[翻译][translation]Bryan O’Bryan » Why I ditched my Mac for Linux

为什么我抛弃Mac转投Linux(翻译)
Bryan O’Bryan » Why I ditched my Mac for Linux: "

Based on the title of this treatise of mine you are, likely, safe in your assumption that I am about to tell you all, using the bestest words my mind can muster, why I stopped using MacOS X and switched over to Linux.

基于我这篇文章的标题你们可能可以放心的假设我要尽我所能的，绞尽脑汁的告诉你们大家，我为什么停用MacOSX而转投Linux。

Now, there have been a few other various blog postings along a similar vein as this and, by no means, do I wish do beat a dead horse (unless said horse is into that sort of thing). But I have a sneaking suspicion that this will prove itself of interest to some of you.

如今，其他数个不同的blog帖子沿着这个方向，我绝不是炒冷饭（除非炒过的饭就算冷饭）。但我有个卑鄙的质疑：这样做会向你们中的某些人证明其价值。

Let me start by schooling you on the topic of myself, so that you can best understand the points I’m attempting to make.

让我从我自己说起，以便你们尽可能的理解我试图说明的观点。

I have used many operating systems in my day. A few of my personal favorites include OS/2 Warp 3 (Warp 4 just didn’t do it for me), OpenStep and AmigaOS 3 (gotta love that Workbench). Some might call me an “OS Whore”. I prefer to think of it as being “Technologically Agnostic”.

我一生使用过许多的操作系统。我个人喜好的包括OS/2 Warp 3(Warp 4我不喜欢)，OpenStep和AmigaOS 3(喜欢她的Workbench)。有的人会叫我“OS娼妓”。我更愿意被称为“技术上的不可知论者”。

That is, until Apple purchased NeXT and released the original iMac. I fell in love. Sure I had used Macs before, but I’d never really lusted after one. From the day that original iMac came out… I was hooked. Sure, it was an, arguable, underpowered machine… but just… LOOK at it.

这延续到苹果购买NeXT和发布原型iMac时。我坠入爱河。那之前我的确用过Mac，但我从未真正心动。从原型iMac那天起……我被俘获了。的确，那是一款值得商榷的动力不足的机器……但是“瞅”一眼就……

And that changed the next several years of my life. I sharpened my development chops under MacOS X Server 1.0 (before it had that “Aqua” look and feel) and, a few years back, quit my day job and started a Mac-specific software company. Over the last few years I have poured my heart and soul into developing, supporting and marketing software for MacOS X. This is how I have paid the bills. This consumed the bulk of my waking hours.

那改变了我后续几年的生活。我在MacOS X Server 1.0（那时还没有"Aqua"）下秣马厉兵的开发，几年后，我辞掉我的工作，开辟了一家专注Mac的软件公司。近几年，我全心投入MacOS X软件的开发、支持、市场运作。这是我的谋生手段，也耗费着我的每个小时。

Recently (as in, within the last few months) myself and a good friend took over the operations of a rather popular (and long lasting) Mac-specific theme-ing / modding website known as ResExcellence.com. The previous owner was going to close it down, so the opportunity came up for us to take it over.

最近（几个月）我自己和一个好友全面检视了一下一个相当人气的（很有历史的）专注于Mac的主题/修改网站——ResExcellence.com。前任拥有者要把它关掉，于是我们有机会接手。

I was crazy excited. I was at the apex of Mac geeky-ness. I ran a known Mac software company, hosted a big Mac website. I was all Mac.

我狂喜。我处在了Mac geeky-ness的巅峰。我开了间知名的Mac软件公司，主持着一个大型Mac网站。我全是Mac了。

So why, with all this glorious Mac-ness around me, would I drop it all and switch to Linux? Well that, my friends, is a good question.

即然有这么多显赫的Mac-ness光环围绕着我，我为什么要丢掉一切转投Linux呢？嗯，我的朋友，这个问题问得很好。

Allow me to break my reasoning down into a few key points:

请允许我在几个关键点打断我的推理：

1) The Mac Community

1）Mac社区

It has been my experience that the Mac “community” (ie, the most vocal and active of the Macintosh enthusiast and power users) tend to be incredibly negative and expect much more than they deserve.

正是我的经历——Mac“社区”（即，最能喊最活跃的Macintosh迷和强力用户）趋向于难以想象的糟糕，且像要得到比应得的更多。

Now, I know how that sounds. It sounds like I’m being a big cry-baby. That some Mac users was mean to me so I’m whining about it. Well, I may be whining a bit… but I’m not the only one who’s noticed this…

现在，我知道这听起来如何。这听起来好像我是个爱哭的孩子。某些Mac用户对我很刻薄，所以我要发牢骚。好了，我可能在发牢骚……但我不是唯一一个在乎的……

Through my Mac adventures over the years I have come to know many Mac “celebrities”. Webmasters and editors of some of the bigger Mac websites and developers of some of the most popular Mac third party software. (I’m not going to name names as that would adversely affect many individuals ability to make a living.) And many have noticed the same thing.

