Pardon my absence.
Trying to use Linux on a macbook is tricky, I tell you! Well, I guess it is only to be expected, I mean, it’s not like it’s built with UNIX in mind or anything… But, I guess this is Apple’s way of punishing me for not being content with what they’ve graced me with. It’s not like I actually need Linux, it’s just nice to have it there, in case I need to hack someone, you know.
So, after skimming through quite a few distributions, I finally decided to try the mainstream one, Ubuntu. I was disappointed. It’s ugly compared to the rest, it’s clunky by Linux standards, and it’s also very restrictive. All in all it felt like a stable version of Windows. For most users, this is adequate, but I bought a mac for a reason. So I got rid of it, and decided that I didn’t need Linux after all, and removed all my extra partitions. This resolve lasted for all of 5 hours or so, and I was back scouring the net for anything interesting. I happened upon gOS, while following this rumour I’d heard about a Google OS.
And I find that it’s just Ubuntu Hardy with a custom theme. Well, not exactly, it’s more like it’s Ubuntu Hardy, with a custom theme, even worse support for Macs (it’s built for netbooks), no Compiz (3d desktop environment) but with a few extra apps and features. Once you get it working on your macbook it’s actually quite nice, it’s pretty, functional, and integrates beautifully with google gadgets and apps. If it weren’t for the fact that I had to spend hours trying to get the sound working (and it still doesn’t work while emulating windows), and that it absolutely messed up my external display, forcing me to spend hours to set it up right again (actually the solution was simple and involved the pulling of a plug, but I’m not one to think of that), I would probably be in love with the OS, and tell you to go get it without a second thought.
I’m still going to tell you to download it and try it. It’s a very neat operating system, and it improves the Ubuntu experience dramatically. It’s a live CD, so you can try it before you butcher your disc, and see that it works. The only thing you need to do before getting it is find out if you’ve got a Santa Rosa chipset. If you do, you might as well not bother getting Linux for a few years at all unless you’re quite good with computers. I can tell you right now that if you decide to disregard this warning your computer will be dead silent, you will have trouble getting 3d acceleration going, and your wireless card will make you cry out in agony. The ugly truth is that Intel and Broadcom are utter bitches when it comes to Linux, and the driver support is terrible. There simply is no open source driver for this wifi-card, and the Broadcom partially precompiled driver causes freezes and death all across the land. This makes it all the more ironic that the OS calls itself Good OS.
To summarize: Good OS lives up to its name, but don’t get it if you have a laptop with a Santa Rosa chipset. If you haven’t sold your soul to Google yet, this OS might make you. It is a bit slow at startup, it doesn’t let you customize a lot of your install unless you know where the backdoor is, and if you’ve used Linux before, or even OS X, there are better alternatives out there. If you do decide to give it a try, and run into problems, just call me, I’ll help you out. And if I can’t, there’s always someone somewhere in the Ubuntu community who’s had this problem before, and they’ve fixed it for you.
Song of the Blog: For Reasons Unknown
Sincerely
Bjørn
