為什麼我拋棄Mac轉投Linux(翻譯)

Bryan O』Bryan » Why I ditched my Mac for Linux: "

Based on the title of this treatise of mine you are, likely, safe in your assumption that I am about to tell you all, using the bestest words my mind can muster, why I stopped using MacOS X and switched over to Linux.

基於我這篇文章的標題你們可能可以放心的假設我要盡我所能的，絞盡腦汁的告訴你們大家，我為什麼停用MacOSX而轉投Linux。

Now, there have been a few other various blog postings along a similar vein as this and, by no means, do I wish do beat a dead horse (unless said horse is into that sort of thing). But I have a sneaking suspicion that this will prove itself of interest to some of you.
如今，其他數個不同的blog帖子沿著這個方向，我絕不是炒冷飯（除非炒過的飯就算冷飯）。但我有個卑鄙的質疑：這樣做會向你們中的某些人證明其價值。

Let me start by schooling you on the topic of myself, so that you can best understand the points I』m attempting to make.

讓我從我自己說起，以便你們儘可能的理解我試圖說明的觀點。

I have used many operating systems in my day. A few of my personal favorites include OS/2 Warp 3 (Warp 4 just didn』t do it for me), OpenStep and AmigaOS 3 (gotta love that Workbench). Some might call me an 「OS Whore」. I prefer to think of it as being 「Technologically Agnostic」.
我一生使用過許多的操作系統。我個人喜好的包括OS/2 Warp 3(Warp 4我不喜歡)，OpenStep和AmigaOS 3(喜歡她的Workbench)。有的人會叫我「OS娼妓」。我更願意被稱為「技術上的不可知論者」。

That is, until Apple purchased NeXT and released the original iMac. I fell in love. Sure I had used Macs before, but I』d never really lusted after one. From the day that original iMac came out… I was hooked. Sure, it was an, arguable, underpowered machine… but just… LOOK at it.

這延續到蘋果購買NeXT和發布原型iMac時。我墜入愛河。那之前我的確用過Mac，但我從未真正心動。從原型iMac那天起……我被俘獲了。的確，那是一款值得商榷的動力不足的機器……但是「瞅」一眼就……

And that changed the next several years of my life. I sharpened my development chops under MacOS X Server 1.0 (before it had that 「Aqua」 look and feel) and, a few years back, quit my day job and started a Mac-specific software company. Over the last few years I have poured my heart and soul into developing, supporting and marketing software for MacOS X. This is how I have paid the bills. This consumed the bulk of my waking hours.

那改變了我後續幾年的生活。我在MacOS X Server 1.0（那時還沒有"Aqua"）下秣馬厲兵的開發，幾年後，我辭掉我的工作，開闢了一家專註Mac的軟體公司。近幾年，我全心投入MacOS X軟體的開發、支持、市場運作。這是我的謀生手段，也耗費著我的每個小時。

Recently (as in, within the last few months) myself and a good friend took over the operations of a rather popular (and long lasting) Mac-specific theme-ing / modding website known as ResExcellence.com. The previous owner was going to close it down, so the opportunity came up for us to take it over.

最近（幾個月）我自己和一個好友全面檢視了一下一個相當人氣的（很有歷史的）專註於Mac的主題/修改網站——ResExcellence.com。前任擁有者要把它關掉，於是我們有機會接手。

I was crazy excited. I was at the apex of Mac geeky-ness. I ran a known Mac software company, hosted a big Mac website. I was all Mac.

我狂喜。我處在了Mac geeky-ness的巔峰。我開了間知名的Mac軟體公司，主持著一個大型Mac網站。我全是Mac了。

So why, with all this glorious Mac-ness around me, would I drop it all and switch to Linux? Well that, my friends, is a good question.

即然有這麼多顯赫的Mac-ness光環圍繞著我，我為什麼要丟掉一切轉投Linux呢？嗯，我的朋友，這個問題問得很好。

Allow me to break my reasoning down into a few key points:

請允許我在幾個關鍵點打斷我的推理：

1) The Mac Community

1）Mac社區

It has been my experience that the Mac 「community」 (ie, the most vocal and active of the Macintosh enthusiast and power users) tend to be incredibly negative and expect much more than they deserve.

正是我的經歷——Mac「社區」（即，最能喊最活躍的Macintosh迷和強力用戶）趨向於難以想象的糟糕，且像要得到比應得的更多。

Now, I know how that sounds. It sounds like I』m being a big cry-baby. That some Mac users was mean to me so I』m whining about it. Well, I may be whining a bit… but I』m not the only one who』s noticed this…

現在，我知道這聽起來如何。這聽起來好像我是個愛哭的孩子。某些Mac用戶對我很刻薄，所以我要發牢騷。好了，我可能在發牢騷……但我不是唯一一個在乎的……

Through my Mac adventures over the years I have come to know many Mac 「celebrities」. Webmasters and editors of some of the bigger Mac websites and developers of some of the most popular Mac third party software. (I』m not going to name names as that would adversely affect many individuals ability to make a living.) And many have noticed the same thing.