我几年的Mac历险让我逐渐了解许多Mac"名人"。一些较大的Mac网站的网关和编辑和最具人气的第三方Mac软件开发者。（我不会指名道姓，那样会反过来影响许多人的生计。）许多人跟我一样在乎这件事。

It’s almost amazing really. If you go to many seasoned Mac developers (especially ones who have also developed and released software for other platforms as well), and you say something like…

这几乎难以置信的真实。如果你去找熟练的Mac开发者（尤其是那些也开发、发布其他平台软件的），然后你像这样说……

“My Mac users tend to get upset if they don’t get a good enough product… even if the product is free and nobody makes them use it. They assume the product is dead if it hasn’t been updated in the last week. And they don’t act like users of other platforms when they get upset. They get… mean. Personal attacks. Outrageous demands.”

“我的Mac用户总是一得不到足够好的产品就着急上火……即便产品是免费的，每人强迫他们用。他们以为几个星期没更新的产品死了。他们着急上火时并不像其他平台用户那样。他们变得……刻薄。”

… you’ll, often get a laugh or a sigh followed by a “tell me about it”… followed quickly by an anecdote.

……你常常会得到一笑或一声叹息，接着是“说说我吧”……再就是一段逸闻。

In my own Mac experience I ran a free Mac website and was greeted with an absolutely immense amount of hostility. I have also release free (and, in some cases, incredibly inexpensive) Mac software and was greeted with hostility there as well.

我自己的Mac经验是，我运营着免费的Mac网站却面临绝对无限大的敌意。我也免费发布（有时是难以置信的便宜的）Mac软件，却也面临极大的敌意。

Now, you might say… this is just the way it is. Sometimes people get mean and I should just get tougher skin. Except… it’s not.

现在，你可能说……这是自然而然的。有时人们变得刻薄，我应该脸皮厚些。除非……这不是（自然而然的）。

I’ve also released Windows and Linux applications and the response overwhelmingly positive. And, oftentimes, this was for applications that were direct ports (of, often, lower quality) of the Mac versions I’d already gotten hell about.

我也发布过Windows/Linux应用程序，反响压倒性的好。且，这些经常是直接移植自我Mac版的（经常是那些低质量的）让我犹下地狱的程序。

Likewise, I began co-hosting a Linux-centered Podcast (www.linuxactionshow.com) recently. Myself and the other host are amateurs. We are learning as we go. And what was the response? Overwhelmingly positive. Heck, even the criticism we received was good natured and constructive (unlike what we received when attempting to run a Mac free website).

相似，我最近开始协同主持一个以Linux为中心的Podcast（www.linuxactionshow.com）。我自己和另一个主持者都是业余。我们边做边学。猜猜反应？压倒性的好。TNND，即使是批评也是善意和建设性的（，不像我们试图运行Mac免费网站时那样）。

2) Apple and their practices

2)苹果与其实践

This is a simple one. Apple has a long track record of directly copying 3rd party application developers (most notably small shops) and including almost perfect clones of those, usually shareware, apps in their next version of OS X. Watson & Konfabulator are the two most high profile recent examples.

这很简单。苹果有一条很悠久的纪录——拷贝第三方应用的开发者（最著名的小店铺），加入几乎完美的克隆，通常是共享软件，小程序到下一版的OS X。Watson & Konfabulator就是最近的两个最典型案例。

And I am in the software business. If Apple clones one of my apps… I’m out of business.

我身在软件业。如果苹果克隆了我的程序中的一个……我就出局了。

Sure, you could say that Microsoft does this too. Except they have a tendency to just straight up purchase the technology rather then re-make it. They find it easier. Apple likes to copy. There’s a big difference there when you’re looking at it from the point of view of trying to pay for food.

的确，你可以说微软也这么干。他们有意图就直截了当的收购技术而非重新制造一遍。他们觉得那样更容易。苹果喜欢拷贝。你以谋生的角度来看待时这就有了很大不同。

3) Apple’s software quality

3) 苹果的软件质量

I’m sure I’ll get plenty of flack for this one (then again, I’m sure I’ll get plenty of flack for all of this), but Apple’s software quality has gone into the toilet.

我确信我会因为这一点遭到严厉炮轰（再者，我确信我会因为所有这些观点遭到炮轰），但苹果的软件质量已经进到茅坑了。

Case in point. Apple released iLife 06 this last January. My friends and I were all excited. Apple added Podcasting specific features into Garageband. And they made a new web publishing application called iWeb. We were determined to use them to make a great podcast (which ended up being www.castablasta.com for those interested).

举例。苹果今年一月发布iLife 06。我的朋友和我 都很激动。苹果为Garageband加入Podcasting相关功能。他们做了个新的web发布程序“iWeb”。我们注定要用这些制作优秀的podcast（最终变成www.castablasta.com）。

So we literally rushed to the local Apple store the MOMENT it was in stock and picked up iLife 06. Over the next few months we struggled, on an almost daily basis, to keep Garageband (which we were using to record and edit the podcast) from crashing. We lost a LOT of data. And a lot of time. And an even greater amount of patience.

