Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 vs OSX Leopard - Comparison Part 2

Thinking about installing a new operating system? Something different, stable and reliable? Maybe the Linux OS Ubuntu 7.10 or OSX Leopard10.5 ?

I have both OS X 10.x and Ubuntu 7.x running on separate laptops, and have used them for over 2 years now. The similarities are outstanding in more than a few ways. Below is PART 2 of my reviews and summary of main features of the latest Ubuntu 7.10 (codename Gutsy Gibbon) which have made it so appealing over Apple's OS X.

First and foremost, lets not forget that you get what you pay for, and since Ubuntu is free compared to the OS X Leopard, there are going to be some obvious added applications and tools in OS X which Ubuntu does not have (similar applications can be added in Ubuntu in most cases, again at no cost since there are no license fees and its open source).

My intent here is to educate the average user on their options. For the average user, installing a new operating system may seem challenging, not to mention learning its new interface and features. This is the main reason why Apple's OS X is so popular, its simplicity and features are key strengths. A PC running Ubuntu can be as easy as a Mac to use , the key is configuring it properly, there is no need to be intimidated with Ubuntu. Let me show you.

The Installation

Getting Ubuntu is easy, installing it was also a breeze ever since version 7.04. As outlined in my PART 1 review of the process briefly here in my video tutorial. I recommend you download the CD Installer and create a bootable installation CD. The minimum memory requirement for Ubuntu 7.10 is 384MB of memory and 4Gigs of space (for OS X Leopard its 512MB of memory and 9 gigs of space). What I was initially surprised of is the built in support for dual boot (OS X Leopard has Boot Camp) I had Windows XP already installed and Ubuntu allowed me during installation to setup partions and allocate space for the new OS to be installed keeping my Windows (XP or Vista) installation intact, and at the same time created the boot manager (aka Grub Boot Manager) which allows you to select the operating system on bootup.

One thing to note here is that you should have a network connection for Ubuntu auto update to later get updates online. Detection of hardware was smooth on my Lenovo T60 laptop (Dual Core PC), I did not have to get any additional drivers for my ATI X1400 to get anything to work. The fact that Ubuntu can run on different processor platforms (x86 architecture, PentiumTM, CeleronTM, AthlonTM, SempronTM and 64bit AMD and Intel chips) and is not setup to be proprietary to specific hardware making Ubuntu attractive to anyone with a basic Pentium chip to the most high end Quad Core PC.

The Desktop

Once you finish installation you would have also created the primary account ID and password during the setup wizard. this user ID has the permissions of a super user (Administrator access) for further configuring Ubuntu later.

The default desktop is not blue and does not look like OS X Leopard. However it is clean, intuitive and easy to navigate. The screen shot I have here is after I configured the appearance and added a Dock to mimic Leopard [Click to enlarge] which shows you how flexible this operating system can be.

Details on installing the AWN Manager and the Dock will be described in detail in PART 3 of my review summary.

Your first instinct may be to check out the menus and programs that come by default.
I found that there was a generous amount of standard applications and accessories. The main applications menu has the necessities such as the Open Office Suite (similar to Microsoft Office) , Evolution Mail (very similar to OS X Mail app) and Firefox (under the Internet menu option) and a generous set of multimedia utilities to play video, audio and manage your photos.

The menus are well organized and as you would expect shortcuts to be bundled under specific groups. Intuitive and straight to the point. These menus can be further configured to display more or less items as desired under the system preferences option for the main menu. Details of configuring appearance are in my Part 3 review and desktop effects is in PART 4 of my review.


The "Places" menu option allows you to browse your PC and / or network drives , just as the "Finder" option in OS X does. In my case I have this PC Dual Boot with a NTFS file system for Windows and have mounted my windows drives (using the NTFS Configuration Tool) so I can access them normally (I will post a how to video on this later).

