Making the transisiton to a Mac

[little elvis]

I ordered and received a few days ago a refurbed 2.5Ghz 15.4" Macbook Pro.

I've been exclusively a linux user for the last 12 years, so I know the move to OSX will likely be a painful one, but, I'm willing to give it a go. If all else fails, I'll just put linux on it!

First Impressions...

• Love the hardware, eventhough the MacBook Pro I got is the "last generation model" the hardware design still blew me away
  
  It runs hot, very hot, idle temps are in the 42 to 49C range and appears to top out at 83C under heavy load. The bottom surface, geez, that get's HOT
  
  Hate the way OSX renders fonts, after a few days it's growing on me, but I find the font rendering under Linux 100X better
  
  Love the hardware/software integration. My biggest problem with Linux was the poor driver support, I never felt I was getting the full potential out of my hardware, definitely not the case with OSX
  
  I actually really like the dock!
  
  I miss the software repositories, it makes life so much easier to go "apt-get install firefox" No hunting for software. I'm really missing that convenience.
  
  A little miffed by the how little Apple allows you to customize OSX... I can't even seem to find how to change the size of the system fonts!

I know I've just scratched the surface of OSX, however, right now, I'm not that impressed. But I will give it a good 6 months before deciding to whether keep it or not.

Some questions.

Any advice on securing OSX?

Looking for a replacement for Tomboy any suggestions?

Is there a way I can get the full date displayed on the top bar. The most I can get it to display is the day of the week. I would like it to display the month, day and the day of the week.

Any website suggestions were I can learn "tips and tricks" for OSX

Thanks!

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: little elvis
I ordered and received a few days ago a refurbed 2.5Ghz 15.4" Macbook Pro.

I've been exclusively a linux user for the last 12 years, so I know the move to OSX will likely be a painful one, but, I'm willing to give it a go. If all else fails, I'll just put linux on it!

First Impressions...

• Love the hardware, eventhough the MacBook Pro I got is the "last generation model" the hardware design still blew me away
  
  It runs hot, very hot, idle temps are in the 42 to 49C range and appears to top out at 83C under heavy load. The bottom surface, geez, that get's HOT
  
  Hate the way OSX renders fonts, after a few days it's growing on me, but I find the font rendering under Linux 100X better
  
  Love the hardware/software integration. My biggest problem with Linux was the poor driver support, I never felt I was getting the full potential out of my hardware, definitely not the case with OSX
  
  I actually really like the dock!
  
  I miss the software repositories, it makes life so much easier to go "apt-get install firefox" No hunting for software. I'm really missing that convenience.
  
  A little miffed by the how little Apple allows you to customize OSX... I can't even seem to find how to change the size of the system fonts!

I know I've just scratched the surface of OSX, however, right now, I'm not that impressed. But I will give it a good 6 months before deciding to whether keep it or not.

Some questions.

Any advice on securing OSX?

Looking for a replacement for Tomboy any suggestions?

Is there a way I can get the full date displayed on the top bar. The most I can get it to display is the day of the week. I would like it to display the month, day and the day of the week.

Any website suggestions were I can learn "tips and tricks" for OSX

Thanks!

Fonts: Linux, OS X and Windows all render fonts differently. I frankly can't stand how Ubuntu renders fonts, they all look way too blurry. But that is because I am used to OS X. You can adjust the Font size for folder labels and the like (so, filenames, folder names in the finder window, not the header) by opening a Finder window and then doing Command+J.

In order to get the full date, I suggest iStat Menus.

Security... Leave it on default and you should be ok.

As far as repositories go.... I disagree with you there, but that is because I came from the Windows world where one goes onto the intarwebs directly to find a program instead of typing it into a Terminal. Not saying you are wrong, just that this is a wildly different point of view for you, and that takes getting used to (like every time I try to give linux a whirl and can't easily get things on teh intarwebs)

TomBoy Replacement in OS X?

Tips and Tricks, maybe check out the stickied thread at the top of the forum?

