On Sat, 2009-05-02 at 11:50 +0100, mb1pja wrote: > .. but OSX gives you Unix AND you can run Word /Powerpoint without > rebooting. And you get a user-friendly ergonomic windowing system that > kicks the **** out of XP/Vista/KDE/Gnome... > > best wishes > > Pete
I guess you should check some compiz videos on youtube... Regarding ergonomic features, there are three things I found so addictive I keep trying to use them on the Widows machine I have to use (for fairness sake, there is no good alternative to Word/Endnote combination when it comes to refs): 1) middle button cut-and-paste (paraphrasing Bruce Foxman, I have only these many clicks left before I join big X-ray lab in the sky, so it matters that I can avoid ctrl-C and ctrl-V) 2) opaque windows with refocusing so you can switch between typing in different windows simply by moving the pointer 3) multiple workspaces (this is so important to me I have this buggy VirtualDimension installed in windows). It is such an essential feature that I find it incomprehensible that microsoft engineers did not implement it yet (or did they?). This is where compiz adds this nice touch that you can switch between workspaces by just rolling middle-button over the desktop (but I agree that the rotating cube is just an iCandy). On the emerged subject of which OS is best, I honestly think that modern computers have reached the point where $500 desktop satisfies all the needs of a protein crystallographer. Since that is the case, any OS can be used, and the discussion has, imho, nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with personal preferences. As somebody who refuses to accept the marketing ploy of associating coolness with certain fruit logo, I have never used apple products (unless it's granny smith). Accordingly, I believe I have no right to comment on them. I am old enough to remember the blue screen of death, so I can't be Windows supporter. For an open source freedom fighter wannabee, Linux is a logical choice. In the end, our choice of OS today simply reflects who we are. -- Edwin Pozharski, PhD, Assistant Professor University of Maryland, Baltimore ---------------------------------------------- When the Way is forgotten duty and justice appear; Then knowledge and wisdom are born along with hypocrisy. When harmonious relationships dissolve then respect and devotion arise; When a nation falls to chaos then loyalty and patriotism are born. ------------------------------ / Lao Tse /
