Desktop Linux

Okay, so the JWZ thing really bugs me. Bugging me to the point of “Desktop Linux is Dead” level of bugging me. It doesn’t help that Danny Silverman wants to get rid of all linux on the desktop as well. Nor does it help that I bought an iMac for Final Cut Pro, introducing the first non linux OS to my computer usage in years.

jwz's workspace

jwz’s workspace

jwz's mouse and keyboard

jwz’s cool left handed mouse and side keyboard

My Workspace

Compared to my setup

But the fact remains, I actually think Mac OS X is sluggish and retarded in many ways. The DVD player is atrocious. It seems ridiculous to me that in order to do a lot of little things you have to pay $15 bucks for some application written by some guy which will probably be abandonware in a year, and basic upgrades to the OS cost $150. Or you can do a lot of piracy. The Dock is really really dumb. Task switching in OS X is dumb. No SFTP support in the finder. Quicktime Player is one of the worst things ever. iTunes is cludgy for music playback and doesn’t play ogg. iDVD crashes like a son of a gun constantly. The System Preferences panel is ridiculously organized. I can’t figure out a way to turn off the screen or blank it without suspending the damn machine because it doesn’t seem to have a simple “blank” screensaver.

The good things about OS X are, expose (!!!!), zero hardware configuration, I never have to open up vi for anything, iTunes for CD ripping and mp3 organization and burning, a reasonable way to actually backup video dvds, the iLife suite existing even if it crashes, and the finder is pretty damned awesome. None of these would justify owning one for me due to the high prices and lack of hardware compatibility. What would (and did) is Final Cut Studio. It is unrivaled in feature set and usability. It is the only reason I own a mac.

More later.