 

[little elvis]

Thanks for your suggestions, especially on how to change the system font size

As for font rendering, I agree it is personal preference, but, could I be doing something wrong in OSX? See the comparison below...

Linux Fonts
OSX Fonts

Thanks again

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: little elvis
Thanks for your suggestions, especially on how to change the system font size

As for font rendering, I agree it is personal preference, but, could I be doing something wrong in OSX? See the comparison below...

Linux Fonts
OSX Fonts

Thanks again

Show me a screenshot of your System Preferences -> Appearances window.

Or, alternatively, send me a PM if you are ok with me Screen Sharing your system, or at least trying to... it can be hit or miss on my connections.

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: little elvis
Thanks for your suggestions, especially on how to change the system font size

As for font rendering, I agree it is personal preference, but, could I be doing something wrong in OSX? See the comparison below...

Linux Fonts
OSX Fonts

Thanks again

Show me a screenshot of your System Preferences -> Appearances window.

Or, alternatively, send me a PM if you are ok with me Screen Sharing your system, or at least trying to... it can be hit or miss on my connections.

Here you go

Appearance Tab

 

[TheStu]

Well, here is what I have been able to come up with.

In your linux screenshot, the letters certainly look crisper, no doubt about it. Also, the font is slightly larger than the OS X screenshot. No idea how much bearing it has on the sharpness, but there you go.

When comparing your OS X screenshot to my own MacBook, both myself and my artistically inclined friend agreed that although mine was not as sharp as Linux, it was certainly sharper than your OS X screenshot.

However, your Appearance settings match my own.

We also determined, that at least on my system, both Firefox and Safari were nearly identical on my mac in terms of font rendering.

You are absolutely positive that you are running at the correct res? That could cause issues.

I apologize if at any time you feel that I am insulting your intelligence, but it is always important to get the little silly things out of the way first (Is it on? That sort of thing)

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Well, here is what I have been able to come up with.

In your linux screenshot, the letters certainly look crisper, no doubt about it. Also, the font is slightly larger than the OS X screenshot. No idea how much bearing it has on the sharpness, but there you go.

When comparing your OS X screenshot to my own MacBook, both myself and my artistically inclined friend agreed that although mine was not as sharp as Linux, it was certainly sharper than your OS X screenshot.

However, your Appearance settings match my own.

We also determined, that at least on my system, both Firefox and Safari were nearly identical on my mac in terms of font rendering.

You are absolutely positive that you are running at the correct res? That could cause issues.

I apologize if at any time you feel that I am insulting your intelligence, but it is always important to get the little silly things out of the way first (Is it on? That sort of thing)

I'm running at 1440x900 which I think is the native display resolution for the MacBook Pro.

If possible, can you post a screenshot, kinda curious.

As for insulting my intelligence, no worries! I feel like a complete noob again, trying to use OSX.

Thanks again!

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: TheStu
Well, here is what I have been able to come up with.

In your linux screenshot, the letters certainly look crisper, no doubt about it. Also, the font is slightly larger than the OS X screenshot. No idea how much bearing it has on the sharpness, but there you go.

When comparing your OS X screenshot to my own MacBook, both myself and my artistically inclined friend agreed that although mine was not as sharp as Linux, it was certainly sharper than your OS X screenshot.

However, your Appearance settings match my own.

We also determined, that at least on my system, both Firefox and Safari were nearly identical on my mac in terms of font rendering.

You are absolutely positive that you are running at the correct res? That could cause issues.

I apologize if at any time you feel that I am insulting your intelligence, but it is always important to get the little silly things out of the way first (Is it on? That sort of thing)

I'm running at 1440x900 which I think is the native display resolution for the MacBook Pro.

If possible, can you post a screenshot, kinda curious.

As for insulting my intelligence, no worries! I feel like a complete noob again, trying to use OSX.

Thanks again!

1440*900 is the native res of the MacBook Pro, so that checks out.

ScreenShot In that, Safari (my preferred) is on the left, and Firefox is on the right. As you can see, there is very little discernible difference between the two.