我幾年的Mac歷險讓我逐漸了解許多Mac"名人"。一些較大的Mac網站的網關和編輯和最具人氣的第三方Mac軟體開發者。（我不會指名道姓，那樣會反過來影響許多人的生計。）許多人跟我一樣在乎這件事。

It』s almost amazing really. If you go to many seasoned Mac developers (especially ones who have also developed and released software for other platforms as well), and you say something like…

這幾乎難以置信的真實。如果你去找熟練的Mac開發者（尤其是那些也開發、發布其他平台軟體的），然後你像這樣說……

「My Mac users tend to get upset if they don』t get a good enough product… even if the product is free and nobody makes them use it. They assume the product is dead if it hasn』t been updated in the last week. And they don』t act like users of other platforms when they get upset. They get… mean. Personal attacks. Outrageous demands.」

「我的Mac用戶總是一得不到足夠好的產品就著急上火……即便產品是免費的，每人強迫他們用。他們以為幾個星期沒更新的產品死了。他們著急上火時並不像其他平台用戶那樣。他們變得……刻薄。」

… you』ll, often get a laugh or a sigh followed by a 「tell me about it」… followed quickly by an anecdote.
……你常常會得到一笑或一聲嘆息，接著是「說說我吧」……再就是一段逸聞。

In my own Mac experience I ran a free Mac website and was greeted with an absolutely immense amount of hostility. I have also release free (and, in some cases, incredibly inexpensive) Mac software and was greeted with hostility there as well.
我自己的Mac經驗是，我運營著免費的Mac網站卻面臨絕對無限大的敵意。我也免費發布（有時是難以置信的便宜的）Mac軟體，卻也面臨極大的敵意。

Now, you might say… this is just the way it is. Sometimes people get mean and I should just get tougher skin. Except… it』s not.

現在，你可能說……這是自然而然的。有時人們變得刻薄，我應該臉皮厚些。除非……這不是（自然而然的）。

I』ve also released Windows and Linux applications and the response overwhelmingly positive. And, oftentimes, this was for applications that were direct ports (of, often, lower quality) of the Mac versions I』d already gotten hell about.

我也發布過Windows/Linux應用程序，反響壓倒性的好。且，這些經常是直接移植自我Mac版的（經常是那些低質量的）讓我猶下地獄的程序。

Likewise, I began co-hosting a Linux-centered Podcast (www.linuxactionshow.com) recently. Myself and the other host are amateurs. We are learning as we go. And what was the response? Overwhelmingly positive. Heck, even the criticism we received was good natured and constructive (unlike what we received when attempting to run a Mac free website).

相似，我最近開始協同主持一個以Linux為中心的Podcast（www.linuxactionshow.com）。我自己和另一個主持者都是業餘。我們邊做邊學。猜猜反應？壓倒性的好。TNND，即使是批評也是善意和建設性的（，不像我們試圖運行Mac免費網站時那樣）。

2) Apple and their practices

2)蘋果與其實踐

This is a simple one. Apple has a long track record of directly copying 3rd party application developers (most notably small shops) and including almost perfect clones of those, usually shareware, apps in their next version of OS X. Watson & Konfabulator are the two most high profile recent examples.

這很簡單。蘋果有一條很悠久的紀錄——拷貝第三方應用的開發者（最著名的小店鋪），加入幾乎完美的克隆，通常是共享軟體，小程序到下一版的OS X。Watson & Konfabulator就是最近的兩個最典型案例。

And I am in the software business. If Apple clones one of my apps… I』m out of business.

我身在軟體業。如果蘋果克隆了我的程序中的一個……我就出局了。

Sure, you could say that Microsoft does this too. Except they have a tendency to just straight up purchase the technology rather then re-make it. They find it easier. Apple likes to copy. There』s a big difference there when you』re looking at it from the point of view of trying to pay for food.

的確，你可以說微軟也這麼干。他們有意圖就直截了當的收購技術而非重新製造一遍。他們覺得那樣更容易。蘋果喜歡拷貝。你以謀生的角度來看待時這就有了很大不同。

3) Apple』s software quality

3) 蘋果的軟體質量

I』m sure I』ll get plenty of flack for this one (then again, I』m sure I』ll get plenty of flack for all of this), but Apple』s software quality has gone into the toilet.

我確信我會因為這一點遭到嚴厲炮轟（再者，我確信我會因為所有這些觀點遭到炮轟），但蘋果的軟體質量已經進到茅坑了。

Case in point. Apple released iLife 06 this last January. My friends and I were all excited. Apple added Podcasting specific features into Garageband. And they made a new web publishing application called iWeb. We were determined to use them to make a great podcast (which ended up being www.castablasta.com for those interested).

舉例。蘋果今年一月發布iLife 06。我的朋友和我都很激動。蘋果為Garageband加入Podcasting相關功能。他們做了個新的web發布程序「iWeb」。我們註定要用這些製作優秀的 podcast（最終變成www.castablasta.com）。

So we literally rushed to the local Apple store the MOMENT it was in stock and picked up iLife 06. Over the next few months we struggled, on an almost daily basis, to keep Garageband (which we were using to record and edit the podcast) from crashing. We lost a LOT of data. And a lot of time. And an even greater amount of patience.

