Sleep Is For The Weak

I mentioned earlier that the company I work for is firmly rooted in Open Source software.  Almost all of our servers are running FreeBSD with a couple, read three, CentOS Linux servers for Xen thrown in.  All of the sites we develop use exclusively  Open Source software as well, nginx, varnish, pound and zope for example.  The exception to our commitment to Open Source is on our desktop.  We all have Mac Notebooks, running OS X.  While parts of OS X are Open Source, the vast majority of the OS is not.

Our lead developer mentioned an interest in moving onto something else due to some performance problems in OS X.  Today he explained he had downloaded PC-BSD to run as a Virtual Machine.  I’ve been using PC-BSD on and off since version 1.2 was in beta and really like it.  The recent move to KDE4 is a bit of a turn off for me, but it can obviously be worked around.  So, as I’m writing this I am actively backing up my Mac in preparation of installing PC-BSD on a 30 GB partition.  I’ll be sure to report back after I play with it on the Mac hardware for a week or so, and will do my due diligence and report any bugs I encounter to the PC-BSD bug trackers.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to pop back for a review of PC-BSD on my Mac Book Pro.

Thanks to: relax7d(2) for the image.

About three months ago I started a new job where I was issued a MacBook computer. At that time I wasn’t sure I liked the machine. It did most of what I wanted it to, but had a number of quirks I found rather annoying. I’ve continued using the MacBook, and have come to appreciate some of the software that’s available for OS X. Applications like TextMate, Cornerstone, and CocoaMySQL are fantastic. I’m sure there are similar applications for Windows, and other Unix Like operating systems (FreeBSD, Linux). However the integration between these applications and the operating system really is very good.

The default Apple Terminal application is also very good. Most terminals are suitable for my needs, however the keyboard shortcuts are great. Copy/Paste “Just Works”, opening new terminal windows are just a Command+n away. All in all a solid terminal, with a lot of features, that works with a minimum of annoyances.

Applications like QuickSilver make using the computer even faster. Ctrl+Space itu Enter launches iTunes. Ctrl+Space file Enter launches filezilla. Ctrl+Space text Enter launces textedit. really a simple function to add, and I’ve been told QuickSilver does a lot more than function as an application launcher, but this feature alone is enough to make me happy.

Considering the slow hard drive installed in the MacBook I’m surprised at how snappy the system is overall at most tasks. If I continue editing video from conferences we attend I am likely to have a 320gb 7200rpm drive installed. In part because 1 hour of video is 12gb, and in part because drive speed does matter while editing videos.

I wouldn’t say the MacBook is a superior computer to a commodity PC with a Unix Like operating system installed, and a fair amount of system customization to fit the users individual needs. But I will say that out of the box, with a minimal amount of configuration Apple has provided a pretty fantastic system.

Thanks to: The_Jorr for the image