I found that the most important thing for me when I first started out with OS X was to keep experimenting. Also, remember that Command replaces CTRL, and that things are not going to work the way you are used to. But you may, in time come to prefer them. Try to focus just on OS X for at least the first week or two.

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: TheStu
Well, here is what I have been able to come up with.

In your linux screenshot, the letters certainly look crisper, no doubt about it. Also, the font is slightly larger than the OS X screenshot. No idea how much bearing it has on the sharpness, but there you go.

When comparing your OS X screenshot to my own MacBook, both myself and my artistically inclined friend agreed that although mine was not as sharp as Linux, it was certainly sharper than your OS X screenshot.

However, your Appearance settings match my own.

We also determined, that at least on my system, both Firefox and Safari were nearly identical on my mac in terms of font rendering.

You are absolutely positive that you are running at the correct res? That could cause issues.

I apologize if at any time you feel that I am insulting your intelligence, but it is always important to get the little silly things out of the way first (Is it on? That sort of thing)

I'm running at 1440x900 which I think is the native display resolution for the MacBook Pro.

If possible, can you post a screenshot, kinda curious.

As for insulting my intelligence, no worries! I feel like a complete noob again, trying to use OSX.

Thanks again!

1440*900 is the native res of the MacBook Pro, so that checks out.

ScreenShot In that, Safari (my preferred) is on the left, and Firefox is on the right. As you can see, there is very little discernible difference between the two.

I found that the most important thing for me when I first started out with OS X was to keep experimenting. Also, remember that Command replaces CTRL, and that things are not going to work the way you are used to. But you may, in time come to prefer them. Try to focus just on OS X for at least the first week or two.

I plan on sticking it out with OS X for a good while.

Thanks for your help!

 

[magnux]

Originally posted by: little elvis
I miss the software repositories, it makes life so much easier to go "apt-get install firefox" No hunting for software. I'm really missing that convenience.

MacPorts. Thank me later.

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: magnux

Originally posted by: little elvis
I miss the software repositories, it makes life so much easier to go "apt-get install firefox" No hunting for software. I'm really missing that convenience.

MacPorts. Thank me later.

Thanks! I'll definitely check it out.

 

[TheStu]

You may want to check out iusethis.com and get AppFresh.

AppFresh is like Software Update for the rest of your software. So, you launch it, it queries all the apps on your hard drive (most all of which will be conveniently installed in /Applications) and determine which ones are out of date.

It will then automatically download the latest version, and if possible, install it for you.

This is a nice addition for all the software that doesn't use Sparkle. Sparkle is a freeware addon that third party devs put in their software. It pings a server to see if a new version is available. If yes, it asks the user if they want to update. If yes, it downloads the update inline so there is no need to launch a browser. The user then selects to install and relaunch and bam, you are good to go.

All said and told, it isn't revolutionary compared to any other auto-updater, but it is so painless, and quick, and completely automated and that is what makes it great.

You definitely should get Perian, and VLC for the random things that don't work in Quicktime. VLC on OS X is quite nice, especially compared to the Windows version, and I use it for all of my MKVs.

I am going to assume that you are running Firefox since you come from Linux. Unless of course you were using KDE (do they have firefox for KDE? Does that sort of thing matter?) in which case you may have been exposed to Konquerer and may want to run Safari since they are both WebKit.

Personally, I like Safari, but then again, I don't run much in the way of plugins or anything, so that might be part of it.

Crossover is available for OS X, which is based on Wine. Also, VMWare Fusion is a very nice VM app that actually does more things than the Windows Workstation (though they added Unity to Workstation, which really messed with my friend's head, XP style windows in Vista)

Of course we are all here to answer any other questions that you may have. And the adjustment period takes some time, I can't tell you how many times I got soooo pissed at OS X in the first few weeks. But after a couple of weeks, I found my workflow was significantly faster, and I was spending more time working and less time dealing with the OS as opposed to Windows.

