[petsc-dev] configure failed after update of OSX

[Geoff Oxberry]

>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 07:44:21 +0000
> From: ?smund Ervik <asmund.ervik at ntnu.no>
> To: "petsc-dev at mcs.anl.gov" <petsc-dev at mcs.anl.gov>
> Subject: Re: [petsc-dev] configure failed after update of OSX
> Message-ID:
>         <0E576811AB298343AC632BBCAAEFC3794579C7A8 at WAREHOUSE08.win.ntnu.no>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> >From: Satish Balay <balay at mcs.anl.gov>
> >To: Jed Brown <jed at jedbrown.org>
> >Cc: petsc-dev <petsc-dev at mcs.anl.gov>
> >Subject: Re: [petsc-dev] configure failed after update of OSX
> >
> >Our linux compute machines [ubuntu 12.04] is also has  3.81
> >
> >Fedora Linux is still at 3.82
> >http://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/packageinfo?packageID=813
>
> ArchLinux (which is bleeding edge and rolling release) only upgraded to
> 4.0 in October. The latest OpenSuse ships 3.82.
>
> And I must say after this lengthy thread on OSX configure calamities, it
> seems that people doing scientific computing on OSX are doing themselves a
> disservice. Surely taking half a day up front to install a sane OS is
> better than spending half a day fixing stuff every time Apple decides to
> change something?
>

That's not an option for some people (for instance, work-provided laptops).

What constitutes "a sane OS" is different things to different people. Linux
is great for development, and works very well as an every day operating
system. I use it on one of my work desktops. I would love it if the
compatibility of Microsoft Office with comparable Linux software suites
were better, but it's not, and it makes having to deal with certain parties
(journals, employers, conferences) that insist on proprietary formats
difficult. Asking users to not deal with those organizations may not be
practical.

Choice of hardware can also be a factor. Hardware drivers can be a tricky
thing to worry about with Linux, particularly with laptops. Wireless
support was a big problem, and support has gotten better over time. Kernel
upgrades can wreak havoc on things like nVidia graphics drivers. It can be
tough to locate drivers for peripherals and install them without time,
effort, and expert knowledge. (Currently a problem with my Linux desktop
and the office printer.)

Consumer watchdog agencies (Consumer Reports, for instance) rate Apple high
in customer service, and other companies rate somewhat lower. This aspect
can be important if you want to outsource laptop repair (as I do, because I
prefer to spend my time on other things). In terms of general consumer
usage, Apple laptops rank consistently well also, which may explain why
computational scientists are willing to put up with the rough edges when it
comes to development environments. At a computational science conference
I've attended every year for the past 7 years, the shift to Macs has been
dramatic.

Linus Torvalds was using a MacBook Air for a while; of course, he put Linux
on it.

I like Linux, and I intend to keep using it alongside OS X. Like I said,
it's a great operating system. Ideology aside, I find the arguments against
OS X that can be paraphrased as "you should just use Linux because it has a
great package manager" unconvincing because the proposed solutions they
offer to some of the issues I raise are uncompelling (and they're not the
fault of Linux, either).


> Just my $0.02 .
>
> Regards,
> ?smund
>
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