The System Preferences gives you all the access you need to tweak and configure your computer, set your preferences for not just appearance but also screen resolution, power management , get hardware information and much more. [Click to watch the video]



Watch my video walkthrough of the workspace area

This is where most customization can be done regarding the theme and desktop effects.

The most popular Desktop effect for Ubuntu is the 3D Cube, Expo and Desktop Plane, which allows you to have virtual desktops (Workspaces) . In OS X Leopard this 3D Cube view does not exist, however there is the what Apple calls "Spaces" which performs similar functions. However I did find that Ubuntu 7.10 had many more desktop effects and eyecandy effects than Leopard did after I enabled the Compiz "Advanced Desktop Effects"

Ubuntu can be more than just eyecandy, use it as a secure method to connect online, worry less about viruses that plague the Windows OS, it has support for wireless and bluetooth connectivity and is not a resource hog. I find Ubuntu smooth with all the Desktop Effects I have enabled.

Read my PART 3 review summary of Ubuntu 7.10 vs Leopard I will show how to configure various areas of the Ubuntu OS and where to get additional addons to spice up your experience similar to Leopard. If your interested in learning about a few pros and cons on Ubuntu 7.10 read my previous article.

Written by PCWizKid on February 17th, 2008 with no comments.
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Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 vs OSX Leopard - Comparison Part 3

An important aspect of any operating system is its support and available applications. In this portion of my review comparison with OS X Leopard, we continue where I left off in Part 2, regarding customization.

After installing Ubuntu, the desktop is clean and ready for you to customize. All applications and tools are accessible via the menus or command line. If your used to a GUI windows interface your most likely inclined to start adding shortcuts (known as launchers in Ubuntu) to the desktop area and even change the way it looks. This is a important distinction to OS X, because Apple has pretty much set the interface and layout of the workspace to a more permanent look and feel (which many have no problem with). In Ubuntu you can change beyond just icons and wallpaper , almost anything can be altered with a little work, but lets start with the easy stuff first.

First View

You will notice the top and bottom panels in Ubuntu (OS X just has the 1 panel at the top) , These are the two bars that run along the top and bottom of the screen. By default, the top panel shows you the main menu bar, the date and time, and the launcher for the help system, and the bottom panel shows you the list of open windows and the workspace switcher. If you dont have a large monitor or dislike the bottom panel showing for example, these can be removed or set to autohide, resized or moved to the side of the screen.

In OS X the Dock performs similar functions to the Ubuntu panel. The OS X Dock can also be manipulated as in Ubuntu. The only obvious difference is the Dock has a reflective 3D look with the icons which can now be stacked and comes with applications and widgets which you would have to get separately in Ubuntu.


So first off, if you want to make your Ubuntu experience into something more familiar you will need to get add-ons and customize a little.

In my case I decided not to mimic the Windows Vista look and went for the OS X theme and feel.
The options for changing the appearance are straight forward in Ubuntu, the only thing is, there isnt a huge variety of themes to change into by default installed, so you will need to download the themes and icons that you want first, then install those and then set them as the defaults for the system.

Installing things

Before you install anything make sure you have all the needed Ubuntu repositories installed. If you dont enable access to these areas you wont be able to properly get addons and updates for these. The areas I am referring to are namely universe and ubuntu-updates. This can be done in System -> Administration -> Software Sources by enabling 'recommended updates' under the 'Updates' tab, and also enabling 'Community-maintained Open Source software' under the 'Ubuntu Software' tab. In some cases you will need to enable access to 3rd party repositories which isnt always obvious, and example of this is described in the installation for the Ubuntu AWN Dock. However, once you have enabled these you can access beyond what is available for download within the Ubuntu Add/Remove option, giving you even more addons and features.

