Dillo Alternatives For Mac
This is the first in a series on finding a replacement for Mac OS X. Background I have used Mac OS X since the public beta and use it at both home and work. I’ve also run various Linux distributions and BSDs since around 2000, so am quite familiar with them. In April 2016, dissatisfied by the lack of MacBook Pro updates (and performance of ) I had a custom PC built for work. It has a fast Intel CPU (4Ghz i7-6700K), plenty of RAM and fast SSD storage. It runs Arch Linux and I have been doing all my development at work on this machine over ssh via using its amazing tmux integration since. I tried a couple of times to use this machine as my sole work computer but kept coming back to the Mac + tmux option.
The first option I tried was an based desktop. However whilst I liked the idea of tiling window managers I decided they weren’t for me.
Alternatives to Dillo. Mozilla Firefox. Mozilla Firefox (known simply as Firefox) is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite. Google Chrome. Vivaldi Browser. Firefox Developer Edition.
Next I built an desktop but the lack of a complete, integrated desktop where all the parts work together frustrated me. I deeply value the consistency, versatility, reliability and integration of Mac OS X and the excellent quality hardware it runs on.
However the has me considering whether it’s still the right platform for me. Appeal of Switching I’ve spent a fair bit of time pondering the appeal of switching. These are some of benefits I see:.
Dillo Alternatives For Mac Os
Access to regularly updated, pro hardware. Not restricted to Apple hardware that makes choices that I don’t value, such as:. Removing the Esc key. Removing all legacy ports necessitating the use of dongles for everything. Prioritising thinness and weight over everything else. Access to hardware that Apple doesn’t make, such as 2-in-1 laptops. Getting comfortable with an alternative before I’m forced to.
The ability to inspect and contribute to the OS I use. Using an OS where developers are first-class citizens. Drawbacks of Switching Of course even if I make the switch there are a number of possible drawbacks, including but not limited to:. The time required to find replacements for all the software I use. The lack of equally high standard replacements for software such as:. The lack of access to the iOS SDK (I maintain ).
Scriptability of applications (AppleScript) to solve problems the developers haven’t considered. Although I suppose there’s a counter argument to this that I have access to the source code so I can just change it. Sunk cost of software I’ve bought. Evaluating Alternatives At the end of November motivated by the lacklustre MacBook Pro updates I installed a bunch of different OSes to see if I could find one that met my requirements. These are what I tried:. 2016.10.23.
4.0.0. 0.4. Workstation 25. 11.0. 7.0.2.
1.2.1. Desktop 2016-10-28.
16.04.1 desktop. 0.2.0. 2016.2. 16.10 Honorary mentions:. – Kind of felt out of the target market so skipped it. – So much promise but just can’t quite seem to get the momentum to be a viable option. – Still far too new but certainly one to keep an eye on.
Note that I don’t currently consider Windows a viable alternative. For the work that I do and tools I use something.nix based is the best choice for me. What I’m Looking For Running each one I was looking for these attributes:.
An integrated, consistent experience. Opinions and thoughtfulness:.
One tool for each job. A sensible/minimal selection of pre-installed applications.
Design:. Simple, easy to use/understand interface. Visually appealing and consistent. support.
Timely updates Top Picks After evaluating each I was left with a top 3. Interestingly all are using, or are based on. Fedora Fedora desktop Fedora provided an excellent experience. I installed Fedora 25 just after its release. It’s built on the latest tech like Wayland and GNOME 3.22. It would be an excellent choice if it weren’t for a couple niggling, admittedly mostly unfounded reservations:.
It feels less community oriented with the Red Hat association. I’ve never been a huge fan of yum (now dnf). Spotlaser tiger edition 1.3.4 free download for mac. Years ago when I last used an RPM based distribution it was slow.
A trait I put down to being written in Python compared to the C/C of dpkg/apt. I tend to prefer tools built in native languages over scripting languages. Arch Arch Linux running GNOME Arch was a sneaky addition after I liked Fedora. I figured the experience provided by Fedora was mostly GNOME and I already use and like Arch so why not try installing GNOME on it.
Guided by the excellent as always I installed the and groups, which produced an equally pleasant experience as Fedora. Elementary OS elementary desktop elementary OS is stunning and definitely my favourite. It won’t appeal to everyone but their philosophies and direction really resonate with me. Specifically they have:. A primary, (Vala, no Python and JS o/).
A model for funding ongoing development (, asking for payment when downloading). Designers as well as developers on. I particularly like this from a recent: “elementary OS is for noobs or dumbs down their apps” I think this stems from the idea that features require complexity. It’s a cultural belief in poor design.
But we think that clear, easy-to-use apps are good for both new users and pros. Usability is for everyone and truly usable apps help, not hinder. Keyboard navigation is an example of something that is a priority both for pro users and users with special accessibility needs.
An interface works best when it is transparent and empowers users to get things done. This is a team that values the same things I do. The interface is clean and refined.
Dillo Alternatives For Mac Download
The pre-installed application selection is minimal and each one feels like a perfect piece of the system. The main drawback of elementary to me is that it’s built on top of Ubuntu LTS. As time goes on all the packages get further from the current versions published upstream. I’d much rather a regular release like Fedora (6 months) or a rolling release like Arch.
Dillo Alternatives For Mac
Closing Thoughts My ideal would be elementary built on top of FreeBSD. I feel like we need the diversity of having viable options besides Windows, Linux and OS X. Maybe I should work out what it would take to bring that to life Anyway, next I plan to resize the Arch partition on my work PC and install elementary alongside. I’ll aim to do all my work duties on just that machine. I’ll be posting on how that goes. Or for updates. If you enjoyed this post consider.
This is part 1 in a series. Comments.