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0 pointsrbanffy9y ago0 comments

> OS X is so much more stable than any other Linux desktop I've ever used

> I agree that OS X is way more stable than Ubuntu, Fedora and any of their derivatives

You guys are doing something seriously wrong. I've been using Debian, Ubuntu CentOS and Fedora for years with no issue whatsoever, from puny Celeron-based laptops to multi-socket Xeon boxes.

I love my Macs, but to say they are in any way more stable than the Linux machines is indicative of something odd. To me, the biggest advantage of the Mac is being able to run iTunes and sync my phone.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

guitarbill9y ago· 2 in thread

On headless servers, yeah Linux is king. From our helpdesk stats at $work, OS X is stabler than Linux for (developer) laptops/desktops. The graphics drivers, while better than they used to be still suck. Apt-get still breaks stuff.

Taking into account the larger number of tickets from Linux machines plus not having a single vendor for hardware + software means it can actually be cheaper to support Apple MacBooks vs. Thinkpads + RHEL (not to mention that most of the devs don't want to use RHEL).

rbanffyOP9y ago

I really don't know what you are doing, but I can tell you apt hasn't broken anything here since the mid-2000's and all machines in my office are multi-headed and all of them use their GPUs. Even the laptops connect to big monitors when used on the desk.

Graphics card drivers are reasonable these days, even though manufacturers still tend to drag their feet. You have to understand these are computers, not gaming consoles. If I wanted to play games, I'd buy a Playstation.

Few developers want to use RHEL as their desktops, but that's what VMs and containers are for. My Mac development relies on VMs running Linux.

guitarbill9y ago

I suspect it's highly hardware dependant. Most of the time laptops are made to run Windows or Mac OS, and Linux is an afterthought. So to me it's a miracle that it even works.

But quite frankly, half of the problem is people telling others that it's somehow their fault when it doesn't work. It's not, e.g. NVIDIA Optimus [0] [1]. There are even jokes about ACPI support on Linux [2]. It only takes a few bad experiences for people to shy away from a platform, which is a shame.

[0] http://www.thelinuxrain.com/articles/the-state-of-nvidia-opt... [1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus [2] https://twitter.com/sadserver/status/721134795938357248

jkmcf9y ago

To be fair, I've used both w/ very little unexpected (cough, Linux) issues.

On OSX, practically no issues. A few system crashes in 10 years, and some very rare issues w/ keyboard/input (I think it's my company's mandatory security software...) The GUI more than makes up for any perceived cost issue (as much as I'd like them 500-1000 cheaper) and the available apps are generally 2x better than Windows and 10x better than Linux.

On Linux GUI, there are a lot of expected problems w/ drivers and such which you can work around with research, but you still end up occasionally having odd audio/graphics issues. X windows is antiquated and holds back the. Gnome/Tk are mediocre replacements, and the other options more so. Some people like twiddling/fighting to get their system setup properly, but I left those feelings 16 years ago.

On Linux server, practically no issues, effectively 100% reliable under most conditions.

OTOH, I know plenty of people who have recurring issues with their Macs, but I attribute it to them not really knowing what they are doing (this includes my wife on our shared MBP)

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