The Add/Remove Applications option in Ubuntu is a treat. All OS's should have this. Unfortunately OS X or Windows doesnt have this ability to add both community maintained and supported apps aswell as third party apps, not just the system default ones. This saves you time having to search for programs and worrying about compatibility issues and if it will work or not. The main area Ubuntu lacks some more applications is multimedia support, so you will want to start there.
For Music management you can use Rhythmbox , for movie playing use Totem but its recommended that you use the Add option in Ubuntu to install more mature and better multimedia applications like MPlayer or Xine for playing video files for example. Good thing you dont have to worry about iTunes and Quicktime taking over. I added under the "Other" category of Applications types the FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer so I could play back various video files such as DivX , I added the Ubuntu Restricted Extras for flash support and the Compiz Advanced Desktop Effects support for enabling a better multimedia (and eyecandy) experience for example.

Changing Appearances

Like with anything if you want something you have to go get it yourself. I visted SourceForge to download the OS X Leopard theme. You will see there a Mac4Lin package to download which will later be used to replace your default Ubuntu Theme. So the goal of this OS X theme is to look somewhat like this in the end.

However I did some changes so I could not completely look like OS X (I want the best of both worlds) and ended up with this desktop instead.

Instructions on how to install the theme and icons are listed here. Once you have download the package and followed the instructions all you need to do is switch the theme and icons set. Access the System Menu, then Preferences to get to the Appearance option. Select it and your almost done.

The Dock

Next you want to hide the bottom panel or move it to the side (by dragging it over), then right click on the bar to access the properties and set it to autohide for example, or just remove it.
With a free bottom portion of the screen to work with, now you need to access the addon packages for installing the Dock known as the Avant-Window-Navigator.

I found the step by step instructions for installing it on the official Ubuntu Forums, specifically here. If you are a Mac user running Leopard you have the option on further customizing your Dock theme by installing additional ones which I found instructions for here. Other than that for Leopard there isnt any advanced customization for changing the workspace area, mostly because it works well the way it is, so in Leopard what you see is what you get.

Boot, Login and Splash Screens

In Ubuntu you can change the Bootup, Login screens and Splash screens to match your theme. Its easy as just opening up the Login Window Preferences in System ? Administration ? Login Screen and drag and drop your theme onto the window. Confirm the dialog window that pops up to use your new theme. For the Splash screen you need to install the Splash Screen Tool from the Add/Remove option I mentioned earlier. then you can access it in System ? Preferences ? Splash Screen. Note, ensure your images that you are replacing are PNG image format.

Once you have done the customization throughout you will be pleased of the results for sure.

Next in Part 4 of my review is enabling all the Advanced Compiz Desktop Effects like the 3D Cube. I examine what I find stands out and compares with Leopard's features.

Written by PCWizKid on February 17th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 7.10 and Contributors and Linux and Mac and OSX and Tips and Windows Vista and Xp and boot camp and dual boot and fiesty fawn and leopard and open source and part2 and pcwizkid and tweaks and ubuntu gutsy gibbon.

Dual Boot Windows on your Mac with BootCamp

If your interested to install Windows dual boot on a Intel Mac, this article will guide you through the installation of it via BootCamp. All you need is an Intel Mac, BootCamp from Apple and a genuine copy of the Windows XP or Vista installation DVD and a license key owned by you to use it.

Lets assume you have everything you need, lets go through the steps:

The Installation

1: Once you have downloaded from Apple the BootCamp package you will want to double-click on the Icon labeled “Bootcampassistant.pkg”. This will install the Boot Camp installation assistant which will aid you in the rest of the process of preparing your Mac for Boot Camp.

The BootCamp install process will help you partition your drive for Windows.

Ensure you have allocated enough space for your Windows installation, at minimum use a 15GB partition when asked during this BootCamp Assistant screen setup, the max size is 32GB.


2: Boot Camp will ask you to create a Windows drivers disk. You should do this. You will want to check the radio button that says “Burn a Macintosh Drivers CD” put in the blank CD and then click continue.

3: Boot Camp should ask you to insert the Windows XP/Vista Installation Disk. It should recognise the Vista disk once it has mounted and it will proceed to reboot
your Mac and then load the Windows setup environment.