I never got into Linux (I guess my brain is wired wrong for Linux) so this is the only experience I have with Unix, but honestly I love it. My next notebook will be running OS X. That isn't to say that it will be a Mac, if I can find a good looking, well built laptop from someone other than Apple, that will definitely be hackable, then I might get that, but it will definitely be running OS X.

Although Windows 7 is looking quite nice, I might have to drop that on my MacBook to see how the power management is.

 

[Tegeril]

The font thing is interesting. Engadget primarily uses Arial on their site, however the Linux rendering does not look like Arial is supposed to look. It appears as if the Linux rendering is messing with the kerning of the font.

If you want the laptop to be able to go on your lap... you can download SMCFanController -- http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
The font thing is interesting. Engadget primarily uses Arial on their site, however the Linux rendering does not look like Arial is supposed to look. It appears as if the Linux rendering is messing with the kerning of the font.

If you want the laptop to be able to go on your lap... you can download SMCFanController -- http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049

Apparantely Apple renders fonts to be as close as possible to the fonts true shape and how the font would appear printed. Where Linux and Windows manipulates the shape of the fonts for maximum screen readability.

I still prefer Linux's font rendering, but, Apple's rendering method is growing on me.

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: TheStu
You may want to check out iusethis.com and get AppFresh.

AppFresh is like Software Update for the rest of your software. So, you launch it, it queries all the apps on your hard drive (most all of which will be conveniently installed in /Applications) and determine which ones are out of date.

It will then automatically download the latest version, and if possible, install it for you.

This is a nice addition for all the software that doesn't use Sparkle. Sparkle is a freeware addon that third party devs put in their software. It pings a server to see if a new version is available. If yes, it asks the user if they want to update. If yes, it downloads the update inline so there is no need to launch a browser. The user then selects to install and relaunch and bam, you are good to go.

All said and told, it isn't revolutionary compared to any other auto-updater, but it is so painless, and quick, and completely automated and that is what makes it great.

You definitely should get Perian, and VLC for the random things that don't work in Quicktime. VLC on OS X is quite nice, especially compared to the Windows version, and I use it for all of my MKVs.

I am going to assume that you are running Firefox since you come from Linux. Unless of course you were using KDE (do they have firefox for KDE? Does that sort of thing matter?) in which case you may have been exposed to Konquerer and may want to run Safari since they are both WebKit.

Personally, I like Safari, but then again, I don't run much in the way of plugins or anything, so that might be part of it.

Crossover is available for OS X, which is based on Wine. Also, VMWare Fusion is a very nice VM app that actually does more things than the Windows Workstation (though they added Unity to Workstation, which really messed with my friend's head, XP style windows in Vista)

Of course we are all here to answer any other questions that you may have. And the adjustment period takes some time, I can't tell you how many times I got soooo pissed at OS X in the first few weeks. But after a couple of weeks, I found my workflow was significantly faster, and I was spending more time working and less time dealing with the OS as opposed to Windows.

I never got into Linux (I guess my brain is wired wrong for Linux) so this is the only experience I have with Unix, but honestly I love it. My next notebook will be running OS X. That isn't to say that it will be a Mac, if I can find a good looking, well built laptop from someone other than Apple, that will definitely be hackable, then I might get that, but it will definitely be running OS X.

Although Windows 7 is looking quite nice, I might have to drop that on my MacBook to see how the power management is.

Thanks! I'll definitely check out your suggestions!

On a not so good note, I think there is a problem with laptops screen. I get significant fading going from left to right. The left side of the screen has nice saturated colours, but as you move across the screen the colours become washed out. It's especially bothersome reading text that goes across the screen. On the left side the text is black, but on the right side it's gray. I'm going to take it into Apple on Monday to have them check it out.

Just an interesting comparison. I was watching a HD video encoded in H.264 on the MacBook Pro, the CPU usage averaged about 50%. I took the same video and played it on my Linux laptop and its CPU usage averaged only 30%.

The Linux laptop is a 2.26 Ghz Core 2 Duo, and has Intel integrated video. I was just surprised it averaged less CPU usage, especially considering the MacBook Pro is a more powerful machine.

