Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac OS X Rapidly Catching on with *nix Geeks

Dirk Pilat - 2002.09.27

Hi!

I can almost hear you groan, "Oh my (insert personal choice of supernatural being in here)! It's that annoying person living in New Zealand again!"

Yep, sorry. It's me again. Not to grovel or complain or anything, but, au contraire, report on an interesting trend that was already noticeable about 12 months ago, and since then has developed into an unstoppable tsunami.

What am I talking about? The transformation of OS X into the preferred toy for alpha-geeks, of course. You see, I always aspired to be an alpha geek: It's not so much the dress code or the Jolt Cola, but the fact that you can write your own device drivers, debug Python-code, write Java applets, get invited to O'Reilly conferences, and have incredibly good karma on Slashdot.

The only problem I have is that I can't program. Not one dot. Apart from Sinclair BASIC, that is. So, without the credentials, I at least want to have the hardware. So I got myself my first beige PC, learned how to us OpenBSD (well, let's say I am getting there), and started to fumble around with the BSD-underpinnings of OS X.

And I am not alone, because Apple hardware seems to be getting the flavour of the day in the alpha geek world:

As Ian Betteridge, the editor of MacUser UK, predicted, X's BSD core makes it incredibly seductive for a hard-core Unix/Linux/*BSD user to buy hardware that actually works and for which he/she doesn't have to write the device drivers. Look at Moshe Bar's article on Byte.com on switching from a Linux Laptop to a TiBook, the ensuing comments by the titans of geekdom, Hemos and Cdr. Taco from Slashdot and the 985 replies (and counting) to that story (pretty good even for Slashdot).

It is definitely hip again to have one of those cool Apple toys. The reasons are obvious: Not only does the hardware work out of the box, but it has a great GUI, runs MS's industry-standard software (which does not mean that it's a particularly good standard), and also runs every geek toy you wish, so you're not without XWindows, Pine, Vi, Emacs, etc.

For goodness sake, it comes with a Python compiler! I am pretty sure that Microsoft does not include a C and Python Compiler with XP.

So, although there is still plenty of controversy around Mac OS X, Apple seems to have made the right choice by using NeXTstep and BSD Unix as the foundation for OS X.

I don't know if BeOS would have attracted the same amount of interest from the nerd community, and it would certainly not have had the same range of compatibility to the *nix set of tools.

Well done, Steve.

Recent Down But Not Out Columns

Thoughts and advice on replacing a two-year-old iBook G4, 02.01. This iBook G4 has taken a beating. Does it make more sense to buy a new iBook G4, wait for the Intel models, or look at the used market?
iBook on last legs, Mac mini saves marriage, and Macintel meanderings, 01.23. With the iBook G4 "falling apart at the seams", does it make more sense to buy a new G4 iBook or wait for the Intellified next gen iBook?
First impressions of the 14" iBook G4, 11.13. "Apple has managed to produce a machine that combines everything I want from a portable computer with appropriate processor performance for a competitive price."
Apple shines after a poorly timed iBook order, 11.06. The frustration of ordering a G3 iBook just two days before it was replaced by a G4 model.
More in the Down But Not Out index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
November 23 in LEM history: 99: Should I buy a USB card? - 01: Can a low-end Mac be an only Mac? - Palm Desktop without a PDA - CyberDog saves the day - 05: How Consumer Reports could compare Macs fairly - Speakers for your Mac - Living with the hi-res 15" PowerBook - Birth of the PowerBook - Daystar 1.9 GHz iMac G4 upgrade - 1.92 GHz PowerBook upgrade

Recent Deals

Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Down But Not Out begun April 26, 2002. All Down But Not Out articles ©2002-03, 2006 by Dirk Pilat. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.