NOTE: If it does not recognise the Windows Installation Disk, restart your Mac, and hold down the "C" key and wait for the boot-loader to pop-up, and then chose the Windows install DVD from there. This should proceed to the the Windows Setup install process.

Assuming you got this far and installed Windows successfully



4: Next you need to know about how to switch between Operating systems, to do this simply restart the machine and when it hits the grey boot screen hold down the option button and two hard drives will appear on the screen. They are labeled with the appropriate name of each OS, select it and hit enter.

Also if your interested in learning how to dual boot Windows XP/Vista with Ubuntu (Linux) take a look at my tutorial and detailed article here.

Did you know you can SAVE $100 on a iMac 24" 2.4GHz only $1,694 + FREE Parallels 3.0 + FREE Printer and Shipping after rebate(s)! Now with Mac OS X Leopard

Written by PCWizKid on February 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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MacBook Air - First Look

The MacBook Air is the worlds first thinest laptop brought into the market that has seen its share of very light, very capable products from other companies with the Sony Vaio, Lenovo, and Fujitsu, among others. Here's a look on what the MacBook Air has to offer compared to others.

With only three pounds? 0.76 inches thick it makes it real attractive, but where is the DVD Drive? There isnt any, you need to either purchase the $99 Apple MacBook Air superdrive, which connects via USB, or use the new Remote Disk feature to “borrow” the optical drive of another computer on your network.

Also the MacBook Air has far fewer ports than what you'll find on some of the monstrous "desktop replacement" laptops now available: Flip down a small hatch, and you'll find three that can handle many needs. There's a headphone jack where you can plug in headphones or speakers; a USB 2.0 connection for everything from a mouse to a video camera; and a Micro-DVI adapter that can hook the machine up to one of Apple's displays when you're not on the road--or, with the help of a $19 adapter, to a projector or monitor sold by a third party. So if your thinking about several USB or if you have some FireWire devices, its going to be a little tough with this notebook.

Still, the MacBook Air has a lot of the feel-good characteristics, the full-size keyboard feels good, as advertised. The LED-backlit screen is sharp and readable. The machine's two gigabytes of built-in memory allows it to switch between applications, such as iMovie and iPhoto, easily. And the enormous trackpad, with support for "multitouch" gestures, is easy to pick up. However like with the Sony Vaio, Apple has cut corners by providing lower CPU power. There is no reason why the MacBook Air could not start at a 2Ghz CPU range, instead it sits between 1.6-1.8Ghz on its Intel core 2 Duo. Sure we dont want it to heat up, but its not going to make a difference believe me.

You can see that the MacBook Air is not really meant for the power user, but the "Hands Free User", one that needs to be connected online with adequate power for handling applications and lasting throughout the day with a good 5hr battery (which is not removable, lets hope it lasts), or perhaps your just the person that wants the latest and greatest, has the money ($1799USD) and doesnt mind paying for what we know is the general rule, that you pay more for slimmer size always more.

Pros:

• Highly mobile light and thin design.
• Sexy, attention arresting appearance.
• Impressively solid hardware engineering.
• Leading CPU and graphics performance for its class.
• Very practical full size, illuminated keyboard.
• Bright LED backlit screen looks great and its environmentally progressive.
• Innovative multitouch trackpad features work well.
• Full featured video output options for a light mobile.
• Runs quiet and cool even when cranking.
• Very good WiFi 802.11n reception.

Cons:

• No built in WWAN options.
• No FireWire or Gigabit Ethernet.
• Peripherals and connectivity limited to single USB port.
• Battery life closer to 3-4 hours; no add-on battery option.
• Remote Disc needs more work.

Here is a comparison chart from Gizmodo. (click image to enlarge the image).

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Here's the official guided tour of the MacBook from Apple

Written by PCWizKid on January 17th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Apple and leopard and macbook air and notebook and os x and sony vaio and ultraslim.

