Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 22:29:07 -0400 From: John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org> To: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Powerbook Setup Message-ID: <200410182229.07373.jhb@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <20041018220826.GG42527@iconoplex.co.uk> References: <16710656779.20041018233408@synchron.org> <20041018220826.GG42527@iconoplex.co.uk>
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On Monday 18 October 2004 06:08 pm, Paul Robinson wrote: > On Mon, Oct 18, 2004 at 11:34:08PM +0200, Andi Scharfstein wrote: > > I was wondering if there was any advice you'd want to give an Apple > > newbie. <snipping flamebait> FWIW, I'm reading and replying to this e-mail via kmail running over an X11 ssh tunnel on my powerbook. My Dell laptop just about falls apart in my hands now due to cheaper construction and cannot be safely used as a mobile machine anymore. This powerbook, OTOH, seems to be the best constructed notebook I've ever used. (My newer PC laptop from Alienware is also starting to show some physical stress fractures and what not and it's the same age as the powerbook.) The powerbook is also much lighter than my "luggables" while mostly giving me what I want most out of my "luggables": screen real estate. The only downside is that the built-in 802.11b antennae are noticeably shielded by the frame. As far as OS X goes, it's handling of multiple displays (like TV out or VGA out plus LCD) is phenomenal and very intuitive. The power management is also quite good and actually works. (The BIOSen on both of my PC laptops is busted such that they report capacity but don't properly report the usage and charge rates so I never get remaining battery time in FreeBSD.) Also, suspend/resume just works. As far as the "brain drain" claim: I'd be very careful what you say about that. One of the biggest "drains" has probably been Mike Smith. However, he still participates in side conversations every once in a while and still shows up for the occasional conference in which he still provides excellent input. Also, FWIW, if it weren't for Mike (and a few others) talking me into coming out to California to give WC/BSDi a try, I would probably have spent the last few years working on industrial monitoring embedded systems instead of the FreeBSD kernel. Granted, if I weren't around the work would still have gotten done, but I think its a fair statement that my (and others') current contributions are due at least in part to Mike, Jordan, and others. Also, Apple has given back to the BSDs. Their modifications to existing BSD code have been released under the BSD license resulting in bug fixes to msdosfs and smbfs for example being merged back into FreeBSD. There is lots more in Darwin for enterprising individuals to merge back if they wish as well. -- John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org> <>< http://www.FreeBSD.org/~jhb/ "Power Users Use the Power to Serve!" - http://www.FreeBSD.org/
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