OStatic

Want to hear an odd little theory (or perhaps more of a personal hang up) of mine? I don't own a Mac, and have never owned a Mac -- and I can say without reservation that many Macs I've worked with have been great, robust little machines. I also have never owned any Apple device (iPod, iPhone, or even a Newton). There are a few reasons on that front, one being that I don't have a Mac, and historically I've seen that these devices just don't play as well on other platforms as they do on Macs.

Here's the rub: Macs are nice, contained sorts of bio-domes, technological terrariums of sorts. The hardware and software all work together by design (which makes computing pleasant when all goes to plan and frustrating when it doesn't). When you need (or want) to use an outside service, problems ranging from aesthetic annoyances to complete non-communication arise.

Open-Xchange is an open source groupware and email alternative to Microsoft's Exchange Server. Though Open-Xchange previously supported Mac systems to some degree, it wasn't truly a cohesive, native experience.

If you're running OS X and use Open-Xchange, syncing your calendar, email, tasks and appointments between desktop, server, and mobile device just got a lot more functional, and much easier.

After many years of being an Amarok fan, I was introduced to Banshee. Banshee fast became my media player of choice, due to its ability to handle video and audio files, as well as stream internet radio and podcasts.

Until now, Banshee was only available for Linux. Developer Aaron Bockover explained recently a bit about cross platform development challenges, how to get Banshee for your Mac now, and why the Windows version will be Banshee at heart, but could look very different.

Mark Shuttleworth, the man at the helm of Canonical and Ubuntu, went into greater detail last week about his thoughts on making future Ubuntu releases more user-focused. In the past, Shuttleworth has made no pretense that he feels Apple has, historically, offered a superior user experience.

Shuttleworth's comments have elicited striking reactions, ranging from enthusiastic support to concern about what innovation really means.

Ivan Krsti?, once the Director of Security Architecture for the OLPC project, has written a rather pointed blog entry about the disarray that project has fallen into. While it serves as an excellent coda for the story (which we previously covered), that's not what caught my eye.

Rather, I'm interested in his perspective - as a bonafide kernel hacker - in switching from Linux to OS X for his primary laptop. Linux doesn't come off all that well in the story.