 

[Tegeril]

Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

Tegeril is right, using iStat Menus you can clearly see the utilization on each core. For example, right now I am at 6% on one and 2% on the other. But in any other OS that would be reckoned at 8%

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

I can confirm, that the Macbook Pro was using almost 98% of 200% where as the Linux machine was using 30% of 100% (or 61% of 200%)

I'm guessing OSX does not offload to the GPU for video decoding?

I did take the MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar this afternoon and they agreed that there is a problem with the screen. I'll have it repaired and back in 5 days.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

I can confirm, that the Macbook Pro was using almost 98% of 200% where as the Linux machine was using 30% of 100% (or 61% of 200%)

I'm guessing OSX does not offload to the GPU for video decoding?

I did take the MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar this afternoon and they agreed that there is a problem with the screen. I'll have it repaired and back in 5 days.

It does not offload video decoding as well as others no. At least not before the 9400 & 9600m, the newest MacBooks and MacBook Pros do offload to the GPU. I do not know why the limitation is there, especially considering that OS X as a whole does offload to the GPU, but that is just for window rendering (as in the CPU is taken out of the equation, the OS just sends the window stuff straight to the GPU)

So, that is another distinct advantage that the new MacBooks have over the old. Where you would be seeing CPU usage like what you are on yours, the new MacBook (as in with the 9400m) will register something around 20-30%, total usage, so maybe 15% on each core.

 

[little elvis]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

I can confirm, that the Macbook Pro was using almost 98% of 200% where as the Linux machine was using 30% of 100% (or 61% of 200%)

I'm guessing OSX does not offload to the GPU for video decoding?

I did take the MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar this afternoon and they agreed that there is a problem with the screen. I'll have it repaired and back in 5 days.

It does not offload video decoding as well as others no. At least not before the 9400 & 9600m, the newest MacBooks and MacBook Pros do offload to the GPU. I do not know why the limitation is there, especially considering that OS X as a whole does offload to the GPU, but that is just for window rendering (as in the CPU is taken out of the equation, the OS just sends the window stuff straight to the GPU)

So, that is another distinct advantage that the new MacBooks have over the old. Where you would be seeing CPU usage like what you are on yours, the new MacBook (as in with the 9400m) will register something around 20-30%, total usage, so maybe 15% on each core.

Why the artificial limitation? The 8600 is powerful enough to handle video decoding and does it very well under Windows and Linux (with the latest drivers).

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: little elvis

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Make sure that you're not talking about 50% of 200% and 30% of 100% because OS X adds another 100% per core in activity monitor.

As for the screen, Apple should replace that for free under warranty.

I can confirm, that the Macbook Pro was using almost 98% of 200% where as the Linux machine was using 30% of 100% (or 61% of 200%)

I'm guessing OSX does not offload to the GPU for video decoding?

I did take the MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar this afternoon and they agreed that there is a problem with the screen. I'll have it repaired and back in 5 days.

It does not offload video decoding as well as others no. At least not before the 9400 & 9600m, the newest MacBooks and MacBook Pros do offload to the GPU. I do not know why the limitation is there, especially considering that OS X as a whole does offload to the GPU, but that is just for window rendering (as in the CPU is taken out of the equation, the OS just sends the window stuff straight to the GPU)

So, that is another distinct advantage that the new MacBooks have over the old. Where you would be seeing CPU usage like what you are on yours, the new MacBook (as in with the 9400m) will register something around 20-30%, total usage, so maybe 15% on each core.

Why the artificial limitation? The 8600 is powerful enough to handle video decoding and does it very well under Windows and Linux (with the latest drivers).

Honestly I am not sure. It might have to do with how OS X is written since 10.6 is supposed to have GPU offloading, but I never finished my Software Engineering education, so I really have no idea why the limitation is there.

It would be nice, but its not like my macbook could take much advantage of it. I think that a piece of chewing gum has more graphics capabilities than my laptop