Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every OS has its own version of 'sysadmin crap' to deal with... While I noted that OS X is easier to get up and running optimally, Ubuntu's package management definitely has it beat as far as maintenance goes. Automated software installation / configuration / upgrades goes a long way.
http://www.macports.org I'm not saying the mac doesn't need any administration -- I'm saying that it's a lot less, and it's less annoying. I haven't ever had to recompile my darwin kernel nor sit around tweaking DMA and PIO settings.
Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
81–90 of 118 posts
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every OS has its own version of 'sysadmin crap' to deal with... While I noted that OS X is easier to get up and running optimally, Ubuntu's package management definitely has it beat as far as maintenance goes. Automated software installation / configuration / upgrades goes a long way.
http://www.macports.org I'm not saying the mac doesn't need any administration -- I'm saying that it's a lot less, and it's less annoying. I haven't ever had to recompile my darwin kernel nor sit around tweaking DMA and PIO settings.
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#83Because it's the best desktop unix machine available. Where else can you find true unix with a great user experience and full hardware and software support? I don't use Linux because I no longer enjoy doing sysadmin crap. I also like the MacOS UI.
unless your using gentoo, you no longer have to do that much "sysadmin crap". as if OSX machines were free of "sysadmin crap". i used to use acquamacs on it, and it will constantly break after the monthly updates. from my experience, ubuntu is less work. (this advise is mostly for this crowd. i wouldn't push an ubuntu machine on gradnma. not yet at any rate)
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I tried this now but it didn't work for me. I must be missing something. Please help. I am running GVIM (I am at work so I am on Windows). I am trying to drag and drop a block of code to Python REPL. It is not happening.
oops. i thought i had done that some times. i'll see if i can come up with any useful mechanisms to compensate for lying
the app is AutoHotkey: http://www.autohotkey.com/
and the script is:
#SingleInstance Force
#Enter::
SendInput mr^a ;mark current spot in register r and select all
Sleep 20
SendInput ^c{Esc}``r ;copy, stop selection, return to spot
;if we have a REPL already, use it. otherwise start a new one
IfWinExist, Arc REPL
WinActivate, Arc REPL
else
start_arc()
MouseClick Right, 50, 50 ;open context menu
SendInput p ;p for paste
exit
start_arc()
{
Run cmd /k cd "c:\\documents and settings\\blahblah\\desktop\\arc2"
Sleep 100 ;wait for the cmd window to show before typing
SendInput mzscheme -m -f "c:/documents and settings/blahblah/desktop/arc2/as.scm"{Enter}
Sleep 200 ;wait for title to change
IfWinExist, C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe - mzscheme
WinSetTitle Arc REPL
}
it's pretty simple. as you can see, it's for Arc, and it's setting a script to windows key + Enter. if you're editing some code in Vim, hit the hot key (when you're in command mode) and the script will ctrl+a -> ctrl+c the code in Vim and right-click paste it in the REPL. if there isn't a REPL open it will first open one and then paste ityou can make modifications such as only running what you have selected (would work well with visual modes,) only running the current paragraph (using the parentheses commands in Vim,) running what you have copied (i.e. Run-from-clipboard) and so on and so forth. you can also have a little window pop up where you can type some code and have it execute etc etc
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Almost all of my coworkers use Thinkpads. I started off on a T43, and have recently been upagraded to T60. Would never trade it in for a mac.
Good for you. I started out on a T20 (I'm old). Still have it. Still love it. One of these days I'll move up to a T60 or whatever. For now, T42 still kicks a$$.
I've noticed both Apple and IBM/Lenovo dropping in quality over the past 10 years or so. I have a Thinkpad 600X from 1998 or so - it's made mostly of carbon fiber, with a rubber coating. My Z61m is made mostly of cheap plastic, though it does have a metal frame and titanium lid. Apple uses either polycarbonate or aluminum, but seems to have a high rate of logic board failures. I'm not a huge fan of metal on the surfaces of a laptop that come in to contact with my body during use either - it transmits heat.
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure. Two problems with it: 1. Still fairly bad video hardware support. I spent two hours helping a buddy set up a mid-range ATI card recently, and we couldn't get full acceleration to work. The configuration just plain sucked. 2. Fonts in the X environment are so ugly that I can't stare at an editor window full of code. Good fonts are rarely open-source. Ubuntu is nice, but it doesn't come close to the experience of…
1. fair enough. i can see how that could be a deal breaker. You probably know about the sad state of affairs with those vendors, and I guess reasons don't matter much if it doesn't work. all i can say is that it is improving. 2. it's not the fonts. check this out: http://ubuntutips.net/node/10 . in a nutshell, just put hintslight true rgb true true in your ~/.fonts.conf file. you won't believe your eyes. try it. :)
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
oops. i thought i had done that some times. i'll see if i can come up with any useful mechanisms to compensate for lying
allright. i came up with something but 1) it only works on windows and 2) you need an extra app. it's a really really good app though the app is AutoHotkey: http://www.autohotkey.com/ and the script is: #SingleInstance Force #Enter:: SendInput mr^a ;mark current spot in register r and select all Sleep 20 SendInput ^c{Esc}``r ;copy, stop selection, return to spot ;if we have a REPL already, use it. otherwise start a n…
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#88I tried to switch over to a mac a year ago. It didn't work, so I switched back after three months. I found that a lot of little things were annoying, and made me spend more time than I needed on doing trivial things sucha as resizing of windows. On mac it can only be done from one corner, on windows from all four. There are lots of these little things that mean you have to spend three clicks instead of two. I see why…
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, if I was optimizing on price I would just get a Dell laptop and throw Ubuntu on it. (Although I would make sure that all the hardware is well-supported first. I have spent far too many hours patching kernels and adjusting parameters when using Linux with brand new hardware.)
You can buy Dells with Ubuntu on them: http://www.dell.com/ubuntu It was pretty cool to get it, open it up, and see it boot Ubuntu. I admit I did have to tweak it just a bit (about 15 minutes of googling and config files), but I think it was one of the first ones, hopefully they've gotten even better. I chatted with some of the guys working on it at OSCON last year, and they wrote down a few of the bugs I had found.
Re: Ask YC: Why do you recommend a Macbook?
#90i almost bought a macbook pro for the screen. mac makes it easy for you to get a non glossy high def display. you can now even get LED backlit which should give brighter whites, better contrast, and longer backlight life. the rest of the manufactures are behind mac in display tech. i ended up going with a dell precision because of dells support for ubuntu, and i could get better hardware than the mac for $1000 less,…
I was looking at macbooks, but did not see one that had a 15" screen that ran 1920x1200.
I went with a Dell D830, for the 15" WUXGA screen and for the clit mouse (since I find trackpads distracting and less precise than the TrakPoint thingie).
I'm (more or less) happily running Kubuntu on it.