Part 2 of AnandTech's Review of OS X
I just read the second part of AnandTech's review of OS X, and this review was focused on the PowerBook G4 (whereas the last review focused on a dual G5 desktop system). I hope I am not misleading people by claiming these are pure reviews of OS X. The two part review is meant as an introduction to the experience of using Apple computers from the point of view of a PC enthusiast. OS X just happens to take center stage in both parts. Again, I must thank Adam for the link.
I know I mentioned this in yesterday's post, but I really must commend the author for his attention to detail. It seems like he spent a great deal of time asking himself what people would be most curious about regarding the rigors of the daily use of any computer, and he really does a great job pointing out what struck him as pleasant and what was a disappointment. A nice read. Here is a quote from the (again lengthy) review:
"Another feature that I didn't touch on was the freely downloadable X11 for OS X client. Using X11 for OS X, you can run X11 applications within the OS X interface. It's useful for college and university students in engineering programs where a lot of the applications that they use are X11 apps or are on machines they have to access remotely using ssh."
Wow, was I pegged or what. When I first read about the ability to seamlessly run X11 applications (of which the one I use most often is the text editor Emacs), I was extremely excited. The above quote is the only portion of the review discussing this feature, but it is definitely something I plan on looking into if I eventually decide to take the plunge with the Mac Mini. I would pretty much be getting the best of both worlds (Apple and Linux), and I have to say that's a pretty enticing scenario.
Oh, and I might as well clear the air now and mention that even if I do eventually get a Mac Mini, I will not be ditching Linux. First, I will always be using Linux for my research activities (I have not found another platform that is as conducive for the heavy computational load I place on systems I use for research), and second, I plan on getting a KVM switchbox so I can use the same mouse, keyboard, and monitor arrangement and just switch between Linux and the Mini depending on what I'm in the mood for. As always, more on that another time.
5 Comments:
Given that the X11 seems to be a recent discovery on your part, what are your main reasons for the interest in a Mac Mini? Or are you just out there looking for new experiences?
Well, I am definitely "looking for new experiences", as you say. None of my reasons are very profound, to be honest, and some of them are downright ridiculous. I fell in love with the iPod mini I bought last summer, and I would really prefer to have OS X interface with it as opposed to Windows (Linux does not handle it as gracefully as I would like either, but iTunes is not supported for Linux, so that makes more sense than the Windows complaints I have). I would also like a system that I don't have to tweak when I'm not in the mood to tweak. And, to be honest, OS X has some sort of magnetic hold over me, and I get the feeling I just won't be satisfied until I own an Apple computer with OS X on it so I can get a feel for it based on my own day-to-day computing activities. Being able to run the software I run everyday in Linux (via X11) is definitely a bonus.
Well, you can also run X on windows. I Installed Cygwyn/X today, and tunneled Tecplot/emacs/xterm from my Linux box at campus to my local XP (yes, XP; I have to operate under constraints imposed by the spousal unit) laptop, trough ssh. Very nice. Alleviates the need of having a double boot.
Yes, I regularly use X-Win32 to tunnel X11 to my XP laptop. Works fine, with the except of a an occasional crash when running a fairly resource-intensive windows programme, under wine, on a Linux machine, then tunnelling the X11 back to a windows machine. Don't even ask why, but it was fun!
The only time I have used X11 applications on Windows is via a free X-emulator (I think it was called X-Manager), and I was very disappointed. Emacs struggled quite a bit, but it is likely I had just configured the connection incorrectly. Regardless, from the little bit I have seen about the X11 stuff in OS X, it looks like the coupling is a bit more fundamental due to OS X's BSD base. I am curious if I go to the Apple Store whether they have a demo machine on which they can show me how the X11 subsystem works. That would be cool.
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