Source
r/applehelp•
bottar

Linux user of 10+ years is getting his first Mac. How can I get the most of it?

I'm a full time/spare time software developer who's used the Linux platform full time for the last 10 years. I'm getting a new Macbook Pro in a few days for payment on a bounty. I'm a command line junky and spend my days in Vim. So what do I do with this new hardware/OS? I don't want an other overpriced terminal, I already have a few of those. I wan't to use this new machine to it's fullest potential and learn as many new things about the Mac/OS X as possible. Tips, links, and advice are what I'm looking for.

What's the best approach for learning/using a Mac/OS X for a developer coming from Linux?

Posted Sep 15, 2010, 6:33 PM UTC

713
firelight•

Well to start with OS X is based off of BSD, so you'll have a terminal and vim right there waiting for you.

The first thing I'd recommend checking out is the very long list of keyboard shortcuts. Coming from Windows, I was amazed at how much I could do without even touching the mouse.

You might also want to check out the reddit master list of software for new users, which have have some useful goodies for you. You might also find some nice things from this list of free mac apps: part 1 and part 2

7
doublepoison•

Thanks for the list of keyboard shortcuts.

How do people use the CMD, alt and shift keys, ergonomicaly? I find them quite awkward at times.

1
redwall_hp•

  • Xcode is the "official" IDE for writing OS X and iOS applications. (You can install it, as well as other developer tools from the OS disc.) The Interface Builder portion is especially nice.

  • TextWrangler is a great (free) GUI text editor. It's BBEdit's younger brother.

  • You access the command line with the Terminal application found in the Applications/Utilities folder. Vim/nano/emacs are available, as is SVN and a built-in Apache server.

  • Newsfire is my favorite RSS reader.

  • You can take screenshots by pressing Command+Shift+3. Command+Shift+4 will capture a selection, which you can define as the foreground window by pressing the space bar. If you want a simple image capturer/annotate/cropper/resizer, download Skitch.

  • Photoshop works on the Mac. You can also use the GIMP if you absolutely insist...

3
doublepoison•

Yes, install xcode. It provides automake and the rest of GNU utils. It also contains many of the scripting languages.

1
jatorres•

The X11 that comes standard is 2.3.5, and XQuartz is up to 2.5. This may or may not be a problem.

Also, root is disabled by default for security purposes, as are certain folders.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1528

I'd give as much standard stuff a chance before you try alternatives (Mail over Thunderbird, Safari over Firefox, etc). You might be pleasantly surprised.

2
redwall_hp•

Root should be disabled by default. You can use sudo for pretty much anything you might need root for...

I believe Ubuntu disables root as well?

3
[deleted]•

What aspects are you unfamiliar with? What things most interest you about Macs?

1
bottarOP•

It's a curiosity. I've used other peoples Macs here and there over the years and usually found them pleasant to use. I've been given the opportunity to port some dev tools to the Mac and decided it would be a good catalyst to jump into Mac.

1
[deleted]•

Well, I'm not sure what specifics to give you as I'm not sure what you really want to do. I use OS X, and I love it because I find the interface pleasant and intuitive, the system is extremely stable and gets done what I need it to, and Mac software generally is very well polished. At the same time, I have (most of) the gritty power of a UNIX-like system if I want it.

As far as tips/links/advice go, I'd say:

  • Arm yourself with the basics. You need a good text editor like BBEdit or its baby brother TextWrangler. You should have VLC for playing any video file you want to throw at it. The stock software (Mail, iTunes, iCal, etc.) is probably good enough for getting the basics done. Install Firefox and Chrome as they're generally better than (albeit less integrated than) Safari.
  • Install the development tools if you want to do any native development. You might as well throw Eclipse on there so you can do Java/Android dev too if that interests you. If you want to do Windows development, install Parallels and Visual Studio.
  • Check out Mac OS X Hints.
  • Get really basic tips from Apple's Find Out How.
1
doublepoison•

MacVim

1
magneticB•

Visor is essential if you need access to the command line a lot.

1
bottarOP•

This looks very promising. I use Yakuake on Linux, so Visor should fit right in with my usual work flow. I couldn't get it to run on my first try at installing it, but I'll give it another shot.

1
magneticB•

Yeah it's a hidden little gem, hope you got it working! OSX does things a little differently but as a previous Windows and Linux user I definitely prefer it, if just for the hardware. Make sure you learn the keyboard shortcuts too.

1