I started using the Mac OS X after getting my first MacBook last year (Nov2006).
Since then, I have enjoyed everything Mac. Including what I have been able to find and use from the open source world. I have been using open source software on Linux and Windows for a long time and now can say that I do the same on the Mac.
Here is a list of my must have open source applications on the Mac:
Mozilla Firefox. My cross-platform browser of choice.
NeoOffice. This is the OpenOffice.org port to Aqua that works great and does not require X11.
iTerm. This is the terminal application use for ssh into my Linux machines.
Cyberduck. FTP/SSH tool.
Nvu. Cross-platform HTML authoring tool.
Handbrake. The CD/DVD ripping tool.
Instant Handbrake. The quick DVD ripping tool with preconfigred iPod/PSP settings.
Burn. CD/DVD burning application.
Audacity. Cross platform digitial audio editing tool.
Adium. Instant Messenging application that supports just about every IM network there is.
Seashore. GIMP like graphics tool. GIMP is nice too but requires X11.
Eclipse. Enough said. The quintessential IDE for Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl etc. Check out EasyEclipse for pre-bundles.
TomatoTorrent. Bit-torrent client.
RSSOwl. Cross-platform RSS aggregator. (written in Java).
Freemind. Cross-platform idea/mind mapping tool. (written in Java).
Google. They seem to have an endless stream of revolutionary web apps I use daily.
Google Docs and Spreadsheets. This has been a revolutionary Web 2.0 application.
Google Calendar.
Google Reader. The recent Gears technology is incredible.
There is definitely more that I am finding every day. The above list represents what I have been using on a regular basis all year on my Macbook. Some decent sites I have found related to open source Mac software is OpenSourceMac, this article at MacDevCenter.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Spotlight
I have been using my MacBook for over 6-months now. I guess I consider myself a veteran user of the Mac since I use it on a daily basis. One feature that I have come to depend on and like very much is Spotlight. All I can say is wow!
There really is no analogy to this in Windows. The closest thing I can think of is Google Desktop or Yahoo! Desktop Search add-ons to Windows. Spotlight is really impressive and well integrated into Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger). It is very intuitive and just works just like my kitchen refrigerator. I think Microsoft copied this in Windows Vista. I have used the Search feature in Vista and unless you have more than 1GB RAM and the fastest processor available today, it runs somewhat sluggish in my experience. Anyway, back to Spotlight.
Spotlight is designed intuitively and never intrudes on my computing experience. If you are still sitting on the sidelines and thinking about getting Mac, this is yet another innovation that non-technical users will use often. One thing I like about it is that I can find all instances of any words or phrases that are anywhere on my MacBook just about instantaneously. This includes inside of documents (pdf, odt, txt, html, etc) that are on my MacBook. Since it is well integrated into the OS, it just works.
There really is no analogy to this in Windows. The closest thing I can think of is Google Desktop or Yahoo! Desktop Search add-ons to Windows. Spotlight is really impressive and well integrated into Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger). It is very intuitive and just works just like my kitchen refrigerator. I think Microsoft copied this in Windows Vista. I have used the Search feature in Vista and unless you have more than 1GB RAM and the fastest processor available today, it runs somewhat sluggish in my experience. Anyway, back to Spotlight.
Spotlight is designed intuitively and never intrudes on my computing experience. If you are still sitting on the sidelines and thinking about getting Mac, this is yet another innovation that non-technical users will use often. One thing I like about it is that I can find all instances of any words or phrases that are anywhere on my MacBook just about instantaneously. This includes inside of documents (pdf, odt, txt, html, etc) that are on my MacBook. Since it is well integrated into the OS, it just works.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Office Suites
If you need an office suite and have not tried OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice then you are missing out. NeoOffice just released version 2.1 final which is based on OpenOffice.org 2.1 and it rocks. Last fall I was using NeoOffice 2.0 beta which was based on OpenOffice.org 2.03 and it just was not up to par. So since I already use OpenOffice.org 2.1 in Linux and Windows, I installed OpenOffice.org 2.1 on my MacBook. The most negative thing about OpenOffice was that it has to run in X11 on Mac OS X. The native OpenOffice.org port for Mac OS X is still in progress.
Just yesterday (03/27/2007), NeoOffice 2.1 final (non-beta) was released. Since NeoOffice is a native Aqua application, I downloaded it and installed it over my previous NeoOffice 2.0 beta3 installation. My first impression is, wow! It works solidly and performance is significantly improved over the previous beta.
I have used it for spreadsheets, word processing, diagrams, and presentations and I can tell you that it does well in all categories. I have not tried the desktop database product but I am sure it works well. The bottom line is that I highly recommend that you use NeoOffice if you are a Mac user and do not have a need to run Microsoft Office. If you do use Microsoft Office on the Mac, then you might want to give NeoOffice a spin. It reads and writes all MS-Office formats with ease and more.
