Ubuntu shines where OS X fails
February 6th, 2009
Coming from a lifetime as a Mac user you can imagine that I am rather trusting of the OS, especially as a creative tool. In recent years, as Apple has evolved OS X, it has continued to surprise me (in a good sort of way.)
Regarding their OS X server, given that I have used it since 2001, I was rather excited to try it out in my new web software venture. My impression was it would be as easy to run a web site on OS X server as it is easy to manage a creative project.
Wrong.
I have had the distinct displeasure of trying to get a simple php script to run via the command line (instead of a browser.) The first catastrophe was using Leopard server. After the upgrades kept locking the machine such that the only solution was a complete system reinstall (with careful attention to NOT update) we opted to use the standard Tiger client version to run this test.
So, after the OS issues were worked out the first order of business was to install all the necessary software to make this work, such as php5, mysql, etc.
I need my php script to run at a daily interval. But for some reason it silently failed to run via cron. This is odd because it worked perfectly when called via a browser and the terminal. So to make a long story short, after about 2 days of trouble shooting and attempting to get to the bottom of the issue, I tried the same setup on a fresh install of Ubuntu 8.04…and it just worked.
Everything just worked in Linux. Literally. On Mac OS X it failed, but on Ubuntu Linux it all just worked.
And the real rub to this whole story: OS X server cost $499, Ubuntu Linux was free!
8 Responses to “Ubuntu shines where OS X fails”
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February 6th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Your findings would confirm the survey results (http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/serveredition/surveyresults-view) and mine – where we’re using Ubuntu as the VPS. Our main “server admin” protested a bit, but not long, since he succumbed to the ease of operating it too.
Btw, ‘register’ yourself in here: http://www.workswithu.com/the-works-with-u-1000/
February 6th, 2009 at 7:50 am
“Everything just worked in Linux.” No shit! LAMP works with Linux! Holy cow!
February 6th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Apple has a long way to go as a server OS. I’d say the only place it makes sense is in a business filled with Mac desktops and I’m not sure a Linux box wouldn’t make more sense even there.
But about cron: Apple has been moving away from cron. See my http://aplawrence.com/MacOSX/cron_not_quite_dead.html
They also screwed it up on OS X server: see http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20090119164250363 – maybe it was that bug that bit you?
February 6th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Hehe…bakaohki, my surprise was less that Linux worked and more that OS X did not. I would think that OS X Server, being a paid-for platform that has been in development for so long, would have at least the basics covered.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
[...] Ubuntu shines where OS X fails Coming from a lifetime as a Mac user you can imagine that I am rather trusting of the OS, especially as a creative tool. In recent years, as Apple has evolved OS X, it has continued to surprise me (in a good sort of way.) [...]
February 7th, 2009 at 2:35 am
February 7th, 2009 at 2:42 am
If Linux shines anywhere, it’s as a server.
It’s pretty good as a desktop OS (kde 4.2) also.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:35 am
“…My surprise was less that Linux worked and more that OS X did not. I would think that OS X Server, being a paid-for platform that has been in development for so long, would have at least the basics covered.”
Heh, my experience of paid-for platforms would lead me to the opposite conclusion. :p
Well, I’d expect the basics to work, granted, but a lot proprietary stuff seems to lack polish and platform integration is always lacklustre (at least, on Windows).
Having said all that, Ubuntu 8.10 didn’t leave a great first impression on me. I’ve had to manually fix a couple of issues on my desktop. Every previous release has worked flawlessly