Questions from a Linux user considering a Macbook

[Marc Lanctot]

Hi,

I'm considering buying one of the new one-piece Macbooks. I apologize in 
advance; I know nothing about these or their OS. I'm looking for answers 
from people who've had experience in doing what I am considering doing 
and can shed some light on there experience.

Can you comment on:

- general compatibility of X-based apps and the leading X server. Would 
I be able to compile and run, eg. gvim, without an X-server? Would 
running gvim be slow because I have to run and X server just to use it?

- fink; its compatibility and package support. Is it a sufficient 
analogue of APT? In particular, for example can I use fink to install 
boost/boost-dev, gvim, and/or GLPK? Does it work like apt and resolves 
dependencies & downloads binaries (no compilation required)? Is 
installing free / open-source stuff as easy and painless as it is on say 
Debian and Ubuntu?

- suppose I download the source of a random non-X open source project 
intended to compile+run on a Linux machine. How likely is it that it 
will build on MacOS X? Will pretty much any piece of source code that 
has Linux system calls fail to compile in MacOS X? I assume the worst 
but maybe you can be the bringer of good news!

- do the mac books come (only) with Intel chips now? Are they 64-bit 
processors?

- in the worst case if MacOS X will slow me down then maybe I'll 
dual-boot the thing. Do you know of anybody who has a Mac/Linux 
dual-boot? Have you done it? In general, is this hard to setup or 
cumbersome to maintain?

- As a Linux user is there any reason you would recommend against buying 
a Macbook (other than the "proprietary is evil" argument)?

Marc

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