I now use NeoOffice 2.1 as my preferred office suite on my MacBook. It works great and has a lot of user-interface improvements over OpenOffice.org. It feels like native Mac OS X application and has all the capabilities of its OpenOffice.org roots.
Just yesterday (03/27/2007), NeoOffice 2.1 final (non-beta) was released. Since NeoOffice is a native Aqua application, I downloaded it and installed it over my previous NeoOffice 2.0 beta3 installation. My first impression is, wow! It works solidly and performance is significantly improved over the previous beta.
I have used it for spreadsheets, word processing, diagrams, and presentations and I can tell you that it does well in all categories. I have not tried the desktop database product but I am sure it works well. The bottom line is that I highly recommend that you use NeoOffice if you are a Mac user and do not have a need to run Microsoft Office. If you do use Microsoft Office on the Mac, then you might want to give NeoOffice a spin. It reads and writes all MS-Office formats with ease and more.
I now use NeoOffice 2.1 as my preferred office suite on my MacBook. It works great and has a lot of user-interface improvements over OpenOffice.org. It feels like native Mac OS X application and has all the capabilities of its OpenOffice.org roots.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Virtualization on the Mac
If you have not used or seen virtualization in action, this may not make a lot of sense. If you have seen virtualization technology in use then this is my first hand viewpoint of based on my experience with virtualization technology on the Mac OS X.
First, VMware has released VMware Fusion Beta for Mac OS X. The positive news is that your VMware virtual machine images or any of the virutal appliances at VMTN work as expected. The user-interface of VMware Fusion beta looks a bit different compared to VMware on Windows or Linux. It has been re-engineered for the Mac OS X. The negative news is that since this is a beta, it suffers from degraded performance due to debugging code that you cannot disable. At least not the in latest release I was using.
The other virtualization software I use on my MacBook is Parallels. This the premiere virtualization products for Mac OS X. It works as advertised and performance is excellent. I converted a Windows XP Professional VMware virtual machine into a Parallels virtual machine using the Parallels Transporter utility. This utility is similar to the VMware Converter which lets you convert a Microsoft Virtual Server or Virtual PC image to a VMware virtual machine.
The Parallels Transporter allows you to convert a VMware or Microsoft Virtual PC/Server into a Parallels virtual machine. I had a few issues when trying to convert a Linux VMware machine to Parallels. It converted the virtual disk but did not make it bootable. I am still looking into this.
Anyway, the Parallels Transporter also lets you convert a physical machine into a virutal machine. This is a capability that VMware Converter also has. I have not tried either one out yet but this allows you to create a virtual machine backup of any machine which is a pretty nifty idea.
One thing I like about Parallels is the user interface on the Mac OS X. It is definitely a Mac application that I was able to figure out intuitively in a short period of time. I like the animations is does when you switch from OS Window mode to Full Screen mode. The animation is a rotating 3-D cube similar to how Mac OS X animates the Fast User Switching feature. For those of you who have not seen this, it is just totally visually cool. I have not seen anything like on Linux or Windows. Also, when you run a Windows Parallels virtual machine in full screen mode, it much better than doing the same using VMware on Windows. At least in my experience.
Anyway, back to virtualization. Virtualization works nicely on Mac OS X. Just as in Linux or Windows, you must have a lot of RAM for this to work well. I recommend at least 1GB RAM and preferrably 2GB or higher. For virtualization the more RAM you have, the better off you will be. If you want virtualization that works great today, then Parallels is it. VMware Fusion is still in beta and based on my experience, not quite yet ready for prime time. VMware has not stated when the final 1.0 release will be ready. I read rumors that summer 2007 is when VMware is expected to put out a stable 1.0 non-beta Fusion product. Until then I plan to use Parallels and will compare the two once VMware Fusion is released as a non-beta product.
As for open source virtualization on Mac OS X, I have not had the chance to research that yet. I am sure there is some open source virtualization ports to Mac OS X like Xen or Virtuozzo.
If you need to run Linux, Windows or other operating systems in virtualization on Mac OS X, you can today and it works well.
First, VMware has released VMware Fusion Beta for Mac OS X. The positive news is that your VMware virtual machine images or any of the virutal appliances at VMTN work as expected. The user-interface of VMware Fusion beta looks a bit different compared to VMware on Windows or Linux. It has been re-engineered for the Mac OS X. The negative news is that since this is a beta, it suffers from degraded performance due to debugging code that you cannot disable. At least not the in latest release I was using.
