Ubuntu 11.04 vs Mac OS X

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) is the latest stable release (released few months ago, and it is the successor of Ubuntu 10.10>10.04 .. and it has arrived with a lot of surprising features).it’s the most popular Linux distribution among the desktop users and the community as well as users has augmented exponentially in the past few years. Ubuntu has established a new reputation among the common desktop users, because of its ease of use and simplicity. Before Ubuntu, Linux based distro were used only by computer ‘geeks’ but now, the Ubuntu is so simple that any non technical human can easily use most of its features (but it may takes some time (it depends on the users I.Q)). Ubuntu (The term ‘ubuntu’ has been borrowed from Africa which means ‘humanity for others’) is an open source software, released under GPL (GNU public License); available free for all Human. The word free doesn’t only mean that – ‘you don’t have to pay for it’ but also in other sense such as ‘you free to use it as you want i.e free also stands for freedom, there is no restriction!’. That’s why Ubuntu is well suitable for those who want higher degree of customization (Go ahead dude!, the only limit is your imagination).
Mac OS X is a closed source operating system developed by Apple Inc. Mac OS X is a unix like operating system comes by default with Macintosh computer. Mac OS X has very nice and robust GUI (Graphical User Interface) better than all other operating systems on this planet. The latest version – 10.7 (Lion, the successor of 10.6(Snow Leopard) released on August 28, 2009) in Xth series was released on October 20, 2010.

Ubuntu vs Mac OS

#1 Cost : Ubuntu is 100% free while Mac OS is not!

#2 Customization/Control : Ubuntu is better because it is an open source software, so it can be customized to any extent on the other hand Mac OS is a closed source software so a lot of restrictions are there.

#3 Usability : Even though, Ubuntu has made GNU/Linux a lot easier to use it’s still more complex than Mac OS. So Mac OS is better (The user interface is simply great in ease of use as well as for productivity) in this sense.

#4 Learning : Ubuntu is better than Learning because Linux distributions are well suitable for trying new things which eventually leads to serve as a better learning platform than any other on this planet (or may be universe, I don’t know :)).

#5 Applications : Ubuntu has a lot of applications with One click installation feature and most of them are free, while Mac OS do have some cool applications such as TextMate (An excellent text editor available only for Mac OS, TextMate is very popular among web developers and programmers because of its features and productivity; if you are an Ubuntu user then you can customize gedit to look like TextMate), but you have to pay for that and the options are limited because most of the developers target only Windows and GNU/Linux (while developing applications).

#6 Security : Ubuntu is more secure (after all it is a Linux distro) than the Mac OS X or any other non Linux distributions.

#7 Speed : Ubuntu 11.04 is faster than Mac OS X because Mac OS is focused mainly on how it looks not on how it performs; while Ubuntu is modular, focused primarily on performance and speed, and it has a lot of good looking desktops such as KDE, Gnome, Natty etc (if you think about the look and feel).

#8 Fun : Ubuntu is always fun because it has a lot of new stuffs/things to try you will never get bored. Mac OS is also Fun! but ??
Now it’s you who is going to decide the best! So get your opinion counted in the poll (see below) and share your views as well as experience through comment(s) (it’s not optional :)).


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51 Comments

  1. Though both operating systems are utilitarian, versatile and attractive, they are usually separated by the fact that they cost differently. Ubuntu is totally free (that is really helpful for the low-income and even middle-income families, which actually promotes the instrumental quality of goodwill and humanity) whilst Mac OS X costs a thousand (hence only the rich could afford). As for me, I support free software. With free software, there will never be envy and hate.

  2. Ubuntu is… Mac os X is not… this is what all this post is about, so please make more real comparisons, and less fanboy wordiness. (nothing personal)

  3. Ubuntu is… Mac os X is not… this is what all this post is about, so please make more real comparisons, and less fanboy wordiness. (nothing personal)

  4. Ubuntu is more secure that any other non-linux distributions? Clearly you know nothing about Unix, no matter how much you use Linux everyday.

    BSD systems are by far more secure than the majority of Linux distros. OpenBSD for example is one of the most secure operating systems. Another aspect where BSD systems excel is system stability, they are rock-solid made and additionally they are much less resource hunger than most widely used Linux distros like Ubuntu, RHEL, SLES, Debian and their derivatives.

