i have used windows for years and tried the new vista but i dont like how vonerable it is. i at one point tried suse 9.3 but it was hard to even just download stuff and install it. so i have a few questions on apple and linux

about how long does it take to get the basics down in linux

is apple any easier (user friendly)

is apple based off linux

whats are some advantages of linux and apple.

generally wich is better apple or linux.

does apple of linux run smoother

If you use windows you have the basics down for any GUI linux.

Apple may be easier... not sure... I think Apple looks very cool but I can't afford to buy one.

Apple is based on Unix. Linux is based on Unix. So I guess they are second cousins or something.

The greatest advantage that Linux would offer (shocker...Im recommending Linux on this site), is that it and a host of applications are all free. Plus you can use that Windows PC you are using now without spending a dime.

I recommend you try out some Live CDs. I must have tried 15 or 20 so far and I've only been into Linux for a few months. My favorites are Ubuntu, Slax, Wolvix, Suse and Knoppix. Start off with Slax. Download the iso, burn it to disk and boot your PC with it. When the video, sound and internet work automatically you will wonder why you waited so long to try it.

I tried to link but I haven't posted enough to earn that privlege apparently. So this is reply v.2,

Enjoy.

The traditional banter is Mac vs Windows--and before that. Mac vs. DOS.
Linux is the answer to the Mac/Windows debate in that it typically stops the conversation cold.

The SERIOUS answer to "which is better?" is Yes. I'm not kidding. No-one but you will ever know---if for no other reason than it is not possible for you to state all of your needs, biases, ergonomic quirks, etc.

In 1 day you can install 5 different Linux distros AND spend an hour at the Apple store.

Good answer, except for one thing. Linux is not Unix. They are much more distant relations than second cousins.

http://www.levenez.com/unix/

If you want Unix, give FreeBSD a try. That is a branch on the main trunk of the Unix genealogy.

But to address alana.justin's original question - OSX (Tiger) on the Mac has an absolutely gorgeous interface. It does a ton of things really well. I've never met a Mac Weenie that wasn't in love with their Mac. Which is why I don't recommend it. Acolytes proselytizing scare me.

bcmiller's suggestion is a good one, burn some live CDs and give them a try on the hardware you already own. A great way to experiment and experience what Linux has to offer without spending much. pixellany is also right in that the determination of "what is best" is a personal one. Only you can decide what is right for you.

Apple is a squillion times easier. Apple isn't based of linux. Other than that, all of your other questions are centered around the user and the machine, how smoothly it runs depends on the machine. If you are an idiot you can never use linux, but Apple OS X won't be easy either. Idiots can't do anything right. If you are smart enough to read/write and speak coherently then you shouldn't have problems with either OS. Neither of them are very difficult.

Just to clarify...

I said that Linux is based on Unix and Apple is based on Unix.

I never said Linux is Unix or Apple is based on Linux.

I am itching to get a good Apple Laptop one day but... if the question is Linux or Apple I would pick the one that is free first and try the other later if it comes to that.

Also, you can be an idiot and use some of the most user friendly Linux distros. Sad to say, Im proof of that!

ive been using windows for a long time. since 3.1 came out many years ago. boy was 3.11 a world of greatness in its day.

linux or OSx. well as i went linux first, for same reason as guy below $$$, and it has taken me roughly 2 years to get very comfortable with a lot of user and maintanance stuff in linux. keeping in mind it has taken you a long time to get good with windows, it will take you a simular time to get just as good in an other OS.

for me linux is the better OS of the 3 mentioned, but OSx really does make it very easy to learn and figure the basics out. not to mention with Apple Care and a few other add on type goodies you can buy from Apple, life will be even simpler. Apple does not farm out its CSR or its TSR so you always get someone who speaks your native language in your country. For me that is English in America. Every time I have called Apple i have had zero problem understanding the person on the phone, they have always been extremely polite and patient and very knowledgable in the ways of OSx.

OSx is a very nice OS, but it lacks some of the basics of the *nix world. example it does not have any terminals. if the GUI locks up, you either have to wait it out, or power cycle the system. pulling the power cord is NEVER a good idea for any OS. As OSx does not run X as its GUI they run the apple backend, no clue what its called, you do not have the power to create thin client to any OS or to weaker workstations like you do in a true *nix system.

Also as i just dont know enough about how OSx handles networking i find linux easier to network and configure, but that is a skill thing not an OS thing. no different then when i first started using linux. windows was easier to network, not linux is easier. i understand more now and can do more with linux networking then i can in widows.

so if money is an obstacle then use a spare computer and run linux on it. SuSe 10, or FC 3 (not 4) or even Ubuntu or Kbuntu will be great to start out with. All 3 of those (yes 3 as the *buntu project is all the same just with different GUIs) distros make everything rather easy. From the install, to updates, to configuring they are all very nice.

updates and installs are about as easy as it gets in those distros:

SuSe you have Yast. this is a GUI (or CLI) package manager that allows you to click and install what you want, or remove what you want. very simple. much simpler then anything windows has.