因此，iLife 06一上架我們就衝進本地的Apple store買下了。後面幾個月，我們痛苦掙扎，幾乎要日復一日，保持Garageband（我們用它來錄音並編輯podcast）不崩潰。我們損失了很多數據。還有很多時間，和更多的耐心。

We wanted to use iWeb to create our Podcasts website and publish it to our newly purchased .Mac account.

我們想用iWeb創建Podcast站點，發布到我們新近購買的.Mac賬戶。

That was a nightmare. iWeb crashed a lot (not as much as Garageband… but a lot). It was slow to use. And the .Mac service was too slow and buggy (and feature-free) to run a podcast from… despite Apple』s marketing claims.

那是個噩夢。iWeb經常崩潰（雖不像Garageband那麼多……還是很多）。它用著很慢。.Mac服務太慢，運行起podcast來蟲子太多（免費體驗）……除了Apple的市場宣傳。

Now, before many of you chime in and say how great those apps work for you… I just plain don』t care at this point. We tried multiple updates of these apps on multiple different types of Macs (G5』s, G4』s and Intel with may different configurations of Ram and audio equipment). None of it proved any more stable for long-term use. And Apple』s support was almost useless in this.

現在，在你們中許多人插話說這些應用對你們起了多大作用前……我就是不關心這一點。我們試圖在不同類型的Mac上（G5, G4 和Intel的有著不同配置的內存和聲音設備的機器）升級這些應用。沒一個證明能夠長期穩定使用。而且蘋果的支持對這些幾乎沒用。

So we moved to using Audacity under Linux. Did it crash? No. Is it harder to use? Yes. But, you know what? At least we can get the job done.

所以我們轉用Linux下的Audacity。它會崩潰？不。它更難用？是的。但你知道什麼？至少我們可以把活幹完。

And this example is just the surface of the software problems. OS X itself is becoming more and more buggy in my usage. Apple』s bundled web browser, Safari, renders many pages I visit incorrectly (often in weird ways)… and, when it doesn』t, it often crashes (or at least hangs for a minute or more at a time rendering my system almost unusable).

這個例子僅是軟體問題的表面。在我的使用中，OS X本身就變得有越來越多的臭蟲。蘋果的捆綁web瀏覽器，Safari，把我訪問的許多頁面渲染錯誤（經常十分糟糕）……且，不出錯時，經常崩潰（或者至少死一分鐘或更長，讓我的系統變得幾乎無法使用）。

So. There』s three of the primary reasons I left. I didn』t list games, specific applications, etc that I needed on another platform. I was just focused on whether or not I could use what Apple was providing me in a, relatively, simple way and in a community that was pleasant to be around.

因此。有三點主要原因讓我退出。我沒列舉遊戲，個別應用程序，等等那些我在其他平台上需要的東西。我僅局限於我是否能用蘋果提供給我的，以相對簡單的方式，處在一個我樂居的社區。

And, in those regards, the Mac has failed me.

基於這些關切，Mac在我這裡失敗了。

To be quite honest the community problems was the real killer. If all the other problems existed… but the community was fun to be around and work with… I would have stuck it out. I would have made it work (no matter how much productivity or hair I lost).

實話實說，社區的問題是真正的殺手。如果所有其他問題存在……但是社區還可以相處，可以協作……我本該忠誠，我本該設法解決（不論損失多少效率和頭髮）。

But I had to quit. To move on to something that made me happy. An OS, and a community, that was, in general, positive and helpful. Linux has that community.

但我不得不退出。遷移到讓我感到愉快地東西上。一個總體上積極而有益的OS和社區。Linux有這樣的社區。

The distro I settled on at this point is Ubuntu. I like it. It』s easy to use, cool looking, flexible… and it works. And when I have a problem, an idea or a solution there is a massive community out there to share and work with.

我所遷到的發行版是Ubuntu。我喜歡。它簡單易用，樣子很酷，有彈性……而且，它能工作。有問題、想法或解答時，有一個龐大的社區可以共享和協作。

Now I』m sure some of you will notice that I claim that Mac users tend to expect too much for free… and you might argue that Linux users expect things free and open source. But, you know, that』s not my experience so far.

現在，我確信你們中的一些會注意我宣稱Mac用戶趨於期望太多的免費……你們會辯解Linux用戶期望免費和開源。但是，你知道，我沒有這樣的感覺。

Sure, Linux users have come to expect open source and free software. And many of them balk when presented with commercial software. But, amazingly enough, the Linux community at large seems to be much more open to the concept of paying for your software than the Mac community. Of course that will be put to the ultimate test as I begin to release software for Linux.

的確，Linux用戶期望開源和免費軟體。他們中許多在商業軟體前逡巡不前。但是，足以稱奇的，Linux社區似乎比Mac社區更普遍的接受為軟體付費的概念。當然這要接受我發布Linux軟體的終極考驗。

That is my rant. If you have questions, please feel free to post them in the comments here and I will do my best to answer.

這就是我的咆哮。若你有問題，請隨意在此跟貼，我會盡我可能回答。"

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