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Similarities and differences between the two systems explained

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Linux is fantastic, don't get us wrong, but Apple's kit can also be appealing – especially its range of Apple laptops. But if the thought of getting to know OS X puts you off, fear not: there's a lot of common ground between Mac... See more » Linux is fantastic, don't get us wrong, but Apple's kit can also be appealing – especially its range of Apple laptops. But if the thought of getting to know OS X puts you off, fear not: there's a lot of common ground between Mac and Linux that isn't immediately obvious. For starters, you may already know that under the hood Mac OS X is BSD Unix-based. This means you can fire up a terminal window and get your fingers into the operating system via the command line in much the same way that you can with Linux. There's also an increasing amount of Linux software ported to Mac. We've taken a look into some of the similarities and differences between Macs and Linux to help if you're thinking of becoming a multi-OS household. Getting started with OS X Fire up a Mac OS X machine, take a look at the desktop and, aside from the layer of gloss, the first differences you're likely to notice coming from a Linux environment are the Dock and the menu bar. Let's deal with the latter first – you see, instead of the OS having a menu bar for system tasks and each application having its own individual bar within its window, in OS X there's a single menu bar at the top of the screen that alternates between the two. The right-hand side of the bar contains the date, information on your battery (where applicable), a wireless button, and various other configurable options. Meanwhile, the left-hand side holds the application menu of whichever program has your focus, or Finder if none has. As you move between programs, this menu bar will change accordingly. The Apple menu, accessed via the little Apple logo on the far left, has a basic list of system operations and information. For more of these options, you need to open Finder, which enables you to navigate through files and your computer. Great minds think alike The Spotlight tool on the far-right – the magnifying glass icon – enables you to search both filenames and the contents of files for anything you want, which makes it roughly equivalent to Beagle on Linux. Finally, there's the Dock at the bottom (by default), where you can shove a selection of frequently used apps, files and directories for easy access. You can also set it to hide itself automatically so it's not in the way, which is particularly useful if you're on a laptop with more limited screen space. FINDER: The Mac desktop with a Finder window open, the Dock at the bottom and the all-purpose menu bar at the top of the screen If you try this out and like it, or like the idea and want to give it a go on Linux, there are a few Dock-a-likes available. Avant Window Navigator is probably the most popular, but there are other options available as well. * Hack the OS X Dock to make it less ugly See less »

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Similarities and differences between the two systems explained

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