GNOME Do - An intelligent launcher tool for GNOME

GNOME Do is an intelligent launcher tool which makes all your default menus and panels in GNOME redundant. Since last time I had written about GNOME Do, it has gotten only better. Just a glance through the numerous plugins available for GNOME Do will be enough for any sceptic to fall in love with it.

Transform KDE desktop into Apple Mac OS X

One of the biggest motivation for a lay person in buying an Apple Mac - apart from its robust high-end hardware and its OS stability - is its beauty. Over the years, Apple has pioneered new ways of easing the desktop users life with its well designed desktop OS - Mac OS X. Many people who set their eyes on an Apple Mac for the first time will be tempted to buy it.

Mac OSX - Should it use the Linux Kernel ?

A couple of days back, in a news article titled - Monolithic Kernel vs Micro kernel - published on this blog, I had described the intense debate on this between two school of thoughts fueled by Linus Torvalds and professor Andrew.S.Tanenbaum. One of the examples Andy had given as proof of the stability of micro kernel architecture was the popular Mac OSX itself which (according to Andy) runs on top of the Mach kernel which follows the micro-kernel architecture.

Now it is well known that the Mach micro-kernel, from its inception has been ridden with problems both design wise as well as in performance. So there are many people who wonder why Apple still uses the mach kernel with all its design flaws. In fact there is a group in the Apple community who favor transferring OSX to run on top of the Linux kernel instead which by the way is a monolithic kernel.

Daniel Eran has written an interesting article debunking the popular belief that Mac OSX is based on a micro-kernel architecture and goes on to explain that Apple's kernel named XNU kernel is not implemented as a micro-kernel. In fact, he is of the opinion that the original Mach kernel on which OSX is based on is a fat kernel and it was the Mach micro-kernel project which was a failure.

My Opinion

We are not short of robust kernels be it the BSD kernel, Linux or any other. In fact the beauty of the POSIX environment is that one can switch one kernel for the other and with a little effort still build a stable and secure OS which is what makes this OS design of separating the OS kernel from the userland tools such an exciting proposition.

5 Point program to beat the Mac

I have been thinking lately, why Apple is so successful in selling its products ? It is so successful that Apple's stock has risen from $14 a few years ago to $59 at present.Is it because it has a superior OS ? No. Its OSX is only as stable and secure as the Unix base on which it is built. Apple is successful in selling their products because they bring out aesthetic looking beautifully designed products. The keyword here is beauty. It helps that the underlying OS is stable too.

Humans have always been attracted by beauty - either in others or in the things around them. I shudder to think of what would have happened if God had created a plain looking Eve instead of the beauty she was. Adam would not have taken any interest in her and that would have been the end of the human race. Heck! God would have had to start all over again (just kidding).

But seriously, if you keep a PC and a Mac side by side and ask a kid to choose one from the other, I will bet my shirt that the kid will choose the Mac over the PC. Is it because he realizes that OSX is better? No. He takes his decision based on the beauty of the products.

Why do you think there is such interest generated on the iPod ? Is it because the music you get on an iPod is cheaper ? Or is it because there are no such devices brought out by other firms ? No. People go crazy for the iPod because it is a well designed beautifully crafted piece which has flaunting potential. You just flash an iPod around a group of strangers and you are guaranteed to start a conversation.

I wouldn't keep the PC in its current form in my drawing room along with my TV. I would rather that it be kept in my bedroom away from the prying eyes. But a Mac can easily find its place in my drawing room. When it is not being used as a computer, it acts as a piece of art.

So I have put together this 5 point agenda for PC manufacturers which is a sure shot Mac killer.

1. Hire a good Design consultant : I am saying this to all the Dells and HPs of this world. Be serious about this guys, if the PC has to compete with the Mac, it should have appeal. With the money you make, you can easily afford the services of a design expert. Design a PC which is as beautiful if not more than a Mac.
2. Reduce the form factor of the PC - The PC in its current form is a 10 KG gorilla which requires a hefty adult to move it around. By reducing the form factor, the PC can shed its excess weight and will take up less space which will be appealing to the customers.
3. Use hardware parts which has drivers readily available - Make sure the hardware you use in the PC you build have driver support available for all OSes including Linux (Why Linux? read on... you will know soon).
4. Use cutting edge technology - The PC should have enough interfaces like USB,Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet ports built-in to it and should be WiFi enabled. If someone can bring out a $100 laptop, with these technologies built in, I wonder what is stopping you.
5. Preload Linux on all your PCs. You can save a lot of money in OS licenses and can even market the PC at a lower cost than the competition out there by deciding to use Linux. If you ask me, I can do everything and more in Linux that I can do on a Mac. Linux has come of age.
   

Think about it, just two countries, India and China combined, has a population of over 2 billion. Out of this only a tiny fraction of its people own a computer. Which means there is a huge market potential for selling computers in these countries. Just by bringing out a computer of the above specs and preloaded with Linux and priced economically, you can conquer this still untapped market of epic proportions.

If the five points stated above were followed by any hardware manufacturer, I see no chance of the Mac making a killing in the computer market..., unless Apple decides to give out OSX for free with the hardware it sells. Remember, they are moving on to the Intel platform in 2006.

Clarification: After I wrote this post, I have been getting quite a few mails I think are from apple fan boys ;-). So I would like to make my stand clear.

1. I am no Mac hater. In fact if you read what I wrote just before the 5 points, you will see that I have indeed praised Apple in my own way for bringing such beautiful products.
2. The 5 points were targeted at PC manufacturers and not at customers. There is a void felt in the PC arena because the customer is faced with buying PCs which do not look good when compared to a Mac. But once Apple makes the move to Intel platform in 2006, this void will be filled and by that time if the PC manufacturers are found sleeping, then the customer will make the intelligent choice of embracing a Mac.
3. And lastly, my comment on installing Linux on the PC was because not all people will be able to afford a Mac. At least not in the current price range. And I think embracing Linux will help the manufacturers to price their product in a affordable range.

Installing linux on a Mac Mini

I have always been fascinated by the iMacs from Apple after I got to use an iMac at a friends place. But buying one was beyond my price range until Apple released the Mac Mini - widely touted as the budget Mac which could make the PC run for their money.

For people who doesn't know - Apple brings out the Mac series of machines running their own proprietary OS called OSX. This Operating system is built on a Unix base (more specifically the FreeBSD) and so can run most command line tools of Unix/Linux. Also unlike the PC which is built on Intel architecture, the Mac computers use the G5 Chipset (PowerPC Architecture). Frankly speaking, each Mac computer could be considered to be a piece of art considering the elegant look and latest technologies used in them.

Now my writing about this in the blog dedicated to linux takes significance because I have always wondered if Linux could be installed on a Mac computer. Recently, I came across this article which gives a detailed explanation on Installing Debian Linux on the Mac Mini. Those of you who are thinking of buying a Mac Mini might be interested to know that you can also dual boot between Linux and OSX in the Mac Mini just like you do in a PC.