FC you have YUM. this is a CLI program that is as easy as yum install file_name and you are done. really very simple.

with the *buntu project they have both a GUI and CLI for apt-get. the GUI vs. is just as easy as Yast, but is much faster. for the CLI it is as simple as typing the following:

sudo apt-get install file_name

thats it.

if you have the cash, the new iMACs just came out and for less then $2300 you can get a REALLY nice, fast, powerful system that can even play just about any game on the market today, that is ported for OSx, and will run circles around any PC on the market without going dual CPU with dual core and 4G ram with SLI PCIe vid cards from Nvidia.

anyways, enjoy both worlds, i am so glad to be MS free.

I do not think of Linux as a distant relation of Unix. More often than not, if I know the Unix answer, I can figure out the Linux answer very quickly. And good books on Unix usually answer Linux questions.
How about this: Linux is more like Unix than is any other currently popular OS.

Apple OS X is based off FreeBSD, which was reworked and called Open Darwin, and is the underlying framework of OS X. The gui is the main feature that a lot of people like Mac for, but your preference may vary. For your question on which runs smoother, I would say Linux _can_. If you install KDE or Gnome or another heavier gui, things won't exactly fly on Linux. But you have the choice! On Mac, you are stuck with the same aqua gui setup forever. I personally find it slow and a memory hog. Personally, I don't see how Mac improves productivity at all, flashy this and shiny that doesn't matter when a person is just hotkeying various apps and working away. Your needs may vary of course. User friendliness is a difficult thing to measure. What is friendly to one may be awkward to another. Does friendly mean logical? Or do nagging popup boxes help a system to be user friendly? OS X is more automated and provides more feedback, confirmations, organized help, etc. You may or may not consider that a good thing.
If you can, give a go at both systems, check out prices and models and see what appeals to you. Once I got into Slackware I never looked back, and have never considered OS X for any real work. I enjoy customizing and tweaking every last bit of the system though, as compared to being locked into Apple's choices.

EDIT: Another thing, as the above poster mentioned, the new x86 based Macs were announced recently. They don't exactly "run circles around any PC on the market", but should be a factor if you are considering Apple, as you can now choose an older slower PPC model or wait for the x86 models to be fleshed out.

As a side note, I found it amusing that for years Apple zealots have been defending PPC, denouncing benchmarks that proved PPC was much slower. And now with the release of the x86 Macs, they all flip flopped and drew attention to the same benchmarks they had been downplaying for years. Such a "drink the kool-aid", 1984-ish cult.

Sorry, I didn't mean to post anything that would take us so far off topic. But...

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...postid=1697137

And for one of the coolest diagrams ever:

http://www.levenez.com/unix/

Linux is POSIX, Portable Operating System based on unIX. It shares no code with the original Berklely Unix and, thus, it is not part of that family tree. It looks like a cat, it acts like a cat, it smells like a cat. But it ain't a cat - it's a penguin. We should be glad. Since Linus wrote it from scratch and released it under the GPL, the GPL applies.

BSD, on the other hand, does contain code that can be traced all the way back to the original Berkeley Unix. Thus the "B" in BSD.

Holy S___!!! It's like tracing the origin of all the world's religions, languages, etc.

One more rock into the Semantic Pond: Even with fresh code, if it looks and acts like Unix, then--to the user--it is a cousin of Unix.
Imagine you have two identical cars in terms of performance, appearance, handling, etc. The user does not normally care if one is 4-valve gas and the other is a hydrogen-burning Wankel.

My brother-in-law who is a diehard Mac junkie with money, gave me an old I-Mac 400 mhz machine running OSX. It has it's own learning curve just like "Linux" does. It uses a different file architecture and things don't make any sense at first, but you learn as you go.From the GUI it is a point and click world just like Windows and any of the Linux GUI's. My struggle is not having the money to buy the proprietary software to make the machine really useful to me. So far anything I have needed for my various "Linux" machines has been readily available and free to download. Things to make Linux and Windows live happily together are more available, office file compatibility, etc. That is my brother-in-law's biggest problem at the moment. He is a doctor and runs his office network all on Mac's and alas it is a mostly Windows world. My sister has a laptop with Win XP Pro on it and hates it because she is more comfortable with her Mac. So it boils down to mostly what you are comfortable running and what you are accustomed to. Her biggest beef is the need for XP for her VNC software to connect to the hospital's system. Nothing that Mac can supply will connect. So depending on your personal "needs" there are a few things that may steer you one way or the other. The joy of Linux is the ease of getting and trying the different flavors until you find the one that you like. I started with Slackware and after 4 different choices am pretty sure, at the moment, I am going to stay with Debian based. With Mac you are kind of stuck with one. Same with Windows. And both of those have to be purchased. Ultimately do a little research and the decision is up to you and what you need it to do for you.