    That said Mac OS X is less secure than any other Unix system, yes it’s a BSD but Apple folks had tweaked it so much that it has nothing in common with the BSD kernel it was originally based on.

  5. i like linux windows and mac. i use linux as my host and windows 7 and mac os x lion on virtual box. using all 3 for different things. they all have positives and negatives. i respect steve jobs (rip) bill gates and the hard working creators of linux and specially ubuntu my fave. all have good stuff.

  6. For programing linux wins hands down. I would go for windows next over mac any day. Reason is mac is the most hedged in software ever. Apple clearly don’t like people looking under the hood.

  7. Mac OS X is (at least) as secure as Ubuntu, after all Mac OS X is real Unix.
    Also, you can run almost all applications available in Ubuntu (or any Linux) natively in Mac OS X (read: not emulation).
    Any Linux cannot look better, because every DE you can run in Linux (gnome, kde, etc) you can run it in osx, natively and with or without aqua (native mac) apps.
    You can just kill the aqua interface and run pure gnome if you wish, in fact if you do that it is as customizable as any Linux, since darwin (the kernel) is open source.
    So basically it is a tie in most points, but it loses in the cost one, unless of course you just download darwin, which is free of course.
    I use Xubuntu and Mac OS X, and I don’t prefer either, but your article is pretty ignorant of the strengths of both systems.
    You probably don’t even really know much about Linux.
    And no, Mac OS X is not a Unix-like system, it is a Unix system.

  8. Both system are incredible but I prefer MAC OS for now. I have a macbook under Lion now and left my Eee pc under Ubuntu 11.04. Conclusion, Mac OS respond very well to my needs. MAC OS is beautiful, more user friendly than Ubuntu, incredibly stable. Free apps are available for both system such as transmission, VLC media player … But I prefer MAC OS because of the quality of apps available : Microsoft Mac Office 2011 (I dislike Open Office) , Ilife suite (included by default), Adobe Master Collection CS5 etc. But if you’re a developer, I think that LINUX is more efficient. I heard that MAC user’s had succefully installed and operated Compiz fusion and gnome on their mac but you can install LINUX in dual boot thanks to Macintel processors … To finish, I want you to now that if you have a problem with your MAC, apple simply replace it by a new one without problems during 1 year but you can buy an Apple care to extend the guaranty life. And this is simply great because they are more problem with PC’s guarenty under LINUX f unfortunately.

  9. Both systems are good, I used both. Ubuntu is not “more secure” than Mac OS though. Your argument was “Its Linux After all”… someone could easily say “Its BSD after all” for the mac

  10. I used to use Ubuntu, now I’m using MAC OS X, and i can’t say which one is better couse in fact they are quite similar.. in my opinion ofc. 

    now waiting for ubuntu 12.04 to install it next to my macosx, cuz i wanna try HUD, and think this is that which i miss the most in apple’s system.

  11. i dont know…

    never use mac and lately im just migrating to ubuntu.

    my first impression after migrating from windows:
    +ubuntu is a great os for programmer,and designer(mostly programmer)
    +customization.and really,even if this post seems a little biased.(sorry man,i didn’t meant harm)
    your creativity is the only limit
    +better than windows in security.
    +manage your own system
    -you must understand/learn unix/linux based command lines
    -time consuming.you can install this or that,execute this file,etc on windows within minutes.but installing software or drivers could be hours(at least it was for me,beginner).

    but nevertheless,i choose ubuntu.reasons is that i am a “learn everything,anything you don’t understand,learn deeper,watch others,ask question” type of person. so,by using ubuntu(or unix based distro for that matter) i’m investing something worth in the long run.maybe some people agrees or disagree.but hey,there is always something to learn in life.now i’m waiting for the newest distro from HCB(Hacker Community Bandung).if my source is right it will be a hybrid between Red Hat and OpenBSD,no codname for now tough.

  12. apples get worms.  Ubuntu’s get smegentwurmuns.  Worms are better than smegentwurmuns.  

  13. Linux is better.
    Who is saying OS X is more secure than Ubuntu ? You can see Bonaa virus & many more.
    Also  @645784c9b03b5304671e977652bf5a3d:disqus , Linux is not Unix based, it’s Minix based! You don’t know much about Linux!
    Even you can run Linux on old PC! Even on Macbook! You can’t run Mac on old PC!

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