The other virtualization software I use on my MacBook is Parallels. This the premiere virtualization products for Mac OS X. It works as advertised and performance is excellent. I converted a Windows XP Professional VMware virtual machine into a Parallels virtual machine using the Parallels Transporter utility. This utility is similar to the VMware Converter which lets you convert a Microsoft Virtual Server or Virtual PC image to a VMware virtual machine.
The Parallels Transporter allows you to convert a VMware or Microsoft Virtual PC/Server into a Parallels virtual machine. I had a few issues when trying to convert a Linux VMware machine to Parallels. It converted the virtual disk but did not make it bootable. I am still looking into this.
Anyway, the Parallels Transporter also lets you convert a physical machine into a virutal machine. This is a capability that VMware Converter also has. I have not tried either one out yet but this allows you to create a virtual machine backup of any machine which is a pretty nifty idea.
One thing I like about Parallels is the user interface on the Mac OS X. It is definitely a Mac application that I was able to figure out intuitively in a short period of time. I like the animations is does when you switch from OS Window mode to Full Screen mode. The animation is a rotating 3-D cube similar to how Mac OS X animates the Fast User Switching feature. For those of you who have not seen this, it is just totally visually cool. I have not seen anything like on Linux or Windows. Also, when you run a Windows Parallels virtual machine in full screen mode, it much better than doing the same using VMware on Windows. At least in my experience.
Anyway, back to virtualization. Virtualization works nicely on Mac OS X. Just as in Linux or Windows, you must have a lot of RAM for this to work well. I recommend at least 1GB RAM and preferrably 2GB or higher. For virtualization the more RAM you have, the better off you will be. If you want virtualization that works great today, then Parallels is it. VMware Fusion is still in beta and based on my experience, not quite yet ready for prime time. VMware has not stated when the final 1.0 release will be ready. I read rumors that summer 2007 is when VMware is expected to put out a stable 1.0 non-beta Fusion product. Until then I plan to use Parallels and will compare the two once VMware Fusion is released as a non-beta product.
As for open source virtualization on Mac OS X, I have not had the chance to research that yet. I am sure there is some open source virtualization ports to Mac OS X like Xen or Virtuozzo.
If you need to run Linux, Windows or other operating systems in virtualization on Mac OS X, you can today and it works well.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Mac Envy Thoughts
I actually work with Microsoft employed developers and technologists. I can say first hand that many Microsoft employees also have Mac envy but are very careful about what they say publicly. Windows Vista is basically trying to catchup to Mac OS X as it existed in 2004. Look at this article, "Stop Mac Envy Forever" written in 2004. What is ironic is that 2.5 years later, 'forever' never arrived or was attained. More users are opting for the Mac and Apple appears to have forward market momentum.
Today in 2007, well I tell you that based on reviews I have read about Windows Vista they did not attain the goals set out in 2004 while creating a Windows that is as good as Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Look at all the reviews of Vista lately and approx 75% of them (see this post) mention Mac OS X Tiger in some manner as the baseline comparison for usability, security and 'fun' factor. The Apple commercials are a big hit across the board.
I use Linux, Windows and Mac OS X everyday. At work, Windows is the platform and I get to use Linux in virtualization. In research and at home, I use all three platforms. My primary OS is Mac OS X, followed by Linux and then Windows XP. Windows is a necessary platform just due to market share.
Why deal with Mac Envy? Rather than sit on the sidelines, just get a Mac! You will not regret it if you are open minded and are willing to stretch your computing horizons. Like Apple says, "It just works." It does. I now use my MacBook as a Java development platform and multimedia everything device. iTunes on Mac OS X runs so much cleaner, snappier and consistently compared to iTunes on Windows. No more hiccups or other strangeness that tends to occur when listening to MP3s or watching a DVD on Windows.
I haven't even mentioned the next release of Mac OS X, Leopard. It has even more significant enhancements that will propel Mac OS X above and beyond what Tiger can do today. If you are interesting in the future, check out Apple's info about Leopard and watch the Leopard sneak peak videos. I am impressed and will upgrading to Leopard when it comes out later this year.
Bottom line, if are envious, I feel for you. While you wonder about what it would be like if you got a Mac, I will just keep writing about how my Mac works better than Linux and Windows for me and just keeps improving on a daily basis. In the mean time, good luck with all your patches, worries about security, slow-downs, strange unexplained delays/lockups, and perception that you are running the best OS that exists today. You do have one consolation, you are with the majority running Windows so group therapy is an option.
Today in 2007, well I tell you that based on reviews I have read about Windows Vista they did not attain the goals set out in 2004 while creating a Windows that is as good as Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Look at all the reviews of Vista lately and approx 75% of them (see this post) mention Mac OS X Tiger in some manner as the baseline comparison for usability, security and 'fun' factor. The Apple commercials are a big hit across the board.
