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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > What Linux distro is most Mac-like?

What Linux distro is most Mac-like?
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gunnar
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May 7, 2004, 11:30 AM
 
I'm interested in getting a second machine to try out Linux. Which distribution is most Mac-like in look and function? I'm obviously looking for seamlessness, GUI for nasty command line stuff and a refined feature-set.
     
foobars
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May 7, 2004, 11:40 AM
 
Originally posted by gunnar:
I'm interested in getting a second machine to try out Linux. Which distribution is most Mac-like in look and function? I'm obviously looking for seamlessness, GUI for nasty command line stuff and a refined feature-set.
Well the "look and function" part is kind of universal. I mean that is totally dependant on the Window Manager you choose to use, and any WM can be installed on pretty much any distro of Linux.

Your best bet is probally KDE on Fedora, because of its ease of installation and the fact that KDE comes with a full fledged desktop manager and environment, plus a ton of apps.

I use Gentoo + XFCE personally because its so lightweight, but the inital system setup can be a pain.
     
wataru
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May 7, 2004, 12:16 PM
 
The distribution is pretty much independent of the GUI, so if I were you I'd be asking which GUI is best. The answer: It depends on who you ask. You can try out both of the major ones (KDE and Gnome) for free. In fact you can use KDE in OS X via fink. Fink has Gnome too, but it's not a recent version.
     
-Q-
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May 7, 2004, 12:40 PM
 
But I don't think the GUIs are remotely close to being called 'Mac-like.' Just varying degrees of 'oh, cool' and 'WTF were they thinking?'
     
dampeoples
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May 7, 2004, 12:44 PM
 
Why don't you just go tool around in the terminal for a while, then close it and continue to use the finder as you always have, confident that you know just a little more about Linux.
     
gunnar  (op)
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May 7, 2004, 05:32 PM
 
I'm not interested in the terminal, hence the qualifier "Mac-like". I'm just interested in seeing how the other half lives but I want a moderately easy entry point and to see if there's particular desktop environments that are approaching the Mac quality and perhaps have features that are better.
     
Dennis the Phantom Menace
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May 7, 2004, 05:58 PM
 
The ease of use of Linux GUI's aren't anywhere near Mac OSX or even Windows for that matter. However, if you'd like to test the waters, then a good place for a Linux newbie would probably be Mandrake (http://www.mandrakesoft.com/). You could also try RedHat/Fedora (http://fedora.redhat.com/) or SuSe (http://www.suse.com/us/index.html) as well.
     
RevEvs
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May 7, 2004, 06:52 PM
 
I like SuSE with KDE 3. Thats pretty much acceptable, and on par with windows for ease of use
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discotronic
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May 7, 2004, 07:17 PM
 
Originally posted by gunnar:
I'm interested in getting a second machine to try out Linux. Which distribution is most Mac-like in look and function? I'm obviously looking for seamlessness, GUI for nasty command line stuff and a refined feature-set.
What kind of system are you going to get? PC or Mac.

I like Mandrake and Red Hat using KDE on a PC.

With a Mac you are limited on what you can have without having to do a bunch of compiling. On a Mac, I have never had a problem getting Yellow Dog to work. Mandrake PPC installed on a CRT iMac without any problems but I couldn't get video to work on two different iBooks.

Yellow Dog runs on my PowerMac 6500 without any problems. Not the fastest in the world but it works.
     
voodoo
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May 8, 2004, 07:51 AM
 
I've been running SuSE and GNOME. It is more Mac like than KDE and in fact quite charming. GNOME was going to implement spatial file browsing IIRC so you can't get much more Mac like than that!
I could take Sean Connery in a fight... I could definitely take him.
     
Scientist
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May 8, 2004, 09:02 AM
 
Originally posted by voodoo:
I've been running SuSE and GNOME. It is more Mac like than KDE and in fact quite charming. GNOME was going to implement spatial file browsing IIRC so you can't get much more Mac like than that!
Agreed. The gnome GUI is just great from a design standpoint. It isn't as polished as OS X, but hold a lot of potential. KDE is more of a windows clone, but seems a lot more "finished" and stable in my opinion. I find it to be pretty ugly though. Gnome is pretty attractive.
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gunnar  (op)
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May 8, 2004, 09:39 AM
 
It will be a PC.
     
discotronic
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May 8, 2004, 10:50 AM
 
I downloaded Suse Linux 9.1 LiveCD last night. It a bootable CD that you can run the full distro off of. This has got to be the best looking Linux I've ever used. I think this version was just released a few days ago. KDE looks great in this version and it feels like there has been some work put into it. I've never been a big fan of GNOME. It just depends on personal preference.

I booted off the CD and it configured my entire system. It recognized my internet connection and even my digital camera. Not bad.
     
gunnar  (op)
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May 8, 2004, 10:56 AM
 
Is there a Window Manager that puts the menu bar at the top of the screen like Mac OS instead of the top of every window?
     
Tsilou B.
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May 8, 2004, 03:34 PM
 
If you want your menubar on top of the screen, you should install a distribution with KDE 3.2, such as Mandrake Linux 10, Suse Linux 9.1 or Fedora Core 2 (not yet released). Install only KDE applications (e.g. Konqueror, KMail and KOffice for browsing, email and office, respectively), because this won't work with other applications. Then use the following instructions:

<http://wiki.kdenews.org/tiki-index.p...-like+Menu+Bar>
     
timmerk
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May 8, 2004, 09:26 PM
 
I would like to try Linux as well, but dual boot it on my Powerbook G4.

Anyone recommend anything? Doesn't have to be mac like, I just want to be able to compile most anything out of box.

Thanks!
     
discotronic
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May 8, 2004, 10:14 PM
 
Originally posted by timmerk:
I would like to try Linux as well, but dual boot it on my Powerbook G4.

Anyone recommend anything? Doesn't have to be mac like, I just want to be able to compile most anything out of box.

Thanks!
Yellow Dog would probably be your best bet. If your PB is a 17" you are most likely out of luck. YDL doesn't support it. I tried looking at their site to make sure but it seems to be down at the moment. You could try Mandrake PPC but you would probably have a tough time getting the video to work.
     
unimaxium
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May 8, 2004, 11:29 PM
 
Doesn't someone make a livecd for macs? I thought it was suse but I can't find it for anything but i386. Anyone know a link? Or am I crazy?
     
voodoo
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May 9, 2004, 07:42 AM
 
Originally posted by gunnar:
Is there a Window Manager that puts the menu bar at the top of the screen like Mac OS instead of the top of every window?
Yes in GNOME at least.
I could take Sean Connery in a fight... I could definitely take him.
     
   
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