Can Mac OS X be used as a complete subtitute for Ubuntu?

2

I'm considering buying a MacBook Pro, and though I know that I can triple boot it (Mac OS X, Windows, Ubuntu), I really do not want to give up the ease-of-use of OS X for which Mac is so famous for. Hence, I'd really prefer it if I could duplicate the functionality of Ubuntu on OS X. I'm specifically looking for the following :

  • A cmd-line based programming environment. I use tcsh almost exclusively, so wanted to know whether it could be emulated on OS X.

  • OpenOffice

  • Programming in C/C++ using gcc

  • LaTeX editors like Kile

  • Video players like VLC, which plays almost every format seamlessly

  • Torrent clients like Deluge

  • Setting up broadband (wired/wireless) through PPPOE interface

Also, in general, I've really enjoyed the vast majority of software available through Ubuntu Synaptic Manager. IS there any equivalent free repository for Mac ? How do I search for software that addresses a specific functionality on Mac ?

Answers, even hints or general guidance would be a great way to boost my confidence that I can duplicate all the functionality of Ubuntu without having to leave the magnificent UI of Mac OS.

TCSGrad

Posted 2011-09-05T17:54:55.530

Reputation: 459

Answers

5

OS X has a command line environment via the terminal that is based on Darwin Unix.

There is also a version of OpenOffice for OS X.

Gcc will function on a Mac as well and is included in the XCode tools package.

There is MacTeX, a LaTEX environment for the Mac.

VLC functions just fine on a Mac.

There are several torrent applications for Mac, but there is a version of Deluge you can use.

Apple's support site has steps for configuring a Mac with PPPoE.

There are a few third party repositories, such as Homebrew or MacPorts for the Mac.

MaQleod

Posted 2011-09-05T17:54:55.530

Reputation: 12 560

Beat me by 4 mins haha – Sandeep Bansal – 2011-09-05T18:10:16.533

Are the third party repositories, do you mean that they are free ? – TCSGrad – 2011-09-05T20:14:10.297

yes, they are for open source unix applications on OS X, ones that you are probably familiar with using on Ubuntu. – MaQleod – 2011-09-05T20:20:26.517

4

  1. tcsh can be used in Mac OS X on the Terminal app
  2. NeoOffice is a substitute for Openoffice
  3. gcc is available through the command line and Xcode can be used for C++ programming.
  4. MacTex for LaTEX
  5. VLC and Quicktime X are both good players
  6. The top 5 torrent clients for mac
  7. All networking features are integrated

Since Mac 10.6.7 there has been a Mac App Store, where you can search for many apps that have been created, you can also search for apps that work with a specific extension or even a keyword on what you want the software to do.

Sandeep Bansal

Posted 2011-09-05T17:54:55.530

Reputation: 6 168

Asked: 2011-09-05T17:54:55.530

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Active: 2011-09-05T18:12:19.293