindered by its locked down system, compared to the other two. I do like its Unix base, so the structure feels familiar and I can still get into the terminal goodness. Because of that, I can always fall back to terminal based applications like IRSSI (yeah Tang, that is an option for IRC, but I would rather stay away from the terminal for something like this). The real allure for me is the actual machine. It is a 10” 2 pound little menace. It can do most of the things I ask it and does so in a nice, light, travel sized case. I am looking forward to dragging this with me more places, and bringing up my wireless router to Purdue so that I can use it more from Kim’s room… Well, I will probably spend this coming weekend trying to get the server stable and next week trying to get this site out to the public (rather than just my private apartment sized audience :( ).