[DM-MUG] Linux on a Mac

[John Kisner]

I only get to 1 or 2 meetings a year, so discount the worth of my 
opinion accordingly.  I've sat through some presentations at these 
meetings that are over my head or outside my field of interest, so in a 
sense a discussion of Linux wouldn't be that much different from a 
practical standpoint.  But in the abstract, even though I'm not very 
interested in manipulating digital images on my Mac, "how to" info was 
something I could file away in the "maybe someday" cabinet.

But the theoretical implications of a "how to" Linux presentation are 
enormous.  Especially when considered a week before the release of 
Tiger.  It would be downright subversive.

On a practical level, perhaps it would be interesting to devote a 
meeting to using the Mac in a mixed environment.  Networking issues, 
file sharing, etc.  Many people need to run Windows programs, and it 
would be interesting to hear whether SoftPC (or whatever) really does 
the job (and how fast).  I share a monitor between a Mac and a Gateway, 
for instance, and bought the Gateway because SoftPC seemed too slow and 
too buggy on my old G3.  Maybe today's version is worth looking into.  
But frankly, I think I'd rather leave that stuff to my private research 
and pursuit... the meetings should be devoted to all things Macintosh.

I will close with an unrelated observation.  There will always be a 
tension between what the "professional" Mac people want to discuss at 
meetings and what the "amateurs" are interested in.  The pros seem to 
go out of their way to use products outside the mainstream -- 
shareware, unix hacks, etc.  I think this group does a good job trying 
to cater to both types of users, but think the best meetings find 
common ground between the groups.  Tiger should provide ample 
opportunity for discussions that enlighten users of all stripes.  I 
hope to be able to shake free to attend.

John Kisner

On Apr 23, 2005, at 10:27 AM, Darcy Baston wrote:

> Hey folks. I've just spent the last week or so trying different PPC 
> Linux distributions on my iBook. I've settled with a distro called 
> Ubuntu. It installed the easiest/quickest, has the best interface if 
> you're new to Linux, and has had the least amount of quirks. If you'd 
> like me to give a presentation at a future meeting, let me know! I can 
> present what my experience with each distribution was like.
>
> Darcy
>
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