Windows Apps On Os X

Apple’s move to Intel architecture opened up a whole new world of possibilities, and it was not long before software, such as Parallels, VMWare and Boot Camp, came and made lots of those possibilities reality. Now, with Leopard released, new information about how the Mac OS reacts to Windows executable has come to light.

The abundance of speculation has been spurred by two independent reports. The first, a thread on the Wine mailing labeled ‘Interesting Behavior of OS X’, has Steven Edward’s describing that Leopard has an undocumented loader for Portable Executables, which are used in 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. (more…)

Written by Jason on December 23rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
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November 2007 Popular Tips for PcTipsbox

1. 10 Tips To Improve Your Wireless Network
2. Customize Command Prompt
3. Google Linux repositories in ubuntu
4. Install Windows Vista on your Mac with Boot Camp
5. 10 Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows Vista
6. The New Firefox 2.0.0.9 Plays Well with Windows Vista
7. Speed up Firefox without reinstalling
8. DVD-R/RW Drives Losing Speed on Windows Vista
9. Leopard Makes Fun of Windows PCs
10. Office Tips Tricks Sidebar gadget for Windows Vista
(more…)

command prompt, computer, Firefox, gadget, google, leopard, Linux, pcs, sidebar, ubuntu, Windows

Written by Jason on December 1st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Leopard and Vista - More alike than you might think

When Vista was released the chorus of complaints and criticisms quickly grew from a low hum to a near deafening roar. A little more than a week since Apple released Leopard and that low hum of discontent has already been amplified to the point where it’s starting to hurt my ears.

Written by Madhukara H on November 8th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Install Windows Vista on your Mac with Boot Camp

Ever since Apple switched over to Intel processor, the same processors that are used in some PCs, it has been possible to run Windows on the Apple hardware. Why would you want to do this? While OS X is a pretty OS, Windows applications will not run on it. The only way to run Windows applications on a Mac is to run Windows in a VM. With the Intel based Macs that changed. It is now possible to dual boot OS X and Windows so that you can simply reboot and startup in Windows. Removing the need for the VM by natively running Windows has a big performance benefit. It also makes it possible to do things that were not possible with virtualization software such a 3D gaming.

To dual boot Windows Vista and OS X without destroying OS X you will need to use Boot Camp that is only included in OS X 1.5 Leopard. To get started, you will need to follow these steps on your Mac: (more…)

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Written by Jason on November 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Leopard Makes Fun of Windows PCs

With a new major release of a new operating system, one would think that there is so much new stuff to look at and play with that nobody would obsess over an icon. That is not the case, apparently, as opinions flare over Apple’s representation of Windows PCs in Leopard.

One of the new features in Leopard is easy access to computer on the local network, which show up, conveniently, on the left side of the window. Like with nearly all things, Apple has paid a lot of attention to the feature, to the point that the icons of each and every computer there tries to match what the computer product actually looks like on its owner’s desk. With Macs this is easy, since Apple can quickly identify the exact model of the networked machine, but with a PC, things are a bit more complicated since there are so many makes and parts in them. To solve this, Apple represents all Windows PCs as a beige monitor with a Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD). (more…)

apple, bsod, leopard, Mac, new operating system, Windows

Written by Jason on November 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Leopard Flies Off the Shelf, But Glitches Reported

The long awaited and much anticipated launch of the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system, codenamed Leopard, has resulted in the usual round of craziness from Apple’s adoring fans. Early adopters camped outside stores to be first in the queue, and what a queue it was! Early estimates suggest that around 9 percent of OS X users upgraded to Leopard in the first couple of days of it going on sale, and at $129 a pop that’s a welcome boost to the Apple coffers.

There’s been a fair amount of excitement surrounding the launch but the claimed 300 ‘New’ features have been widely dismissed as hype, and one or two commentators have pointed out that a couple of them bear an uncanny resemblance to features in Windows Vista, which Leopard is clearly designed to challenge. (more…)

apple, apple support, Buy, leopard, Mac, mac os x

Written by Jason on November 1st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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