| Name
| Mac
| Ubuntu
|
| Hardware
| Better support. I spent way too much time getting my microphone working on Ubuntu. Even if it's due to crappy Creative hardware, this still needs to be improved with better support from manufacturers. Wireless support and Nvidia drivers are great on Ubuntu though.
|
|
| Consistency
| Apple naturally wins this, even though Gnome and KDE are gaining ground quickly. Apple's apps all look the same, and their interface guidelines mean you can generally figure out how to work an application without opening the manual. I guess it's because Apple invests heavily in usability, where the Linux guys are more focused on getting the most power and efficiency out of their systems.
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|
| Performance
|
| Ubuntu is faster, even with the whizz-bang Compiz stuff that's competing with, and beating, Mac and Vista, but switch to Openbox and you start wondering how much power is being wasted on flash effects when you're zipping through twenty applications with your CPU monitor not even showing usage.
|
| Openness
|
| Obvious win for Ubuntu. I still need to figure out how to get my photos out of iPhoto's blackhole and Mail.app doesn't want to give up it's data either. Linux apps tend to let you keep control of your data so you're not locked-in.
|
| Looks
| Difficult one this. Mac is better out of the box, but Linux is so customizable you can have it look like a Mac with enough work. The problem comes in with the consistency, because you can't use a Mac-style global menu bar at the top because the apps are all based on different frameworks, so you're wasting valuable screen space on extra menu bars. And font rendering on Apple is just beyond any other OS, even though I managed to get Ubuntu almost as good with subpixel rendering and TTF fonts. Why does the underlining break into steps when some of a sentence is bold? I don't know, but Ubuntu does this and Apple doesn't.
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| Software
|
| Yes, you have loads of great commercial apps on Mac, but Ubuntu's package management is far superior. Loads of free software available through fast downloads from local servers, and two clicks to install and remove anything, no hunting through menus trying to find a way to remove every little file that an application has hidden on your system.
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| Configurability
|
| Definite win. You can choose exactly the right experience for you. Heavy effects or lightweight speed. Mouse-driven or keyboard-driven. More information or less. Linux is all about choice, and while it can get confusing, at least the option is there. With Mac it's our way or no way.
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| Virtual desktops/spaces
|
| This is where Mac's one-size-fits-all approach fails. When I alt-tab, I only want to see apps open on the desktop I'm currently on, but Mac just shows you everything, which defeats the whole purpose of separating apps on different virtual desktops. Linux lets you alt-tab through apps on one desktop, and win-tab through all apps. And you can alter those keybindings and behaviours to fit your workflow.
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