As you know, I'm a big fan of Linux on the desktop. The user experience of most major Linux distributions, from installation to most common computing tasks, rivals that of the commercial operating systems with which we're all familiar. Less common tasks still require a little more patience than some commercial solutions, but users with the saavy, experience and time may even prefer the power and control Linux provides in those cases.

I talked about the race for my desktop OS before, when RedHat 8.0 came out and settled the score, around the same time Microsoft instituted an unacceptable licensing policy that kicked me over for good. The race never ends, of course, and since the switch I've been missing a few things in Linux, like being able to use my scanner, or music authoring, or a graphics package I was comfortable with. Sure, everything I want to do with my computer is possible with existing Open Source software, but I'd need the time and patience to figure out how to get it working. And these days, time is something I just don't have (as you can tell by the lack of blog activity). A working scanner might be as simple as reading a few pages of documentation and recompiling the kernel, but if I'll never get around to it (and I haven't yet), the costs are just too high.

I've been unhappy with the "dual boot" scenario, where I reboot my computer to run Windows for the graphics and music stuff, and Linux for the rest. It's rather maddening not having every app at my fingertips: in Windows, I don't have my calendar; in Linux, I don't have Photoshop. I considered other options, including running Linux on a second computer and using an X server application to run both sets of applications on one display, or running Windows on a second computer and using VNC to achieve a similar effect. I tried switching back to Windows for a while, but even ignoring the EULA and DRM issues, I wasn't getting what I wanted out of my computer.

So I've made the big decision that a lot of aging Linux fans have made in the past couple of years: I'm getting a Mac. I'm actually not entirely convinced it's the best way to address whatever complaints I have about my current computing situation, but the benefits are obvious and numerous: a commercially-supported UNIX-based operating system with vendor-supported hardware compatibility, a wealth of native commercially-supported multimedia and Internet apps, developer libraries and tools bundled with the OS, an X server bundled with the OS, and the best iPod support available. The fact that it's not Windows is significant to me, but of course it's still a commercial operating system and so is not a complete win on philosophical/political grounds (which are more a practical matter than it may seem). But it's certainly quite a bit better for now, and that sexy Mac hardware can easily run Linux if I need it to.

And yes, Macs are expensive, especially compared to today's PC's, which are damned cheap, even the laptops. But their value easily beats their price. I wholeheartedly recommend iBooks as inexpensive couch computers or for school use, and flatscreen iMacs are a bargain for how gorgeous they are. If I didn't want to carry it downstairs every other day, the new 20" iMac would have been at the top of my list. But as anyone that knows me could have guessed, I went for the 15.2" PowerBook.

I made a rookie mistake, however. I sold my previous computer, my beloved Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop, before my new computer arrived. I thought it'd be merely a week or so, but it's been over a month, and it now appears the 15.2" PowerBooks have been recalled due to a manufacturing flaw in the display, and new ones won't be shipping for another couple of weeks. I'm surrounded by secondary computers, of course, but I lack a permanent home, which is annoying. I've set up camp on the family iBook (our couch computer), which has given me an opportunity to start playing with the popular OS X apps, learning the keyboard shortcuts, and whatnot.

The OS landscape will continue to change, and I'm sure I'll be asking myself the same questions over again a few years from now. In the meantime, expect things to get a little Mac-y around here while I settle in. I've already got a list of Mac questions I hope to find (and post) the answers to...