Finally made the switch. Linux->OS X

[Intrigue]

Who else here uses OSX 10.5? Any good places for software, hints, etc? Thanks in advance

Well, I've been a die-hard linux user for years, and still have my linux box setup, but I got my new 24" iMac yesterday, running OS X Leopard.

First of all, the screen is absurdly large, almost unmanageably large, but it was the only size with the processor I wanted. I am sitting in front of it, with Safari open, displaying more than the full width of this page, and I still have about 5" on either side. The thing is blazing fast, and the display is gorgeous. Rich, deep colors, incredible resolution, and Unix based to boot!

Here are the basic specs:

Processor: Intel Core2Extreme @ 2.8GHz
Memory: 2Gb DDR
HDD: 500Gb SATA @ 7200rpm

A few things to mention. The Core2Extreme processor is quad-core; however, Apple needs to save space -- and minimize thermal output -- in the iMac, so they put the dual-core C2E processor in it (read: the mobile version). In addition, they ship it with Bluetooth 2.1EDR, and 802.11n (yes N) which has the option to run at 5GHz instead of 2.4GHz, but you will need a router to support it (like the Airport Extreme)

[chrisaka]

I've been a big OSX proponent for the past 4 years. It's really a great OS.

I do a lot of consulting, and have a lot of experience with Linux as well. If I can help answer any questions, just let me know!

Chris

[Atomic Dog]

The iMac is a beutiful device!

As for software and hints, just let us know what leaves room for improvement and I can give some recommendations.

[danp]

I switched over to OSX a few years ago and use it for everything.

Applications I would recommend:

Music:
Synergy (Remotely Control iTunes)

Video:
VLC (Universal Video Player)
iSquint (Convert vidoes to m4v iTunes/iPod format)

Internet:
Transmit (FTP Client)
CoRD (Remote Desktop Client)
NetNewsWire (RSS Reader)
Transmission (Bittorrent Client)
Adium (Universal Instant Messaging Client)

Development:
Textmate (Text Editor)
Navicat (MySQL Client)

Utility:
iTerm (Terminal Client)
AppZapper (Uninstalls applications and removes all related files)

[Intrigue]

Thanks everyone for the replies, so far. I did download Transmission, as I use that on Fedora.

Will linux binaries work on OS X (being unix based, and all?).

Also, are there any strong text editors with options specifically for programming? Something like emacs on linux. It lessens the load when my perl code formats, colors, and indents itself.

[doug]

OSX is based on the Darwin (FreeBSD) subsystem, so no, precompiled linux binaries will probably fail miserably. The good news is gcc compilers are all present, so you can just build whatever you want from source.

Use the source, luke!

[ChamberedRound]

Been using Macs at work for 8+ years on and off, and exclusively for about the last 2 years or so. I can't say enough about OS X, it's miles beyond XP and Vista, based on UNIX, and the UI is bar none the best of all the major OSes and Linux distros. I wasn't completely thrilled with some of the changes made in 10.5, but it's still tops AFA operating systems go.

Good luck with your new Mac!

[netw0rkpenguin]

Well, I've been a die-hard linux user for years, and still have my linux box setup, but I got my new 24" iMac yesterday, running OS X Leopard.

traitor!
If you want something BSD based install FreeBSD Desktop.

[D-FENS]

the UI is bar none the best of all the major OSes and Linux distros.

Check out KDE4 with Compiz-Fusion. It's pretty bangin

[danp]

Thanks everyone for the replies, so far. I did download Transmission, as I use that on Fedora.

Will linux binaries work on OS X (being unix based, and all?).

Also, are there any strong text editors with options specifically for programming? Something like emacs on linux. It lessens the load when my perl code formats, colors, and indents itself.

TextMate.

I can't even sum up why it's so frigging cool, but seriously, best programming editor I have ever used. PAFOA is developed solely in TextMate.