I use Linux, Windows and Mac OS X everyday. At work, Windows is the platform and I get to use Linux in virtualization. In research and at home, I use all three platforms. My primary OS is Mac OS X, followed by Linux and then Windows XP. Windows is a necessary platform just due to market share.
Why deal with Mac Envy? Rather than sit on the sidelines, just get a Mac! You will not regret it if you are open minded and are willing to stretch your computing horizons. Like Apple says, "It just works." It does. I now use my MacBook as a Java development platform and multimedia everything device. iTunes on Mac OS X runs so much cleaner, snappier and consistently compared to iTunes on Windows. No more hiccups or other strangeness that tends to occur when listening to MP3s or watching a DVD on Windows.
I haven't even mentioned the next release of Mac OS X, Leopard. It has even more significant enhancements that will propel Mac OS X above and beyond what Tiger can do today. If you are interesting in the future, check out Apple's info about Leopard and watch the Leopard sneak peak videos. I am impressed and will upgrading to Leopard when it comes out later this year.
Bottom line, if are envious, I feel for you. While you wonder about what it would be like if you got a Mac, I will just keep writing about how my Mac works better than Linux and Windows for me and just keeps improving on a daily basis. In the mean time, good luck with all your patches, worries about security, slow-downs, strange unexplained delays/lockups, and perception that you are running the best OS that exists today. You do have one consolation, you are with the majority running Windows so group therapy is an option.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Zero Effort Installs
I blogged earlier about how I really liked the "Mac way" of installing software, just drag and drop into your Applications. How simple! Well, it looks like the Linux world is catching up to this concept. The Java world has Java WebStart which is very similar. Why should you have to run an install wizard/setup program and answer a bunch of questions, the Windows way? How archaic.
Hence, Zero Install. This is a new product that works on Linux packages your applications into a container very similar to the .app package in Mac OS X. There is no installation step with Zero Install. Rather than install and run, you just run. Zero Install handles everything else. Wow! Like I said, it is very much like the "Mac way" of doing things. Intuitive, simple and it just works. Nothing to read, figure out, configure or waste time 'working through' the encountered issues.
You can do something similar to how Zero Install works on the Mac OS X by just running your application from within a .dmg file (disk image file) but it adds additional overhead and you take a slight performance hit. At least, in my experience running Mac applications directly from within .dmg files.
Anyway, it looks like Mac OS X, Java and Linux are leading the way to the future of computing in yet another area, application installation/execution, with Windows is far behind. At least, Java WebStart is cross platform. Have fun!
Hence, Zero Install. This is a new product that works on Linux packages your applications into a container very similar to the .app package in Mac OS X. There is no installation step with Zero Install. Rather than install and run, you just run. Zero Install handles everything else. Wow! Like I said, it is very much like the "Mac way" of doing things. Intuitive, simple and it just works. Nothing to read, figure out, configure or waste time 'working through' the encountered issues.
You can do something similar to how Zero Install works on the Mac OS X by just running your application from within a .dmg file (disk image file) but it adds additional overhead and you take a slight performance hit. At least, in my experience running Mac applications directly from within .dmg files.
Anyway, it looks like Mac OS X, Java and Linux are leading the way to the future of computing in yet another area, application installation/execution, with Windows is far behind. At least, Java WebStart is cross platform. Have fun!
Friday, February 9, 2007
Another One Makes The Switch
It looks like a prominent Windows expert, Scott Finnie, who has been evaluating and using Mac OS X on his new MacBook since last November has arrived at a conclusion, he is switching to the Mac entirely. This is after a 3-month objective trial of switching to Mac OS X in comparison to Windows Vista. "Windows Expert Jumps Ship".
I bought my first Mac in the same timeframe and can say that I have come to the same realization. I really like my MacBook and more importantly Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger in comparison to my experience with Linux and Windows. I have been a long time Linux and even longer Windows user/developer. If I need Windows, then I can use Parallels virtualization to run Windows on my Mac.
I am glad I am not the only one that has made a recent switch. My results are extremely positive. As I have stated previously, I will continue using Linux and Windows but for my preferred environment, I am making Mac OS X it. After over two-months of working on my MacBook, I am getting to the point of becoming proficient using it. Sayonara Windows!
I bought my first Mac in the same timeframe and can say that I have come to the same realization. I really like my MacBook and more importantly Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger in comparison to my experience with Linux and Windows. I have been a long time Linux and even longer Windows user/developer. If I need Windows, then I can use Parallels virtualization to run Windows on my Mac.
I am glad I am not the only one that has made a recent switch. My results are extremely positive. As I have stated previously, I will continue using Linux and Windows but for my preferred environment, I am making Mac OS X it. After over two-months of working on my MacBook, I am getting to the point of becoming proficient using it. Sayonara Windows!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