因此，iLife 06一上架我们就冲进本地的Apple store买下了。后面几个月，我们痛苦挣扎，几乎要日复一日，保持Garageband（我们用它来录音并编辑podcast）不崩溃。我们损失了很多数据。还有很多时间，和更多的耐心。

We wanted to use iWeb to create our Podcasts website and publish it to our newly purchased .Mac account.

我们想用iWeb创建Podcast站点，发布到我们新近购买的.Mac账户。

That was a nightmare. iWeb crashed a lot (not as much as Garageband… but a lot). It was slow to use. And the .Mac service was too slow and buggy (and feature-free) to run a podcast from… despite Apple’s marketing claims.

那是个噩梦。iWeb经常崩溃（虽不像Garageband那么多……还是很多）。它用着很慢。.Mac服务太慢，运行起podcast来虫子太多（免费体验）……除了Apple的市场宣传。

Now, before many of you chime in and say how great those apps work for you… I just plain don’t care at this point. We tried multiple updates of these apps on multiple different types of Macs (G5’s, G4’s and Intel with may different configurations of Ram and audio equipment). None of it proved any more stable for long-term use. And Apple’s support was almost useless in this.

现在，在你们中许多人插话说这些应用对你们起了多大作用前……我就是不关心这一点。我们试图在不同类型的Mac上（G5, G4 和Intel的有着不同配置的内存和声音设备的机器）升级这些应用。没一个证明能够长期稳定使用。而且苹果的支持对这些几乎没用。

So we moved to using Audacity under Linux. Did it crash? No. Is it harder to use? Yes. But, you know what? At least we can get the job done.

所以我们转用Linux下的Audacity。它会崩溃？不。它更难用？是的。但你知道什么？至少我们可以把活干完。

And this example is just the surface of the software problems. OS X itself is becoming more and more buggy in my usage. Apple’s bundled web browser, Safari, renders many pages I visit incorrectly (often in weird ways)… and, when it doesn’t, it often crashes (or at least hangs for a minute or more at a time rendering my system almost unusable).

这个例子仅是软件问题的表面。在我的使用中，OS X本身就变得有越来越多的臭虫。苹果的捆绑web浏览器，Safari，把我访问的许多页面渲染错误（经常十分糟糕）……且，不出错时，经常崩溃（或者至少死一分钟或更长，让我的系统变得几乎无法使用）。

So. There’s three of the primary reasons I left. I didn’t list games, specific applications, etc that I needed on another platform. I was just focused on whether or not I could use what Apple was providing me in a, relatively, simple way and in a community that was pleasant to be around.

因此。有三点主要原因让我退出。我没列举游戏，个别应用程序，等等那些我在其他平台上需要的东西。我仅局限于我是否能用苹果提供给我的，以相对简单的方式，处在一个我乐居的社区。

And, in those regards, the Mac has failed me.

基于这些关切，Mac在我这里失败了。

To be quite honest the community problems was the real killer. If all the other problems existed… but the community was fun to be around and work with… I would have stuck it out. I would have made it work (no matter how much productivity or hair I lost).

实话实说，社区的问题是真正的杀手。如果所有其他问题存在……但是社区还可以相处，可以协作……我本该忠诚，我本该设法解决（不论损失多少效率和头发）。

But I had to quit. To move on to something that made me happy. An OS, and a community, that was, in general, positive and helpful. Linux has that community.

但我不得不退出。迁移到让我感到愉快地东西上。一个总体上积极而有益的OS和社区。Linux有这样的社区。

The distro I settled on at this point is Ubuntu. I like it. It’s easy to use, cool looking, flexible… and it works. And when I have a problem, an idea or a solution there is a massive community out there to share and work with.

我所迁到的发行版是Ubuntu。我喜欢。它简单易用，样子很酷，有弹性……而且，它能工作。有问题、想法或解答时，有一个庞大的社区可以共享和协作。

Now I’m sure some of you will notice that I claim that Mac users tend to expect too much for free… and you might argue that Linux users expect things free and open source. But, you know, that’s not my experience so far.

现在，我确信你们中的一些会注意我宣称Mac用户趋于期望太多的免费……你们会辩解Linux用户期望免费和开源。但是，你知道，我没有这样的感觉。

Sure, Linux users have come to expect open source and free software. And many of them balk when presented with commercial software. But, amazingly enough, the Linux community at large seems to be much more open to the concept of paying for your software than the Mac community. Of course that will be put to the ultimate test as I begin to release software for Linux.

的确，Linux用户期望开源和免费软件。他们中许多在商业软件前逡巡不前。但是，足以称奇的，Linux社区似乎比Mac社区更普遍的接受为软件付费的概念。当然这要接受我发布Linux软件的终极考验。

That is my rant. If you have questions, please feel free to post them in the comments here and I will do my best to answer.

这就是我的咆哮。若你有问题，请随意在此跟贴，我会尽我可能回答。"