![]() It’s the same reason that you can’t play mp3s and DVDs out of the box with most versions of Linux–you have to download and perhaps pay to use the drivers that give you the “right” to access your own media.Įven with the that problem solved in the don’t-use-me-in-the-U.S. The reason? Use of proprietary drivers by Apple that don’t have direct workarounds. ![]() A browse through the Ubuntu and Mint forums told me that late-model Mac users have had problems getting basic hardware components to work with Linux, including critical things like Wifi cards. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for hardware compatibility. Unlike other OSes, in Linux, programs cost nothing, are downloaded from safe, virus-free central repositories, and work across multiple OS versions. I started out playing with popular “distros” Ubuntu and Kubuntu, but found both a bit clunky (Ubuntu seemed pretty plain to look at, and Kubuntu’s interface was needlessly confusing.) I like an OS that’s pretty but unobtrusive, and apparently I’m also a “home user tinkerer who likes my multimedia files to play out of the box.” (I took this test to find that out.) So yesterday I started exploring Linux Mint, an OS based on Ubuntu designed to be minimalist yet snazzy.Īt first glance, the crisp-looking interface backs up Mint’s slogan, “From freedom came elegance.” I won’t tell you I installed the thing, because the version of Mint I explored (there are others) includes proprietary drivers that conflict with U.S. ![]() Instead, dozens of freely available, mostly open-source distributions of the software exist, each aiming to satisfy a different set of users, and most installable on almost any machine. Most surprising to newbies like me, there is no single “official” version of the OS. Now, Linux is to Apple the way that Protestantism is to Catholicism: there’s little secretive mysticism, and lots of free choice. One-half of my goal is never again to have to pay several hundred extra dollars for specially branded hardware just to run my OS of choice, and the other half is to remove myself from Steve Jobs’ heavy-handed control of the applications I choose to install there. I dove into Linux at the suggestion of several commenters who urged me to take a look at the open-source end of the OS world before deciding to go over to the Microsoft “dark side.” Why not? I figured. (You can find all my updates in my Migration from Mac OS X post category.) This week I’ve been taking a closer look at Linux–and discovered yet another Apple tentacle wrapped around my right to choose my own OS: iTunes, and Apple’s ongoing refusal to port it to Linux. Last time I checked in, I had jailbroken my iPhone to install the unofficial Google Voice mobile app. Find other entries in the “I’m Not a Mac” series archive.īoy, what a tempest I discovered when I posted last week about my disillusionment with Apple Computer and my ongoing migration from OS X to the new and well-reviewed Windows 7. This post is part of my “I’m Not a Mac” series, chronicling my controversial migration away from Apple Computer after 15 years as a Mac user. ( Photo: “Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find…”) I’m Not a Mac #4–Control Issues: Why Apple Doesn’t Want You to Use Linux
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |